By Dave Harmon

VAGABOND NEWS

45

For those that are not aware the happy Vagabond logo with its cute smile and perky expression is the work of Baxter Grier of Boerne, Texas. Some time ago when Cecil Ogle started the Vag News Baxter and Cecil corresponded and came up with this neat little logo. I recent­ly received correspondence from Baxter and he is looking for another Vagabond preferably a PA-17, this is the dual control model. Baxter has two sons and he prefers the dual control PA-17 so he can teach his sons how to fly and follow in the footsteps of their father. Anyone knowing of a good clean Vagabond please let Baxter Grier know. Baxter's Vag is #4309H and is painted in the same colors and paint schemes as my Vag which is a copy of the Colt Art work. Fixtures of Baxter's Vag appeared on page 43 of February/March 1982 of the Tri-Pacer Owner's Club magazine. As I recall Baxter has a larger engine and extra fuel tanks and some very special wings. Like I always said, "What do you do after you have a boat and airplane?" "Well, you go out and buy another airplane." So if you have a Vag to sell or know of one please send infor­mation to Baxter Grier, P.O. Box 609, Boerne, Texas 78006, his phone number is (512) 226-6547 or (512) 537-4368.

I have been in correspondence with Jim Jenkins and on the next issue of Vag News he'll have extensive photographs and a complete report written on his PA-15 with newly installed 0200 Continental Engine. This was Jim's first Vag that he rebuilt and has now gone through a se­cond rebuilding. Jim has put a Tri-Pacer fuel tank and the 100 horsepower engine. It will also be sporting a completely new instru­ment panel with all kinds of gyros and can be officially called a "hum­mer". This will be a rare luxury for Jim flying a Vag, he certainly will not become bored now, Jim can watch all those needles. I'm sure this will be another exquisite, impeccable, outstanding, incredible finish that only can come from Jim Jenkin's "skunk works". We certainly will be looking forward to your article and pictures Jim, and hopefully you can make it to Oshkosh or Minden, Ne., for '84.

In the last issue of Vag News, somehow, some way, we made an in­credible error. On the inside of the back cover, page 89, we showed a cartoon and incorrectly credited it to the wrong person. The correct name and credit goes to Lee Berry. In a recent issue of Short Wing Piper News we featured Lee's Vagabond and welcomed him to the Short Wing Piper Organization and welcomed his artistry talents. We hope in the future Lee will send us more of his talents, which are ex­cellent and more about Vagabond flying in California. There are a lot of very pretty airplanes on the west coast. I hope we will see some pic-

46

tures of them in the coming issues, Vag, Clippers, Pacers and Tri­Pacers along with that cute Colt which I think has a very bright future. A lot of people overlook this airplane and don't realize by putting it on a tailwheel and maybe a little larger engine and tanks you have a real tiger by the tail. It is also unique since it is a fairly late vintage you are free from the extensive rust and corrosion that we find so often in the older Vags.

I hope everyone had a Happy New Year and a wonderful Christmas. In '84 I look forward to Minden, Nebraska, and more flying and reading more good articles in the Short Wing Piper News. Keep those letters coming.

The Gas-Powered Teddy Bear

There are not very many Vagabonds built. When they first came out shortly after the end of WWII, they created but a mild stir in the aviation waters. At that time you could buy a war surplus P-38 fighter plane for about the same price as a new Vagabond, and you could own two or three BT-13's for the same amount of cash. It was not until 15-20 years later, when the flying world awoke to the fact that, first, only a few hundred Vags had been built, and second, it was a pretty and nice flying plane. By that time Vags were already hard to come by. Most owners were reluctant to part with such a jewel. It was because of this renewed interest in a rare plane, that aviation writers began to sniff around the nooks and crannies of small airports, looking for a Vagabond which they could fly and write about. The following reprint from the July 1970 issue of the Air Progress article by Gene Smith, noted pilot-author, recounts his experiences flying a Vagabond which was then owned by R.]. Cooper, of Leavenworth, Kan­sas. Do any of you readers know of the present whereabouts of N4172 Hotel? EFW.

