Vintage Airplane - Mar 1988

STRAIGHT AND LEVEL 
by  Bob  Lickteig 
Here it is the middle of March and
after a record-breaking winter season
across most of the country, we are all
looking forward to an early spring. After
the winter doldrums, spring is always
an exciting time of the year. As we see
the snow melting around the old hangar
doors, our thoughts turn to sunshine
and blue skies. Spring also means the
premier fly-in is beckoning again - the
Sun 'n Fun '88 EM Fly-In, Lakeland,
Florida.
Billy Henderson and his crew have
changed the dates this year from March
to April 10-16. These new dates for the
fly-in are approximately one month later
than previous years, and are planned
to accommodate our northern mem-
bers. The month of April means the an-
nual northern migration of snowbirds is
under way, resulting in the availability
of more motel rooms, rental cars - and
less traffic. Those of us who have fol-
lowed Sun 'n Fun over the past years
know that the weather in southern
Georgia and northern Florida has not
been cooperative during the month of
March. By mid-April, the weather should
be more conducive to making the run
to the sunshine without encountering
dangerous conditions en route.
The many improvements planned for
Sun 'n Fun this year include bus service
every two hours from downtown and the
motels to the main gates, a new paved
taxiway serving Runway 9-27 and a
new turnoff from the sod runway (also
9-27), three of the camping areas have
been improved plus an additional air-
craft camping area has been estab-
SUN  'N  FUN  '88 
lished. There will be separate areas de-
signated for antiques, classics and a
third separate area for replicas. These
aircraft parking areas have been ex-
panded and now run from the Antique/
Classic headquarters to the north-south
taxiway.
Check NOTAMS and the Airman's In-
formation Manual before departing for
the fly-in and you will have the latest
info on arrival and departure proce-
dures. The field will be closed to itiner-
ant traffic from 3:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Eastern Daylight Time during the fly-in.
Lakeland Control Tower will operate 14
hours a day, 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
EDT, ATIS 124.2., ground control 121.4,
tower 124.5, VOR 116.0. Non-radio
aircraft send a postcard to Sarasota
Tower, P. O. Box 13065, Sarasota, FL
33578. Print your name - aircraft type -
N number and the word non-radio. This
will allow you to operate without a radio
while the temporary tower is in opera-
tion.
Type Clubs are welcome to set up
their headquarters either in the Type
Club tent or other areas on a no-charge
basis. For more information, contact
Sun 'n Fun.
Rod Spanier is the new president of
the EAA Antique/Classic Chapter No.1
and the Antique/Classic coordinator for
Sun 'n Fun '88. Rod extends a special
invitation to all Antique/Classic mem-
bers and guests to visit Sun 'n Fun and
participate in the week of planned An-
tique/Classic activities. During the con-
vention week, the sod runway will be
available for use by Antique/Classic air-
craft. Special procedures for arrival and
departure are required. Contact Sun 'n
Fun, P. O. Box 6750, Lakeland, FL
33807 or call 813/644-2431 for informa-
tion.
Registration of Antique/Classic air-
craft will be available near the Antique/
Classic headquarters. A special Sun 'n
Fun Pioneer Participant Plaque will be
awarded to registered aircraft dated
1936 or earlier.
Past Antique/Classic Grand Cham-
pion aircraft will have a special parking
area assigned at registration with
proper recognition of the aircraft and the
owner.
Motel reservations for Antique/
Classic members only will be available
at the Holiday Inn Central, Lakeland.
Daily rates for single or double are
$44.94. The reservations are available
from April 8 through the 17th. Contact
Rod Spanier at 813/665-5572.
The annual Antique/Classic Parade
of Flight is scheduled for Wednesday,
April 13 - rain date Thurday, April 14
- and will be staged while the field is
closed. Evening group events are
planned again this year at the Antique/
Classic Headquarters. These activities
will be published in the Sun 'n Fun pro-
gram and details will also be available
at Headquarters. Antique/Classic mer-
chandise - hats, jackets, shirts, etc. -
will be available at the main sales build-
ing located in the center of the conven-
tion.
The Antique/Classic activities and
contributions to the success of Sun 'n
Fun have been growing every year.
More registered aircraft, more group
events, more award-winning restora-
tions, lots of sunshine - and more fun.
So with a personal invitation from Sun
'n Fun Executive Director Billy Hender-
son and EM Antique/Classic Chapter
No.1 President Rod Spanier, let's dust
the snow off of the old bird and head
for the sunshine state. We're better to-
gether. Join us and you have it all. •
2 MARCH 1988
MARCH  1988 •  Vol.  16,  No.3 
PUBLICATION  STAFF 
PUBLISHER 
Tom  Poberezny 
VICE-PRESIDENT 
MARKETING  &  COMMUNICATIONS 
Dick Matt 
EDITOR 
Mark Phelps 
ART  DIRECTOR 
Mike Drucks 
MANAGING  EDITOR/ADVERTISING 
Mary Jones 
ASSOCIATE  EDITORS 
Norman  Petersen 
Dick Cavin 
FEATURE  WRITERS 
George A.  Hardie, Jr. 
Dennis Parks 
EDITORIAL ASSISTANT 
Carol Krone 
STAFF  PHOTOGRAPHERS 
Jim Koepnick 
Carl  Schuppel 
Jeff Isom 
EAA ANTIQUE/CLASSIC 
DIVISION,  INC. 
OFFICERS 
President  Vice President 
R. J. Lickteig  M.C. "Kelly" Viets 
1718 Lakewood  Rt.2, Box 128 
Albert Lea, MN 56007  Lyndon, KS 66451 
507/373-2922 913/828-3518
Secretary  Treasurer 
George S. York  E.E. "Buck" Hilbert 
181  Sloboda Ave.  P.O. Box 145 
Mansfield, OH 44906  Union,IL60180 
419/529-4378 815/923-4591
DIRECTORS 
John S. Copeland  Philip Coulson 
9 Joanne Drive  28415 Springbrook Dr. 
Westborough, MA 01581  Lawton, MI 49065 
617/366-7245 616/624-6490
William A.  Eickhoff  Stan Gomoll 
415 15th Ave. , N.E.  1042 90th Lane, NE 
St. Petersburg, FL 33704  Minneapolis, MN 55434 
813/823-2339 6121784-1172
Dale A. Gustafson  Espie M. Joyce, Jr. 
7724 Shady Hill Drive  Box 468 
Indianapolis, IN 46278  Madison, NC 27025 
317/293-4430 919/427-0216
Arthur R.  Morgan  Gene Morris 
3744 North 51st Blvd.  115C Steve Court, R. R. 2 
Milwaukee, WI 53216  Roanoke, TX 76262 
414/442-3631 817/491-9110
Daniel Neuman  Ray Olcott 
1521  Berne Circle W.  104 Bainbridge 
Minneapolis, MN 55421  Nokomis, FL 34275 
612/571-0893 813/488-8791
S.H.  " Wes"  Schmid 
2359  Lefeber  Avenue 
Wauwatosa,  WI  53213 
4141771-1545
DIRECTOR  EMERITUS 
S.J. Wittman 
7200  S.E.  85th  Lane 
Ocala,  FL  32672 
904/245-7768
ADVISORS 
Robert C. " Bob" Brauer  John A. Fogerty 
9345 S. Hoyne  RR2, Box 70 
Chicago, IL 60620  Roberts, WI 54023 
3121779-2105 715/425-2455
Copyright  <:>1988 by  the  EAA  Antiquel Classic  Division,  Inc.  All  rights  reserved. 
Contents 
2 Straight and Level/by Bob Lickteig 
4 AlC News /by Mark Phelps 
5 Letters to the Editor 
5 Calendar of Events 
6 Our Last Project - Really/ 
by Eileen Macario 
10 Spar Wars/by Norm Petersen 
11 Members' Projects/by Norm Petersen 
12 FAA Helps in Vintage Aircraft 
Restoration/by Susan K.  Schmidt 
14 Vintage Literature/by Dennis Parks 
16 Eye of the Tiger/by John King 
21 Welcome New Members 
22 The Time Capsule/by Jack Cox 
24 Coldwater 1987/by John Berendt 
26 Type Club Activities/by Norm Petersen 
27 Vintage Seaplanes/by Norm Petersen 
28 Mystery Plane/by George A.  Hardie, Jr. 
29 The Vintage Trader 
FRONT COVER  .. . Cliff Bellingham in  his  1935 de  Havilland  DH82A 
Tiger  Moth  flying  down  the  valley  of  the  Grey  River,  New  Zealand 
South  Island's West  Coast.  (Photo  by John  King) 
BACK COVER  . .. The  Uptown  Swallow.  In  memory of Bill  Irwin who 
dreamed for 40  years  of  flying  his  Swallow.  it spent those 40  years  in 
the loft of his back alley garage on  North Broadway in  uptown Chicago. 
(Photo courtesy  of  Dick  Hill) 
Page  10 
Page 16 
Page 28 
The words  EAA, ULTRALIGHT, FLY WITH THE FIRST TEAM, SPORT AVIATION, and the logos of EXPERIMENTAL 
AIRCRAFT ASSOCiATION  INC.,  EAA  fNTERNATIONAL  CONVENTION, EAA ANTIQUE/CLASSIC  DIVISION  INC.. 
INTERNATIONAL  AEROBATIC  CLUB  INC.,  WARBIRDS OF  AMERICA  INC.,  are  registered  trademarks. THE  EAA 
SKY  SHOPPE  and  logos  of  the  EAA  AVIATION  FOUNDATION  INC.  and  EAA  ULTRALIGHT  CONVENTION  are 
trademarks  of  the  above  associations  and  their  use  by  any  person  other  than  the  above  associations  is  strictly 
prohibited. 
Editorial  Policy: Readers are encouraged to submit stories and  photographs. Policy opinions expressed in articles are 
solely those of the  authors. Responsibility for accuracy in  reporting  rests entirely with  the contributor.  Material should 
be  sent  to: Editor, The  VINTAGE  AIRPLANE, Wittman  Airfield, Oshkosh, WI  54903-3086.  Phone:  414/426-4800. 
The  VINTAGE  AIRPLANE  (ISSN  0091-6943)  is  published  and  owned  exclusively  by  EAA  Antique/Classic  Division . 
Inc. of  the  Experimental  Aircraft  Association, Inc. and  is  published  monthly at  Wittman  Airfield, Oshkosh. WI  54903-
3086.  Second  Class  Postage  paid  at  Oshkosh,  WI  54901  and  additional  mailing  offices.  Membership  rates  for 
EAA  Antique/Classic  Division,  Inc.  are  $18.00  for  current  EAA  members  for  12  month  period  of  which  $1 2. 00  is 
for  the  publication  of  The  VINTAGE  AIRPLANE. Membership  is  open  to  all  who  are  interested  in aviation. 
ADVERTISING  - Antique/Classic  Division  does  not guarantee or endorse any product offered through  our advertis-
ing.  We  invite constructive criticism  and  welcome any report of  inferior merchandise obtained through our advertising 
so  that  corrective  measures  can  be  taken. 
Postmaster: Send address changes to EAA Antique/Classic Division, Inc.,  Wittman Airfield, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086. 
VINTAGE  AIRPLANE  3 
Robert D.  " Bob" Lumley  Steven C. Nesse 
Nl04W20387  2009 Highland Ave. 
Willow Creek Road  Albert Lea, MN 56007 
Colgate, WI 53017  507/373-1674
414/255-6832
NPRM becomes law, there will be precious owner groundlooped on landing, wiping out
little Mode C-free airspace left and even get- the right lower wing and right landing gear.
ting into Oshkosh will be impossible. According to the VVaco newsletter, the pilot
Congress has passed legislation mandat- r.ilme in much too fast - at over 75 mph.
ing FM action on Mode C and TCAS but VVacos like to land at about 50. The HRE is
the FM has chosen the dimensions of the being repaired but a UPF-7 wasn't as lucky
restricted areas, and the 6,OOO-foot floor on when its new owner fell asleep at the con-
overall Mode C airspace. If you thought the trols on the way home and the aircraft was
30-nm "Super TCA" was bad, this proposal totally destroyed.
is far worse. Please! If you sell an antique or a classic
The deadline for response is March 28, aircraft, take pains to ensure that the new
1988, so write quickly to: owner is capable of handling "yesterday's
Compiled by Mark Phelps
FAA Office of Chief Counsel technology, " i.e., tailwheels and slow landing
Attention: Rule Docket (AGC-204) speeds. Pilots trained on tricycle-gear and
Docket No. 25531 all-paved runways need to re-adjust their
800 Independence Avenue, SVV thinking before flying an older airplane.
VVashington, DC 20591
A MESSAGE FROM THE NEW EDITOR ON
Also write to your congressmen and to the
THE BLOCK
DOT to try to explain your side of the story
It's a long way from Flying Magazine's of- in polite, yet forthright language. These
fices in Times Square, New York to the EAA people just don't understand all the implica-
RON FRITZ RESIGNS FROM AlC BOARD
Aviation Center here in Oshkosh. The
tions of their actions and if we don't explain
biggest change I've noticed so far is the 15- it to them, no one will, so we need to express At the winter quarterly meeting of the EM
minute commute after the twice-daily hour-
ourselves responsibly. Antique/Classic Division, EM Antique/
and-a-half ordeal between New Jersey and
Classic Secretary Ron Fritz of Grand Rapids,
Manhattan. VVith all due respect to New Jer-
Michigan resigned his post as secretary as
sey Transit , I don't miss it a bit.
well as his position on the EM Antique/
I've been introduced as Gene Chase's "re-
Classic Division Board of Directors. Citing
placement, " but you all know that there's no
STINSON ENGINE RUNS work and familial commitments, Fritz ad-
such animal. VVhen I finally retire, if I know
vised that he no longer could devote the time
The engine has run on EAA's Stinson SM-
half as much as Gene does now I'll count
needed for the position. Director George
8A. The airplane was used as the Lindbergh
myself lucky. Fortunately for me and you
York was named to complete Fritz's remain-
Tour chase plane and its 225-hp Lycoming
both, he's not far away whenever I need to
ing term as secretary, which will expire in
R-680 has just been rebuilt. The first rebuild-
holler for help.
