EDITORIAL STAFF
Publisher
Tom Poberezny
January1995 Vol.23,No.1
CONTENTS
1 Straight & Level/
Espie"Butch"Joyce
2 AlC News/Compiledby
H.G.Frautschy
3 VintageLiterat ure/
DennisParks
8 MembersProjects/
NormPetersen
11 AlC Tidbits/H.G. Frautschy
13 25thAnniversaryKZFly-In/
NormPetersen
17 OneofEach,Please-
GregHerrick'sPT-23/H.G.Frautschy
21 StanGomoll's
1928HeathSuperParasol/
NormPetersen
Page 17
25 MysteryAirplane/George Hardi e
27 PassittoBuck!
E.E."Buck" Hilbert
29 WelcomeNewMembers
29 Calendar
30 VintageTrader
Page 21
Page 13
Vice-President,
Marketing and Communications
Dick Matt
Editor-in-Chief
Jack Cox
Editor
Henry G. Frautschy
Managing Editor
Golda Cox
Art Director
Mike Drucks
Computer Graphic Specialists
Sara Hansen
Olivia L. Phillip Jennifer Larsen
Advertising
Mary Jones
Associate Editor
Norm Petersen
Feature Writers
George Hardie, Jr. Dennis Parks
Staff Photographers
Jim Koepnick Mike Steineke
Carl Schuppel Donna Bushman
Editorial Assistant
Isabelle Wiske
EAA ANTIQUE/ CLASSIC DIVISION, INC.
OFFICERS
President Vice-President
Espie "Butch" Joyce Arthur MorQan
P.O. Box 1001 W211 N11863 Hilltop Dr.
Madison. NC 27025 Germantown. WI 53022
910/573-3843 414/628-2724
Secrefary Treasurer
Steve Nesse E.E. ' Buck' Hilbert
2009 Highland Ave. P.O. Box 424
Albert Lea. MN 56007 Union.IL 6D18D
507/373-1674 815/923-4591
DIRECTORS
John Berendt Robert C. "Bob" Brouer
7645 Echo Point Rd. 9345 S. Hoyne
Cannon Falls. MN 55009
507/263-2414
by ()ennis Va.-ks!!
Lib.-a.-y/A..-chives ()i.-ect().-
From the Collection of George Noville
Photographs from the George Noville Collection include some very interesting and rare photos ofaircraft from
the 1915-1916 period. These aircraft could have been used as mystery planes, but as they are from the same collection
and represent a particular period, some are presented here.
George O. Noville was an aeronau-
tical engineer born in Cleveland Ohio
in 1891. Noville was a naval aviator ,
war-flyer, trans-Atlantic flyer and arc-
tic expedition flyer, gaining fame flying
with Admiral Byrd. At the age of fif-
teen he enlisted in the U.S. Navy and
continued in the service until 1914
when he transferred to aviation and
qualified as a naval aviator.
During the World War he served
with the "Esquadrille Candiana ," a
naval air combat unit operating on the
Austrian Front. He resigned from the
US Naval Air Service, with the grade
of Lieutenant Commander.
His resignation from the naval ser-
vice was due to his appointment to the
Post Office Department as Superinten-
dent of the Eastern Division of the
U.S. Air Mail , a position he held dur-
ing the winter of 1919-20. He then
took a posting with the French com-
pany Mesagerie Aerienne where he
worked on developing the London to
Paris air mail service. He then held
positions with several major oil compa-
nies until 1927 after which he became a
consulting engineer.
Noville gained recognition for his
work with Admiral Byrd on the ex-
ploratory flight to the Arctic and the
Atlantic crossing. In 1926, Noville be-
came executive officer of the Byrd
Arctic Expedition to the North Pole.
In 1927, he served as relief pilot and
second in command for Admiral Byrd
on the Trans-Atlantic flight of the
Fokker " America" for the New York
to Paris flight.
BERCKMANS: SPEED SCOUT
BIPLANE -1917
During 1918, a few obscure Ameri-
can designers were able to obtain or-
ders from the Army for aircraft of their
own design. One of the few men able
to obtain such a contract was Maurice
Berckmans, who' s previous experience
seems to have been limited to his de-
sign and construction of the Speed
Scout of 1917 which he had flown
around the country for some time.
BERCKMANS: SPEED SCOUT
BIPLANE - 1917 - The Speed
Scout was trim and incor-
porated many features ahead
of its time, but the military
wasn't interested.
Above - COMMANDER GEORGE NOVILLE
on the deck of the SS Leviathan returnin9 to
the United States after the flight to France
with Commander Byrd, Bert Acosta and
Brent Balchen on the Fokker Trimotor
"America."
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 3
Above - BERCKMANS: SPEED SCOUT BIPLANE - 1917 - Note the lower wing suspended below the fuselage. The test pilots were Bert Acosta
and Edward Holterman.
_____
I
_-r--tf f '.. 1
BERCKMANS
100 HP G.v.
SPEED SCOUT
c
5c". of F••I
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4 JANUARY 1995
Maurice learned to fly at the Curtiss
flying school on North Island at San
Diego in 1915. His Speed Scout was
built on Long Island in a hangar adja-
cent to the L.W.F. factory. The bi-
plane was unusual and advanced in
having a three-ply monocoque fuse-
lage and a lower wing suspended be-
low the fuselage. Bert Acosta made
most of the test flights of the plane. In
the spring of 1918 the Scout was
painted with Liberty Bond slogans and
flown in a local war bond drive.
CURTISS-COX: TEXAS
WILDCAT RACER
In the summer of 1919, the Aero
Club of Texas discovered that up to
that time no plans had been made to
have an American entry in the Gordon
Bennett Race to be held in France in
September 1920.
Lacking funds with which to finance
such a project, the club made an ap-
peal to S.E.J. Cox, an oil promoter
from Houston, Texas, who decided to
sponsor two aircraft in the race.
Requests for designs were sent out
to every manufacturer. This resulted
in 49 proposals being submitted, some
of them unique - one being a machine
without wings, some fantastic - a de-
sign which promised a speed of 1,000
miles per hour.
At the request of Cox, a committee
of aeronautical experts narrowed the
proposals down to 12, and out of this
group the committee selected the pro-
posal from the Curtiss Company.
Desi gned by Curtiss Engineers,
W.L. Gilmore, Arthur Thurston and
H.E. Coffin, the two Cox racers were
built at Garden City on Long Island.
The fuselage was of laminated wood
monocoque construction, while the
wings and tail surfaces were of wood
ribs and spars with fabric covering.
The two racers were named TEXAS
WILDCAT and the CACTUS KIT-
TEN by Mrs. Cox, a pilot herself who
owned a Curtiss Oriole.
The TEXAS WILDCAT tested in
July of 1920 with a thick conventional
airfoil was able to reach a speed of 183
mph. For the race a symmetrical air-
foil wing was produced . Unfortu-
nately, the racer was damaged in
France prior to the race. Later the
CACTUS KITTEN was rebuilt as a
triplane and finished second in the
1921 Pulitzer Trophy race.
CURTISS: HS-2L FLYING BOAT
When the United States entered the
World War in 1917 the U.S. Navy had
only six flying boats in service. By the
time the Armistice was signed in 1918,
the number had increased to over
1,000. The largest number of these
were the single-engined Curtiss HS-2
flying boats.
The HS-l (Hydroplane, Single En-
gine), which was first flown in October
1917, combined the hull design from
the Curtiss AMERICA with the wings
of the R-Type seaplane. The first air-
craft had the Curtiss 200 hp V-X-3
eight-cylinder engine. When the first
360 hp Liberty 12 became available,
that engine became the standard for
production aircraft.
CURTISS-COX: TEXAS WILDCAT RACER - This photo may have been taken at the airplanes
dedication. The person by t he pitot tube appears to be Mr. Cox who sponsored the project for
the Gordon Bennett Races of 1920.
Navy demand for the HS series was
so great that other firms constructed
the craft including LWF, Standard,
Gallaudet, Boeing and Lockheed.
Many of the flying boats were sold to
private operators after the war and
the US Navy still had 40 in service in
1925.
JUNKERS-LARSEN: JL
SEAPLANE
In 1919 Junkers developed an all-
metal four seat transport aircraft des-
ignated the F.13. This would turn out
to be a very popular aircraft with over
300 produced. Early in 1920, John M.
Larsen, a Danish born American citi-
zen traveled to Europe with consul-
tant Charles B. Kirkham, a noted
aeronautical engineer. Larsen was in-
terested in advanced German technol-
ogy and hoped to make money by ex-
ploiting it.
After visiting the Junkers works at
Dessau, Larsen purchased the Ameri-
can patent rights to the F.13. He
planned to import several, then manu-
facture them in the United States un-
der the JL-6 designation. Eight of the
CURTISS: HS-2L Flying Boat - The HS-2 series of flying boats was JUNKERS-LARSEN: JL-6 SEAPLANE - An innovative all-metal transport,
the most numerous of those built for the US Navy with over 600 this aircraft came to grief while in use with the U.S. Air Mail Service.
constructed.