By Gene Smith Somehow the airplane reminded me of a big golden teddy bear. It

didn't look anything like a teddy bear, it looked like a Piper PA-15-the Vagbond.

I'd never stopped and really examined a Vagabond before, even though they've been around for 22 years, and I think that's Piper's fault more than mine. The Vag has always been a plain Jane, but thanks to owner R.J. Cooper, N4I72H was wearing her party dress. Suddenly she was a cute and cuddly and desirable as a bikinied blonde at a women's rights convention; you know-efficient. Everything that's needed and not a smidgen more.

Buttercup yellow and royal blue, ·the airplane shone in the winter sun, bringing a touch of spring to the brown grass of North Airport,

47

Leavenworth, Kansas. I walked around her slowly, admiring the sleek curves of her tiny fuselage, her partly rounded wing tips, and her gleaming chrome trim. I peered down the length of her shining varnish­ed prop and had to admit that Cooper's eye for possibilities was better than mine.

The first time I saw N4172H she was spread over much of his base­ment, and while I had to admire his craftsmanship, I couldn't see why he was putting so much effort into a Vagabond. No one ever called the saucy little Vag a classic airplane, and it certainly isn't an antique. When I flew it, though, I learned why he did. To fly the Vag is to love it.

From a utility standpoint in 1970, the Vagabond is not a very satisfac­tory airplane. It's short on speed, range, and climb. It will never set any service ceiling records. It has no radio, and the luggage compartment is small enough to eliminate any aft-loading worries.

Perhaps more important to a generation of nosewheel pilots, the airplane not only sits on its tail, but is stiff-legged and so shortcoupled it borders on the ridiculous. If a Vag ever really got the bit in its teeth, it would swap ends faster than a Wyoming bronc.

The Vag, however, was never designed for fast, long-ranging cross­countries. Piper didn't make the airplane to sell to businessmen or salesmen or others who do all their flying from a mile or more of hard­surface, with a controller holding their hand.

It was built as a basic flying machine-simple, dependable, and pure down-right fun. It may well have been a quarter century ahead of its time. When the Vag was introduced, the late William H. Piper remark­ed, "If there is any such animal as a private ownership market, we'll soon find out."

Well, there wasn't-then. The Vag was designed to be to general avia­tion what the VW finally became to automobiles, but in 1948 the future lay not with every man's airplane but with the businessman's private airliner-fast, four-place, well-equipped, and all metal.

The Vag is basically a toy for people who love to fly, who want the most flying for the least money, and who know how to cope with an oc­casional hint of temperament on the ground.

First of the Short Winged Pipers and the ancestor of a long line of Clippers, Pacers, Tri-Pacers, and Colts, the PA-15 came from the fac­tory with rigid tubular-steel landing gear, no wheel pants, no rear win­dow, solid yellow paint, hydraulic brakes, and a stainless steel ex­haust-and a single set of controls.

It sold for $1,900, f.a.f. Lock Haven, and Piper cranked out 387 of them. A follow-on version, the PA-17, offered dual controls, shock cord landing gear, and a 65-hp Continental instead of the similarly rated, slightly smaller Lycoming engine. They sold a total of 214 of this model.

Throughout, the watchword on both was economy. Thus, the Vag uses the same wheels, tires, ailerons, and virtually the same tail sur­faces as the J-3 Cub, though the fin contour differs slightly. It has a gas gauge right out of a Model A Ford. The elevator trim tab is surplus Ryan ST. The rudder pedals are surplus Republic Seabee. The wing looks

48

similar to the ones used from the J-2 to the Cherokee, though it has a slightly cleaner leading edge than the Cub series.

"Today I would guess there are not over a hundred left," says Cooper. "You see one advertised now and then in Trade-A-Plane, at prices from $1,400 to 'the sky's the limit'." He was offered $3,500 for N4172H, but says he's not selling.

