vintage airplane - feb 2001
TRANSCRIPT
-
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Feb 2001
1/36
FEBRUARY 2001
TheMagazilleo the E · · ·
V I N T AG E A IR
C ,RAF 'f.'
A S S O C I
AT I o N
-
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Feb 2001
2/36
STRAIGHT ND
LEVEUButch]oyce
2 VAA NEWS
4 DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH/
Hiller
Museum
9 HIBERNATION/
BillAllen
12 P SS IT TO BUCK Buck Hilbert
15 KEEPING THE FAMILY WIDGEON/
H G
Frautschy
2
NEW WIDGEON/ H G Frautschy
25 WHAT OUR MEMEBERS RE RESTORING/
H G
Frautschy
26
MYSTERY
PLANE H G
Frautschy
28 CALENDAR
3
CLASSIFIEDS
www vintageaircraft org
http:///reader/full/www.vintageaircraft.orghttp:///reader/full/www.vintageaircraft.org
-
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Feb 2001
3/36
ST
EL
by ESPIE BUTCH JOYCE
PRESIDE
NT
, VIN
T GE
AIRCR
R
ASSOCIATION
For years I've kept an eye on
the
Beech 18, since it's
long been one of my favorite airplanes. I'd love to own
one, but like many of you, if I want one of
those,
I'd
have to give up
my
other going places airplane, my
Beech Baron. I really like my Baron-I've flown "Windy"
for nearly 1,400 hours and
enjoy
it very
much.
Fortu
nately, as I've kept
an
eye on the market for the bigger
Beechcraft, I've been able to point others to
some of
these great airplanes. It's always fun to see people realize
their dream of owning a particular airplane, knowing it
has been one of their goals.
Dreaming of a Beech 18 in
my hangar
has given
me
more than one sleepless night, and seeing Mike Green
blatt's
Beechcraft in last month's issue of Vintage
Airplane brought those feelings bubbling back up to the
surface. I saw Mike at the Beech gathering
that
takes
place
in
Tullahoma, Tennessee, each year. His family
enjoys the aircraft as much as he does. I can remember
seeing this Beech
when he
first
showed
up
at Tulla
homa. It's really come a long way I believe there were
24 Twin Beeches at this year's
gathering.
For
more
in
formation on the Beech 18, contact the Twin Beech
Society. They were
included
in last month's listing of
type clubs,
and you can
access this same list on
our
website at vintageaircraft org
One of the big factors in
the
popularity
of
certain air
planes
is a strong network of owners/operators.
The
type clubs who have strong leadership
and competent
technical gUidance seem to do the best. Having support
One
of
the EAA headquarters ' staff who
has
been a
great deal
of
help has
been
Earl Lawrence, vice presi
dent
of Government Programs. Earl
and
his staff,
including Randy Hansen,
Timm
Bogenhagen, Kerryn
Laumer, and Kathy Phillip, are on top of
many
govern
ment issues
at one
time,
and
a
number of items
that
concern us directly are on their plate. At this time, fuel
programs
and aging
aircraft
issues are
two
areas that
impact vintage airplane owners, and we can thank our
close
association
with EAA for
keeping it
in the fore
front.
As
we
add
to our
total membership,
we'll have
even more credibility with the
FAA.
Increasing our membership is
one
way you
can
di
rectly impact
our
ability
to
support
EAA
in
their
efforts
to work on our behalf. Each new VAA member you bring
into the fold is also an
EAA
member, and as a part of a
group
of
over 170,000
members
strong, the policy
and
rule makers will hear our voices.
We're always open to your comments
and
suggestions
regarding the operation of your VAA and your magazine,
Vintage Airplane We also welcome
your
article submis
sions (particularly technical "how-to" articles) to be used
in
Vintage Airplane
f you're a VAA
Chapter
newsletter
editor, please be sure to mail a copy of your publication
to H.G. Frautschy, our editor.
Many of you may have noticed that Steve Krog, one of
your VAA directors, is now heading up the Luscombe As-
sociation
and the
Cub Club. For more years than I can
remember,
John
Bergeson and his wife, Alice, were the
http:///reader/full/vintageaircraft.orghttp:///reader/full/vintageaircraft.org
-
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Feb 2001
4/36
VAA NEWS
compiled by H G Frautschy
FURTHER
WORD ON
AERONCA AD
The final version of
the
FAA s
Airworthiness Directive (AD) con
cerning spar inspections on Aeronca
and Champion airplanes has result
ed in a number of comments
and
questions regarding the inspection
methods. Group
1
airplanes are
these Aeronca models: 7
AC,
7
ACA,
S7
AC,
7BCM (L-16A), 7CCM (L
16BA), S7CCM, 7DC, S7DC, 7EC,
COVERS
F
RONT OVER .. .The Grumman
Widgeon
was
ordered
in quantity
by
the US.
Coast Guard to help defend the home shores
and rescue people at sea during World
War
II.
This
particular example
was restored by
Merrill Wien
and
is now owned
and
flown
by
his son ,
Kurt
Wien . EAA photo by
Mark
Schaible,
shot with
a
Canon EOS1n equipped
with
an
80-200
mm
lens
on
100
ASA
Fuji
slide film.
EM
Cessna
210
photo
plane flown
by
Bruce Moore .