August of this year.
ing effort was less than successful but EM's
Even with all of that, my opening message
Fritz was first appointed an advisor to the
Gary Armitage, in charge of the engine in-
to all Antique/Classic members takes the
Antique/Classic Division in January of 1978,
stallation, reports that this time around the
form of a cry for help. I need to know from
serving in that position until October of 1980
big radial purrs like a kitten . Jim Barton, EM
you what you like about your magazine and
when he was elected a director. In the fall of
16807, was at the controls when the engine
what you'd like to see more of. At the recent
1983, he was elected secretary of the divi-
fired on February 19th without as much as a
EM Board of Directors Meeting, I was fortu-
sion and has served in that capacity since
puff of smoke. The airplane will be flying
nate enough to meet several NC board
that time.
soon.
members and pick their brains on that ques-
Fritz has been actively involved in a
tion, as well as to browbeat some into sub-
number of Antique/Classic Division activities
mitting articles of their own.
including his local Chapter and the annual
That's my second request, if you have an
EAA Fly-In held each year. For the past five
airplane or know of an interesting personal
years he has acted as chairman in charge
LOSTWACOS
story, write it up and send it in. Take pictures
of scheduling forums for the division during
too. If you have any questions on how to
Some heartbreaking items have come in the Fly-In.
become a homegrown Hemingway, write to
from the National VVaco Club News. At least His dedication and hard work on behalf of
me or call (414/426-4825) and I'll try to pro-
five irreplaceable VVacos have been the Antique/Classic Division is appreciated
vide some tips. If you really don't want to
scratched from the list of flying airplanes for by all and his absence on the board will be
write it yourself, send in the tip and we'll see
1988 - some perhaps forever. In too many felt.
what we can do about getting it into print.
cases, VVacos and other antiques are being In other action at the winter meeting, Peter
VVith all the fascinating history that you folks
sold to new owners not sufficiently trained Hawks (EAA 109571 , NC 5642) of San Car-
know, this is no time to be shy.
and oriented to tailwheel biplanes. One spe- los, California was named an advisor to the
VVith that kind of help, and all the re-
cific example is the sole remaining HRE EM Antique/Classic Division. Hawks has
sources right here at the Aviation Center, I
Cabin (See Sport Aviation, March 1985) that been active in the restoration of a number of
hope that The Vintage Airplane will continue
was extensively damaged when the new antique and classic aircraft over the years.
to improve and bring you what you all want
in a divisional magazine. This is your voice,
so let's hear it.
CURRENT TCAs IN WHICH MEGA-TCAs IN WHICH MODE C
MODE C IS REQUIRED WOULD BE REQUIRED
AIRSPACE ALERT
Antique/Classic pilots especially need to
stand up and take notice of the latest
airspace news. According to the NPRM filed
on February 13th, Mode C transponders will
be required above 6,000 feet AGL
everywhere and from the ground up within
40 nautical miles (46 statute miles) of an
ARSA, TRSA or TCA airport. The list of
these airports covers three typed pages and
the restricted airspace covers the over-
whelming majority of the country. If the
4 MARCH 1988
Editor,
In your December issue article on the
Waco F-2 you mention a "British Brake"
activated by moving the throttle inboard
with a selective or differential valve op-
erated by rudder pedals, supposedly
the same system as used on British
Spitfires.
I don't believe this is correct, or at
least not fully. Every Spitfire I have ever
seen or read of has the system of air
operated brakes, from two storage
tanks served by an engine gear driven
compressor. There's no throttle brake
control; Spitfire throttles all move fore
and aft in a standard gate like a T -6 or
P-51 and don't move inboard. To acti-
vate the brakes there is a lever, much
like a motorcycle front wheel brake
lever, on the round ring handgrip at the
top of the control stick. It is extremely
convenient and can be operated with a
finger. If the rudder pedals are neutral,
both wheels are braked evenly. A small
leak could easily be replenished in flight
by the compressor, however a large
leak would possibly mean no flaps or
brakes for landing. To me it seems like
a better system than American toe
brakes.
The only DeHaviliand Chipmunk I
have ever flown had a system such as
you described, activated not with the
throttle but with a lever next to the throt-
tle.
Our air show here in Aspen is Satur-
day, July 2. We have numerous war-
birds, but would love to have more
classics and antiques - then or any
other time.
Sincerely,
Bill Greenwood
(EAA 198472, NC 10306)
Box 4778
Aspen, Colorado 81612
Dear Sir,
I own a Culver Cadet with a Continen-
tal C-85-12J fuel injected engine. The
injector pump is an Ex-Cell-O A-41 al-
though I have been told that my engine
actually calls for a B-41 injector pump.
The serial number on my pump is 921.
For one and a half years the engine
worked fine without any problems what-
soever.
The main fuel line to the injector
pump was recently replaced because it
was leaking (the fuel line, that is) . Since
that time I have been troubled by rela-
tively large amounts of gasoline getting
into the crankcase while the airplane
sits idle. By gravity, the only way that
the fuel can get from the fuel tank into
the crankcase is via the fuel injector
pump itself. We have taken the injector
pump off the engine but are reluctant to
open it without having more information
about it.
I am interested in obtaining one or a
combination of the following :
1. An overhaul of my pump.
2. A new or reconditioned A-41 pump
or possible a B-41 pump.
3. An overhaul instruction manual for
the Ex-Cell-O A-41 or even the B-41
pump.
4. Any information, ideas or sugges-
tions that might lead to a solution of my
engine oil dilution problem.
5. Possible alternative solutions such
as converting to a carburetor.
Any help that you can give to me
would be most appreciated. Inciden-
tally, the Culver was at Oshkosh last
year and I hope to get it back there this
year.
Yours sincerely,
Samuel W. Clipp
(EM 109465, NC 2167)
364 Oak Drive
Souderton, PA 18964
(Continued on Page 25)
------CALENDAR OF EVENTS------
APRIL 10-16 - LAKELAND, FLORIDA - 13th
annual Sun 'n Fun EM Fly-In at Lakeland
Municipal Airport. Contact : Sun 'n Fun Head-
quarters, 3838 Dranefield Road, P. O. Box
6750, Lakeland, FL 33807, phone 813/644-
2431.
APRIL 16-17 - WASHINGTON, DC - 8th Annual
Air and Space Museum Tour - Garber facility.
Dinner speaker of note. Limited to 200. Con-
tact: Chapter 4 Museum Tour, 2602 Elnora
Street, Wheaton, MD 20902, 301 /942-3309.
APRIL 3D-MAY 1 - WINCHESTER. VIRGINIA-
EM Chapter 186 Spring Fly-In at Municipal
Airport. Trophies for winning showplanes. Pan-
cake breakfast Sunday. Annual Apple Blossom
Festival downtown. All welcome. Contact:
George Lutz, 703/256-7873.
MAY 21-22 - LIVE OAK, FLORIDA - Florida
Sport Aviation Antique and Classic Associa-
tion, EM NC Chapter 1 Fly-In at Kittyhawk
Estates. Contact: Rod Spanier, 502 James-
town Avenue, Lakeland, FL 33801, 813/665-
5572.
MAY 27-29 - WATSONVILLE, CALIFORNIA-
24th West Coast Antique Fly-In and Air Show
at Watsonville Airport. Contact: Watsonville
Chamber of Commerce, 4081724-3849.
MAY 27-29 - LAKE GENEVA, WISCONSIN-
2nd Annual Twin Bonanza Association conven-
tion at the Americana Lake Geneva Resort.
Contact: Twin Bonanza Association , 19684
Lakeshore Drive, Three Rivers, M149093, 616/
279-2540.
JUNE 3-5 - MERCED, CALIFORNIA - 31st
Merced West Coast Antique Fly-In at Merced
Municipal Airport. Contact: Merced Pilots As-
sociation, P. O. Box 2312, Merced, CA 95344
or Linton Wollen, 2091722-6666 after 5 p.m.
JUNE 3-5 - BARTLESVILLE, OKLAHOMA - 2nd
Annual National Biplane Fly-in at Frank Phillips
Field, featuring a first-ever - Concours d' Ele-
gance! Be part of the largest gathering of bip-
lanes since WW II . Modem factory type aircraft
invited and welcomed. Sponsored by the Na-
tional Biplane Association (NBA) and the
Bartlesville Chamber of Commerce. Contact:
Charles W. Harris, Chairman, 9181742-7311 ,
or Mary Jones, Executive Director, 918/299-
2532. Address inquiries on NBA membership
to NBA, Hangar 5, 4-J Aviation , Jones-River-
side Airport, Tulsa, OK 74132.
JUNE 4-5 - INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - 1st An-
nual Airplane Gathering, saluting replica, mili-
tary, classic and sport aircraft at Mt. Comfort
Airport. Sponsored by the EM Chapter 900
and the Central Indiana Sport Flyer Associa-
tion. Contact: Fred Jungclaus, 317/636-4891
(days) or 317/342-3235 (eves).
JUNE 5 - DEKALB, ILLINOIS - EM Chapter
241 Breakfast at DeKalb-Taylor Municipal Air-
port from 7 a.m. to noon. Contact: Jerry Thorn-
hill, 3121683-2781.
JUNE 10-12 - MIDDLETOWN, OHIO - 4th Na-
tional Aeronca gathering, celebrating the 60th
anniversary of Aeronca, including tours of the
Aeronca factory and the U.S.A.F. Museum.
Banquet on Saturday night with speakers and
judged aircraft awards. Contact : Jim
Thompson, Box 102, Roberts, IL 60962, 217/
395-2522.
JUNE 11-12 - HILLIARD, FLORIDA - Florida
Sport Aviation Antique and Classic Associa-
tion , EM NC Chapter 1 Fly-In at Hilliard Air
Park. Contact : Rod Spanier, 502 Jamestown
Avenue, Lakeland, FL 33801 , 813/665-5572.
JUNE 14-19 - OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA
- Aerospace America 1988 Air Show and
Trade Exposition. Contact: Tom Jones, Air
Show Director 405/681-3000.
JUNE 23-26 - GRAND LAKE VACATION RE-
SORT, OKLAHOMA - International Bird Dog
Association annual meeting and fly-in at
Golden Falcon Airpark, Grand Lake Vacation
Resort. Contact: Phil Phillips, 505/897-4174.
JUNE 23-26 - HAMILTON, OHIO - 29th Annual
National Waco Reunion. Contact : National
Waco Club, 700 Hill Avenue, Hamilton, OH
45015.
JULY 8-10 - 16th Annual Taylorcraft Fly-In/Reun-
ion at Barber Airport, three miles north of Al-
liance. Food, fellowship and flying. Chat with
the people who built your Taylorcraft. Contact:
Bruce Bixler. 216/823-9748.
JULY 17-22 - FAIRBANKS, ALASKA - Interna-
tional Cessna 170 Association Convention at
Fairbanks International Airport. Convention
site: Sophie Station Motel. Contact: Convention
Chairmen, Rick and Cheryl Schikora, 1919 Lat-
hrop, Drawer 17, Fairbanks, AK 99701, 907/
456-1566 (work) , or 907/488-1724 (home). Re-
member the time difference.
JULY 21-22 - DAYTON, OHIO - Dayton Air and
Trade Show at Dayton International Airport.
Contact: Rajean Campbell , 513/898-5901 .
JULY 29-AUGUST 5 - OSHKOSH, WISCONSIN
- 36th annual International EM Convention
and Sport Aviation Exhibition at Wittman Field.
Contact: John Burton, EM Headquarters,
Wittman Airfield, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086.
AUGUST 20 - WINTER HAVEN, FLORIDA-
Florida Sport Aviation Antique and Classic As-
sociation, EM NC Chapter 1 Fly-In at Gilbert
Field Municipal. Contact : Rod Spanier, 502
Jamestown Avenue, Lakeland, FL 33801, 813/
665-5572.
OCTOBER 7-9 - THOMASVILLE, GEORGIA -
Florida Sport Aviation Antique and Classic As-
sociation, EM NC Chapter 1 Fly-In at
Thomasville Municipal Airport. Contact: Rod
Spanier, 502 Jamestown Avenue, Lakeland,
FL 33801 . 813/665-5572.