Cooper learned to fly in 1956 in a Cessna 140, and has flown mostly tail wheel types. "I've flown a few tricycle-gear airplanes, and I didn't like 'ern." He and his father were partners on another PA-15 when he bought 72H, giving him probably 500 Vagabond hours now, including about 350 in 72H. Cooper doesn't log his time because, he says, he's not working on any ratings.

He found 72H in Wisconsin, in 1957, but the owner wasn't ready to sell. About a year later he called Cooper and asked if the offer was still open. It was.

The plane was licensed and flying, but tbe remaining fabric life was limited. Cooper flew it until late 1961, then took it horne for a complete rebuild. Starting in 1962, he worked from 7 to 11 p.m. almost daily and through many weekends. He finished the job in 1966. He's done little to the airplane since, except fly it and wipe of occasional dust and water spots.

Everything's original on 72H, which Cooper says has "not over 600 hours total time. It carne from the cold country and they evidently didn't fly very much." The engine has never been majored, but Cooper-the fourth owner-says it uses no oil between changes, and adds loyally, "These engines are smooth as silk".

That's fortunate, for majoring the Lycoming 0-145-B2 will probably cost him more than an equivalent Continental. It's not only rarer, the Lycoming's little cylinders are cast integral with the block, where those on Continental are separate and removable.

The immaculate appearance is the first thing you notice about N4172H. That's the result of 20 coats of brush-painted, hand-rubbed dope, and a series of inconspicuous little custom touches that set it apart-neat fairings at the attach points of the unbraced wing struts, wheel pants, aft side windows, and tiedown rings.

The interior boasts a thick royal blue and gold carpet, pleated blue vinyl padding atop the instrument panel, and a chrome button set into the Schwinn bicycle grip at the end of the single stick. The cabin shows the same precise workmanship and hand-rubbed surfaces as the ex­terior. Metal surfaces are nitrate doped over zinc chromate to match perfectly with the fabric colors.

It was the first time Cooper had ever worked on a real airplane. "It's nothing but a big gas model," he said as he slouched beside the

hangar, hands in pockets, deprecatingly trying to explain why it turned out so well. The real reason, of course, is simple. He's a slow and painstaking workman who put thousands of hours of effort into the lit­tle airplane, the kind of effort we used to expect from fine furniture

49

craftsmen. But Cooper is a modest man, and would never say that. He prefers to point out that "anybody can do it, if he takes his time."

The second thing you notice is the lack of aft fuselage on the airplane. The wing is trailed closely by the big tail fin. "It's quite a bit shorter-coupled than even a Pacer," said Cooper, resting one hand on the tail, the other on the trailing edge of a wing to demonstrate. ''I've flown Pacers and I think they're easier to fly. In a crosswind this one's an S.O.B."

Indeed, the PA-15 is diminutive. The wingspan is less than 30 feet; the lerigth, 18 feet 8 inches; the height, half an inch over 6 feet. But the cabin is surpri~ingly roomy. It's 38 inches wid~ and noticeably larger fore and aft than a Cessna 150, for example. The absence of controls on the right side makes entry easy through a wide door, and the pilot has plenty of room to swivel-hip into place.

The Vag has fine visibility for a high-wing tailwheel airplane, with broad, deep side windows, a sloping, stubby cowling, and a truly im­pressive windshield area. The PA-15 pilot who doesn't know what he's banking into is simply too lazy to twist his neck and look.

Like all engines a few decades ago, the Lycoming requires an Arm­strong starter. It was not particularly eager to fire on our first flight, but it got more willing with exercise.

We slid into the comfortably upholstered seat and tightened the single shared lap belt. A shot of throttle, the Lycoming buzzed in­dustriously-almost like a real engine-and we jounced away toward the end of the strip.

The big, soft doughnut tires made taxiing relatively pleasant on the rough turf, though I did find a big rutted area where a moderately fast taxi jolted me. Cooper, who wasn't in the airplane when I found it, said later that he carries 16 pounds of air instead of the recommended 11. The steerable tailwheel was quick and positive, and I found ground handling easy.