B CK COVER
. Last
Tango
is the
title
of this impressive oil on linen painting by
Michael ONeal, 3
Woodland
Av. ,
North
Brunswick,
New
Jersey 08902. Specializing in
paintings
of
the
pioneer
era
through
World
War I,
his
art
graces
the collections of
many
private galleries and the group historian s
office at
Langley
Air Force Base. His paintings
have
also appeared in Over the Front, the
jour
of
the League
of WWI Aviation Historians.
Last Tango depicts the final fl ight and fight
S7EC, 7FC, 7)C,
llAC,
SllAC,
llBC,
SllBC,
llCC,
and SllCC air
planes. These airplanes have engines
that are 90 hp and lower (includes
60- to 90-horsepower engines).
You
must repetitively inspect airplanes
that are
modified
with
engines
greater than 90 horsepower. To
fur
ther clarify
the
FAA s
requirements
for Group 1 airplanes, remember
that
this
is
a one-time inspection .
Only
if
the
airplane wing is dam
aged subsequent to the inspection
is
a reinspection required within 10
days of the incident/accident.
Further reading of the AD reveals
that
the
FAA
does
not
require you to
install access panels on the top of
the wing. The AD requires the proce
dure be
Accomplish[edJ
in
accordance
with
the instructions in
ACAC Service
Letter
No. 406, R
ev
ision A, dated May
6,
1998. This
service bulletin
specifies
as
an
FAA-approved inspection option
using
a high-intensity
flex
ibl
e
li
ght
(e.g.,
Bend-A-Light ). A r
eg
ular flashlight
must not be
used for this portion
o
the
inspection. Alternative
FAA
-approved
inspection
options are listed
in
this ser
vice
bulletin.
The
ACA
service letter states that
additional inspection hol
es
may
be
necessary
to
do
a thorough
insp
ection.
Note
that
in any case, a complete
and thorough
inspection
of
the
entire length of the spar is required,
including the spar butt end. If only
Write to
them
for more details.
Along with the procedures shown
on the Citabria Owners Group web
site at www.citabria.com. I m sure
other resourceful mechanics and
owners will come up with an inspec
tion method that will meet with the
FAA s
approval.
We d also like to acknowledge the
huge effort expended by the leaders
and members
of
the National
Aeronca Club. After a mass mailing
to all registered owners, the NAA
task force created a comprehensive
response to the proposed
AD
which
gave the association
and
its mem
bers concrete information
that
could
be used by the FAA to modify th e
original
AD.
The split of the affected
groups of airplanes is a direct result
of
comments
made by
NAA
mem
bers
and many
others to
the
FAA
during the review process. In many
ways, this AD, while still generating
comments concerning its necessity,
is
a good example of how the FAA,
Vintage Aircraft Association, EAA
Government Programs office,
and
type clubs can work together to cre
ate an acceptable solution to a tech
nical problem concerning our vin
tage airplanes.
C E S
SNA CON
T R
O L
Y O
KE
P ROPO SED AD
98-CE-5 7
AD
would affect Cessna
Aircraft Company models 150, 172,
http:///reader/full/www.citabria.comhttp:///reader/full/www.citabria.com
-
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Feb 2001
5/36
incidents of control wheels cracking
or breaking on the above-referenced
airplanes. The
comment
period for
this proposed AD will end on April
4,2001.
You can review the complete text
of
the proposed AD at
www
vintageaircraft org Click on the
Vintage News link for the com
plete text of the proposed
AD.
NOMINATIONS
FOR EAA
DIRECTORS
Pursuant to the directive con
tained in the Experimental Aircraft
Association, Inc. Bylaws, as amend
ed, the President has appointed six
members in good standing to act
as
the Nominating Committee
to
receive nominations for Class
Directors
three-year terms) to
WI 53120;
lonnie
Fritsche, W6305
Peninsula
Court, Neshkoro , WI
54960; Robert
D.
Lumle
y,
1265 S.
124th Street, Brookfield, WI 53005;
Ray
Stits, 7340
Live
Oak
Drive,
Riverside,
CA
92509; Don Taylor,
6109 Copper Rose NE,
Albuquerque,
NM
87111; and Harry
leisloft, 2787 Leisure World, Mesa,
Al85206
Nom inations for
EAA
Directors
In
accordance
with
the
Association's Bylaws,
the
terms of
five Class III Directors and one Class
IV Director
as listed below will
expire at the 2001 Annual Business
Meeting held in Oshkosh,
Wisconsin, and successors to these
Directors
will be elected at that
meeting.
Such Directors
may
suc
ceed themselves.
Class Directors
Susan Dusenbury
William Eickhoff
Robert Gyllenswan
Leonard McGinty
Vern Raburn
Class
IV
Director
Louis Andrew J
According
to
the EAA Restated
Articles of Incorporation,
the
Class
IV Director must reside within fifty
(50) miles
of the location
of
the
Convention (Oshkosh, Wisconsin).
Nomination
for
these positions
shall be made
on
official nomina
tion forms
obtainable
from the
Headquarters of the Experimental
Aircraft Association, Inc.,
c/o Judy
Reader, P.O. Box 3086, Oshkosh,
and expiration date.
Nomination petitions must be
submitted to the
Chairman
of the
Nominating Committee, Ron Scott,
c/o
EAA
Headquarters,
P.O. Box
3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086, no
later
than
March
I,
2001.