VI NTAGE AIRPLANE 5
JUNKERS-LARSEN: JL-6 -
One of the routes that the
:i=__ JL-6 was used on was the
Chicago to Omaha run.
aircraft were sold to the US Air Mai l
Service and and six to t he Army and
the Navy.
Will iam B. Stout had recommended
to the head of the Mail Service that he
invest igate the Junkers F.13 t hen at
Mineola Field on Long Island. The
F.13 feat ured a semi-enclosed cockpit
and an enclosed cabin that could seat
four passengers. Powered by a 6 cylin-
der BMW 185 hp engine, it crui sed at
a speed of 87 mph a nd ha d a maxi-
mum speed of 110 mph. For t he price
of $200,000, the Air Mai l Service pur-
ORENCO: TYPE A TRAINER - Powered
by a four-cylinder Dussenberg, this
was the first ai'rcraft produced by the
Ordinance Engineering Company. The
Army only purchased two.
chased eigh t JL-6s a long wit h four
spare engines and spare parts.
The beginni ngs of Air Mai l service
wit h t he JL-6 in August 1920 was in-
auspicious wit h nine forced landings,
four because of radiator leaks, t hree
due to fuel leaks, and two because of
clogged fuel strainers. Things became
worse in September with three in-flight
fires and t wo fatal crashes which re-
sulted in t he grounding of JL-6s. The
aircraft were put back into service af-
ter modification of the fuel system but
another fata l crash put them out of
business. Despite the success of the
machines in other parts of the world,
their use by the U.S. Air Mail Service
proved a fai lure.
ORENCO: TYPE A TRAINER
Orenco, originally Ordinance Engi-
neering Company, was formed in 1916
with a plant in Baldwin, Long Island,
to build aircraft for the US Army.
Their first aircraft was the Type A, a
side-by-side two seat trainer powered
with a 105 hp Dusenberg four cylinder
engine.
The only picture I've been able to
locate was in a United States Aero
Propeller Company advertisement in
the November 5, 1917 issue of
AERIAL AGE WEEKLY. According
to "Fahey's US Army Aircraft" the
Army procured two of the aircraft.
Orenco's most successful design was
the Type D Hisso powered fighter.
Unfortunately for Orenco, Curtiss won
the contract to produce 50 of the fight-
ers.
6 JANUARY 1995
companies that tried to find a market for a
converted, faster Jenny.
SPERRY: CURTISS MONOPLANE CONVERSION
OF A CANUCK - Sperry was among the
STOUT: BATWING LIMOUSINE - This
was the second of Stout's flying wing
designs and the first passenger ship.
VINTAGE AIRPI ANF 7
SPERRY CURTISS CANUCK
MONOPLANE
The Lawrence Sperry Aircraft
Company of Famingdale, Long Is-
land, in 1921, produced a thick can-
tilever monoplane wing which was
specially designed for use on Curtiss
IN-4 and Canadian Curtiss Canuck
biplanes. Owing to the high efficiency
of the wing, and to a reduction in par-
asitic drag, the performance was
much improved over the amply strut-
ted and cross-braced biplane wings of
the originals. The top speed on the
conversion was listed as 95 mph com-
pared to that of the original. Siko-
rsky was another concern offering
such a conversion but the Sikorsky
used strut bracing.
STOUT: BATWING 1920
In 1918-19 William B. Stout de-
signed and built the si ngl e seat
Batwing Monoplane. This cantilever
monoplane was constructed of wood
and covered with a thin veneer. Pow-
ered by a 150 hp Hisso, it was flown in
1920.
Based on the success of the
Batwing, Stout formed the Stout En-
gineering Laboratories and devel-
oped, for commercial purposes, the
Batwing Limousine powered by a 200
hp Packard engine. Also constructed
of wood with a veneer covering, the
craft weighed 1,940 pounds empty. It
had a maximum speed of close to 120
mph and landed at 40 mph. This de-
sign led to Stout's contract with the
Navy to build a cantilever all-metal
torpedo plane which merged the de-
sign features of the Batwing designs
with the new duraluminum metal. ...
Best Custom Class B Award Winner
by Norm Petersen
Quietly lined up in the Antique/Classic
section on the north side of "Red Barn
Road" at EAA Oshkosh ' 94 was a pretty
cream and maroon Luscombe 8E, N71645,
SIN 3072, that seemed to attract more
than its share of interested parties. Sure,
the paint scheme looked liked it had just
come off the showroom floor and the pro-
peller even had the identical colors, but
the overall impression of the airplane was
one of owner fastidiousness.
John and Kathy McMurray (EAA
457359, A/C 22744) of Burkburnett,
Texas, have literally jumped into the An-
tique/Classic game in the last year and a
half. John is an Air Force jet instructor
(T-38 Talon) and they bought the neat lit-
tle Luscombe on February 26,1993, at
Yuma, AZ. Their previous aircraft was a
BO-12, a single place glider!
Transfered to Witch ita Falls, TX, the
Luscombe was brought to Witchita Valley
Airport, a haven for taildraggers, with the
likes of Dave Eby (EAA 78731 , A/C
16735) and crew adding expertise and en-
couragement. The Luscombe was soon
stripped by John and Kathy and readied
for painting by Dave along with a new
nose cowl from Univair. In addition, new
8 JANUARY 1995
glass was installed, new skylights, new
wingtips and a new headliner - specially
modified for John's long torso so his head
wouldn't hit the roof! All new hardware
was used on reassembly and a pair of Dave
Eby's moulded fiberglass wheelpants were
carefully installed to give it "the look."
The horizontal stabilizer was reskinned
and final painting and touch ups were furi-
ously completed on Saturday and Sunday
with John and Kathy leaving for Oshkosh
on Monday - the paint being allowed to
(Continued on page 10)
It's called super detailing and it helps to win awards.
WHAT OUR MEMBERS ARE RESTORING
-------------------------------------------------------byNorrnPetersen
it is quite readily recognized at the vari-
ous fly-ins according to Harry.
The second photo (below) is brother
Jack Fox' s 1966 "Helton Lark 95," G-
LARK (I love those registration let-
ters!), again the only example of its
kind in Great Britain. It is a much later
version of the Culver line of aircraft
and features a Continental C90-16 en-
gine and a fixed tricycle landing gear.
The sliding canopy makes for a bit eas-
ier entrance to the cockpit and two peo-
ple can enjoy a rather nice tour with
such a machine. Note the EAA sticker
just below the windshield.
Two from
Jolly Olde England
The photos of these two " kinfolk"
airplanes were sent in by Harry Fox
(EAA 275119) of Bucks, England. The
first is his Culver LCA Cadet, ex.
NC29261, SIN 129 (above) built in 1940
in Columbus, Ohio. Previous owners
include Jim Rezich (1986), Rockford
and Winnebago, IL, Henry Barrows
(1974) , Winchester, OH, and Stan Crox-
ford (1964) of Speonk, NY. The little
retractable geared speedster is the only
example of its kind in Great Britain, yet
area since being acquired by the U. S. Forest Service
back in 1950.
Photographed in front of a hangar at Sky Harbor
Airport in Duluth, MN, is Wayne Preston's (EAA
227761) Champion Challenger (below) N9950Y, SIN
7GCB-156. A bit rare with only 57 remaining on the
FAA register, this Challenger, just like the Stinson
above, began serving with the Nebraska Dept. of
Game, Forest Station and Parks after emerging
from the factory in Osceola, WI. For many years,
the Challenger was owned by Robert Hatch in Du-
luth before Wayne Preston acquired it.
Two Minnesota Airplanes
Pictured on a tiedown at Sky Harbor Airport in
Duluth, MN, is Bruce Dudley's (EAA 347684) Stin-
son 108-3, N6937M, SIN 108-4937 (above) with its
180 Franklin engine well bundled up for the cold
weather. Note the McCauley constant-speed pro-
peller on the nose and the float attach fittings just
ahead of the landing gear. Bruce has owned the
Stinson about five years and flies it on wheels, Edo
2425 floats and Federal A3500 skis. The Stinson has
spent its entire life in the northeastern Minnesota
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 9
MEMBERS Cont.
Two North Carolina Pipers
This extremely original Piper J-3
Cub (below) N7034H, SIN 20278, is the
pride and joy of Cathy Joan Norris of
Mooresville, NC, which has been in her
family since the 1960's. Her father
taught her to fly in the Cub and she has
received additional instruction from a
good friend by the name of Duane
Cole!
Crusing along above the North Car-
olina trees is Piper Super Cub (right)
N1471C, SIN 18-2673, flown by Cathy
Norris' father, Amos Norris of
Statesville, NC. A 1953 model, the Su-
per Cub has unde rgone some very ef-
fective restoration work which makes it
a dandy looking a irplane . Dual nav-
coms, tail-mounted rotating beacon,
3200 Scott t ai lwheel and Cleveland
wheel s a nd brakes a re some of the
amenities added to this jewel. ...
Working on a project of your own?