Run-up is simplicity itself-1700 rpm, a quick magneto and carb heat check, a glance at the trim and fuel valve settings, wiggle the controls, and go.

The first time we flew, the ground was a bit soft. The airplane got off well enough but not as well as I'd prefer for a machine in this weight class. The PA-15's originally listed an empty weight of 635 pounds, and 72H probably goes 700 now. Gross is 1,100.

We tried it again several weeks later on a dry 61-degree day. We were within 30 pounds of gross, with a 15-mph wind from about two o'clock; we consistently took off easily in 600 feet, ground run. Equally consis­tent landings were accomplished in 500 feet. Alone, I shaved the takeoff run to 400 feet and made one landing in 300, touching tailwheel first, and using virtually no brakes.

Normal performance cruise is 2310 to 2350 rpm, and that's just about what the engine turns up at full throttle and best climb speed, which seems to be about 70 lAS. the first day we flew was 35 degrees and

". 50

damp, and the ROC initially hit 700 fpm at 70 lAS, then dipped slightly but remained well above the 510-fpm book figure. The second time we were getting quite a bit of thermal activity, adding about 200 fpm to the indication.

A Vag ~~~GJ). '2.'1 ~~

By Harry Fox :Z:~I<....lE M 1-+ A- 1'\ ,-q v i/-t=. tJ~ LA-tv\) U\<

"Vag is what you want," said Bill. We were sitting in Bill Hutchins' house at Lake Placid one evening. That is how it all started.

I should explain that my brother and I come from England, and once a year we go to Sebring in Florida to glide. We met Bill Hutchins several years ago, when we were admiring his Clipped wing Monocoupe (an original) and his even more immaculate Jungmeister. We befriended him, or rather each other, and we had by now considered him to be the fountain of all knowledge wherever aircraft was concerned. He had just retired as a PAN AM 747 captain, had delivered aircraftto the Russians in the 40's. He had flown the Hump with DC3's and flown or tested almost every other aeroplane, from a Pitts to a B 17.

We had been sitting and drinking and bemoaning the fact that our aeroplane, a four seater full IFR British built Beagle was a heavy cow but we loved it. However, no one could say it was a delight to fly! - it was a heavy cow, and about the noisiest aeroplane ever.

We saw a nice sounding Vag advertised at West Palm Beach - phoned up right away - yes, it was for sale - right we will come over tomorrow morning. At 5 a.m. we were on our way - at 9 a.m. we were walking around it. It looked a bit sorry for itself. It had been done up for re-sale and was tied out near the coast. So, we turned round and headed back for home, or rather Bill's house.

Unfortunately, even being close to this not very nice one, we still caught the virus. I must have a Vagabond. After a few days of reading all the ads, and lots of phoning, we decided that the first one was not, too bad after all! - we would have it. Two more phone calls and we agreed that the $7000 would be waiting if they would deliver it and we would pay all the expenses. The idea was that we would keep it in Bill's hangar. He would fly it, as and when he wanted, and when we came· back we would dismantle it and ship it home. Unfortunately, we waited in vain. The FBO obviously did not fancy flying it over the Everglades. So, much disheartened, we returned to England, but with Bill promis­ing to find a good one and buy it for us.

As soon as I got back home, I set out on the trail of European Vagabonds. (The Vagabond virus is of a virulent nature.) I found one basket case for $6000, and then stumbled on someone who knew of one in Scotland. Several phone calls later, I traced it to where it was

51 ,:r hangared, which was at Glasgow International Airport. Was it for sale? Yes - How much? $8000 without radio or $9000 with.

We flew up and decided that was it. Its registration number was G-VAGA! We decided to keep the radio - a King 720 and VOR. We gave him a check, and arranged to come up on the shuttle service on the next good day. To get good weather from Scotland to London in one piece took six long weeks (after all, it was Spring!). At last the weather forecast was to the next

In London, the weather was fantastic. As we headed north the ground below disappeared under a thick layer of cloud, and we felt real­ly down. However, cloudbase at Glasgow was about 1500 feet. There was a fairly strong wind, but it wasn't too bad.