Voting instructions an
d proce
dures will be published in a forth
coming
issue
of
EAA
Sport Aviation
Alan Shackleton, Secretary
Experimental Aircraft Association,
Inc.
The Annual Business Meeting and
Election will be held at the Theater
in the Woods at 1:30 p.m.
CDT
on
Sunday, July 29, 2001,
at Wittman
Airport, Oshkosh, Wisconsin, during
EAA AirVenture Oshkosh to be held
July 24 through July 30, 2001.
EAA
PROJECT
SEEKS OX S
PARTS
EAA's Swallow biplane (below)
is
in the
early stages
of
restoration,
and its lead
mechanic,
Gary
Buettner,
is
looking for some items
EAA needs to complete the project.
Built in 1928,
the
Swallow uses an
OX-5
engine,
and
EAA's Swallow has
most of the Miller valve gear parts,
but
it needs
various parts of the
valve train , including springs and
keepers, the water manifold, and the
magneto
drive cover. Any OX-5
parts would
be appreCiated, as
would be old instruments, either ser
viceable or
in need
of restoration.
We also need general information
about
the
Swallow, and
EAA's
New
Swallow. Anything you have to offer
http:///reader/full/vintageaircraft.orghttp:///reader/full/vintageaircraft.org
-
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Feb 2001
6/36
homebuilt pioneer era aircraft is restored by the
Hiller
Aviation Museum
Contr
ibut
ed
by
the Hiller
viation
Museum
Dominguez
Hills Los
Angeles
California.
January
1912
A homebuilt Curtiss-type aero
plane christened the Diamond was
entered
with
much controversy
in
the
third
and
last air meet
to
be held
at Dominguez Hills, California. Many
of the entrants did not want to com
pete
with an
unknown pilot ,
particularly one flying an amateur
some of the highest prize money.
Eleven days of flying saw
Weldon
B. Cooke triumphantly fly the Dia
mond
to
an altitude of 5,600
feet,
the record
for
the meet.
He
also
clocked over 18 hours
of
total flying
time to claim the endurance prize.
The air meet rules allowed two hours
of flying each day of the
II-day
meet, for a
maximum
accumulative
avia tion was running high as aero
planes were just beginning to appear
in th e skies over Northern California
and many
articles were being pub
lished
in
newspapers
and
periodicals
of
th
e time.
The actual da tes of the construc
tion are not precisely
known, but
a
short
article
in the Ant io ch Press
ta t
an
lan
-
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Feb 2001
7/36
The restoration
of the
Diamond
took place in the shops
of
the
Hiller Aviation Museum
Courtesy
of
Hiller Aviation
Museum
cause they were
both
boat
men, elected to put the wing
fabric
on
the under surface
of the wings rather than
on
the upper surface. Their ini
tial attempts to fly the plane
must have proved this to be
a bad decision, for the fabric
was soon removed and rein
stalled on
the
top of
the
wings. According to the date
on the photograph, the Dia
mond was actually
completed in 1910, so per
haps
the
referral
in the
Antioch Press to the comple
tion
of
the aerop lane and the
upcoming flight in midsummer of
1911 was due to this change in
the
wing fabric. In addition, that same
photograph
shows the
ailerons
mounted between the leading edges
of the wings, just
as
the 1910 Curtiss
construction
drawings call for,
but
all
other
photographs of the Dia
mond
show
the ailerons on the
trailing edge, just
as
Curti ss began
doing in 1911.
Abudding young aviator, Weldon
B. Cooke
had
become interested in
aviation in 1910 and had built
and
was
flying
a
Montgomery-type
glider. This type of glider, like many
other flying machines of the time,
used a combination of wing warping
and weight shifting for control. The
flying
their
aeroplane.
Maupin and
Lanteri gave him
the
chance,
and
Cooke,
proceeding cautiously by
taxiing back and forth across
the
field for several days, eventually got
it into the air.
He
flew th e machine
so well that he was invited to be
come the aviator of the Diamond.
By
September
20,1911,
he had
gained enough confidence to make a
flight of two miles over the city, and
the next
day he made a flight
of
14
miles. October 6
and
7 saw his first
public exhibi tion at Walnut Creek,
California, and on October 12 he
flew over Oakland, California, dur
ing
a Co lumbus Day celebration .
During
a flight from
nearby
Alameda he made a landing at Lake
Merritt
that
ended in the lake, but
Mount Tamalpais.
He
circled Mount
Tam at an alti tude of 5,000 feet and
returned to Alameda. A very daring
flight for a novice aviator in a home
built aeroplane
December 31, 1911,
and
January
1,1912, found Cooke and the Dia
mond
in Santa Rosa, California, for
more exhibition flying. This was fol-
lowed by preparations for the entry
of the aeroplane in the
Southern
California air meet to be held Janu
ary 20-28. At the end of
the
Dominguez
meet,
less
than
six
months
after
Weldon
B.