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 5
OUR LAST PROJECT
REAllYI
UYou folks know how it is."
by Eileen Macario
(EAA 29124, NC 1551)
2003 Stoneham Drive
West Chester, Pennsylvania 19382
All photos courtesy of the author
Editor's Note: The following detailed
series is being written by Eileen
Macario, wife (and able assistant) of
Tom Macario, restorer of some 32 air-
craft over the past 40 years. The
Macarios' beautiful J-3 Cub, NC98262,
garnered the Reserve Grand Champion
"Lindy" Award at Oshkosh '86. (See
THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE, MAY,
1987,PAGE 12.)
Tom and I had agreed that the Piper
J-3 Cub would be our last restoration
project. Although it was my first airplane
project ; it was Tom's 32nd, and he said
enough is enough; he was "getting too
old for all that work." But that Cub turned
out to be a real beauty - structurally
perfect inside and out (Tom is the ulti-
mate perfectionist) and with a finish like
yellow satin. True, it took a horrendous
amount of work, but we were really
pleased when it won the Grand Cham-
pion award at Sentimental Journey at
Lock Haven, and the Reserve Grand
Champion award at Oshkosh. How-
ever, we had decided to sell it because
we did not have hangar space for it so
in October, Tom flew the yellow bird to
its new owner in central Pennsylvania.
And that was our last airplane project
.. . so we said.
But you folks know how it is - a
friend tells you about a dismantled old
airplane lying in a hangar at a small air-
field in New Jersey. It's in good condi -
tion, says the friend, it hasn't flown
since 1982, had sat outside for several
years, was taken apart and stored in a
hangar for a year; but he is positive that
it has no rust, and he is positive that it
would be a snap to restore. And, your
friend even knows the owner who is,
6 MARCH 1988
"anxious to sell ." Well, now, any aviation
enthusiast would be a sucker for that
kind of story and Tom has been eating,
sleeping and breathing aviation since
he was a tot. So ... we contacted the
owner and flew to New Jersey to see
the airplane the following weekend.
The owner raised the door of the
small hangar and, hidden behind two
bright, shiny planes, there it was, lying
in pieces in the dark corner and almost
unidentifiable as a 1947 Piper PA-12.
The skin was half stripped off and peel-
ing, and even my unpracticed eye could
spot some rust. Tom started his inspec-
tion: peeling back some fabric, touching
this part, poking that part, analyzing the
damage that years of disuse had
wrought, and assessing the difficulty of
the repair work requi red. "What do you
think?" I asked him. "It can be done,"
responded Tom, "We could take it back
to its original showroom condition,
maybe even make it look better with
more coats of dope, more sanding. We
would have a real gem of an airplane,
but it will take lots and lots of work!! "
Somehow, I knew he was going to say
that. And so, after some haggling with
the owner about a bent propeller, origi-
nal tail wheel , rebuilt engine, missing
instruments and the rust , a deal was
struck, a check was written, and Tom
and I had a new restoration project.
The next step involved the simple
logistics of transporting the plane to our
basement in Pennsylvania where we
would do the initial stripping, cleaning,
sanding, welding and other repair work.
It helps to have a friend who owns a
large farm truck and also has an interest
in aviation . We called upon that friend
and drafted two young volunteers. The
following weekend we tugged, pulled,
shoved and lifted the fuselage and
wings onto the truck. We left the landing
gear and wheels on, with the idea that
we could just roll the fuselage into the
basement after removing the sliding
doors. However, sometimes the best
laid plans work better in theory than in
practice - as we discovered that the
door opening was about 2/3 of an inch
too small for the plane on its landing
gear. No amount of twisting or turning
could get that fuselage through the
opening, and, as it was getting dark, we
decided to leave the fuselage outside
for a day or two until we could remove
the landing gear, rest the fuselage on a
dolly and roll it in.
Tom and I live in a new townhouse
development that has a homeowner's
association whose job it is to monitor
After removing the landing gear, we shoehorned the PA-12 into our townhouse' s base-
ment.
and maintain the architectural and land-
scaping standards of the community.
Strange as it may seem, some people
do not find a half-stripped fuselage at-
tractive. Within one day, the architec-
tural committee contacted us to say that
we couldn't have an airplane in our
backyard. We had to assure them that
we didn't plan to do any stunt flying be-
hind the house and that the fuselage
would soon disappear into the base-
ment. The following day we removed
the landing gear and brought the fuse-
lage inside. And then began the "lots
and lots of work. "
We had set the front of the fuselage
on wooden horses and the tail section
on a wooden stool so that the plane was
level. Before removing any fabric, we
wanted to record the location of each
inspection plate. We took photographs
and drew a picture of the fuselage to
scale measurement, marking the posi-
tion of each plate. This completed, we
removed the fabric.
Once the fuselage was stripped, Tom
could analyze the extent of the damage
that would have to be repaired before
we could begin to rebuild. Starting at
the top, he found that the 3/8-inch chan-
nelling on the turtledeck and birdcage
area was in relatively good condition.
Some minor straightening was all that
was needed there. At the rear of the
fuselage, however, there were exten-
sive rusted areas on the lower left and
right longerons. Apparently water col-
lected because of inadequate drainage
openings.The intersection of the longe-
rons and tail post and cross members,
as well as the two diagonal tubes at the
stabilizer mount, were extremely cor-
roded and pitted. The zinc chromate
After "lots and lots of work," the PA-12 is starting to take shape.
primer was in poor condition, with flak-
ing and peeling. Most of the tubing in
this area would have to be replaced.
Tom's first step was to record all
measurements and angles of the fuse-
lage tubing, e.g. , length of longerons,
distance between tubing, angle re-
lationships, etc. Then he made light
punchmarks as spot indicators so that
he could restore the exact alignment to
the fuselage when he was ready to weld
in the new tubing. To maintain the fuse-
lage in the same dimensions during the
time after the bad tubing had been re-
moved, he used two-by-fours in eight-
foot lengths as braces, clamping them
to the side of the fuselage to simulate
the longerons.
Then he filed and sawed out the dam-
aged tubing. The interior of the tubing
was in amazingly good condition. The ·
insides were rust-free and even had
some of the original oiling; the tubes
had rusted from the outside. This was
another indication of the damage that
~     r drainage can do.
Tom used 4130 tubing for the re-
placement, which was the same thick-
ness as the original 1025 mild steel tub-
ing. After cutting the new tubing, he fit-
ted and tackwelded it. After verifying
that all measurements were absolutely
accurate, he finished welding it, using
the inside splices and sleeves and
rosettes according to the FAA Part 43
Repair Manual.
With the welding completed, the fuse-
lage was ready for a good sandblasting
to bring it back to life. Fortunately for
us, there was a small shop nearby that
specialized in truck sandblasting.
Naturally, Tom had some discussion
with the owner about the difference be-
tween sandblasting truck body steel
and light plane tubing before the work
was started. Then, attached with a tow
bar to the back of a friend's truck, the
fuselage went to the shop, looking like
a skeleton on wheels.
The minute the sandblasting was
finished, Tom brought the fuselage
back to the basement where he im-
mediately primed it with two coats of
epoxy primer, which is superior to zinc
chromate. He followed this with three
coats of gray acrylic lacquer, which
gave added protection, and also looked
nicer.
Wiring was the next phase. Basically
the wiring was in excellent condition
and Tom was able to reinstall it quickly
and secure it with plastiC tie-wraps in-
stead of the friction tape used previ-
ously.
It was now time to start work on the
Project number 331 The " no rust" fuselage needed a lot of new tubing. cabin interior. We had already removed
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 7
Cutting and sewing is easy, but it takes a lot of pulling and stretching to install a
headliner.
the side panels of a now moldy, black
and gray colored vinyl, and the seats
which had an unbelievable cherry red
and snow white (with inlaid silver spark-
les) quilted vinyl covering. Maybe
you've seen the type - in booths at the
local diner during the 1960's. What re-
mained of the original headliner was
water stained and thin as paper. Since
we had decided that we wanted the in-
terior to be as close to the original 1947
style as possible, we'd have to make
the headliner, side panels, and seat
covering from scratch. I have done a lot
of sewing in my time, from kid's clothes
to draperies and furniture recovering, so
that type of work didn't present a prob-
lem. The real challenge would be to find
both the headliner fabric that would be
. a close match, in color, weight and
thickness to the original, and also the
vinyl for the side panels and seat cover-
ings that would be sturdy enough and
yet flexible enough to withstand normal
airplane usage.
After several frustrating run-ins with
local car customizers who wanted to do
all the work themselves and refused to
sell us the materials, we finally found a
local man who did car and truck interiors
and had a stockroom full of beautiful
vinyl and was willing to sell us   ~ ­
dages. He special-ordered headliner
fabric that was as close to the original
pearl gray color as possible.
Armed with the materials, we could
begin. We had removed the old head-
liner as carefully as possible so that I
was able to make a paper pattern from
it, marking seams for the plackets (the
metal bows) and zipper position. The
cutting and sewing was easy and I
could even use the original long zipper,
for a touch of nostalgia. Fitting was
8 MARCH 1988
more difficult. While the five plackets I
had sewn were in the correct position,
the thin metal bows holding up the
headlinder had become bent and
rusted. Tom made new bows out of 1/4-
inch aluminum tubing, and to prevent
any future sagging, we secured each
bow with plastic tie-wraps to the
cabane structure above it. Although we
had stretched the headliner as tightly
as we could; we found that after two
days, the fibers began to relax and the
headliner drooped a bit. It required two
more sessions of pulling the fabric free,
retightening it, and then regluing it, be-
fore the fabric remained as taut as we
wanted it.
The most difficult area to fit was the
configuration of the "eyebrow" area at
the windshield. Fortunately, when cut-
ting the fabric, I had allowed extra here,
so that we could fit it first, then glue it
and finally, cut off the excess. Finally,
•
•
Foam insulation goes into the side panels.
we placed a sheet of fiberglass insula-
tion which had a very light weight
aluminum backing, on top, and secured
it to the five bows.
Tom has a fantastic memory when it
comes to remembering the smallest de-
tails about early airplanes, and having
restored so many antiques, he is a real
font of information. The cabin interior of
the 1947 Piper PA-12, as he remem-
bered it, had a pearl gray fabric head-
liner, dark gray side panels and plain
seat covering, and darker gray rug.
To construct the side panels, we had
ordered from Airtex two four-by-eight-
foot sheets of white, 3/32-i nch thick
honeycombed polyethylene stiffener to
provide the hard backing on which we
would glue the gray vinyl. We cut the
stiffener to fit the cabin sides, extending
it back alongside the baggage compart-
ment, and then used it as a pattern to
cut the vinyl.lt took a lot of patience to
maneuver the stiffener into position in
the close cabin space without bending
and creasing it but when it was finally
in place, we secured it to the fuselage
truss tubing with glue and plastic tie-
wraps. We then glued the vinyl to the
stiffener and the result was a nice,
smooth interior siding.
We wanted to insulate the cabin to
make it as air tight and as quiet as pos-
sible, yet we didn't want to add extra
weight to the airplane, so we decided
to use a lightweight foam for insulation.
We purchased two four-by-eight-foot
sheets of 3/8-inch blue foam at a local
outlet store. I measured the space be-
tween each of the fuselage truss tubes
and cut a piece of foam to fit each
space. We wrapped each foam section
in clear plastic, to make each section
waterproof. Then the foam sections
were positioned between the truss
tubes and glued to the white
polyethylene side panel.
The cabin was now 90-percent insu-
lated and waterproofed. However, there
was one remaining open area where
the cold winter drafts could enter the
cabin - from the space behind the bag-
gage compartment. So Tom cut an
extra piece of vinyl to fit that space, pro-
viding a hole for cables, of course, and
glued it to the tubing. Now the cabin
would stay warm and toasty, and we
could do some winter flying.
Making the seat coverings was more
time consuming than I had expected -
mainly because the vinyl was bulky to
handle and because I had double-
stitched every seam. I used the old seat
covering to make a pattern for the two
parts of the front seat and the bottom
of the rear seat. The backrest of the
rear seat presented a challenge - it
was covered foam, mounted on a piece
of very heavy plywood and probably
weighed about 10 pounds. Since we
were very "weight conscious" about the
airplane, we wanted to use a strong, yet
lightweight supporting frame, to replace
the plywood backing.
The answer was to use a strip of 1/8-
inch aluminum angle. Tom cut the four
angles, fitted them as a rectangle and
had a friend helioarc the pieces to-
gether with enough support bands to
hold the back cushion firmly. Then a few
Velcro fastener strips placed on the
cushion and the aluminum ensured that
the cushion would not move around.
While inspecting the metal frame of
the front seat, Tom found an area of
wear that posed a potentially serious
problem. Although most of the main
structure of the frame was made out of
7/8-inch metal tubing, the front piece on
the seat frame was made of an inverted
U-shape .032-inch thick metal channel-
ling. This channelling was attached by
two 3/16-inch bolts to the support tubing
rising from the floor. Through the years
of use, the holes for the bolts had be-
come enlarged to the point where they
were dangerously close to the edge of
the channel and, in fact, hairline cracks
were visible. The worst possible
scenario would be a steep climbout
where the pilot would be pressing back
in the seat. If the bolts broke through
the edge of the channel, the front of the
seat would release and tip backward.