Send your photos along with a
short story on your airplane to:
Attn: Norm Petersen
EAA Headquarters
P.O. Box 3086
Oshkosh,VVlS4903-3086
LUSCOMBE8E
(Continued from page 8)
dry on the way! (Sound familiar?) With
the Cont inental 0-200 singing a merry
tune, the Luscombe cruised at 95 knots all
the way to Oshkosh where the pretty two-
seater ran off with the Best Custom Class
B A ward (81 to 150 hp).
Kath y a nd J ohn we re almos t over-
whe lmed by the huge crowds and th e
chance to buy necessary it e ms for
" Boomer" - as the Luscombe was nick-
named. Kathy says, " We went way over
budget , but there were such bargains."
(New Lora n, ne w 720 radio, new tail
springs, etc.)
Ret urning to Witch ita Falls, the Mc-
Murrays bought new exhaust pipes from
the Luscombe Association and had them
custom plated with 24-karat gold plate!
Installed on " Boomer," they really add
that custom look. The dynamic duo then
fl ew to Tu lsa, OK, and took home the
Best Luscombe award. This was followed
by the Kerrville , TX, fly-in where
"Boomer " ran off with the Best Custom
Classic award. (Their trophy wall is get-
ling a bit crowded!)
Pe rhaps the neatest s urpri se ca me
when John and Kathy discovered their
Luscombe was the prototype "Model 8E"
at the factory in 1946! This was confirmed
by photos and comments in The Lus-
combe Story written by John C. Swick.
Old N71645 has quite a hi story behind
her, however, with John and Kathy Mc-
Murray doting over their new offspring,
"Boomer" has even more exciting history
ahead. Stay tuned. ...
Beautiful interior features a custom instrument panel with the airplane's nickname on
the right side.
10 JANUARY 1995
Ale
TidbiTs
by H.G. Frautschy
BRACE WIRE WAIT A DRAG?
If waiting for a set of drag/anti-drag
brace wires has got you in a blue funk,
then you may wish to contact the Steen
Aero Lab, Inc. They are now the U.S.
and Canadian representatives for Brun-
tons of Scotland, and are able to supply
made-to-order wires. Contact them at
1210 Airport Rd., Marion, NC 28752, or
call them at 704/652-7382.
AUTO FUEL
If you are an auto fuel user, remember
that your STC specifically excludes any
auto fuel containing alcohol. Back in 1992,
the West Coast Cessna 120/140 Club
newsletter published an easy method for
checking for possible alcohol content in your
auto fuel , written by Jim Jula. He also had
some pertinent comments to make regarding
auto fuel use. Here's what he wrote:
STC's for auto gas explicitly mention
to NOT USE Gasohol (auto gas with an
alcohol content of about 10%) in any
aircraft. Another important warning is
that auto gas does not store as well as
A vgas. Evaporation is more of a prob-
lem. Buy gas from a busy station to be
sure to get fresh gas that is properly for-
mulated for the season. DO NOT store
auto gas - you could end up using sum-
mer mix in cold weather or worse, win-
ter mix in summer. Old gas or the wrong
formulation will cause hard starting or
worse yet, possible vapor lock.
Also be sure you have a metal float in
your carbo The composite floats are ap-
parently affected the most by alcohol in
the gas, should you get some by mistake.
It seems all non-metal elements of the
fuel system are prone to problems if al-
cohol additive fuel is used. To test any
auto gas for alcohol content, the follow-
ing is suggested:
Get a graduated container in which
you can reliably indicate 10 parts. (A
part is a chemists term for a unit of mea-
sure. A part can be any amount. The
important thing is that each of the parts
is of equal volume.) A hypo like those
used to add TCP to the fuel will work
fine, or even a small measuring cup will
do in a pinch.
(Editor's note: I've found that a num-
ber of the fuel sample tubes/cups are gradu-
ated with markings so you can test for alco-
hol in your fuel. - HGF)
First, get a sample of the fuel with
which you intend to fuel your aircraft.
For this explanation I'll assume we're
using a TCP dispenser. Using the green
scale (or blue if you wish, but only draw
in the suggested amounts) in to the TCP
hypo. Draw in the gas to the 9 gal.
marker (this is now known as 9 parts).
Then draw in 1 more part of WATER.
Now, vigorously shake the container and
then hold it still for about 60 seconds.
Because alcohol will absorb water , you
will observe one of the following:
For GOOD gas:
9 parts of gas and 1 part of water set-
tled out. This shows alcohol free gas
and is OK to use. (But be sure to get rid
of all test fluid in your container. Don't
put it back in your tank!)
For BAD (alcohol containing) gas:
8 parts of gas and 2 parts mixed alco-
hol/water. Observing anything more
than 1 part of water means you probably
still have a lesser blend (5%?) of alco-
hol. If more than 1 part of water added
shows up, the fuel contains alcohol. DO
NOT use it in an aircraft.
Test all gas every time you fuel, espe-
cially if you buy off-brand gas. You will
WINTER HEAT
From Rowland HaU, of Northfield,
IL is this description of the winter baf-
fles he made up to help keep the
temps up on his Bellanca 7 ACA
Champ. Here's his note:
Here are the winter baffles I made
up and have used for the last five years
on my 7 ACA Champ. They are made
of 0.040 aluminum and are held in
place by spring clips I salvaged from
some old inspection plates I had lying
around. To avoid scratching up the
nose bowl I put rubber channels
around the edges.
Photo No.1 (Above): The baffle
on the left goes in the right hand open-
ing. Note the top and bottom clips
held in place with pop rivets. The end
clip, in addition to the pop rivets has a
#6 round head bolt with a hex nut and
lock washer. After installation, the
bolt is tightened to clamp the baffle in
place. I use a pocket screwdriver on
my key ring and hold the hex nut with
my fingers. The whole operation
be amazed how often these off-brands
contain alcohol without advertising the
fact.
With the "oxygenated fuels" that must
be sold as of January 1, 1995, in certain ar-
eas of the country, some of you may find it
hard to get unaltered auto fuel. EAA is
continuing the research into alternate oxy-
genates for fuel, and we will report on the
outcome of that research as soon as it be-
comes available. Until then, stick to the
major brand names, and don't use any fuel
with alcohol.
TACH CHECK
Speaking of checks you can do on
your airplane, here is an old trick that
has been around as long as alternating
current and vapor lights have been light-
ing up streets and yards.
If you're suspicious of your tachome-
ter , you can do a quick check before
dragging yourself down to the FBO for a
replacement, or picking up the aircraft
supply catalog.
You' ll need a sodium or mecury va-
por light, and a piece of white or reflec-
tive tape. Don't try this with any other
takes less than a minute per side. The
baffle on the right goes in the left
hand opening. The thing you see pro-
truding through the face of the baffle
is a 1 inch ID PVC plumbing elbow.
More on this below.
Photo No.2 (Above): This shows
the right hand baffle in place. Note
that it covers only the barrel of the
cylinder, not the head. For the purpose
of the photo, the left hand baffle is
hung backwards with a piece of tape.
Note the PVC "L" in place and the
cabin heat air inlet in the bottom of the
engine cooling air opening. Before I
came up with the "L" the baffle cut off
a lot of the airflow to the heater muff.
In flight, the "L" actually provides
a ram effect so I get more badly
needed cabin heat.
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 11
type of light - it simply won't work.
Think back to the old movies where, as
the image flashes across the screen, a
propeller or wheel appears to be
"stopped" or turning slowly in the wrong
direction. That undesirable effect is due
to an interaction of the propellers or
wheel spokes turning at a specific fre-
quency, and the film being exposed at a
set rate. The same thing happens with a
sodi um or mercury vapor li ght. The va-
por inside the lamp is excited by AC cur-
rent at a set frequency, and if we look at
the prop in just the right light, it will ap-
pear to stop at 600, 1200 and 1800 rpm.
Here' s how to check your tach.
You can often find sodi um (a copper
colored light used often for street lights
nowadays) or mercury (a blue/white light)
vapor lamps used for illumination in
hangars and on airport ramps . Find an
area illuminated by that type of light. You
can also buy sodium vapor lights for use as
security lights for home or farm use.
Apply the tape to the backside of one
blade on your prop. Then, at night, with
the light coming from behind you, run
the engine up and check your tach at the
rpm when the prop seems to stop.
(Again, it should appear to stop at 600,
1200 and 1800 rpms for a 4-or 6-cylinder
engine) If your tach and the prop
"stops" don' t agree, you' ll need to check
your tach further or, if the discrepancy is
not too severe and is repeatable, you
may wish to make a correction chart for
use in the cockpit. Either way, you' ve
been able to check your tach without
having to spend a bundle in shop time.
2-707
2-680
ASI- 6083-0-22
4 REO.
Vernon Lawrence of Hamilton , OH
wrote an interesting note concerning his
findings during the inspection of an
Aeronca Champ. Here's what he found:
It has come to my attention that an
area of the fuselage of Aeronca 7AC
airframes may have been inadvertently
neglected during recovering and/or
restoration procedures. This area is the
tubing that is hidden under the door
frame. This condition was first brought
to my attention when a structural fail-
ure occurred on 7AC, N84783 in 1992
while the aircraft was in service.