Cooke be
gan flying
the Diamond,
it was
dismantled,
crated, and
shipped
back to Pittsburg, California.
t
would never again be flown. The Di-
amond remained stored at the
-
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Feb 2001
8/36
1
The Diamond as it appeared at the Dominguez Hills air meet before the air meet at Dominguez Hills - you can see the ailerons still installed on
the
interplane struts between the wings. Also of note
is the
forward elevator control. Look at
the
top
surface of
the
elevator and projecting
from it
is
a long control horn. The elevator push/pull rod most likely made of wood runs aft
to
its attachment to
the
back of
the
control
wheel.Courtesy
of
EAA
Archives.
feature the
Diamond
as one of sev-
eral aviation displays. Arrangements
were made with Marysville
Union
High School,
which
had a very ac-
tive
aeronautics
program to
reassemble the aeroplane. s best as
can be determined they had only
two to three weeks to make the plane
presentable. Under the guidance of
Lan Maupin
and
with a lot
of
hard
work by the
students
and their
the shorter wing. The
original
wingspan including the ailerons
that
extended
four feet
beyond
the
wingtips, was 40 feet, while the aero-
plane displayed in Marysville had a
wingspan
of only
34 feet. But the
students and their teachers did what
they could with what they had,
and
the plane was put on display.
Oakland California 1933
nia, not to return for
SO
years.
Hiller Aviation Museum
an Carlos California 1988
The Diamond was
returned to
California, and the restoration direc-
tive from the National ir and Space
Museum
though quite detailed
about what was thought to be restor-
able, was
straightforward.
Restore
the aeroplane to the
1912
-
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Feb 2001
9/36
by metal fittings, the seemingly im
possible puzzle was pieced together.
Early
on
in the process, the decision
was made to replace all of the wing
structure, along with the canard and
tail assembly. Not only was the wood
too rotted to be of any structural use,
but also in the case
of
the wing
beams the wrong type of wood had
been
used
in
the 1930 reconstruc
tion. In contrast, the restoration
team decided
that
most of the origi
nal outrigger beams (the fore and aft
extensions
supporting the
canard
and tail surfaces) were usable. Most
of the outrigger struts were also
in
sound condition. Further examina
tion showed
that
many of the metal
fittings ,
along
with the
undercar
riage, were constructed of metal
water pipe, probably
from
the
Marysville Union High School recon
struction, and would have
to
be
replaced.
The actual restoration began with
the careful measurement of the as
sembled machine and
the
construction of a full-scale side-view
lofting, or drawing. This was invalu
able in the layout of the
undercarriage, engine bed, pilot seat,
canard support, and rudder. Many
other checks of angles and dimen
sions were also possible. Work then
began
on
the
wing
ribs and inter
plane struts, all being built with
laminated spruce over ash. The cen
ter-section wing beams are laminated
in the same way. The shaping of the
wing ribs was accomplished by glu
ing and forming the ribs
in
a special
fixture, a method very similar to that
used by
Glenn
Curtiss. The inter
plane struts also reqUired very careful
shaping, using specially designed fix-
tures
to assure accuracy.
The
four
outrigger beam units also had to be
replaced. Each
consisted of
1-1/2
inch diameter spruce poles that were
hollowed out
with
a
3/4-inch
core
router bit and then glued together. A
3/4-inch
diameter router bit
was
then used
to
finish the
outside
ra
dius, followed by enough sanding to
remove any tool marks.
All
new parts
were
then
stained to match the old
parts as closely as possible.
Assembly of the new parts began
with
the outer wing panels.
t
was
believed that the wings received
from the National Air and Space Mu
seum
were correct, so
wing beams
were
cut
to length and
shaped
ac
cordingly. Careful reference
to
the
original
photographs
was
continu
ally made to determine the wing rib
spacing, but the rib layout pattern
did not appear to be correct. This
was when it was discovered that the
wing panels received from the Na
tional
Air and Space Museum were
three feet short of what they should
be. After a second set of wing beams
was cut and shaped, the layout and
assembly continued with
no
further
problems.
As
work progressed some amazing
discoveries evolved.
A trip to the
Glenn
Curtiss
museum
in
Ham
mondsport, New
York,
brought back
a series of articles published
in
AERO-
NAUTICS,
dated
February through
May 1911
entitled
How to Build a
Curtiss-Type Biplane. A three-di
mensional
drawing published
in
1910,
which
included some con
struction details, was also discovered.
A comparison of these articles, along
with the dimensional draWing, not
only
proved to be a great help,
but
also confirmed
that
all the measure
ments and scaling of photographs
done by the
restoration team
were
correct.
One
question dogged the Hiller
team from the beginning: What hap
pened
to
the many original parts
that
never made it
to
Yuba
County
from Los Angeles
in
1930? Fully ab
sorbed
in
the mystery, Hiller's
Newton Craven
had
been
poring
over
old aviation
magazines,
and
among the
pictures
he
recognized a
familiar-looking control
column
in
the hands of Paul Poberezny, EAA s
founder. "My
God,"
said
Craven
,
That's the Diamond's steering col
umn "
The photo was part of an
article announcing
the
ac
quisition by
EAA
of the parts
of a pioneer-era homebuilt
airplane. Days later he
was
in
Oshkosh with Poberezny ar
ranging
for the reunion
of
-
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Feb 2001
10/36
front and rear forks of the undercar
riage, fittings,
compression
members, wheels ...
and
all of
them
in good condition Even a 1910 tire
was
still inflatable.