The pilot would automatically pull on the
stick . . . and you can visualize the rest!
Tom's solution was to design a new
channel of heavier .050-inch 4130 steel
in which he made new bolt holes and
then welded it within the existing chan-
nel.
With all the air leaks battened down, the cabin should be warm in winter.
With the headliner, side panels and
seats finished, some other areas of the
cabin interior needed attention. Tom
hooked up the elevator cables, pulleys,
bellcranks, torque tubes, control sticks
and fair leads. All controls were fitted
with new nuts and bolts. He removed
all of the paint on the rudder and brake
pedals, inspected them for weakness or
cracks, welded some wear spots,
primed them with zinc chromate and
finished off with black enamel.
The wooden floor was in good condi-
tion, so Tom just sanded it, then re-
painted it with black enamel and a top
coat of clear polyurethane varnish. As
he did with our J-3 Cub, he made metal
kick plates to be installed around the
pedals. These not only look good but
they provide additional strength to an
area that gets constant weight and
pressure.
Placement and installation of the ELT
was next on our agenda. Previously the
ELT was under the front seat. However,
we wanted to put it someplace where it
would be firmly bracketed, accessible
but not visible, and since we wanted to
preserve the clean lines of the classic
airplane, the antenna could not be stick-
ing up on the outside of the fuselage.
After some consideration, we found the
perfect spot - right next to the battery
box.
Tom fashioned a little platform for the
EL T out of .040-inch aluminum and con-
nected it with clamps and machine
screws to the fuselage crossmember
and vertical bulkhead at the end of the
battery box tray. It would be easily
reached through the battery access
door on the side of the fuselage. The
attached antenna could be fully ex-
tended straight upward and still be in-
side the fuselage. Tom made a metal
clip to hold the antenna firmly to the top
stringer.
Now we could start to think about
The EL T hides in back, next to the battery; invisible but easily accessible. covering the fuselage .•
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 9
A close-up of the spar reveals a compression fracture passing through the area where a
wing rib was nailed on to the spar! The rib must be removed to allow the crack to be seen.
This close-up reveals two compression fractures eminating from the two bolt holes to
the edge of the spar. A doubler plate would easily hide these fractures.
10 FEBRUARY 1988
BELOW:
The master rebuilder himself, Bill Pan-
cake, Jr., holds the sample piece of
Aeronca spar which he brought along to
Oshkosh '87. Don't let that hat fool you
for one minute! Bill is a West Virginian
from the word "go" !
by Norm Petersen
The recent ''flap'' over Bellanca and
Aeronca wooden spars and their prop-
osed interval inspections was brought
to light at EM Oshkosh '87. Longtime
EM member Bill Pancake, Jr. (EM
118244, AlC 9617) of Rt. 4, Box 218,
Keyser, West Virginia 26726 brought an
example along to the fly-in that he had
come across in his A&P work. (For the
full story on Bill Pancake and his
Aeronca 7BCM, see THE VINTAGE
AIRPLANE, December 1981 , page 10.)
The photos reveal compression frac-
tures that were hidden under the wing
ribs and others that were hidden under
double plates. If you have never seen
a compression fracture, take a good
look at the photos and see for yourself
what they look like! You will then know
what an inspector is looking for when
he closely examines your wood spars.
Our very special thanks go out to Bill
Pancake (and his lovely family) for tak-
ing the trouble to bring the "suspect"
spar along for all to see. You have done
us a true favor, Bill.
by Norm Petersen
LEFT: Pretty photo of a Danish-built KZ VII In Swiss
registration (HB-EPS) was sent in by Emil Rollin
(EAA 184915, AlC 6986), Dorfstrasse 40, CH-5423
Freinenwil, Switzerland. Powered with a 145-hp Con-
tinental , the 4-place KZ VII was built from 1947 to
1949 by Scandinavian Aero Industries (SAl) in Den-
mark. Much of the engineering on the KZ VII was
done by Bjorn Andreasson (EAA1334) of Sweden.
ABOVE: 1949 Piper "Clipper" PA-16,
N5804H, SIN 16-421, restored by Donald E.
Wolfe (EAA 55832) of 2321 Midland Drive,
Erie, PA 16506. Don, who is a member of
EAA Chapter 160 (Erie, PA) reports the 600-
hour restoration was completed on August
7, 1987. Power is an 0-235-C1 Lycoming of
108 hp. This PA-16 is one of 398 remaining
on the FAA Register.
LEFT: Self portrait taken with a wing
mounted camera by Emil Rollin (EAA
184915, AlC 6986) Dorfstrasse 40, CH-5423
Freienwil, Switzerland, as he and his wife
flew over Carmel Valley, CA in their Cessna
170B during a west coast tour last spring. In
August, Emil flew this plane from Wisconsin
to Switzerland, using 14 days and 60 flying
hours! Note oversize tires, ski fittings on
gear legs and float fittings on fuselage. Emil
purchased the 170B in Edmonton, Alberta,
Canada in the fall of 1986.
RIGHT: Very pretty Stinson 108-2 recently acquired
by Tony Digati (EAA 297690, AlC 11907) of 900-150
Sierra Madre, Azusa, CA 91702. For a 1947 airplane,
the total time is a low 1,470 hours with 375 SMOH
on a 165 Franklin! Tony reports his checkout was
a little tough as his 110 hours did not include any
tailwheel time, however, "we survived! " Note
blocks under the tail for tailwheel repair.
FAA  HELPS  IN  VINTAGE 
AIRCRAFT  RESTORATION 
by Susan K. Schmidt
3516 NW 52 Street
Oklahoma City, OK 73112
A dollar fifty cent ride in a surplus Cur-
tiss Jenny back in 1940 started Chester
E. Brakefield on a 48-year aviation com-
mitment. As Oklahoma Wing Comman-
der for the Confederate Air Force, Chet
donates a lot of his time to "the flying
museum ." The primary purpose of the
Confederate Air Force is to preserve
aircraft built between 1939 and 1945.
The CAF currently has 20 aircraft under
restoration and 140 in flying condition
in different parts of the United States,
he said.
When Chet is not flying Tinker Belle,
a completely restored CAF Curtiss C-
46, he and his son Alan fly their two
authentically restored Fairchild PT-19s
to air shows. Chet holds an FAA air-
frame and powerplant mechanic certifi-
cate with inspection authorization
privileges. Chet's aircraft repair shop
sits on the western outskirts of Ok-
lahoma City behind a barn and windmill.
He says he gets his business by word
of mouth, "I' ve done no advertising
whatsoever, " he says. He prides himself
on the authenticity of his restorations,
down to researching, and when possi-
ble, reassigning the original registration
number.
In 1949, Chet bought his first World
War II surplus Fairchild PT-19. "It was a
sealed bid at Tinker Field . I paid $86 for
one and $87.35 for the other one," he
recalled. Chet estimates he has restored
18 aircraft since then. He said it used
to be that a person could run across
some sweet old birds dirt cheap, but not
any more. "People are aware of the
price of airplanes today," he says. Just
finding them is tough enough.
There is a PT-19 in Chet's shop right
Bill Ferguson, FAA supervisory conveyances examiner locates the major repair and
alteration form requested by a caller.
12 MARCH 1988
now. With the fabric removed it looks
like the skeleton of an extinct dinosaur.
He heard about it at a 1986 air show
from a fellow who admired his PT-19s
and told him about another guy with one
in his barn in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
The owner wasn 't interested in selling
but suggested Chet call him back in
three months. After a few more delays,
Chet's persistence paid off and he was
able to trailer home that 30-year hangar
queen.
Also in his shop is a Piper J-3 CUb.
Chet will return the plane to its produc-
tion specifications including the original
yellow paint scheme, even to the point
of getting the FAA to reassign the orig-
inal registration number.
"I have an advantage researching old
records over people away from here,"
says Chet who lives close to the FAA
Aircraft Registry. The public documents
department is located in Oklahoma City
at 6500 S. MacArthur Blvd ., in the Re-
cords Building Room 123. There the
FAA provides the public the opportunity
to research registration numbers and in-
spect aircraft records between the
hours of eight a.m. and four p.m. Mon-
day through Friday. Discovering the his-
tory and reclaiming the original registra-
tion numbers is something anyone can
do - with some help and some time.
People who fly into Will Rogers World
Airport are pleased to find that the
FAA's Mike Monroney Aeronautical
Center is located just a mile west of the
airport.
Copies of aircraft records that are
currently on the United States register
are available on updatable microfiche.
The original aircraft documents for
those aircraft deregistered before the
conversion from paper to microfiche are
still available for review in the public
documents room . A $2 fee is required
to recall any aircraft folder that has been
sent to federal storage, and takes an
average of three weeks.
People who do not visit the public
documents room may obtain copies of
an aircraft file by sending a written re-
quest to the FAA, Aircraft Registry,
AAC-250, Post Office Box 25504, Ok-
lahoma City, OK 73125. The request
should describe the aircraft by current
registration number, make, model , se-
rial number, and provide the requester's
address and day telephone number.
There is a $2 search fee for each air-
craft, 25 cents for the first side and 5
cents for each additional side of paper
copies, and 15 cents for each micro-
fiche copy. Only microfiche copies are
available on converted files. Each re-
quest for copies is handled in order of
receipt.
FAA employees provide assistance
in determining the status of an aircraft's
file by checking the registration number
assignment cards, serial cards, and/or
computer. When the original number is
available, records clerk Raymond L.
Smith suggests sending a letter re-
questing reassignment of the original
number, being sure to include the cur-
rent and original registration numbers,
make, model, serial number and a $10
fee made payable to the U.S. Treasury
Department. .
Smith says, "It's a great feeling reas-
signing an original number to a vintage
aircraft. It's different with the commer-
cial people who change the number
every time they change ownership."
Even when a registration number ap-
pears to be unavailable, all may not be
lost. Sometimes it is worthwhile to con-
tact the owner of the aircraft that is cur-
rently shown to be assigned the
number. Chet said he once wrote to
some folks in New York. It turned out
their airplane had been totally de-
stroyed in an accident and they were
willing to send him a letter to that effect
so the FAA could cancel their registra-
tion and reassign him the registration
number.
Chet says, "There is a 50/50 chance
of getting the old N number back. It all
depends on how old and how long. I've
found them where as many as three air-
craft were destroyed with the name N
number."
Often, vintage aircraft owners want to
find out how to get permission to use
NC on their registration number. NC,
NL, NR and NX were used to denote
the the airworthiness categories of stan-
dard, limited, restricted, and experimen-
tal , respectively. FAA Flight Standards
District Office Airworthiness Inspector
Roy G. Wieden said, "If their particular
aircraft series had NC, NX or NR, then
they can put it on. Part 45 of the regs
addresses that. "
Even though the regulations permit
the use of a C, L, R or X in the painted
registration number of certain 30-year-
old aircraft, the Aircraft Registry's com-
puter is not programmed to reflect that.
So, the registration will show only N, to
denote United States registry.
"Experimental certificates of airwor-
thiness are normally issued for 12
calendar months or less. Restricted cer-
tificates usually do not expire. There
probably are very few aircraft in the US
certificated as NX, same thing for NR,"
Wieden said. He recommended that
anyone anticipating experimental or re-
stricted certification confer with an FAA
inspector before spending any money.
Obtaining a vintage aircraft is difficult
in the 1980s, rebuilding it to specifica-
Wieden said, "If they've never done a
restoration project before, it's gonna
take 10 times longer than they think.
For a young man to do a restoration is
just about an impossiblity. It takes an
old codger like myself or Chet who re-
members what they were like. The
documentation can be very hard to ob-
tain."
Get as much data as possible before
starting. There are vintage aircraft or-
ganizations with "mountains of informa-
tion," he said. "Ask some old codger,
pick his brain. If he doesn't have it, he'll
know of a friend who may."
The inspector suggests that the re-
storer, "gently disassemble the aircraft
and take lots of pictures. " Wieden, who
has been active in the aviation business
since the 1940s, says he removes all
the fabric and saves it for later refer-
ence. An example of the value in retain-
ing all the old fabric is knowing where
the rudder cables come through the fab-
ric. "If you want the paint scheme the
same, compare and measure. It's better
than a sketch," he said.
There is a saying that an airplane can
be rebuilt as long as there is a data plate
and a bolthole. It is not as simple as it
sounds. Looking good is not good
enough. The aircraft needs to be rebuilt
to exact specifications in order to re-
main in the standard airworthiness cat-
egory. Chet Brakefield gives his cus-
tomers a choice - bring the aircraft
back to meet original specifications, or
go to an experimental certificate.
"There are so many parts on the air-
craft market today that work but won't
meet the standards of the original part.
It is up to the individual who purchases
the part to verify the part is authentic."
Chet pointed out these problems and
suggests that buyers ask vendors to
provide the PMA numbers in writing.