At last everything was set, Jack, my brother, couldn't reach the pedals so I was to be in command and Jack the navigator. The engine started with one turn. It ran as sweetly as a little sewing machine, and was beautifully quiet. It was a 0-145-B2 Lycoming with a beautifully polished Sensenich 70/34 prop. We were amazed we could talk to each other without shouting as we taxiied up to holding point. The checks were minimal, after all there were not many instruments on it, and we could not do a static run up because the brakes would not hold it. Nevertheless, it sounded just right. After several landing 707's, 727's and one new 757, it was our turn to go. When I opened up the throttle I did not expect to get a great surge of power, but I did expect some visi­ble signs of movement - but no, it didn't pick up speed particularly well, and the Tach showed we were getting barely 2100 rpm. Nevertheless, we were off the ground and still going. Only Vag owners will know the flying response of a PA15. It was real flyin4l. The wind was fairly strong about 30 knots on the nose and we climBed at an indicated 70 mph. Then we had our first problem - the altimlHer was faulty. After about

• 52

five minutes (it seemed like half an hour) and after much tapping, it was only registering about 300 feet. 1 sorted out the trouble, however, 1 look­ed down at the ground! We were only about 300 feet high! Suddenly the radio issued instructions for us to turn left, then right, then left again, then left yet again and cheerio. We were then told to resume our own navigation.

What navigation! Our plans were all screwed up, we had planned to follow the railway through the mountains but the vectors had lost us. It didn't matter, we had our new 720 Channel King, so we called up Prestwick Control for a fix. 'Prestwick Control this is GAB - sorry Golf Victor Bravo - sorry Golf Alpha!', and at last the right call sign. 'Air­borne from Glasgow at 12.20 (it was now 12.30) and we are lost.' We were past caring about using the correct language, i.e., unsure of our position, etc. - 1 was lost. 'Stand by one' after some time 'Can you squawk?' Me, 'Sorry, 1 can't do anything and 1 have no transbonder, we are in a PA15'. There was a bit of a pause and they came back with 'What is a PA15?' 'An old, very odd Piper Cub'. As you can see the radio was being used like a telephone. Lost, in an aeroplane we had never flown, and 1 could not even remember the call sign! After about a minute (it seemed an age) Prestwick came back with 'What is your heading?' '260' and then 'turn left to 180' we have you, they said, 'You are overhead Glasgow!" And sure enough, looking down we were only about three miles from our starting point!

From that part on, having got ourselves sorted out, the sun came out, we knew where we were, the scenery was beautiful and the aeroplane handled like no other aeroplane 1 have ever flown. Seven and a half hours later, including two stops for fuel, we touched down at Booker, our home field just west of London, and tucked it up in the hangar. The hangar was full of exotic aeroplanes, two Spitfires, one Rapide, two SE5's, one Comper Swift and hosts of other exotica, but the Vag was best of all. As a matter of interest Booker is the airfield which made the aircraft used in the film 'Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines', and part of Booker was converted for all the 'takes' of the scenes at Brooklands, indeed, many of the lumps are still on the field.

We flew V AGA through the Summer and never got more than 2,100 rpm out of it, and with two up never more than 250 feet per minute rate of climb, and that on a good day. At one point Bill Hutchins came over for a short visit to play (did you realise that an ex-Panam captain can fly the Atlantic for $15!) and in the meantime of course he had found a good one for us, had bought it for himself but had not collected it yet. Anyway, the first thing we had to do with Bill was let him fly it, and 1 looked across to him just after takeoff to see his shoulders going up and down as he laughed and said to me 'I haven't flown one of these for nearly 40 years, 1 forgot how slow they go up!', his clipped wing goes up at 3000 feet per minute! At this point 1 was looking down, almost coun­ting the leaves on the trees. ~ventually, one very hot Summers day, it just would not climb. We had to go AROUND a farmhouse a mile from the end of the runway, and that decided us. We had to have a new prop.