The following inspection revealed
that tube number 70 (reference
Aeronca fuselage frame drawing 7-450,
right and top views) had failed in ten-
sion stress just above the junction of
tube 65 and tube 66, and that it was cor-
roded through previous to the accident
with the remaining tube of less than 50
percent of the original thickness. It is
interesting to note that this corrosion
was mainly from the outside.
The second reference to this concern
was noted during the restoration of
L1R
AERONCA CORROSION
7AC, N84866. After removing the door
frame for inspection in that area deterio-
ration of tube 70 was found in almost the
same station. Also, a worse condition ex-
isted in tubes 2 and 42 where they meet
just above tube 20 (right side under door
frame). In this instance, tubes 2 and 42
had completely deteriorated almost 50
percent around and the remaining tube's
integrity was greatly affected.
In both instances, the corrosion was
from mainly outside in. It seems as
though the removal of the door frame for
inspection and corrosion treatment dur-
ing recovering and restoration has not
been a standard practice. This is proba-
bly due to the door frame being tack
welded to the tubes.
Considering the age of these aircraft
(almost 50 years now) it is understand-
able that any areas that have not been pe-
riodically maintained will have lost their
structural integrity. Although the dam-
age on N84866 was detected before an in-
cident occurred, it is my opinion that left
uncorrected, these tubes would have
failed under normal conditions in a rela-
THESE TWO AREAS
WERE FOUND COR-
RODED ON TWO
CHAMPS. SEE TEXT
FOR DETAILS
ASI-6 8-0-16
tively short period of time at any time
under abnormal conditions, such as
during a hard landing. There is at this
time no service bulletins or A.D.s out
on this subject, but there is no doubt
that a dangerous condition exists and it
is my opinion that all 7 AC owners and
maintenance personnel involved will
seriously consider this and act in a safe,
conscientious manner.
I've included a copy of the Aeronca
drawing from the service manual with the
affected areas circled. Any aircraft with a
door frame constructed in similar manner
should be looked at for this type of corro-
sion. Even when the airframe is sand-
blasted and then painted, areas such as the
tubing under the door sill plates are still
unprotected, and will eventually corrode.
On my Chief, I'll use a Dremel Tool to cut
the tack welds and remove the door sill
plates so I can give the tubing underneath
a good inspection. Keep an eye on all your
tubing, especially during restoratation.
Anybody have any ideas on how we can
get a good look at this area on airplanes
currently in service? ...
12 JANUARY 1995
Few people in this world enjoy air-
One of the first arrivals was this out-
planes more than the Danes in the
standing 1949 Be"anca 14-13-3, HB-
DUN, flown in by Willy Bernhard, Freien-
small country of Denmark. The his-
will, Switzerland.
tory of aviation in this country of just
over 5 million people is rich in tradi-
tion, beginning with J. C. H. Ell eham- gines. With full leading edge slats, large
mer, who first flew his "aeroplane" in flaps and drooped ailerons, the KZ III
1906. Although much of aviation in was one of the original STOL airplanes.
Denmark was military oriented in the In 1947, the pair of designers devel-
1920's and 1930's, the civilian side of oped the KZ VII , a four-place version
Danish aviation received a much of the KZ III, powered with a Continen-
needed boost in 1937 when two Danes tal 1251145 hp engine and 56 of this
decided to go into the airplane manu- model were built in spite of a devastat-
facturing business. ing factory fire on February 17, 1947,
Viggo Kramme and Karl Zeuthen that destroyed some 17 aircraft under
constructed a small , low-wing, single construction. From the ashes, a small
seat airplane called a KZ I (for Kramme production resumed in some Luftwaffe
& Zeuthen Model One) which was pow- hangars at Copenhagen' s Kastrup Air-
ered by a two cylinder ABC Scorpion port, but the worldwide collapse in the
engine of 38 hp. From this humble be- light aircraft market sounded the death
ginning, the firm continued with the KZ knell of the company. Some 13 observa-
II Kupe (Coupe)(14 built) , the KZ II tion models of the KZ X were built for
Sport(16 built) and the KZ II the Danish Air Force, but by the middle
Trainer(16 built) , with financial support '50s, SAl was out of business after pro- 0
coming from the firm of F. L. ducing a total of 217 airplanes.
Smidth to enable the new Determined not to let the
firm, called Scandinavisk -"",.....I!!!==I ... marque disappear , a small
Aero Industri (SAl) , to prosper. I band of pilots gather ed in the
The remarkable KZ III, a two-place, A western part of Denmark (call ed Jut-
side-by-side, high wing trainer was de- DANMARK land) in 1969 and formed a club under
vel oped in secret right under the noses N'" the name of "KZ & Veteranfly
of the occupying German Army during Klubben," which translates to "KZ and
WW II and secretly test flown in Swe- L1 Antique Airplane Club." Under the
den! In 1946, it went into production in leadership of Dr. Magnus Pedersen
Denmark and 64 KZ Ill 's were built Text and photos (EAA 79229, AIC 638), a family doctor
powered with 901100 hp Blackburn Cir- by Norm Petersen from Spjald, and Jens Toft (EAA
rus Minor inverted four-cylinder en- (The Great Dane) 126945), a farm machinery dealer from
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 13
HlIljmark, plus many other dedicated
airplane people, the KZ Club has grown
from its initial fly-in in 1969 at the small
Spjald airstrip to one of the most re-
spected fly-ins in all of Europe.
The fly-in has been held for many
years at the Stauning Airport located
near the Ringklllbing Fjord on Den-
mark's west coast and attracts a loyal
following of airplanes and dedicated
people from all over Europe. Naturally,
the various models of the Danish KZ
airplanes are featured, however, an-
tique, classic and homebuilt aircraft
from many countries make the pilgrim-
age each year to join in the fun . The
four day fly-in is held in the middle of
June and from 250 to 500 aircraft are on
hand. The KZ club has over 800 mem-
bers worldwide and publishes a very
nice magazine each quarter written in
the Danish language (this author's na-
tive tongue) with an English synopsis
for those unable to read Danish. In
1979, the club incorporated as EAA
Chapter 655, so the membership bene-
fits are twofold, including both antique
and amateur-built aircraft.
My wife, Loretta, and I attended the
1986 KZ & Veteranfly Rally at
Stauning and were completely over-
whelmed with the tremendous hospital-
ity of the aviation-minded Danes. The
many KZ types of aircraft on the flight-
line along with numerous classic and an-
tique airplanes from England, Norway,
Above - Mogens Pedersen taxies KZ III, OY-DGV, with George Rotter on board for George's first
ever flight in a KZ airplane. This airplane has covered most all of Europe at one time or another
for its owner, Dr. Magnus Pedersen, president of the KZ Club and EAA Chapter 655.
Right - A visitor every year is this Percival Proctor flown in from England by Cobby Moore, a per-
son who can add spice to any fly-in!
14 JANUARY 1995
Left - Jorgen Skov Nielsen, Sunds, Denmark, with his three children,
pause for a picture by his recently completed J-3 Cub with a C85-12 en-
gine. He was awarded the KZ Cup for Best Restoration at the Rally. This
author flew with Jorgen in a Learjet 35 back in 1977 from Denmark to Eng-
land and he remembered me from 17 years ago! Note the registration:
JSN - his initials!
Above - George Rotter discovered his KZ III, OY-DVO, in this 1946 factory
photo hanging on the museum wall.
Right - Lady Helena Hamilton, Chesterfield, England, receives her 25-
year award for exemplifying the ''flying spirit" from Dr. Magnus Pedersen.
Sweden, Finland, Germany and even from a Danish friend (and KZ member)
Switzerland gave this author the feeling that two KZ III aircraft were for sale in
of being a "blind dog in a meat market" Denmark. In just a short time, George
- not knowing which way to go first! Rotter (EAA 54992, A/C 9276) of
And the beautiful people that arrived Oshkosh, WI, agreed to buy one if I
in the airplanes were fascinating folks to bought the other. Both aircraft were
visit with - each one with a different carefully placed in a 40-foot container
story of overcoming great odds just to and shipped from Denmark to Oshkosh,
participate in the KZ Rally. It was heart arriving December 26, 1991. These are
warming beyond all expectation and the the very first KZ aircraft to arrive in the
new friendships are for a lifetime. U.S. and are undergoing total restora-
In the fall of 1991, I received a call tion as this is being written. George's
KZ III is SIN 76 and was previously reg-
istered OY-DVO in Denmark. Before
tearing the KZ III down for rebuild,
George managed to get his Cirrus Mark
II engine running in his back yard - the
neighbors rushing out to learn the
source of all the noise! It was April 7,
1993 and his was the first KZ to ever
run in the U.S.
My KZ III is SIN 63 and was fomerly
OY-ABA in Denmark and prior to that
it was registered LN-FAT in Norway
One interior wall of the new KZ Hall with its excellent lighting. From the right, KZ VIII
aerobatic single-place, KZ VII four-place, KZ II open cockpit trainer and KZ IV ambu-
lance plane.
from 1946 to 1959. Our new U.S. regis-
trations are N63KZ and N76KZ, a com-
bination of the serial numbers and the
designer's initials.