To register an aircraft last registered
in the United States, the owner should
submit a completed application for reg-
istration (AC Form 8050-1), the $5 reg-
istration fee, and ink-signed evidence
of ownership from the last registered
owner, through any intervening
owner(s) to the applicant. Such evi-
dence may be a bill of sale on which
the seller specifically transfers all his
right , title and interest to the buyer.
Sometimes the current owner of an
antique aircraft is unable to complete
the chain of ownership. Bill Ferguson,
supervisory conveyances examiner in
the Aircraft Registry suggests that the
applicant submit an affidavit (notarized
statement) in lieu of recordable evi-
tions and getting it properly registered
FAA records clerk Raymond L. Smith researches the cancellation date and box number
requires even more patience. Inspector of aircraft records sent to federal storage prior to 1966.
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 13
There are situations where a pros-
pective buyer cannot obtain the original
data plate. Inspector Wi eden provided
the example of a military aircraft made
of surplus parts for which there never
was a type data plate or it was milled
FAA HELPS IN VINTAGE
off before being surplused. The would- AIRCRAFT RESTORATION
dence of ownership. The affidavit
should outline his or her efforts, explain
why the evidence of ownership is not
available, and attach supporting evi-
dence to prove each change in owner-
ship of the aircraft.
Evidence supporting a transaction
could include receipts, cancelled
checks, statements of witnesses to the
sale, etc. In addition, returned certified
mail to the address of the last official
owner demonstrates an attempt to lo-
cate the prior owner and complete the
chain.
Ferguson suggests another possibil-
ity besides the affidavit, "Go to court
and file a quiet title suit. " The registry
may record a certified true copy of a
court order which vests title in a specifi-
cally described aircraft. Still another
possibility can be considered in cases
where the aircraft was abandoned.
"There is usually some provision under
state law for disposing of abandoned
property, like a sheriff's sale or sale to
satisfy storage charges," Ferguson
said, "In most cases the registry may
accept for registration purposes, the
conveyance of title provided for under
state law."
be restorer should contact their local
airworthiness inspector for assistance,
he said.
In some situations where an aircraft
is not rebuilt to specifications, the build-
er's name may be shown with the man-
ufacturer's name - for example Smith/
Lockheed. A complete chain of owner-
ship is not needed because it is no
longer viewed as the same aircraft.
Only the applicant's evidence of owner-
ship for major components, such as the
fuselage and engine(s) is required , in
addition to his application for registra-
tion and $5 fee.
There is a tremendous effort involved
in getting a vintage aircraft in shape to
be shown at an air show such as the
by Dennis Parks
Library/Archives Director
EARLY AVIATION REFER-
ENCE BOOKS
Early in the history of aviation some
reference series appeared that set a
high standard. In one instance, that
standard continues until today.
Brockett
Beginning in 1910 and continuing
with coverage through 1932, Brockett's
Bibliography of Aeronautics is the pre-
mier guide to aviation literature from its
earliest times to the Golden Age.
The first issue of 1910 covered the
literature of aviation from around the
world with a cut-off date of July 1909,
the same month that Bleriot became the
first pilot to fly across the English Chan-
nel.
Though today it is hard to envision
the interest in aviation around the turn
of the century, the issue consisted of
940 pages and contained nearly 13,500
entries. Santos-Dumont who was the
first to fly in Europe during the fall of
1906 had over 100 entries covering his
activities.
The first volume was published by the
Smithsonian Institution as part of its
Miscellaneous Collections series. The
other volumes; 1909-1916; 1917-1919;
1920-21; and annuals dated from 1922
through 1932 were published by NACA.
The growth in aviation literature dur-
ing the period July 1909 through the
end of 1916 was shown by the size of
the second volume with over 1 ,400
pages. There are an estimated 68,000
entries in the second volume - more
than a five-fold increase over all the pre-
viously recorded aviation literature.
The compiler of the series was Paul
Brockett a librarian at the Smithsonian
Institution. The Smithsonian had shown
SMITH SO NIAN MISCELI .ANEOUS COLLECTIONS
'bobolltna jfunb
BIBLI OGRAPHY OF AERONAUT ICS
PAUL BROCKETT
."
AuisuIII Lib1J!;"'n,Smilh""obnln-lilution
an interest in the subject as early as
1863 when it published two papers on
aeronautics.
The institution's aeronautical collec-
tion which was the basis of the first
index was built on the nucleus brought
by Samuel Langley when he became
director in 1887.
The editorial committee of the first
volume included such early aviation
luminaries as Octave Chanute, Alexan-
der Graham Bell and Lt. Thomas Self-
ridge. The library has a complete set
available for reference.
JANE'S ALL THE WORLD'S AIR-
CRAFT
During 1909 when practical aviation
was starting to take root in Europe, Fred
T. Jane produced the first volume of
ALL THE WORLD'S AIR-SHIPS. First
published by Sampson Low in London,
Jane's still after 79 years is the world's
standard reference to aircraft specifica-
tions .
Fred Jane stated in his introduction
to the first volume:
"Aviation is yet in an early stage; and
it mayor may not be many years before
it is on a practical commercial or even
military footing. On the other hand the
number of dirigibles and aeroplanes of
various kinds in existence is already
very large and continually increasing,
hence the idea that a standard work of
reference, giving uniform statistics
should already have a market."
Mr. Jane came to the world of avia-
(PvaUCUIOMI 9 10)
CITY OF WASHINGTOl'l
PUBLlSIIED BY THE SMITI1SONIAN INSTITUTI ON
1910
14 MARCH 1988
Blakesburg, Iowa fly-in. Chet estimates
the J-3 Cub will take between 1 ,200 and
1,600 hours to restore.The people who
own the sister ship to the Winnie Mae,
Wiley Post's Lockheed Vega, have
asked Chet to restore it. It doesn't take
an aviation enthusiast to recognize the
excitement and sincere love Chet has
for those old aircraft when he describes
that ship.
"I probably will take it on after Janu-
ary. They've got all the records on that
airplane. That was the first airliner in
Oklahoma. It flew from Oklahoma City
to Tulsa and was owned by Braniff. My
intention is to put it back into Braniff col-
ors. They've even got a list of passen-
gers!"
Just hearing about these old planes
from an "old codger" like Chet makes a
person understand his dedication to re-
storing and preserving a part of aviation
history. It is no wonder Chet's family
supports his aviation interest 100 per-
cent. They must feel the same way . • Chester E. Brakefield removed the fabric from this Fairchild PT19.
ALL THE WORLD'S AIR=SHlPS.
("LYING ANNU .... L .)
FRED T . JANE.
Wi!•• s.-.I CIoopl.. .. " AeMal   I, de Grave SeUs. M. I"Sf . C.E.
tion via his interest in naval matters.
While working as a naval journalist and
artist he founded ALL THE WORLD'S
FIGHTING SHIPS in 1897. He first
mentioned the progress of flying
machines in the introduction of the 1902
edition of FIGHTING SHIPS. By 1909
he felt that with the developments in avi-
ation it was time to issue a volume on
aviation similar to his naval reference.
The first volume of 1909 consisted of
374 pages and had over 350 photo-
graphs and drawings. Aircraft of 16
countries were represented in the vol-
ume. This amounted to nearly 400 air-
craft. The country most active as indi-
cated by numbers was France with 154
models listed. Second was the United
States with 90 and Britain third having
75 different aircraft cataloged.
Each country's section was led off by
general information on their flying ac-
tivities. The one for the United States
stated: "In the early nineties, Professor
Langley and the Bros. Wright were ex-
perimenting with heavier-than-air
machines, but general interest in the
subject is quite recent." Three aerial
journals, 20 aerial societies and nine fly-
ing rounds were listed for the USA.
Among others there were aerial
societies listed for New York, Boston,
Chicago, St. Louis and Milwaukee.
The most popular design was the
Wright Biplane with 22 built or building.
Curtiss was next with six built or build-
ing.
Fred T. Jane, the founder and editor,
died in 1926 and Charles G. Grey,
editor and founder of the British
magazine Aeroplane became the editor
for the next 24 years. Jane's continues
today as the standard international re-
cord for aircraft data. The library is for-
tunate in having a nearly complete set
avai lable for reference.
AIRCRAFT YEAR BOOK
First appearing in 1919 the AIR-
CRAFT YEARBOOK became an Amer-
ican standard reference book. First pub-
lished by the Manfuacturer's Aircraft As-
sociation it was an annual report on the
American aircraft industry and a record
of the events in American aviation.
The Manufacturers Aircraft Associa-
tion was formed in 1917 as a way of
resolving the aircraft patent litigation
problem, mainly between Wright-Martin
and Curtiss. It was decided that a trust
would be formed that would share in
crOSS-licensing of the companies' pa-
tents. This would end all the patent liti-
gation and leave the industry free to ex-
pand to meet the demands and oppor-
tunities created by the world war.
The first annual year book was an ef-
fort by the association to provide a re-
cord of the individual companies partici-
pation during the war in aircraft produc-
tion. The first volume consisted mainly
of 15 chapters giving the history of the
members of the association with many
photographs. These chapters gave a
AIRCRAFT
YEAR BOOK
ISSUED BY
MANUFACTURERS
AIRCRAFT
ASSOCIATION
INC .
1919
MANUFACTURERS AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION.
riOt FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK CITY
INC.
history of the forming of the companies,
the officers, and production activities
during the war. All a very valuable con-
tribution in itself.
The later annuals gave updates on
company activities, descriptions of newly
developed aircraft, three-view drawings
on many of the new aircraft, a chronol-
ogy of events from the year and several
pages of statistics on production figures
and numbers of planes and pilots in the
country.
The yearbook continued under differ-
ent publishers until the 1959 edition.
The library is missing only the 1935 and
the 1936 volumes. Is their anyone out
there who can help us complete the
set?
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15
Eye  of the  Tiger 
New  Zealand  as  seen  from  a  vintage  Tiger  Moth 
"You fly over the North Island, but
through the South Island," was how one
pilot described the basic difference be-
tween the two halves of New Zealand.
He made his observation during a re-
cent group cross-country in vintage
airplanes.
As an Aucklander making his first
flight south of Cook Strait, the pilot was
obviously impressed with southern
scenery and was making a generaliza-
tion, but the principle does hold true.
The North Island may have isolated
peaks - mainly volcanic - rising more
than 6,000 ft., but its ranges are mostly
below 5,000 ft. and present no real
problems to the aviator in suitable
weather. The South Island, however,
has a well defined backbone range of
mountains, many of them over 9,000 ft,
and numerous areas of rugged high
country but low-level routes exist
through them by way of river valleys
16 MARCH 1988
Story  and  photos  by J ohn  King 
(EAA  228003,  Al e 8502)
29  Fairclough  Road 
Beach  Haven 
Auckland  10,  New  Zealand 
and passes, the lowest of them in the
main Southern Alps being Haast Pass
at 1,874 ft but surrounded by 8,000 ft.
peaks.
Such low routes are of prime interest
to the open-cockpit biplane pilot, not
noted for flying at high altitudes or re-
liance on radio navigation aids. Instead,
he's developed his map-reading - and
his grip, for a lost map isn't much fun
when you're surrounded by unfamiliar
landscape a lot bigger than you are!
The New Zealand vintage aviation
scene is similar in many ways to that
found in Australia, described by Tony
Stinson in the April 1985 issue of THE
VINTAGE AIRPLANE. The Tiger Moth
is the best-known type, purely by
reason of its numbers and longevity, for
it was built locally by the hundreds dur-
ing World War II for the Empire Flying
Training Scheme, when pilots were
trained in New Zealand and sent off to
fight in Europe and the Pacific.
The Tiger Moth's NZ postwar history
is a little different from that in Australia,
however, for it became the standard ae-
rial topdressing aircraft for some mad
years after 1949, fitted with a hopper in
the front cockpit and staggering aloft
from farm strips with five hundredweight
(560 Ibs.) of superphosphate fertiliser
for rejuvenating the country's pastures.
The accident rate was horrendous -
32.7 per 10,000 hours flown the first
year - as overloaded Tigers hit fences,
trees, and everything else, for 130 hp
isn't much to haul that payload and a
brakeless tailskid aircraft doesn't lend
itself to easy ground handling. Their
slow speed and robust build, on the
other hand, meant a high pilot survival
rate, and bent Tiger Moths were trucked
back to base and reappeared remarka-
bly soon afterwards, often wearing dif-
ferent wings, fuselage and numerous
other major parts, more than one being
known by its original registration simply
because the rudder hadn't been dam-
aged.
Fortunately for the type's ultimate
survival, more suitable agricultural air-
craft became available, and Tiger
Moths were retired back to the aero
clubs, gliding clubs as towplanes, and
private owners, with many other Cliff Bellingham over Bruce Bay in typical West Coast scenery.
Mike Bamford takes a break from refuelling
at Haast to supervise John Pheasant and
Alan Land topping up his oil.
airplanes sitting in component parts in
the backs of hangars around the coun-
try. Their intrinsic worth as fun machine
was always recognised, and in 1969 a
group of private owners got together
and formed the Tiger Club of New Zea-
land, still the country's main organiza-
tion for privately owned vintage aero-
planes. Prices have escalated in recent
years, with the side effect of bringing
more Tiger Moths back into the air, and
something over two dozen are currently
airworthy and active in various parts of
New Zealand.