The story of how the parts came
to EAA managed to
fill
in a
few
gaps
in the Diamond's history. In 1964
Poberezny had received the missing
originals from a Texan friend, Neil
Carr, who had inherited the old Cal
ifornia
Airplane
Co. on San
Francisco's Gough Street. Along with
the company-for reasons un
known-came
the missing pieces of
the Diamond.
After negotiations
and
fundrais
ing, the parts were purchased by the
Hiller Aviation Museum and shipped
to
San Carlos, California.
The
restoration crew was astounded and
overjoyed
as
the parts
fit
into place.
Among the parts received were
much of the undercarriage (includ
ing the wheels), the control column
with
the
control wheel, and
the
aileron control system, which uses a
hinged seat back called a crotch.
This allowed the pilot to simply lean
left or right to control
the
ailerons,
which bank the aeroplane. Also in
cluded were wing compression ribs
and a bamboo control rod with fit
tings for
the
canard.
All
parts fit
as
though they had never left the Dia
mond. t is open to speculation as to
how these parts became separated,
but
it
is
believed
that when
the
Dominguez Hills air meet was over
and the
aeroplane was prepared for
shipment back to Pittsburg, Califor
through with brads, clinching each
tip, and then soldered. Again, those
original parts
sent from
the
Na
tional Air and Space Museum did
not
use
this technique and were
thought to be built by the Marysville
Union High School students in 1930.
Most of the metal fittings had to
be replaced, for corrosion had taken
its toll. Using the original examples
on
the plane, new interplane
strut
sockets were made, along with tabs
for attaching the wire cross bracing.
The wire bracing itself was
also
made, along with all turnbuckles.
Many of
the
wing rib front sockets
used to
attach the
ribs to
the
for
ward
beam were
in serviceable
condition, so they were cleaned and
reinstalled. The originals were made
of brass and had not corroded. How
ever,
the
hat-shaped brackets
holding
the
ribs to the rear
beam
had
to
be replaced. The "X" frame
supporting the canard was also fabri
cated by the restoration team, and
again, the full-size drawing
of
the
aeroplane proved invaluable. All
new
control
cables,
cable
guides,
and pulleys also had to be made, for
none had arrived with the shipment
from the National Air and Space Mu
seum. Though control cables were
acqUired
form
the
EAA
Museum,
none were serviceable, but they were
helpful as a guide in making the
new parts. The actual routing of the
control cables was determined by
re-
ferring to photographs and the
three-view construction drawings of
the 1910 Curtiss. The metalwork as-
brass upholstery tacks to fasten
the
fabric to
the
airframe, so a search
had to be conducted to find the cor
rect tacks. The tacks were
finally
located in Germany, and a shipment
arrived by post. A narrow cotton
webbing was used over each rib
to
reinforce the fabric under the tack
heads. Over 2,000 tacks were used to
fasten the fabric to the Diamond.
Some early plane
builders
used
fabrics such as rubberized
balloon
cloth and
even silk, while others
used raw
linen and
applied a finish
that
would make the fabric airtight.
The various finishes available
in
cluded a shellac, a spar
varnish,
linseed
oil,
and
beeswax
thinned
with turpentine. These were all tried
on
test panels, but in the case of the
raw linen covering the Diamond,
i t
was
found
that
the
only
type
of
modern day finish
that
would
tighten the fabric while making it
airtight
must
contain water. Four
coats of
brushed-on
water-borne
clear lacquer were used,
with
very
careful sanding between the third
and fourth coat.
The covering of the wings, stabi
lizer,
rudder,
and canard was
completed by the end of April 2000,
and reassembly was about to begin.
By this time
the
restoration
team
had received an original Roberts
4X
engine
from the
National
Air and
Space Museum, though several ex
ternal
parts were
missing. The
missing items included the water
manifold, water
pump, and
mag
neto. After relentless searching, only
-
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Feb 2001
11/36
I first
found out about
this little
bear
on
February 9 1996. I received a
fax from a friend advising me of
the
existence of five Piper
Super Cubs
languishing in an
ex t
.
ended
winter
slumber. The airplanes had been in
this suspended state for around eight
sleeDing
ub is revived
y
time
the
cache of aircraft and aircraft
parts stored there. Deep within this
mass
of
pieces lay
the heart of our
plane,
the
fuselage of N8994Y; what
had this Cub seen and done before
ending up in this den?
Super Cub PA-18-1S0, serial num
-
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Feb 2001
12/36
get there Based
on
the
published figures from
Piper, you
can
fly
the
Cub for 3.5 hours and
leave yourself
the
re
quired half an
hour
of
fuel when you land.
When
the U.S.
Bor
der
Patrol
decided
to
let
the
Cub browse, it
was
turned
in to
the
federal
government s
General
Services Ad
ministration. The next
agency to call on this
little bear was the U.S.
Forestry Service. Soon
after
the
U.S.
Border
Patrol
turned
it in,
they picked it up. The
aircraft
was
to
be
based in Columbia,
South Carolina, with
the South Carolina
State Commission of
Forestry.
The
aircraft
would spend
several
years in Columbia fly
ing many different
missions related to the
conservation of wood
lands.
The airplane
would use only a frac
tion
of its 17,OOO-foot
service ceiling during
these
treetop
opera
tions.