With a special invitation to attend
the KZ Rally on June 16-19, 1994,
George Rotter, his wife, Janet, my wife,
Loretta, and I spent the first week of
June running loose in Germany and
Switzerland before arriving in Copen-
hagen, Denmark, for three busy days
with Knud Thaarup (EAA 280077) and
his lovely wife, Jytte. (We even helped
the Danish Queen Margarethe's hus-
band, Prince Henrik, celebrate his 60th
birthday with a hundred horse parade
including the "Royal Coach"!)
After spending a couple of beautiful
days as guests of Johannes and Ruth
Bach (EAA 126941) at Ejstrupholm,
Denmark, we drove to the west coast of
Denmark to visit Bent and Tina Es-
bensen (EAA 340077) at Esbjerg before
heading north to the KZ Rally at
Stauning. Although the weather was
cool and a bit windy, the airplanes were
arriving and taxiing into their parking
places.
A brand new "KZ Hall " displaying
eleven different models of KZ airplanes
greeted the Rally visitors this year. The
beautiful facility has been built next to
the original museum building, adjacent
to the airport, and is most impressive.
On Saturday morning, a reception was
held in the "KZ Hall" in honor of the
25th Anniversary of the KZ Club.
Among the invited guests were Val Eg-
gers of the Danish FAA, Vibeke Rech-
nagel, daughter of Viggo Kramme and
Peter Zeuthen, son of Karl Zeuthen.
16 JANUARY 1995
The sparkle in the eyes of these distin-
guished people was a special treat for
the visitors from foreign lands. They
love aviation with a passion.
During the fly-in, George Rotter
had his first flight in Dr. Magnus Ped-
ersen's KZ III, OY-DGV, flown by his
son, Mogens Pedersen. George made
several takoffs and landings with the
smooth-running KZ III and was totally
sold on the STOL performance of the
silver and blue airplane.(The Danes
have a nickname for OY-DGV. They
call it "Doctorens Gamle Vogn "
[DGVj which translates as "Doctor's
Old Wagon"!)
I was lucky to spend some time flying
OY-DME, an award-winning KZ III
owned by Mogens Jepsen of Haderslev,
Denmark. The airplane would jump off
the runway in just a few plane lengths
and climb out smartly, the Cirrus Minor
100 hp engine sounding like a sewing
machine. With its light fingered con-
trols, comfortable seats and easy flying
characteristics, it is difficult to visualize
that it was designed over 50 years ago
by a couple of ingenious Danes named
Kramme and Zeuthen.
The Friday night hangar dance was a
festive occasion with many people en-
joying the music and the rest " hangar
flying." I borrowed an accordian and
played about six "oldtime" numbers
with the band. Even though the four
young men were in their twenties, they
jumped in with me after about two sec-
onds and played "oldtime" like a bunch
of experts - their first experience with
such music! (And they grinned from ear
to ear while playing!)
Even though the cool winds of Fri-
day turned to rain on Saturday, seven
models of KZ airpl anes were wheeled
out of the museum and readied for the
annual fl y-by. I was all owed to fly co-
pilot on the twin-engined KZ IV ambu-
lance plane that had just fi ni shed a 13-
year rest orati on. Powered wit h two
Gipsy Major engines of 145 hp, the all-
wood KZ IV, OY-DI Z, was bui lt in
1944 and served for years in the Danish
Ambul ance Service. Like all KZ air-
craft, the IV was very quick off the run-
way a nd soon fe ll i n be hind t he six
ot her airplanes in a loose circle forma -
tion. We were "tail -end Charli e" as we
made t hree for mation circui ts of the
pattern and then landed, the IV coming
in at Cub landing speed! What a de-
lightful airplane!
The Sat urday evening Awards Ban-
quet was a fitting climax to the 25th
Anniversary of the KZ & Veteranfly
Kl ubben. Over 400 members and
guests were seated and we were at the
head table with Dr. Magnus Pedersen,
his beaut ifu l wife, Gudrun, Mr. and
Mrs. Jens Toft, and Dr. Helena Hamil-
ton of Chesterfield, England. (Dr.
Hamilton is a retired physician who
flies her own DeHavilland DH87B
Hornet Moth at the tender age of "four
score." In a game of aviation enthusi-
asm, this dedicated lady would win all
contests - hands down!)
Accepting well deserved 25-year
participation awards from the KZ Club
were Jens Toft (Toft Air Force) , who
has imported over 200 antique and
classic airplanes into Denmark, and
Lady Helena Hamilton, who has in-
stilled more "flying spirit" into the
membership during the past 25 years
than any other person. I had the plea-
sure of awarding the EAA Plaque for
the best antique airplane to Michael
Schultz (EAA 442543) of Wakendorf,
Germany, for his immaculate Beech
D-17 Staggerwing, N69H, and the
EAA Plaque for the best homebuilt
airplane to Per Christensen, Fred-
erikssund, Denmark, for his beautiful
Long-EZ, OY-EEZ.
The following day (Sunday) we bid
an almost tearful goodbye to our out-
standing hosts, Magnus and Gudrun
Pedersen, who had been so kind to us
during the KZ Rally, and all the other
wonderful people whom we had come
to know as our best friends. It's funny
how the common denominator of the
love of aviation can bring so many peo-
ple, so close together, to have so much
fun! Having been a KZ Club member
since 1985, I can truthfully say it is one
of the finest groups of aviation people in
'* the entire world.
The KZ Rally for 1995 is set for June 8-
11, 1995. Make your plans now!
62.
new low wing trainer.
by H.G. Frautschy
Y 1938, Sherman Fairchild had
been enjoying a moderate amount
of success with the Fairchild F-24
series of cabin airplanes, and the 6
cylinder Ranger engine that powered
the final variants was proving to be a
reliable inline powerplant. Sensing that
the time might be right for a new mili-
tary trainer, Fairchild directed his chief
engineer, Armand J. Thiebolt, to de-
sign a monoplane trainer that would
use the Ranger engine. The low wing
was decided upon using the reasoning
that if the new pilots were expected to
fly low and mid-wing fighters, they
should fl y a low wing tr ainer. That
same configuration would also allow
the use of a wide (112") track landing
gear, making those first landings a bit
easier to complete successfully.
Work was st art ed without the sup-
port of a government contract, and the
civilian model was designated as the M-
Dr awing upon the experie nce
ga ined from the production of the
model 24 and the prototyping of the
model 46, the M-62 was designed and
built. The model 46 was a sleek low
wing cabin job built with an innovative
met hod called "Duramold," a process
that used plywood and an early plastic
to mold the flight surfaces and fuselage
into a smooth, almost seamless appear-
ance. The M-62 wing construction
would benefit from this process, as the
wing skins would be pre-molded for the
Extensive work was done during the
design and testing phase of the new
trainer to make certain that the air-
plane would behave predictably and
would hold up to the abuse sure to be
heaped upon it by novice pilots. (It had
Oneof
Each, please
Jim Koepnick +
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17
a strength factor of 10!) When first de-
signed, the airplane had an enclosed
cockpit and perforated flaps, a hi Dou-
glas SBD. After its first flight on May
15, 1939, NX 18689, the prototype M-62,
was modified with a redesigned cockpit,
revised to the standard U. S. Army Air
Corps size - 24 inches in any direction.
The wing design featuring an airfoil that
started as an NACA 2416 at the root
and transitioned to a NACA 4408 at the
wing tip was refined to tame the stall.
The flap system was redesigned to give
better low speed handling characteris-
tics, and the horizontal tail was moved
up 10" to lessen the buffeting effects of
turbulence from the wing during the
stall. Thiebolt and his staff applied a lot
of engineering know-how to refine the
M-62, and the hard work they put into
the project finally paid off when the M-
62 won a fly-off competition against 17
other competitors. The Primary Trainer
(PT) was bought by the U.S. govern-
18 JANUARY 1995
ment September 22,1939 as a primary
trainer to be used to train new pilots.
The initial order awarded that day was
for 270 airplanes.
PT-26, PT-23, Fairchild Model 62-C,
PT-19 - by whatever designation, the ba-
sic Fairchild PT-19 "Cornell" airframe
proved to be a versatile and accommo-
dating training airplane during the WW
II years. The PT-19 and its siblings were
used by the U.S. Army Air Corps and
the RCAF, as well as other foreign coun-
tries. They filled a number of training
roles, primarily with civilian training
schools doing basic aviator training
work while under contract with the gov-
ernment. Some of the work also in-
cluded a stint as basic instrument train-
ers. By the end of 1944, more Allied
pilots received their primary training in
a PT series airplane than any other pri-
mary military trainer.
As the war clouds loomed and pro-
duction of the PT-19 "Cornell," as the
military was to designate the Ranger
powered M-62, got underway, it was de-
cided that more airplanes were needed
than Fairchild could produce. The St.
Louis Airplane company, Howard Air-
craft in Chicago, Fleet Aircraft in
Canada and Aeronca in Middletown,
OH all built various models of the M-62.
PT's were even built in South America
by the Brazilian firm Fabrica do Galeao.