The Tiger Club of NZ has its annual
fly-in, competitions and general get-to-
gether at a different aerodrome each
time, and the 1985 event took place at
Blenheim, in the northeast corner of the
South Island. Recent years have seen
'1/ IIIII1
I'
A" tied down as the sun sets in the west at Greymouth, West Coast.
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17
something of a revival in the old tradi-
tion of group sightseeing tours in these
old types, and what started out to be a
gentle flight around the South Island,
leaving from Blenheim and taking in an
Auster fly-in at Lismore, Canterbury, a
week later, grew into a memorable ten-
day jaunt over many hundreds of miles
by eleven people in seven aeroplanes.
Five of those were Tiger Moths, one
(for part of the distance) a Replica Plans
SE-SA homebuilt, and the other a 1949
Auster J/1 B, the British four-place high-
wing cabin monoplane developed from
the wartime spotter licence-built from
the Taylorcraft series. Its extra baggage
capacity came in handy, the rear locker
of the Tiger Moth being somewhat li-
mited. Marjorie and Maurine Plowright
flew their Auster from the Bay of Islands
in the far north of the country. Tom
Grant of Dunedin came along in his SE-
SA, and flying their Tiger Moths were
chief organiser John Crosbie, Cliff Bel-
lingham, and John Pheasant, all of Au-
ckland, Alan Land from Gisborne, and
Michael Bamford in the NZ Sport and
Vintage Aviation Society's Tiger from
Masterton.
Two North Americans also came
along, for a view of New Zealand that
very few New Zealanders are priviliged
to see. Julia Clark, from Gold River,
Vancouver Island, British Columbia,
was on a leisurely tour on the islands
of the Pacific and met Alan Land at the
most opportune moment. Richard
Broussard came all the way from
Lafayette, Louisiana, after reading
about an earlier NZ vintage aerial safari
in Continental Airlines' magazine. While
Julia knew nothing about draughty old
planes, Richard as the owner of an L-19
and one or two other types, at least had
an inkling of what to expect on the flying
side and had boned up on books about
NZ geography. Nobody was prepared,
Tigers in the grass at Fox Glacier, West Coast. however, for the combination of glorious
18 MARCH 1988
A pause at the Southland Gl iding Club' s airstrip at Five Rivers.
weather, superb scenery, interesting
airstrips, and all-round sheer good fun
of the trip.
The scene was set even before we
departed from Blenheim, with a morning
mass fly-out around the Marlborough
Sounds, the rugged series of almost
land-locked arms of the sea that reverb-
erated to the sounds of some 20 light
aircraft in (very) loose formation. Tiger
Moths, Austers, Super Cubs, Jodels,
and the odd Cessna 180 were allied by
local topdressing pi lot Dave Bishop in
his sprayer Cub, landing at a suddenly
crowded strip along the way and back
to Blenheim for lunch. Richard was
heard to say that he'd be content with
just that as a reason for coming all the
way to New Zealand, even before the
safari itself started.
We left Blenheim again after 5:00
p.m. that day on the first leg to
Greymouth on the South Island's West
Coast. We had a few things to learn,
such as relative throttle openings for
similar speeds, and while three Tigers
had long-range fuel tanks fitted,
Greymouth was at about maximum
range for the other two. Fortunately the
weather was perfect for that leg and we
didn't need the contingency plan of a
top-up pause at Murchison, although a
slight breeze down the length of the
Grey River set us back a few minutes,
and we landed and tied down in the set-
ting sun amid a gathering crowd of
people. ("How's your fuel level?" "She's
right - it's still damp in there! ")
While we were accommodated in the
clubhouse on the aerodrome,
Greymouth had no hangarage avail-
able, and it's amazing how the surf a
few yards away on the other side of the
sand dunes can sound like wind to the
subconscious mind of the sleeping vin-
tage aviator. But we were most fortu-
nate in having hangars for our planes
when we needed them most as the wind
blew.
With limited fuel endurance, much
thought had been given to the question
of supplies, especially in the more re-
mote parts of South Westland where
there weren't any official publi c aerod-
romes, let alone pumps to fi ll the tanks.
Added to that was the fact that aviation
fuel - 100-octane being the minimum
grade now available - is bad news for
low-compression deHaviliand Gipsy
Major engines, which were designed for
"good quality motor spirit of no less than
70 octane," according to the manual,
and containing no lead whatsoever be-
cause of their aluminum-bronze cylin-
der heads. Even today's motor fuel , an
authorized substitute, has too much
lead for these engines, but fortunately
a suitable modern equivalent is found
in the additive-free gasoline known as
white spirit and normally used for clean-
ing purposes. John Crosbie had ar-
ranged for appropriate quantities to be
trucked to strategic aerodromes. Mind
you, refueling from drums, using only
one pump, took some time and we
seemed to spend more hours at the
task than we did in the air.
The only gap in the fuel arrange-
ments was at Haast, our last point in
South Westland before turning inland
up the Haast River and over the pass
into the lake country on the eastern side
of the main divide. The grapevine led
us to believe that the Haast airfield, dis-
used for some years, had been
reinstated, and I knew there was a pet-
rol station on the road nearby; besides,
a few miles south of Mussel Point was
another, unofficial stri p, so we were
sure of being able to put down some-
where in the area. Sure enough, Haast
had a brand new gravel runway (only
slightly second-hand after we'd left,
tailskids and all) , pointing right into what
little wind there was, and the petrol sta-
tion even had white spirit avai lable. Op-
timism reigned supreme!
Perhaps open cockpit biplane types
are basically optimists at heart, but fly-
ing conditions far exceeded even the
best that anyone could have envisaged.
True, we did have a solid overcast one
morning, a few showers of rain another
day, and some westerly winds a couple
of times. However, the winds were al-
ways on the tail - John Pheasant
waited for the others to catch up on the
stretch down the Waitaki River by turn-
ing back into the wind and sitting abso-
lutely stationary relative to the ground -
and the rain was only showers over the
flat country of the Canterbury Plains,
where visibilty was no problem. The rest
of the time is was CAVU, with the spec-
ial clarity and light found only in the
South Island. We showed mock horror
at the sight of a puffy cloud on the hori-
zon, or wind that actually required a de-
at several other overnight stops, usually Alan Land's Tiger Moth has a pre-flight inspection at Omarama.
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19
cision as to takeoff or landing direction.
Such flying conditions, with not a
bump in the entire sky and with other
like-minded aviators in close proximity,
are a terrible temptation for the open-
cockpit type. "I wonder if we can read
the name on the hall of that place down
there?" came over the gosport tube in-
tercom, so we dropped down to have a
look. Next thing we knew, the inoffen-
sive little village on the Grey River was
being buzzed by four Tiger Moths, and
the inhabitants of Ahaura are probably
still wondering what brought that on.
Or the valley of the Englinton River,
on the eastern edge of Fiordland with
bushclad mountains rising all round.
We'd flown through the valleys from the
resort of Queenstown on the impossibly
blue Lake Wakatipu, seeing no sign of
human presence for mile after mile of
genuine tourist-type scenery. The Eg-
linton contains the road to Milford
Sound, however, and somebody de-
cided the camp at Cascade Creek was
worth a closer look which he did - by
way of a stall turn.
Our policy was to keep everybody in
sight of everybody else, as no aircraft
carried a radio and much of the coun-
tryside was inhospitable as far as forced
landings were concerned. So the flight
developed (degenerated?) into a hilari-
ous trip down the wide grassy river flats,
following the Glinton's meanderings
and waving to trout fisherman and the
occasional shepherd.Tourist buses on
the Milford Sound road proved fair
game, too, with occupants startled at
the sight of brightly coloured biplanes
going the same direction in close pro-
ximity. When one group of buses disap-
peared into a patch of forest, there on
the other side would be another lot for
continued sport. Dinner that evening at
Lake Te Anau - barbecued wild pork,
steaks, crayfish, whitebait and other de-
licacies - resounded to immoderate
laughter and tales of great derring-do.
But for all that, our flying certainly
wasn't reckless. Any thoughts of low fly-
Richard Broussard contemplates ZK-BAT at Omarama.
ing were tempered by comments of
"Remember CZX, " a Tiger Moth double
fatality that resulted from flying into
power wires strung across a river gorge
some years ago. Such lines and iso-
  ~ I
WONDER IF
WE CAN
READ THE
NAME ON THE
HALL OF THAT
PLACE DOWN
THERE. "
lated flying fox wires are a real hazard.
Our flying discipline was enforced by
Mike Bamford, a CFI and the senior
pilot among us, and we had thorough
briefings and discussions on where we
were flying next. Among the lot of us
were pilots who knew most of the coun-
try, and where none of us had been be-
fore, we took along a local guide.
Such a stretch was the scenic joyride
from Te Anau, across Lake Manapouri,
through Wilmot pass into Doubtful
Sound, around the 1 ,OOO-foot waterfall
and inside the lake, 3,000 feet up the
wall of the fiord, back through Malas-
pina Reach, Bradshaw Sound, and the
mountains with their dozens of un-
named lakes and tarns. It was awe-
inspiring country, but we drew some
comfort from the presence of Roy Toms
in the Cessna 185 of Air Fiordland, the
local tourist flight operator.
John Pheasant was our resident air-
craft engineer (mechanic - ed .), another
comforting sort of fellow to have along.
As it turned out, he had very little to do
as aircraft reliability was all we could
have hoped for in such country, and the
most work he had was in patching his
own Tiger Moth when somebody else
- not one of our party - dropped it in
short at Te Anau and punched a couple
of holes in the wing fabric.
Even so, just about everyone admit-
ted to a rotten landing or two at some
stage of the safari, as we popped into
aerodromes, farm strips, paddocks and
all manner of landing spots, managing
to avoid all traces of air traffic control
and unnecessary paperwork. Only at
Queenstown did we have to land on a
sealed runway - the wind was rather
too brisk for the grass cross vector -
but the other 18 pieces of ground we
used for getting down varied from the
lush grass growth of Te Anau, through
all sorts of farm paddocks - and a few
licensed aerodromes - to the gravel-
and-bedrock of Makarora.
Everybody learned something in all
that varied flying, but most importantly,
everybody had tremendous fun as only
those who have participated in some-
thing similar can appreciate. It certainly
won't be the last of this sort of thing in
At Lismore, Canterbury, "Like a lot of naughty children facing the wall." New Zealand .•
20 MARCH 1988
WELCOME NEW MEMBERS
..
The following is a listing of new members who have joined the EAA Antique/Classic Division (through December 15, 1987). We
are honored to welcome them into the organization whose members' common interest is vintage aircraft. Succeeding issues of
THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE will contain additional listings of new members.
Starr, Robert L. Custer, LeRoy B. Ruark, Eric S. Potter, Edward C.
Brownsburg, Indiana ansas City, Missouri Baltimore, Maryland Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
,
Harvey, Keith Stotesberry Jr., Donald L. Raffel, Leslie J. Cooper, Ben C.
Stockton, California Plymouth, North Carolina Chicago, Illinois Kintbury, Berkshire, England
Kerrick, Dana carpenter, Thomas L. Wright, Kevin L. Meteney, Timothy C.
Stockton, California Needles, California North Mankato, Minnesota Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania
La Porte, Donald C. campbell, Jerry L. Hansen, Graham J. Meyer, John R.
Bayside, Wisconsin Corpus Christi, Texas Sherwood Park, Alberta, Canada Seattle, Washington
Kelley, William J. Redden, Phil Croskrey, Steven B. Talch, Morton
Torrance, California Pierre, South Dakota Traer, Iowa Skokie, Illinois
Bubb, John A. Cruikshank, Gordon Lee, Ivor J. Murat, George
Jersey Shore, Pennsylvania Clinton Corners, New York Sharon, Pennsylvania South Bend, Indiana
Adolf, James F. Felmley, Dan Christian, Rave Oowsett, Barry
Kenai, Alaska Sacramento, California La Pocherie, Angers, France Way Stanwell, Middlesex, England
Koebel, Colin King, Russell L. Bixby, Rex V. Langman, Henry
Clarendon Hills, Illinois Sarasota, Florida Selma, Oregon Manawa, Wisconsin
Gomes, Antonio Tavares Sousa Gordon, James A. Rehbein, Marvin L. Barr, Robert W.
Sao Miguel, Azores Ogden, Utah Plains, Montana Denver City, Texas
Hayes, Bob Husted, Darla Madden, Michael A. Daubner III, George H.
Toms River, New Jersey Tampa, Florida Appleton, Wisconsin Hartford, Wisconsin
Eckert, Dieter E. Bennett, Ralph P. Jones, C. Hall Cochran, Philip
Paso Robles, California Suffield, Connecticut Kent, Ohio Kenai, Alaska
Foster, Peter Elyea, Lyle Sands, Robert A. Tumlin, Robert L
Bradford, Ontario Marengo, Illinois Cheyenne, Wyoming Greenwood, Mississippi
Conrad, Nicholas Cochran, Eugene E. Zerby, Judy A. Williams, William L
Cherry Hill, New Jersey Martinsville, Virginia Coon Rapids, Minnesota Lewistown, Montana
Thompson, Phillip Morrison, Rae Marrero, Andres campbell, James R.