53

We had a 70/34, so I phoned Sensenich and ordered a 70/32. What a dif­ference that made, VAG A felt like a fighter. We thought that we should order some G suits, we were climbing at over 300 feet per minute!

The plan was to have it rebuilt over the Winter, and we selected Ben and Jan Cooper, who are Vagabond enthusiasts, to do the job. Jt was Ben and Jan who wrote about in the last issue, as they went with Ian Callier when he made his last trip to Morocco. Anyway, when they stripped it down we found some reasons for its lacklustre performance. It had about 50 coats of paint on it, the wing covering was really thick and heavy and the leading edges badly mauled. Having got it stripped down there was some quite hairy corrosion, but it is coming together well now, and I hope to have some photographs taken during its rebuild to show you at some later date. There is no doubt about it that the aeroplane is very heavy and dirty in as much as it has a generator hang­ing down between its legs, a battery, a 720 channel radio and VOR, with of course aerials sticking up. It also has lovely little original navigation lights. So, we have to decide what to leave off when it goes together. We will keep you posted, but in the meantime we are back to our old, noisy, heavy Beagle. *

* A Beagle A109 is a development of the Taylorcraft built under license in the UK in the mid-40's. Beagle put a 0-360 LYC in with a cons­tant speed prop, full radio, four seats, Tric UIC and it is virtually machined out of the solid - that is why they went bust! However, it cruises at 110 knots, max 125 knots, with 60 gallons of fuel, burning 6 gallons per hour on max endurance settings, so it can keep in the air longer than the crew!

I certainly know what you mean about Vagabond fever once you've flown one you just got to have one. With the old 65 LYC they sure didn't have much climb but they sure could roll and turn on a point. My PA-15 had a LYC 65 in it and I was constantly replacing the head gaskets. The aluminum heads were held onto the cast iron cylinders by studs and these studs keep pulling out of the head. The head gasket is more of an O-ring than a flat gasket. It is copper U-shaped with an asbestos inside. This gasket was forever blowing out and when you put enough torque on the nuts that were extremely hard to get to, small box open ended wrench, the tendency was to over torque, and start to pull the stud out of the head. I found over torquing was one of the major problems contributing to head gasket leaking. There is also two flat aluminum gaskets that make up the total head gasket package. I finally did a complete valve and reing job on my 65 L YC and by fine tuning the mags and setting the timing slightly ad­vanced I was able to get a fairly decent rate of climb. As I recall I could ob­tain 500 feet a minute lightly loaded. I was swinging a wooden club 70 x 36.

I wish you good luck with your rebuild on your V AGA I think that call letter is unique. I hope you are replacing the carry through front cross member on your horizontal stabilizer. In the event you'd like a Univair catalog I'll gladly send you one, in fact if you need some parts from

54

Univair I'm sure I can purchase them and send them over to you. If there's anything else I can help you with in your rebuild of the Vag please let me know. Thank you again for the nice letter and the picture of your beautiful PA-IS. We will be looking forward to other pictures of this plane after it is completed and repainted.

It sounds like your airport is an interesting one and has a lot of historical background. I remember seeing the movie the "Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines" and I certainly enjoyed it. It is a classic.

Letters to the Vag Editor Dear Dave:

On Labor Day weekend I made one of the most enjoyable flights in my Vagabond C-FZII since my 13 years ownership.

I attended the E.A.A. Chapter 305 Fly-in at Stanley Airport, 25 miles northwest of Halifax, Nova Scotia. The weather was beautiful and a strong tailwind. I flew the 445 miles in 31f2 hours non-stop (127 mph), a very pleasant and smooth flight at 7500 feet.

I met lots of nice people and made new friends. Another Vagabond was there, a PA15 Lycoming 65 registered C-FSKE who is based close to Stanley. Flying back home via Grand Falls, New Brunswick to visit my friend, Armand Dionne who owns C-FVMV, a PA15, also Lycoming powered. From there to St-Hyacinthe 325 miles took 4 hours 50 minutes non-stop (68 mph). I was very tired on landing but very happy.-Denis L. Moran, 15875 Laflamme, St. Hyacinthe, Quebec, J2T 3Y5.