Aeronca primarily built the PT-23
model , powered with the 220 hp Conti-
nental radial engine. The Continental
was used when the production rate of
the Ranger engine could not keep up
with the airframe production rates, and
an alternative engine was needed.
One of the many PT-23' s built by the
St. Louis Aircraft Co., Inc. was SIN 129,
given the USAAF ID number 42-49805.
Delivered to the U.S. Army Air Corps
August 27,1947, it was assigned to the
69th Flying Training (Elementary) De-
tachment, 2154th Army Air Force Base
Unit. Delivered to Clarksdale School of
Aviation, Clarksdale Airport , Missis-
sippi, the airplane was based at Fletcher
Field, eight miles up the road from
Clarksville.
At Clarksville, this particular PT was
given line number 139, painted in bold
numbers on the fuselage. This PT-23 ,
served to train USAAF pilots from 1943
until it was surplused out of government
service in 1946, when it was bought for
$510 and flown to Minnesota. After the
war, the airplane went through a succes-
sion of owners in the same state, until it
went to Illinois and then on to Pennsyl-
vania.
Bob Nolan, of Half Moon Bay, CA
was entertaining his friend, Greg Her-
rick, who was visiting from Minneapolis.
Bob took Greg for a ride in his PT-19,
and from that point, Greg was hooked -
he wanted a PT trainer. Bob then told
him about a man in Pennsylvania who
was one of the experts on PT restora-
tions - Joe Denest, of West Chester, P A.
Before he met Joe, Greg did some-
thing quite impetuous - he bought a PT-
23, the aforementioned SIN 129, sight
unseen. Then he called Joe and asked
him to go get it for him. Greg went to
Pennsylvania to see his new acquisition.
Joe told him, "You have a sound air-
plane, . . . but I don't know if you want
to take it back to Minnesota looking like
this! " After showing Greg his current
PT project, Joe was told, "Fine, let ' s
leave it here, but I want it to look just
like yours."
Joe and his son Mark are well-known
around PT circles as some of the most
meticulous Fairchild restorers around.
Joe has restored six Fairchild PTs, and
Mark has been learning the trade from
his father. The airplanes they've re-
stored have become outstanding exam-
ples of what a restorer can do given the
time and the talent.
To ensure the structural integrity of
Right - The wide track (112") landing
gear of the PT series allowed neophyte
pilots to learn the basics of landing with-
out too much trouble, provided they paid
attention to the instructor in the other
cockpit!
Below - The front cockpit of the PT-23,
including a pair of mint Fairchild "Pega-
sus" rudder pedals and a stack of modern
radios centered between the pedal wells.
The aft cockpit, is a little simpler, and the
inhabitant of the back seat gets the bat-
tery for company. Everything possible
was done to keep the cockpits authentic,
right down to the olive drab cotton can-
vas partition between the two cockpits.
the PT, Joe also enlisted the help of an-
other PT expert, Harland A vezzie of
Westfield, MA who rebuilt the wing cen-
ter section to like new condition.
Joe' s also a pilot, and for the last 20
years, PT's are pretty much all he has
flown. While restoring Greg's PT, he
contacted an old friend, Joe Leonard of
Lakeland, FL. Joe Leonard taught Joe
Denest how to fly a PT, and he was also
an instructor during WW II , including
time at - surprise! - Fletcher Field! He
went flipping back through the pages of
his log book and, sure enough, there
were entries for aircraft No. 139. In fact,
Joe Leonard had over 100 hours in the
very same airplane that his old student
was now restoring.
As the airplane neared completion,
Joe had no problem trying to decide
what color scheme to paint the airplane -
as far as he and history was concerned,
there is only one correct color scheme
for this particular airplane ... silver
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19
overall, with black marking. Joe also
points out that as far as PT-23's go, only
one airplane was ever finished in the
blue and yellow color scheme seen on
many PT-19s - the Fairchild factory pro-
totype. Every ot her one made by the
various sub-manufacturers was silver.
Prior to June 1942, all U.S. Army
PT's sported the blue and yellow color
scheme, complete with red and whit e
bars with a blue vertical stripe on the
rudder. After May 30, 1942, all PT' s
were to be painted silver, with no color
added to the rudder.
It was also easy to figure out what the
line number of the airplane was. During
the war, mechanics at the airfields would
mark the inside of each of the remov-
able panels on the
airplane with the
line number, so that
the same panels al-
ways went back onto the
same airplane. Each of the
panels on SIN 129 had the num-
ber 139 painted or written on them.
The PT bug must
have bitten Greg Her-
rick awfully hard, for he
came to decide he wanted
one of each of the PT vari-
ants - a PT-19, I?T-23 and PT-26 will all
go thought Joe Denest's shops on their
way to Greg's hangar in Minneapolis,
and we'll bet he'll really like that en-
closed cockpit of the PT-26 during those
balmy Minnesota winters! ....
It's easy to see why Gregfell
in love with the PT trainers on
the day Bob Nolan took him up.
And from the sound of things
the affection hasn't faded
any since purchasing
his own - sight unseen!
20 JANUARY 1995
Stan Gomoll's
1928 Heath SuperParasol
w,y back in the early 1930's, a
young man in the Chicago area dili-
gently saved enough pennies to buy a
kit for building a Heath Parasol which
was powered with a Heath/Henderson
converted motorcycle engine. In those
days, the price for the entire kit was
$199. Included in the price was a test
flight of the completed airplane by a
factory pilot - anywhere in the United
States!
Although the project slowly began to
see some progress, World War II came
on the scene and the young man went
off to war. He never came back. The
welded fuselage and tai l feathers sat
undisturbed for over twenty years until
discovered by avid antiquer , Marion
McClure (EAA 2138, A/C 387) of
Bloomington, IL. He bought the pro-
ject along with two partners and hauled
it home. In due time, the little parasol
was finished and flown with a Conti-
nental A-40 engine.
On May 16, 1967, Gene Chase (EAA
10522, A/C 300, and retired editor of
Vintage Airplane) was in Bloomington,
A dedicated and proud recipient, Stan
cradles the beautiful Lindy trophy that he
won at EAA Oshkosh ' 94 for t he restora-
tion of NX2864A. Note the Eagle Hangar
jacket, a sure sign of an EAA booster.
Text and photos
by Norm Petersen
IL, to purchase a Church Midwing pro-
ject from McClure. (The Church Mid-
wing today hangs in the racing section
of the EAA Museum). Invited to fly
the Heath, Gene enjoyed the chance to
fly the little parasol and promptly en-
tered the flight in his logbook.
Marion McClure was unable to get
his substantial frame into the tiny Heath
following an injury, so he dismantled
the airplane and stored the pieces - for
the next twenty years! In 1988, Stan
Gomoll (EAA 44419, A/C 369) trav-
elled to Bloomington, IL, to buy an en-
gine for a Curtiss-Wright Pusher from
Marion. While there, he spied a
Heath/Henderson engine carefully
tucked in among the "goodies." For
sale? Marion said the engine was not
for sale, but if he would buy the Heath
airplane, he would give Stan the engine.
Thinking the deal over for a spell, Stan
decided to buy the Heath, so he made
another drive to Bloomington and
hauled the project home to Anoka
County Airport.
By 1991, Stan had most of his "ducks
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21
in order" to begin the rebuild of the
tiny Heath. He had located additional
Heath parts in Holland, MI and bought
fuselage pieces and a set of wire wheels
from Gene Chase in Oshkosh. In addi-
tion, I put Stan in contact with the late
Keith Wolle (EAA 336486) of
Lewisville, MN, who had salvaged a
considerable collection of Heath parts
from a barn on the farm of the late Ray-
mond Peets near Truman, MN.
Using articles written by the de-
signer, Ed Heath, in the 1929-1930 Pop-
ular A iation magazines for guidance,
Stan restored the Heath as close to
original plans as possible. Many volun-
teers were "enlisted" into the project to
the point where Stan literally had a
small training school in aircraft rebuild-
ing!
The airframe was covered with 1.7
oz. dacron except for the belly, which
was covered with Ceconite 102 to han-
dle stone abrasion. Silver and black ni-
trate dope was used for the finish along
with enamel on the metal parts. Many
parts in the airplane, including pulley
covers , have the Heath/Henderson
stamp on them. Even the original wing
struts were repaired on the ends (square
22 JANUARY 1995
tube) and used in the parallel position
with "X" wire-bracing between, exactly
as a Super Parasol of 1928. Stan regis-
tered the airplane NX2864A, SIN 1928-
3, and certificated it in the Experimen-
tal Amateur-built category.
The single 4-1/2 gal. fuel tank for the
Henderson engine was augmented with
a second 4-112 gallon tank required for
the Continental A-40 engine. The gas
caps are from a Model T Ford radiator.
The landing gear employs a straight
axle between the rather heavy spoked
wheels which use 20 X 4 tires. There
are no brakes and the tailskid is the
only means of slowing down the 425 lb.
aircraft. As a result, crosswind landings
are rather difficult and are only done on
grass.