Amarillo, Texas Federal Way, Washington Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico Vincennes, Indiana
Stewart, Jeffery D. larrimore, Joseph K. Roberta II, Robert G. Spence, Pete
Santer, California Harrington, Delaware Parkersbury, Nevada Mail Kirk, Ontario, Cana.Ya
Swlres, C. James Silva Jr., Joseph A. Wines, Lyle G. Paneok, Ellen
Oil City, Pennsylvania Fremont, California Cambria, California Barrou, Alaska
O'Dell, Thomas R. Fey, Jon Pappas, James 0IcHIeId, Guy V.
Milan, Michigan Downers Grove, Illinois Lodi, New Jersey Richland, Washington
Ferrara, Ronald J. Halverson, W. R. Kundlg, Konrad J. A. Munson, Russell
Murfreesboro, Tennessee Sparks, Nevada Randolph, New Jersey New York, New York
Ziegler, Donald F. Uchtenberg, Bruce A. Digatl, Anthony J. Chesllk, Scott L.
Fond du Lac, Wisconsin Saugus, California Azusa, California Muncie, Indiana
Owens,Jeff Lang, Mathew Hanklson, Walter Gutzmann, Gerald E.
Kingsport, Tennessee Ocala, Florida Shiloh, New Jersey Milwaukee, WISConsin
Bedford, Dennis L Kendrick, Jerry E. Dudley Jr., Larry D. Bristol, David
Auke Bay, Alaska Pineville, Louisiana Roanoke, Virginia Torrance, California
Prox, Dennis Strlbl!ng, James L Kowalczyk, Walter L Mumford, Donald
Port Orange, Florida Columbus, Indiana Morris, Illinois Warre, Ohio •
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21
The  Time  Cap_s_u_'_e_____B.._.Y_Ja_Ck_C_OX_ 
Photographs are time capsules . • . a fleeting instant frozen forever . .. preserved for future generations to use as a peephole to
the past. The EAA Foundation has thousands of negatives that have been donated by photographers . . • or their estates . . . who
attended great events of the 1930s like the Cleveland Air Races or simply haunted their local airports to photograph the airplanes
passing through. These priceless peeks at aviation's Golden Age deserve to be seen . .. and we intend to present a few of them each
month in this new feature. Any additional light readers can shed on any of the aircraft is welcomed. This month's photos are from the
Schrade Radtke Collection.
No, this is not Bill Turner at Oshkosh - it's Marion McKeen with the original Miss Los Angeles at the Cleveland Air Races. The racer
was powered with an inline, inverted, six-cylinder Menasco C-6-S Buccaneer fitted with an eight inch centrifugal supercharger. It
developed about 300 hp at 2,900 rpm ... from 544 cubic inches. Top speed was about 270 mph. The original was destroyed in a racing
accident Cleveland in 1939 ... and only Bill Turner's Ranger powered in replica remains today. Radtke Collection #202.
One of just seven Monosport 2s built, NC136K was powered by a 100-hp Kinner K-S. The logo on the vertical fin reads "Wolverine
Insurance Co., Lansing, Michigan." Built in 1929 or early 1930, the airplane was four or five years old when this photo was taken in the
mid-30s. Any of you Michiganders remember it? Radtke Collection #803.
A Boeing P-26A the way they really looked - with gravel pitted wheel pants and soot streaks down the sides of the fuselage. Note the
gunsight, radio mast and the high "headrest" - most of which was actually a fairing for the turnover structure. The prototype, XP-936,
and the early production models had smaller, more attractive headrests, but they were raised eight inches after a pilot was killied in a
turnover that only moderately damaged the airplane. Likewise, flaps were added after the Army found the landing speed of 82-83 mph
to be too fast! The P-26A was the first U.S. production all-metal, monoplane fighter (put In service In 1934) and survived to be the last
open cockpit, fixed gear, externally braced fighter In the Inventory. This one belonged to one of the 1st Pursuit Group squadrons. Radtke
Collection #169.
Judging by the landing lights mounted on the gear legs, this Kinner K-5-powered American Eagle A-129 must have been used for a lot
of night flying. Maybe the owner flew at night to avoid all the guffaws concerning the long nose - and the nicknames like " Anteater
Eagle", etc., etc. It was a sturdy 01' bird ... but It never won any beauty contests. Radtke Collection #34.
- - - - -- ......-..... ~ -..... ...
T'T' • • ~ \ A I n ~ .     ~
I I , • • ".,. " •  L-. ~
• • • I I ••••• I r -·- I .....
'- 1'- II  I  I ••••• 'I •• , 
~ ~ -- - _.. - -- .... 
1987 
by John Berndt
(EAA 36591, AlC 984)
7645 Echo Point Rd.
Cannon Falls, MN  55009
On Saturday, June 6, the sound of
Ranger and Warner engines filled the
air at the Coldwater, Michigan airport.
The third annual "Fairchild Reunion"
was under way. Actually, it started on
Friday afternoon when the early arrivals
began to trickle in. Three Fairchild 24s
parked by Mike Kelly's hangar. By noon
on Saturday, the reunion was in full
swing.
This was the year of the Warner en-
gine. For years those of us who fly
Rangers in our ships have been giving
the Warner boys a bad time about hav-
ing to work on their engines. This year
the Warners outnumbered the Rangers
two to one. To top it off, Gar Williams
from Naperville, Illinois flew in a
Warner-powered Cessna Airmaster.
The PT section was very will rep-
resented. Eight PTs of all models flew
in. John Mertesdorf of Nicollet, Min-
nesota flew the greatest distance to the
reunion. In spite of the wind and the
thermals a photo fl ight was held on
Saturday. With Ken Fork flying his Fair-
child 24 and Harland Avezzie as the
photographer, four of the PTs were able
to get in formation for some good pic-
tures. These pilots see each other only
once a year so this was no small ac-
compl ishment.
As the wind died and evening ap-
proached, Ed Escallon in his Pitts put
on an aerobatic show. Ed also has a
PT-26 and maybe he will repeat the
show in his Fairchild some time. By the
time it was too dark to fly, 10 Fairchilds
were tied down. John Mertesdorf, Dick
and June Reich, Jeff and Ralph Reese
and Jim Martin were in their PTs. Ed
Wegner, Charlie Bell, Tony Grunner
and Ken Fork with their 24s. Mike and
Phil Kelly added their PTs to the line.
On this first day of the 1987 Fairchild
Reunion, with the flying over for the day,
all of us got together for hangar flying
and renewing old friendships. Sunday
would be the annual Branch County Fly-
ing Club's Fly-in Breakfast. It is held the
first Sunday in June very year and is
the largest and oldest fly-in breakfast in
Michigan. By nine a.m. Sunday the air-
port was covered with planes. Jack Taft
and Bob Greenhoe came in with their
PTs and Robert Bare and Dave New-
bury brought their 24s.
The Yankee Air Force brought their
DC-3/C-47 in for a static display. The
big twin looked like a mother hen guard-
ing her chicks with all the smaller air-
craft parked around it if Sue Parish flew
her pink P-40 to the fly-in also. I am
sure many of you have seen Sue flying
this ship at Oshkosh and other events.
We were happy that she was able to
come to the reunion.
Sunday was a day of special events
highlighted by the dedication of a
plaque in the memory of Harriet
Quimby, a former Branch County resi-
dent who made history as the first
woman to become a licensed pilot in
the United States. History has not been
kind to Harriet. She started flying in
1911 . After a little over four hours' time
in the air she took the test for her pilot's
license and on August 1, 1911 she was
issued Aero Club of America's Pilot
Number 37 - the nation's first licensed
24 MARCH 1988
woman aviator. Harriet decided to be
the first woman to fly across the English
Channel. On April 16th, 1912, at 5:30
a.m., she left the English Coast and
landed on a hard beach in France. If
Harriet's story made the paper at all, it
was not on the front page. You see, on
the night of April 14th, an ocean liner
hit an iceberg and sank in the North At-
lantic. From mid-April, the world cared
to hear about nothing else but the loss
of the Titanic.
On July 1, 1912, Harriet Quimby was
killed in an accident at a Boston air-
meet. Her flying career had lasted less
than a year.
By the early afternoon on Sunday the
events at Coldwater were winding
down. The first pilot to leave was Dave
Nelson in his J-3 CUb. The wind was
out of the west at 20 mph so it was
going to be a long flight back to Racine,
Wisconsin for Dave. About four p.m. the
only Fairchild left on the line was Tony
Grunners 24. He was going to fly back
to his home later in the evening. Har-
land Avezzie and his wife had started
the long drive to their home in Westfield,
Massachusetts. Next year we'll see the
PT-23 Harland is rebuilding.
After reviewing the past two days
events with Mike Kelly I pointed my pick-
up truck west on Highway 12. My co-
driver for the trip, Chuck Alsip, said, "At
least you had a ship at this year's reun-
ion, " and promptly fell asleep. Yes, this
year I had a ship there. I had bought a
1947 F-24 and was hauling it back to
Minnesota to rebuild. Someday I might
buy an airplane that is flying.
Plans are being made for the 1988
Fairchild Reunion to be held again at
Coldwater, Michigan. The dates are
Saturday and Sunday June 4th and 5th.
We hope to see you there .
•
Letters  To  The  Edito'<sr,iB 
(Continued from Page 5)
Editor,
The December 1987 The Vintage
Airplane contained an article by Glen
Stadler. Included were remarks con-
cerning Bud Gurney and Charles
Lindbergh. Mr. Stadler might make the
following corrections for his records.
Gurney and Lindbergh barnstorming
in an "old Curtiss Robin?" The Robin
was certificated in May 1928, A.T.C.
No. 40 (Juptner, Vol 1., page 111), one
year after the Lone Eagle completed the
New York-Paris flight.
Gurney and Haneline honoring Gen-
eral Lindbergh's last request to fly him
from Los Angeles? Bud Gurney had
been retired from United Air Lines for
over ten years when Lindbergh died.
On August 18th, 1974 I was captain
on United flight 955 from O'Hare to
Honolulu. On arrival
I sETa'I'"
at Honolulu we
docked immediately behind the New
York-Honolulu nonstop and saw a dis-
embarking by fork lift of a stretcher
case.
At the layover hotel I talked with Cap-
tain Bill Picune, of flight 993, I believe,
_and he said that indeed Charles
Lindbergh was on the flight from New
York, accompanied by his gracious wife
Anne and a medical person. The group
was then flown to Hana on Maui by am-
bulance plane. The method of travel
from Hana to the Lindbergh home near
the Seven Pools, I don't know.
Next Honolulu trip on August 25th, we
heard that the great man had passed
away at his home on Maui with burial in
the local churchyard in a wooden, hand-
made coffin.
Bud Gurney was a true gentleman
and he'd be the last person to agree
with Mr. Stadler's version.
We all know how reporters get carried
away, especially when the subject is
aviation oriented. But an "old" Curtiss
Robin, a high-wing cabin monoplane vs.
an open cockpit biplane, as was Lindy's
Jenny. C'mon Mr. Stadler!
Incidentally, Captain Picune was in-
terviewed at length by the company
paper, "The Mainliner" at that time, and
he mentioned that the inbound routing
to Honolulu was over Maui and the
Haleakla volcano, only a short distance
by air from the Lindbergh Maui home
and (they asked) would Lindy like a
short detour to see it. Lindbergh replied
that would be nice, but no, he did not
want to delay the passengers.
This world is immensely better for
Charles A. Lindbergh having lived in it.
Charles H. Smith
(EAA 5529, NC 43) 
204 W. Lockport Street
Plainfield, Illinois 60544-1940.
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25
I ClubActivities 
Compiled by Norm Petersen
MEYERS AIRCRAFT OWNERS AS-
SOCIATION
The 1987 Meyers Aircraft Owners As-
sociation fly-in was held at Sedona,
Arizona and featured some excellent
seminars on formation flying as well as
aviation insurance. The camaraderie of
the group is something else! The '88
fly-in is not officially located as yet, but
stay tuned for the latest information.
An urgent note to all Meyers 2000
aircraft owners comes as a result of
Pard Diver and his strip at Tecumseh,
Michigan. Pard discovered a Rockwell-
built Meyers 2000 that was missing a
support brace for the elevator torque
tube. This poses a potentially danger-
ous situation ! The brace in question is
located about halfway back in the tail -
cone and everyone who owns an Aero
Commander 2000 should immediately
check to determine that their aircraft
does in fact have the brace installed.
This is easily done by removing the
back plate in the baggage compartment
and using a flashlight, following the
round tube that goes all the way back
to the tail , making sure that there is a
cross piece with a piece of phenolic ma-
terial that the tube passes through ap-
proximately halfway back in the tail-
cone. This piece supports the tube and
without the brace, the tube could buckle
and fail under adverse conditions such
as heavy ice or heavy wind gust loading
on the elevator! If this piece is missing
from your airplane, contact Pard Diver
at Tecumseh Aviation, Tecumseh,
Michigan immediately, telephone 5171
423-8040.