55

The picture above shows Denis's Vag at Jim Jenkins flying in Monroe, Connecticut. Denis has been flying down from Canada to visit Jim Jenkins and his fly-ins ever since Jim started them. As I recall Denis's Vag has an 85 horsepower continental, one wing tank, a very basic panel. Denis also flys his Vag on skis during the winter months. Thank you Denis for the nice letter and your support for the Vag News. It is always good to hear from you.

I want to thank Jerry DeLosh for pointing out something that I neglected to make clear about my article, "The Great magneto Flap". That is I was directing my article to the more knowledgeable owner/mechanic that are operating their aircraft under the experimen­tal certificate for research and development purposes. Also, all of this work definitely has to be sign­ed off by an aircraft inspector to in­sure that it is properly done and legally done.

Thank you again for pointing this out to me and I certainly did not mean to reflect any derogatory comments to the certified A &- P mechanic.

I have the utmost respect for the A &- P and do recognize that this certificate is hard earned, requires a great deal of home study and ac­tual practical work in the field not to mention the hard exams to pass before you receive your ticket.-D.H. Vag Editor.

Super P A 22-20 Pacer Conversion One of the most expensive PA 22-20 conversions is the $50,000 job.

However, you get a lot more than just a tailwheel, you have a genuine bush plane which is bigger and more powerful than any rag wing Piper ever visualized by the folks at Lockhaven.

You start with a stock Tri-Pacer and things get real radical in a hurry. After taking off the nose gear you install a 200 hp engine, remove the original wings and build new ones which are 3'8" longer on each wing. New and longer wing struts are installed. The fuselage is cut off just behind the wing and a 2'3" plug is inserted. Gross weight is increased to 2100 pounds, but the wing loading is decreased from the original 13.5# to 10.9#, and the wing area is increased from 147.5 sq. ft. to 193 sq. ft. Ten of the conversions have been made, three of them by Peacock Aviation, Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It uses the PK 2300 and floats in the sea plane configuration.

For additional information contact James B. Simpson, Simpson Avia­tion, P.O. Box 126, Gilliam, Louisiana 71029. He is the holder of the STC.

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SHORT WING PIPER NEWS January - February 1984

-TABLE OF CONTENTS-3 Robert H. Fuller President's Message

Notes from the Librarian STC's & Mods

Library Material Available 11 How It All Started 16

7 Lonnie McLaughlin 10

Regional Chapter Activities 18 Roger Leonard Iris Morris

Sun'N Fun '84 Information 27 Piper Replacement Ribs 29

Weight and Balance 30 Univair Has Trim Cables 30

Steve & Dan Marsh Nancy Williams

Heavy Iron Conversion 33 Steve Pankonin A Slight Change 35 Steve Ogles

Pants for a Pacer 36 Larry D. Smith Minden '84 Convention Details 41 Steve Marsh

TPOC Member Dies In Rescue Attempt 43 Vagabond News 45 Dave Harmon

Gas Powered Teddy Bear 46 Gene Smith A Vag Named VAGA 50 Harry Fox

Letters to the Vag Editor 54 Super PA 22/20 Conversion 55

Touch and Go 59 Ed Wach Ship Ahoy 61 Shop Talk 62 Ed Wach

Mr. Mechanic 65 Franklin Rush Auto Fuel STC 65

Maintenance Related Accidents 66 RST Cuts Prices 67

Letters to the Editor 68 Private Air Force 75

Loran C 75 James W. Soete Homebuilt vs. Tri-Pacer 76 James Riley

The Pilot 82 Sam Insnan Short Wing Pipers in the Real World 84 Guy C. Lockwood DVM

Short Wing Midget 88 More Horses 89

Avid Coyote Hunters 90 Jeff Clausen Arctic Time Passer 92 Hugh Quigley

Classified Section 94 GrassField Noos 99 Harry Landing

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