The
exceptional,
and
con
Above) The Super Cub in its uncovered assembled form
so
the wing and control
surface rigging could be checked. The
new
struts are
built
by Univair and comply
with AD 93-10-06. Below) Eric Lorvig dons a full-coverage, pressurized protective
suit and mask while using a high-volume, low-pressure
HVLP)
p int
gun
to apply
Cub Yellow Superflight polyurethane p int
to
the bottom of the
left
wing. The
white undercoat, which you
can
see on the fuselage in the foreground, enhances
the
yellow color.
servative, 760-foot-per-minute
advertised rate of climb provided
the
operators with an added sense of
se
head back
as
they were low
on
fuel,
but
soon the
engine
began
to sput
ter.
The pilot
switched to
the left
service headquarters
warehouse. That
was
the
beginning
of
an
eight-year hibernation
for this Cub.
We
found the
per
son in charge of
the
warehouse
and
drove
to the side entrance.
Upon entering the
warehouse, there were
old chain
saws, weed
eaters, tractors,
a
Cessna
180 I
missed
that
one),
and
the
remnants of five Super
Cubs. We learned
from our "guide" that
the plane
we
were
given
was
the least
damaged of
the
lot.
We inquired as
to
what
parts and acces
sories went with
which
aircraft.
After
hearing "Well, I guess
you need to pick
up
what
looks like a com
plete set of parts,"
we
started to load our van
and trailer. We took
notice
of a
crushed
vertical stabilizer,
missing radios, and a
missing engine cowl
ing. After loading the
collection, we headed
back
to
Tennessee,
where
we
displayed our spoils to col
leagues
and students alike. I took
inventory
and
found we
had
to pur
-
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Feb 2001
13/36
All
covered and painted, the fuselage is
at the gO
percent
done
, 50 percent left to
do stage
of restoration . The Cessna 150 Texas Taildragger
conversion peeking
out
of the hangar door was converted at MTSU.
He started
with the
still
and
video
camera work of documenting where
all of
th
e pieces
went
to ensure
that
he would n ot
have
any mystery
pieces left over.
He
stripped
th
e fuse
lage bare
and commenced
with
the
sandblasting and
priming
of all the
steel parts. We inspected
the
balance
of the parts and
made
almost daily
orders
to
Univair
and
Cub Crafters
searching for new and serviceable re
placement
pieces.
The plane saw
tur
e Oshkosh. When it came
tim
e to
register
this
well-rested C
ub
, we
wanted a
registration
number
that
fit this aircraft. We selected N147MT,
representing our FAR Part 147
sc
hool
and
MTSU. The airplane flew for
the
first time, again, on)uly 22,1999,
with
Eric at
the
stick
and
a newly
ove rhauled 150 Lycoming out front.
He told
me
he would
run it down
th
e runway a few times and see how
it felt. He gave it half power,
and
it
Oshkosh.
We made the
trip
on
the
Tuesday following
the
Friday test
flight, after building about six hours
on th e engine. Eric flew th e Cub
to
the fly-in, and I followed him in
MTSU's Beaver. Although we
took
different routes, we
arrived
in
Oshkosh minutes apa rt. The trip up
was uneventful as
the 6,700-hour
airframe performed flawlessly. Eric
made the
return trip
and was very
appreciative
for th e opportunity to
-
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Feb 2001
14/36
PASS IT
TO
BUCK
by E.E. Buck Hilbert
EAA
#21
VAA
#5
P.O. Box
424
Union, IL
60180
More
on
Engine Pre-Heaters
The response has been great.
r
hadn't
received
my
December
magazine yet when r had a call from
the frozen northern
regions. The
caller
adamantly
insisted that
up
there they couldn't live without their
heaters.
He insisted they plug'em in
the fall and
leave
them on
until
spring
and
there
ain't
no
other
way." He really took me to task.
Then the E-Mails came. One told
of a manufacturer's latest innovation
to carry off the accumulated internal
condensation. It's a mini-blower
that
forces air through the "slobber-tube,"
as the
rAC
guys call the crankcase
ventilation line, and out through the
oil filler hole with the cap left
open
or ajar.
Good
idea But the price,
near 300 bucks, sort of takes the fun
out of it, until you consider the cost
of an overhaul or a new engine.
The majority of the replies echo
the findings the article talks about,
and the summation is
that
for most
of us, use of
the
heater should be
cially in springs.
We also
talked
about
crankcase
ventilation
and how some
owners/maintenance people extend
the tube back to the tail to minimize
oil
on
the
belly. Taking
the
tube out
of the low-pressure area and the pos
sible sludge accumulation in the
long tube sure could affect ventila
tion
of those
condensation
vapors.
We also speculated some about the
oil separators being touted today and
what effect they might have on pas
sive
venting when the engine
is
at
rest.
We
further kicked around running
temperatures and why getting the
engine up to operating temperature,
and keeping it there, is so important
to efficiency and engine life. Why do
diesels have such a wonderful oper
ating history in trucks? Because they
hardly ever shut them off
and they
run at opt imum temperatures all the
time.
This led to even further discussion
courtesy or Wayne Spani:
Many substances can exist in three
phases or states-solid
,
liquid, or
gaseous. The phase
is
dependent
upon temperature and pressure, so
you can cause a substance to change
phases by
changing temperature,
pressure, or
both. Condensation
is
the name we give to the gaseous-to
liquid phase change. For water, we
know that it exists as a solid (ice) at
atmospheriC pressure
and
below 0°
C as a liqUid between 0° C and 100°
C
and
as
a
gas
(steam) above 100°
C.