The wings are wood with a small
metal leading edge ahead of the fuel
tanks and metal false nose ribs (alu-
minum channel) between the regular
ribs. The ailerons are gap-sealed on the
top side for better control. For some
reason or another , the wing is 25 feet
long - 18 inches shorter than normal.
Must be the "Speedwing" model!
The cockpit of the Heath included a
throttle, mag switch, tachometer, oil
temperature and pressure gauges .
However, to keep in harmony with the
FAA Inspector, Stan added an altime-
ter, compass and Johnson Airspeed In-
dicator on the wing strut. The throttle
is unique in that it sits in the center of
the panel and goes up and down. The
lower part is inscribed "start" and the
upper part says "run." Stan thinks the
idea was for the neophyte to lift it up to
fly and to bring it down to come down.
A small entrance door was installed
on the right side of the fuselage to make
the job of getting on board a bit easier.
It also helps when propping the engine
from behind the prop on the right side.
(With the Henderson, a lefthand door
was used as it was propped from the left
side.) Three "extras" that were avail-
able from Heath in 1928 were a hand-
hammered metal propeller, a set of
wheel brakes and a ratchet for starting
the engine from the cockpit.
The Continental A-40 engine had
about 38 hours since overhaul , but just
to be sure, Stan pulled the heads and
found one to be cracked. Another head
was located and installed. A new car-
buretor heat box was fabricated and a
carb airscoop was built with an air filter
install ed. Stan feels the reason the A-
40 was on ly good for 400 hours TBO
was the unfi ltered air to the carb with
its low mounti ng position close to the
ground and the low-tech oi ls avai lable
in the early days. An original Flottorp
wooden propell er was install ed and it
turns up 2100 rpm static (the manual
says 2100 to 2150 static). It will turn
2550 in level flight which is redline on
the engine.
By the spring of 1994, the Heath had
been inspected and signed off by FAA
and taxi tests were begun to get some
time on the engine. Things went very
well, the engine was running fine and
the time had come to "either fish or cut
bait."
On May 16, Gene Chase was invited
to Anoka County Airport on the north
side of Minneapolis and everything was
readied for the first flight of the Heath
Parasol in over 25 years. The wind was
blowing so hard that the first flight was
delayed until early the next morning on
May 17.
The Heath was towed to the south
end of the grass next to the runway and
Gene climbed aboard. The A-40 was
propped into life and after a good
Above Right - Instrument panel as restored by Stan Gomoll. Mag switch is in center
of panel with unique vertical moving throttle in lower center. Note pristine workman-
ship which caught the judge' s eye.
Above - With the EAA Headquarters i n the background, the Heath Super Parasol
takes on the look of " an original " in the homebuilt f ield. The Johnson Airspeed Indi-
cator is visible on the left wing strut.
Below - A covey of Heaths at Pioneer Airport. Stan Gomoll ' s in the center, Mark
Lokken' s on the left and Bill Schlapman' s on the right.
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23
Above - Roger Gomoll pulls the Heath backward by the tailskid as his father walks
by the wingtip, getting ready for another fly-by at Pioneer.
Right - Carefully d j u s ~ · . -: .he shoulder harness, Roger Gomoll gets ready for an-
other flight in the Heath Super Parasol. You know he is ready to go because the fuel
petcocks are in the open position.
warm-up, Gene was satisfied the single
magneto was doing its job. He slowly
fed in power and the totall y restored
Heath climbed into the cool morning
air after a short run of about 300 feet.
This was exactly 27 years and one day
si nce Gene had flown the same airplane
in Bloomington, IL, in 1967.
Three flights were made by Gene
that morning before everyone had to go
to work, so the airplane was towed back
to the hangar. The Heath had clocked
a cruise of about 63 mph and about 80
to 85 wide open. The Johnson Air-
speed Indicator on the wing strut only
goes to 65 mph and had been carefully
calibrated while hanging it outside a car
window. A Loran check confirmed the
63 mph cruise speed.
Additional flights were made with
the Heath by Stan's son, Roger Gomoll
(EAA 209737 , A IC 9179) and Dave
Anderson (EAA 40593, AIC 21570) of
nearby Fridley, MN. By the end of
June, sufficient time had proven the lit-
tle parasol to be a dependable machine
and the FAA restriction had been flown
off, so plans were made to fly it to
EAA's Pioneer Airport in Oshkosh,
WI.
24 JANUARY 1995
Early on Friday morning, July 1,
1994, Dave Anderson took off from
Anoka County Airport , picked up a
welcome tailwind and headed for
Oshkosh. Roger Gomoll flew the sec-
ond leg, Dave the third leg and Roger
made the fourth leg into Brennand' s
Airport at Neenah, WI. Meanwhile,
Stan Gomoll drove his pickup with fuel,
oil and ladder aboard to refuel the
Heath at the grass (only) runways. The
groundspeed was between 74 and 78
knots (GPS). Flying time for the trip
was 3 hours and 35 minutes at a fuel
consumption of just 3 gph!
At Pioneer, the pretty silver and
black Heath was the darling of the sum-
mertime crowds. On numerous occa-
sions, Roger Gomoll journeyed to
Oshkosh to voluntarily fly the airplane
for the weekend f1y-bys. For hundreds
of people, it was their first sight ever of
a genuine Heath Parasol in the air. The
flights were most impressive and the
1928 airplane performed in a first class
manner.
The crowning achievement came on
Tuesday evening, August 2, when Stan
Gomoll was awarded the Antique Cus-
tom Built Trophy for his 1928 Heath
Super Parasol, NX2864A, at the The-
ater in the Woods on EAA's Conven-
tion grounds. Suddenly, all the hours
and years of hard work and dedication
had come home to roost. An excited
and happy Stan Gomoll came forward,
up the stairs and across the stage to ac-
cept his well-earned Lindy for restoring
another piece of aviation history.
It couldn't happen to a finer person
nor a better student of antique aviation.
Congratulations to you personally,
Stan, and to all the many helpers who
put in their time and talents towards
getting the Heath Parasol flying again.
It is indeed a splendid achievement. ...
ysteryPane
by George Hardie
surface of the wings. As apparent in the
Mystery Plane photo, the BR-1 was
equipped with a Lamblin type radiator
above the wing root on each side of the
fuselage. Powered with the Wright-Hisso
400 hp H-3 engine, the Bee-Line racers'
top speed was reported to be 213 mph.
Wing span was 28 ft. 1 in.; length, 21
ft. 4 in.; wing area, 104 sq. ft.; gross
weight, 2,020 pounds; and empty weight,
1,635 pounds. Fuselage construction was
welded steel tubing with wood formers
and stringers, fabric covered. Wing con-
struction was wood, plywood covered.
The main landing gear was retractable. A
streamline water-expansion tank on top of
the fuselage, ahead of the cockpit, served as
a windscreen.
Navy Us. Rittenhouse and Calloway
were assigned the BR-1 and BR-2, respec-
H ere's one that should tempt
replica builders. The photo is from the
Owen Billman collect ion. Answers will
be published in the April issue of VIN-
TAGE AIRPLANE. Deadline for that
issue is February 25.
A record number of answers were
received for the October Mystery
Plane. Ralph Nortell of Spokane,
Washington sent in a most complete re-
ply. Here it is:
The Mystery Plane for October (1994)
is the Bee-Line "Special," BR-1 (Bu. Air.
No. A6429) racer, one of two purchased by
the U. S. Navy for the Pulitzer Trophy
Race of 1922. The second example, the
BR-2 (Bu. Air. No. A6430) was identical
with the BR-1 except for the installation of
brass sheet, flush type radiators in the top
,
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25
Bee-Line "Special",
BR-l
tive/y. But the advanced, clean design,
combined wi th the efforts of highly skilled
pilots were to no avail. Due to mechanical
problems, neither racer was a successful
contender.
The Bee- Line des ign was by former
Curtiss engineers Booth and Thurston.
The aircraft were constructed by the Aer-
ial Engineering Corporation, Hammond-
sport, New York.
Other answers were received from
Jim Borden, Menahga, MN; Arnol Sell-
ars, Tulsa, OK; Joseph Tarafas, Bethle-
hem, PA; Michael Heffran, Verona,
P A; Ed Trice, Bedford, TX; Rowland
Hall , Northfield, IL; Lester Everett, Jr.,
Crawfordsvill e, IN; Wayne Va n
Valkenburgh, Jasper, CA; J. F. Meade,
Jr., Hammondsport , NY; James Freese,
Ukiah, CAl; Lindsley Dunn, Ham-
mondsport, NY; Peter Bowers, Seattle,
WA; Lynn Towns, Brooklyn, MI;
Lennart Johnsson, Sweden.
These three photos of the Bee-Line
"Special" Br-1 were sent in by member
J.F. Meade, Jr., chairman of the board of
Mercury Aircraft in Hammondsport, NY.
26 DECEMBER 1994
/ jJ." r/u'>
(". . c."
r..)