For more information on the Meyers
Aircraft Owners Association, contact
the club secretary, William E. (Bill)
Gaffney, 26 Rt. 17K, Newburgh, New
York 12550, phone 914/565-8005.
West Coast 120/140
..
WEST COAST
CESSNA 120/140 CLUB
It seems the Cessna 170 bunch set
a record of sorts in 1974 when some 76
Cessna 170s arrived at Oshkosh for the
"big one."
Now any club worth its salt knows
that records are made to be broken!
Therefore, members of the Cessna 1201
140/140A group (which includes the
West Coast Club) have taken it upon
themselves to do just that! Somehow,
the theme, "88 in '88" popped up and
all signals are lined up for an arrival that
will be remembered at Oshkosh for
years to come.
Plans call for the gathering at a satel-
lite airport on Thursday, July 28, and
with everything in readiness, takeoff will
be seven a.m. for an "in-trail " arrival at
Oshkosh between 0900 and 0930 on
Friday, July 29, the first day of EAA
Oshkosh '88. The Monticello, Iowa
Municipal Airport has been selected as
the satellite airport, and it has the ca-
pacity to handle the entire group of
Cessna 120/140 airplanes and crew.
Quite a gathering is planned, including
many different events that are bound to
please all.
If you are a 120/140/140A driver and
are planning on attending EAA Osh-
kosh '88, don't miss this once-in-a-
lifetime opportunity to become part of
"88 in '88." For more information, con-
tact the co-chairmen of the event: Jim
Barker, 25636 Franklin Avenue, No. 1,
Hayward, CA 94544-2824 or Jack Cro-
nin, 433 Franklin Street, Denver, CO
80218. If you are able to volunteer any
time or talents, please inform the chair-
man.
Membership in the West Coast
Cessna 120/140 Club is $10 per year.
Contact the club treasurer, Elsie
Thompson, at P. O. Box 727, Roseburg,
OR 97470-0151 for information, phone
503/672-5046.
 
TWIN BONANZA ASSOCIATION
With its second birthday just passed,
the Twin Bonanza Association seeks to
assist those interested in joining to-
gether to share experiences and assist
in documenting this classic aircraft so
that it takes its rightful place in aviation
history. The Twin Bonanza is techni-
cally referred to as the Model 50 and
often referred to as the "T-Bone. "
This rather hefty twin-engine aircraft
was built by Beech in 13 variations from
the Model 50 to the Model J50. Some
396 ''T-Bones" are listed on the FAA re-
gister plus 27 military Model U-80 and
2 model L-23D for a grand total of 425.
Useful load in the ''T-Bone'' varies
from 1 ,750 Ibs. to 2,830 Ibs., depending
on model , so you can see the load car-
rying ability of these twins. One member
of the association hauls 10 skydivers at
once in his airplane! Most Twin
Bonanza aircraft are powered with six-
cylinder Lycoming engines of 260 to
340 hp, although some have been con-
verted to even larger engines.
The newsletter published by the as-
sociation is full of information and tips
on caring for and operating the "T-
Bone" in a safe manner. The latest
issue includes a two-page form for con-
ducting a 100-hour inspection on the
aircraft plus a large comparison chart
with vital statistics on the 13 models of
the T-Bone.
The editor of the newsletter is
Richard I. Ward. Membership in the as-
sociation is $25 domestic and $35
foreign.
For information, contact Ward in care
of the Twin Bonanza Association,
19684 Lakeshore Drive, Three Rivers,
Michigan 49093, phone 616/279-2540.
26 MARCH 1988
VINTAGE  SEAPLANES 
by Norm Petersen
This month we feature two more
photos from the collection of
John Finiello, Jr. (EAA 250290,
AlC 10530), 219 Adams N.E.,
Albuquerque, NM 87108. These
two pictures were taken in 1946
in Toronto, Canada at the Tor-
onto Island Airfield (and sea-
plane base).
The dashing young man leaning
against the float is 18-year-old
John Finiello in his favorite
" Howard Hughes" jacket. The
aircraft is a Cessna T-50 pow-
ered with 245-hp Jacobs en-
gines using Hamilton Standard
controllable props and mounted
on a set of Edo 61-5870 floats.
The T-50 (UC-78) was known as
the "Crane" in Canadian service
and affectionately referred to as
the " Bamboo Bomber" in the
U.S. The T-50 was also ap-
proved on Edo YD-6470 floats.
A close inspection of the
photos reveals the Canadian re-
gistration CF-DIC and the name,
G.H. Goodsall, Euclid Sales &
Service. Visible in the back-
ground are such interesting
floatplanes as a Staggerwing
Beech, WACO Cabin, Stinson
108, DeHavilland Fox Moth,
Cessna 140 and a DeHaviliand
DH 89 "Rapide".
by George A. Hardie, Jr.
In the history of the development of
aviation there were many attempts to
design the perfect personal airplane.
This is evidently one man's idea for a
homebuilt for his personal flying plea-
sure. The photo was submitted by Ed
Peck of Waddy, Kentucky. The photo is
stamped on the back with a photo-
grapher's stamp originating in San
Diego. No date or location is known. An-
swers will be published in the June,
1988 issue of THE VINTAGE
AIRPLANE. Deadline for that issue is
April 10, 1988.
Several interesting answers were re-
ceived about the Mystery Plane in the
December, 1987 issue of THE VIN-
TAGE AIRPLANE. Harold Armstrong of
Rawlings, Maryland writes:
''The Mystery Plane in the December
issue is an American Flea Triplane. It
was designed by Cassel de Hibbs and
marketed by Universal Aircraft Co., Inc.
of Ft. Worth, Texas in the 1930s and
early 1940s. In more recent years Thur-
man Baird of Asheville, North Carolina
sold plans for this aircraft. Enclosed is
a copy of a brochure which contains
specifications and prices.
"We have the scanty remains of an
earlier Flea which was put together by
Bruce Hutton when he was a very
young fellow. Found it in a barn near
Grafton, "'lest Virginia several years
ago. It was powered by a Model A and
differs considerably in both design and
construction from the later type. Be-
cause of its poor condition, missing
parts and lack of information we have
thus far not made an effort to restore it.
There is no evidence that this aircraft
ever flew."
Luverne A. Kramer of Deadwood,
South Dakota writes:
''The Mystery Plane pictured in the
December issue is my American Flea
Triplane that I built in 1952 and 1953.
To build it I used brochures with pic-
tures, plus pieces of wing and fuselage
that I obtained from Lillian Holden of
Fort Worth, Texas who claimed to own
the patents. I first learned of the
airplane in ads in aviation magazines
powered with a Ford Model A engine,
but did not write for information on the
plane until 1951 .
"I was unable to obtain blueprints and
had to rely on the bits and pieces of
plane that Ms. Holden gave me while
on a trip to Texas. After completion, I
made up blueprints and also a 16-mm
film and sent them to Ms. Holden. I was
to be paid for my work, but never re-
28 MARCH 1988
ceived anything. Ms. Holden was not a
pilot, although at one time she owned
the Standard Aero Craft Co. and the
Universal Aircraft Co. She referred to a
Mr. Hibbs in one letter as a former part-
ner, who could have been the original
owner of the design.
"I flew the single place triplane for ap-
proximately 30 hours. It was powered
with a 65-hp Lycoming, fuel capacity
was six gallons. It cruised at 80 mph
and landed at 45 mph. It had a good
climb performance - 800 fpm - and
a 1   takeoff roll. Its handling
made it suitable for only an experienced
pilot. The rudder and elevator had very
quick responses, while the ailerons
handled normally.
"In 1958 I heard that EAA wanted to
start a museum at Hales Corners so I
contacted Paul Poberezny to see if he
was interested in my triplane for the
I decided to donate the plane
for display and 'safekeeping'. It was the
second plane for the museum after
Steve Wittman's racer 'Bonzo'."
Paul Robertson, Jr. of Richmond
Michigan writes: '
''The original designer and builder
was a Ms. Lillian Holden whom I con-
tacted in 1980. I was and am interested
in purchasing one. Ms. Holden was sei-
ling the company in 1980 to Arthur Neal
of Hastings, Michigan. I made several
attempts to follow up Mr. Neal's prog-
ress but on my last inquiry no planes
had been completed."
Other correct answers were received
from Doug Rounds, Zebulon, GA; Frank
Pavliga, Cuyahoga Falls, OH; Wayne
Van Valkenburgh, Jasper, GA and Leo
Opdycke, Poughkeepsie, NY .•
In December, the American Flea Triplane.
Where  The  Sellers  and  Buyers  Meet... 
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plus  139  page  Builder's  Manual  - $60.00.  Info 
Pack - $5.00. Super Acro Sport Wing Drawing -
$15.00.  The  Technique  of  Aircraft  Building  -
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order  to:  ACRO  SPORT,  INC.,  Box  462,  Hales 
Comers, WI  53130. 414/529-2609. 
25c  per word, 20  word minimum. Send  your ad to 
The Vintage Treder,  Wittman  Airfield 
Oshkoah, WI 54903-2591.
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THE  JOURNAL  OF 
THE  AIRPlANE  1920·1940 
leo Opdycke, Ed;tor 
W.W.l  AERO  (1900-1919),  and  SKYWAYS (1920·1940): 
our two Journals, which contain: 
•  information on  current  proj ects  •  historical  research 
•  news  of museums and  airshows  •  workshop notes 
•  technical drawings, data  •  information on  paint  and  color 
•  photographs  •  aeroplanes,  engines,  parts  for  sale 
•  scale  modelling  material  •  PLUS: your  wants  and  disposals 
•  news of current publications of all kinds. PLUS  more ... 
Sample copies $4 each. 
Published by  WORLD WAR 1  INC. 
15 Crescent Road,  Poughkeepsie,  NY  12601.  USA  (914) 473·3679 
Or write:  EAA-STC,  Wittman Airfield, 
Oshkosh, WI  54903-3065 
For faster service, have your  airplane's "N" number 
and  serial number; your  engine's make,  model and 
serial number;· and your  credit card  number ready. 
VINTAGE  AIRPLANE  29 
Fly high with a 
quality Classic interior 
Complete interior assemblies for do-it-yourself installation. 
Custom quality at economical prices. 
•  Cushion upholstery sets 
•  Wall panel sets 
•  Headliners 
•  Carpet sets 
•  Baggage compartment sets 
•  Firewall covers 
•  Seat slings 
•  Recover envelopes and dopes 
Free catalog of complete product line. 
Fabric  Selection  Guide  showing  actual  sample  colors  and 
styles of materials: $3.00. 
  INC. 
liil 
259 Lower Morrisville Rd .,  Dept. VA 
Fallsington, PA 19054  (215) 295-4115 
STITS POLY-FIBER 
COVERING MATERIALS 
THE  CHOICE OF THE  GRAND  CHAMPION  WINNERS 
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Delle/oped and Manufactured Under an FAA-PMA  especially for 
Polyester Fabric  on Aircraft,  Not Modified Automotille Finishes,  Water 
Borne  House Paint,  or Tinted and Re/ab/ed Cellulose Dope  * Will Not 
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and PMA  * Most Economical COllerlng Materials  Considering  Years 
of Trouble Free Service  * No  False or Misleading Adllertls/ng  Claims 
VIDEO TAPE AVAILABLE 
FABRIC  COVERING  WITH RA Y STITS  Sponsored by  EAA 
Aviation  Foundation.  Before  Making Expensive Mistakes, See This Tape 
and Learn How to  Do It Right the  First Time.  $49.95.  Also  Direct from 
EAA  (1-800-843-3612),  and  from  Stlts Distributors. 
WRITE  OR  PHONE FOR  FREE  * Sample of  High Strength, Very 
Smooth 1.7  oz Patented  Polyester Fabric Developed  Especially lor 
Aircraft  Covering  * Manual  #1  with  Detailed Instructions lor Fabric 
Covering  and  Painting Aircraft lor CorrOSion  Control  * Latest  Catalog 
and  Distributor List. 
STITS POLY-FIBER 
AIRCRAFT COATINGS 
P.O.  Box 3084-V,  Riverside,  CA 92519 
Phone (714)  684-42110 
ASP  RE-UVE IT! 
The  fabulous  times of Turner,  Doolittle, Wedell 
and  Wittman  recreated  as  never before in  this 
600-page  two-volume  series. Printed  on  high  grade 
paper  with  sharp, clear  photo reproduction.  Official 
race  results  1927 through  1939 - more  than  1,000 
photos - 3-view drawings - scores of articles about 
people and planes that recapture the glory, the drama, 
the  excitement of air racing  during the  golden years. 
Vol.  I  (no. 21-14452)  and  Vol.  II  (no.  21 -14451) 
are  sold  for  $14.95 each,  with  postage  charges  of 
$2.40  for  one  volume  and  $3.65  for two volumes. 
Send  your check  or money order  to: EM Aviation 
Foundation, Attn: Dept.  MO, Wittman  Airfield, 
Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086, 414/426-4800. Outside 
WisconSin, phone  1-800-843-3612. 
30  MARCH  1988 
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