Our atmosphere is a mixture of ele
ments
and compounds
(oxygen,
nitrogen, carbon dioxide, water, and
others) in their gaseous state. How
ever, for any
combination of
atmospheriC
temperature
and
pres
sure, there
is
a limit to the amount of
water (relative humidity) that can
exist in the gaseous state. When that
limit is reached at 100 percent, con
-
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Feb 2001
15/36
point (with heaters), condensation
cannot occur and liquid water would
not form the electrolyte-for-elec
trolytic corrosion.
Dear Buck,
I
had
a
similar experience
with
my '55 Cessna 180 to that described
by your friend s 210. I bought
the
plane
with 1200 hrs on the
0-470
and
thought
that I might be able to
get away with "topping cylinders" as
needed to get to 1500
TBO
etc. 470's
are
know
for having long-lasting
bottom ends.
Returning from Sun
n
Fun in '98,
a clatter commenced about S miles
from
home.
I figured t was a col
lapsed lifter (it was), but, when
the
I I P
pulled
the
jug,
the
lifter
and
the cam were severely spalled. I was
n t
expecting that The engine did
have a hotpad that I did use and the
plane
was bought from a guy in
Maine, so I'm sure he used the pad a
lot. We attributed
the
spalling to
lack of use of the plane (it
had
last
been majored in '83 - 15 years. We
moved to
Mattituck
that year and
had
them
put a ' new
remanufac
tured engine
in. I use a red
dragon
now for
pre-heat
because I
don t
have power at the tie-down. Of note,
the oil pan under the pad was rusted
through (pad was holding the oil in).
So your
AP
might
be
on to
some
thing.
Charlie Zaloom
Hello Buck,
I just read your piece in
the
De
cember 2000 Vintage
Airplane.
"Metal in the screen". While work
ing
as a mechanic at a shop
in
western New
York
we frequently ser
viced
a
1979 Cessna
210N.
This
company
refurbished
this airplane
two years previous,
including of
course, a major overhaul. After sale
to it's current owner it became based
at that field
in
a non-heated steel
hanger with blacktop floor and an
electric engine preheater left on 24-7
during the
cold
months.
Approx.
one year later it was discovered
that
the camshaft had become severely
pitted and
rusted.
After
the
TSIO
520-R was torn down for repair
owner was advised not to leave his
engine
preheater on
constantly
but
to instead arrive at the field early to
preheat engine on the day of flight.
Just like a glass of ice water on a
hot
day the inside of
the
engine was
most
likely
moist
all
the
time thus
causing severe corrosion of internal
engine parts. More than two years
later
this
very costly
condition
has
not been detected after operating
heater as instructed.
Sincerely, Tim Moore
.
Next it s my
fellow V
AA
board
member,
Bob
Brauer.
Hi Buck
I read the
part
of
your
article
in
December's Vintage Airplane with
-
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Feb 2001
16/36
much
interest regarding "Metal in
the Screen". In my opinion, the oil
pan type electric pad heaters
will
perform their intended task without
problems if they are used properly.
Within the past several years (af
ter the earth cooled), I recall reading
about this subject in 2 or 3 club mag
azine articles and member letters I
don t recall the dates) on the subject
of long term electrical type engine
oil pre heat. The point is that mois
ture can promote condensation.
This matches your mechanic's opin
ion.
The club s magazine articles
pOinted out
that
oil pan heaters will
very likely cause moisture to con
dense
in the upper and somewhat
cooler extremities of
the
engine in
ternals and promote corrosion.
As
a result
of
this
information,
I
plug in my oil heater within an hour
or two prior
to
engine start
up. A
conventional
hot
air
treatment
re
sults in
a
quick
and easy
start
up
with the all important rapid oil flow.
Of course, the colder
it gets,
the
longer the pre heat time. The manu
facturer of my
oil
heater
claims
a
generous warm-up in an hour, but I
tend to be conservative regarding
their claims. I've experienced a few
early morning
get-ups
at about 0
dark
thirty
to get to
the
airport to
achieve a good warm-up. During the
warm up, I
spend
that time in the
airport office
drinking
their
coffee,
so it's
no
big deal.
My oil is routinely
subjected
to
analysis and oil filter cut for inspec
tion upon every oil change with
no
Dear Buck
I enjoyed your article
in
the De
cember
issue
concerning metal in
the oil screen. Since we are the man
ufacturer
of
SAFE-HEET
engine
heaters, I would like to address your
question
as
to
the possibility of en
gine
pre-heaters
causing
internal
engine corrosion and related pitting
and metal failures.
YES, your perceptions are correct.
Engine heaters can cause damage.
We
were
in
the
engine
overhaul
business when we
developed
the
SAFE-HEET product. Our conclu
sions
from
observing
internal
engine corrosion damage while
comparing heater usage situations
are as follows:
All
pre-heaters will accelerate en
gine corrosion
if
they
are left
plugged in continuously and the air
craft is
not
used for several days.
Pre-heaters will not cause damage
if the airplane is flown regularly
or
the heater is only used before flight.