•
PASS
BUCK
by Buck Hilbert • EAA #21 • Ale #5 • P.O. Box 424 • Union, IL 60180
First off, last month we mentioned Key-
stone In struments. For those of you who
may have a need of their services - they re-
build instruments, including those from our
Classics and Antiques, here's their address
and phone number:
Keystone Instruments
Lockhaven Airport
Lockhaven, P A 17740
7171748-7083
Give Glen Barnhart a ca ll and check to
see if they can cover your needs.
'Nuf of that stuff, on to the letters . ..
Dear Buck,
I recently purchased a 1946 Common-
wealth Skyra nger , Model 185, Serial
#1737. I would like to rebuild thi s air-
plane and certify it on floats.
I know Edo Corporation has never
certified this aircraft on their float s, but
they have certified several Rearwin air-
craft mode ls, including the Rea rwin
6000M, 7000, 8125 and 9000.
I beli eve my Skyranger was manufac-
tured under a type certificate purchased
from Rearwin. If I could show that my
airplane has the same type certificate as a
Re a rwin model that was certified on
floats , perhaps I could convince the FAA
that I have a normal category seaplane.
Any help or advice you can offer will
be greatly appreciated. I have encl osed a
preaddressed stamped envelope.
Sincerely,
Bob Everts, A/C #5641
Hi, Bob,
Thanks for the letter. Hope you had a
nice Thanksgiving Holiday, but then you
Floridians don't have the weather and the
like to get you in the mood like we do up
here.
I've put my airplanes away for the
winter. Still have the Champ and the
Sedan where I can get at them if I can' t
stand it, but for all practical purposes the
season is over.
In regards to your 185, I'm in a bit of a
quandary. I don ' t have the spec sheets
handy so I can't verify that it was never
certified for floats , but I can tell you from
past experience that it would not make a
very good float plane.
It was built f or the sport pilot so he
could outrun th e Cubs, T-Crafts and
Aeroncas in straight and level flight. It
did not have a surplus of lift capability. In
other words, its short field capability is
somewhat lacking. If you have luptner
ATC book, Volume 8, page 212, it'll tell
you right out that its payload wi th full fuel
was only 21 pounds. That ain't much!
Back about 1948 I had a chance to buy
one. At that time I was a flight instructor
working eve ry day with Champs, C-
120/140s, Swifts, Tandem and BC "T"
Carts, etc. My personal airplane was a
Chief. I was intrigued with the C-185 be-
cause it had the electrical which my Chief
did not.
A "Ride and Drive" later, I walked
away muttering to myself. The owner
had taken me for the ride, and then I took
it out myself. I won't belabor the subject
anymore, but my Chief was all of a sud-
den much more appreciated, believe me!
If you are going to do it, Bob, I'd sug-
ges t you get in touch with the guys at
Brown's Seaplane Base. Th ey could clue
you in on how to get it by the Feds and no
doubt help you with the struts, wires and
maybe even find a set offloats to match
your airframe.
HC1I thanks for thinking of me. I'll see
you at Sun 'n Fun . Over to you, Bob.
Buck.
Dear Buck,
I read your column every issue and
the one dated May 1994 confused me a
bit . My husband Jon and I flew our 170
out to the Reno Air Races and while
there I checked with a few o ld fri ends
about what I thought I knew.
In 1972, while on vacation in Hawaii ,
Jim Lockridge, an old friend from the
Richard Bach days, escorted me around
and introduced me to several people-
among them a gray-haired Mrs. Woods
who ran an FBO at the main airport in
Honolulu; I don't re member her first
name. We sat around and talked about
her hi story a nd de piction in the film
"Tora, Tora, Tora." She had clippings
a nd photographs , remarking that she
had n't flown a Stearman as the movie
showed. As I recall , she was either flying
a Great Lakes or a Meyers, but the rest
of the depiction in the movi e was correct.
I was impressed at the time.
Later that day, Art Daegling, the di-
rector of all the aerial sequences for the
movie , took me up in his Pitts. It was
painted with seagull s a nd lett ered very
ni ce ly on the tail with Jonathan Liv-
ingston Seagull. He thought it was neat
to be flying someone connected so closely
with the stor y and the author. He also
gave my daught e r a ride. Art had no
question in hi s mind about the authentic-
ity of Mrs. Woods and her hi story, and I
remembe r him being di smayed at the
producer's use of the incorrect airpl ane.
Unfortunately, both of these fine pi-
lots are dead now, but both lived at least
anothe r 15 years after I met them. Jim
Lockridge flies for Hawaiian Airlines and
lives in Reno. He does some movie and
television work in the islands using his bi-
plane and has lots of connections. Peter
Forman, a TWA pilot who used to fl y for
Hawaiian and is writi ng a history of that
airplane, confirmed the same story. That
is why your story about Miss Fort is con-
fusing. Upon Mrs. Woods' death, her
FBO was taken over by the young female
First Officer involved in the Aloha Air-
lines "skin-peeling incident " a number of
years ago.
It is quite possible that a number of
women instructors were in the islands at
that time a nd involved with Pearl Har-
bor , a nd th e woman depicted in the
movi e was a representative of that hi s-
tory.
Regards,
Bette Bach Fineman, A /C #119
Hello Bette,
Nice to hear from you again. It's been a
long time since Fleet hunting, hasn't it?
You wou ld not believe the controversy
and the stories that have come out of that
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27
Pearl Harbor lightplane story. We, H.G.
Frautschy, VINTAGE AIRPLANE editor
and 1, have been up and down on this one a
dozen times . We have tried to be objective
and publish facts as they come to light.
Trouble is, more and more keep surfacing
just when we think we have it pat!
As we have done more and more research
on this, we find all the stories intermingle
resulting in controversial agreement to dis-
agree. We know "Tora, Tora, Tora" was
technically in error. We know there were
about a dozen airplanes in the air that morn-
ing-Cubs, Aeroncas--and there was even a
claim of a Fleet.
If you listen to them all, they were all
shot at! They all escaped! The airplanes
survived only to be lost at sea or were
shipped stateside and are hidden away, or
they flew there in the Islands until they sim-
ply disappeared. The names of the principals
are history. Corroboration is difficult. The
mystery lingers on.
I'm going to turn this one over to H.G.
and let him fill you in if he can on what the
latest is.
Meanwhile, it's great to hear from you.
Don't write us off; we enjoy your letters.
Over to you, Bette!
Here's what our friend an aviation histo-
rian John Underwood wrote about the Pearl
Harbor lightplanes - his note was to Pat
Quinn, and he sent a copy along to us.
Hi, Pat!
Just caught your letter in the latest
VINTAGE AIRPLANE regarding the
Pearl Harbor Aeronca 65TC, NC33838.
It just goes to show you how stuff be-
comes history.
What happened is this: Two members
of the Honolulu Flying Club-Guy M.
28 JANUARY 1995
(Tommy) Tomerlin and Jimmy Dun-
can-were on a cross-country in NC33838
when they found themselves in the midst
of a wave of Jap attackers. They were
near Koneohi naval base on the opposite
side of Hawaii. Apparently they did get
winged by a couple of random bursts, but
got back to John Rogers without further
incident. Unfortunately, by that time
JRA had been strafed, resulting in the
death of Bob Tice who was trying to start
another 65TC so he could taxi it to safety,
but nobody was shot down.
There may have been as many as half
a dozen other light aircraft flying at the
time, mostly Aeroncas. Certainly there
were no Stearmans. One was a gent with
his little boy. Another was Cornelia
Fort, a flight instructor who I think was
working for Margo Gambo, but Gambo
herself was not flying. However, she did
achieve the distinction of being the only
civilian authorized to continue opera-
tions after 7 December 1941. She air-
lifted medics and supplies to the leper
colony on Molokai using a Fairchild 24,
NC28504, and a Cub Coupe.
As you perhaps know, MGW died sev-
eral years back. She was quite a gal and a
top surfer early on when it was strictly a
male activity and boards were heavy.
She was taught to fly by Paul (Pappy)
Gunn, who was himself a legend in his
own time for having served in the Cor-
regidor airlift as the Japs swarmed over
the Pacific Islands.
My first airworthy (?) "knocker" was
a 65TC, NC34578. It cost me $300! We
patched the wing with a piece of bed
sheet cotton, pumped up the flat tire and
flew it 100 miles over the Sierra Madres
from Taft to San Fernando where the
tiedown was about $2.50 a week.
Cheers!
John Underwood, A/C #1653
Dear Buck,
Per enclosed picture, I hope you can
shed some light on these engine parts.
Several of the locals say Menasco. These
parts came from the Patterson, Louisiana
area. The lady I acquired them from is 80
years old and soloed in 1935. She has
scrapbooks full of clippings about Jimmy
Wedell. She said these parts possibly
came from the Wedell- Williams Flying
Service. She wasn't positive as they be-
longed to husband who has passed away.
The "Golden Age of Air Racing, " page
279, shows a picture of Joe Will, Jr. I feel
sure you have this book, and if you can
look at the valve spring and rocker arm
at the front of the engine, it sure looks
like the parts I have. All parts as you you
see them in the picture are as I acquired
them. The cylinders had very light sur-
face rust but clean up real easy. The
markings are as follows:
Con Rods has 5019 (Lynite) raised marking
The oi