Rental and pipeline patrol aircraft
don t seem to have any
problems
with
the
heaters being continuously
plugged in because the engines are
run regular enough to keep the en
gine's internal surfaces coated with
oil and
the
normal moisture and
the
associated sulfuric acid in the oil can
be, to some extent, vaporized out of
the breather.
Using
the
heater
the
night
before
a
flight or an
hour
before
a
flight
causes no harm, as exposure
time
seems to be a large factor in the cor
rosion equation.
oil. Acids, by
their
very nature, are
temperature-sensitive when reacting
with
metals. They are dormant
at
cold
temperatures and
very
aggressive
at high temperatures.
This,
combined with
the fact that
oil is more viscous at low tempera
tures
and
takes
much
longer to run
off the oil-coated engine surfaces
than
warm
oil, makes a good case
for keeping your engine cold until
it is needed.
As
a manufacturer of pre-heaters,
I wish I
could
tell you
pre-heaters
are harmless
and
should be left on
all the time,
but
I would be lying if
I did.
The
root of this problem
is that
some of the pre-heater manufactur
ers
either don t fully understand
their product or
ignore
the
limita
tions
of their
product
to
further
sales. They continue
to
pump out
faulty information
about
the use of
their
pre-heaters.
Considering the
damage that can be caused by lack
of lubrication during a cold start-up,
pre-heaters are very beneficial and
well
worth the money when
used
properly.
My
hat
goes off to you
and the
readers of Vintage Aircraft for keep
ing
those
glorious old flying
machines alive, as well as
the
spirit
that created them. Future genera
tions will surely benefit.
Keep
up the
good work.
Sincerely,
David
A.
McFarianeGeneral
Manager, SAFE-HEET Division
McFarlane Aviation, Inc.
'. ",'".:;;
-
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Feb 2001
17/36
~ ~ ~ « ;t
-
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Feb 2001
18/36
still considered among the best-look
ing airplanes ever built.
Before the first production G-44
rolled
out of the hangar
doors in
Bethpage, Long Island, New York,
the company s sales office had 10 or
ders for the
model.
A total of 44
Widgeons were
built
before
the
buildup of the United State s military
air fleet resulted in an order for a sec-
ond
ba
tch
of G-44s, designated the
J4F-1. A few of the earlier Widgeons
would also be impressed into mili
tary se rvice.
Guard to score the first U-boat kill.
On
August
I,
1942, chief aviation pi
lot
Henry C. White, assigned to
Patrol
Squadron
212
of
Houma,
Louisiana, bombed and sank U-166
in the Gulf of Mexico, near the delta
of the Mississippi River. That air
plane, since
modified
with
the
installation of flat-opposed Ly
coming
engines,
is
on
display
at the
National Museum of Naval Aviation
in Pensacola, Florida.
Over its lO-year production life at
the
Grumman plant
, a total of 276
-
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Feb 2001
19/36
is that
the larger they are,
the
easier
they are to handle on the water. The
only
knock
on
the prewar
and
wartime Widgeons (besides marginal
single-engine performance with the
original 200-hp Ranger engines
and
fixed-pitch wood props) was their
tendency to porpoise if
the
nose of
the
airplane
was dropped
too
sud
denly while on the water. Kurt Wien
and his father Merrill both acknowl
edge
that the
airplane will oscillate
in pitch when operating on the wa
ter i
a
tten
tion
is
not
paid to the
correct attitude, but both will quickly
add that
with proper training and
practice, the Widgeon is a joy to fly
After V203 was sold on the civil
ian market, it bounced around for a
short while until George Lambros of
New Jersey put it into service as a
twin-engine seaplane trainer. Many
pilots who earned their twin-engine
sea wings did so
in
this Widgeon at
the famed Lambros Seaplane base
in
Ridgefield Park, New Jersey.
The
base, located on the Hackensack
River
, was just a
few
miles east-north
east of Teterboro
Airport.
Now
simply
known
as
Ridgefield, it's
listed as a private seaplane base.
All
that
training activity took its
toll on the airframe, and by the time
Merrill Wien was able to
purchase
the airplane
in
1981, the fuselage
had
become a flying project .
t
did
n't
look too bad when he first bought
it , but as so
often
happens, a closer
inspection revealed
some
work
needed to be done.
We
thought,
'It'll take some
work,
maybe
six months,'
Kurt
-
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Feb 2001
20/36
six years to complete.
Merrill Wien had owned one Wid
geon before
this
one, a Super
Widg
eon
equipped with geared Ly-
comin
g
engines.
t
had
also
seen
service with the government during
the war, serving
with
the Civil Air
Patro l. He
admits
selling it
was
a
mistake, for he
wanted another
one
to replace it almost right away
Merrill is the grandson
of
Wien
Alaska Airways founder Noel Wien, a
pione
ering
bush
pilot
who
put
to
gether one of
the most
well-known
airlin
es in
the
world, flying a mix
ture of aircraft
that
ranged from
the
Ford Tri-Motor to
the
C-46, with a
liberal sprinkl ing
of light
aircraft
in
the
middle.
He taught
his son Merrill
to
fly,
and
Merrill passed along the
tradition to his two sons, Kurt and
Kent. Both are airline pilots: Kurt a
767
captain
for American Airlines
and
Kent a pilot for American Air
lines. Their sister, Kim, is a flight
attendant for Alaska Airlines.
Merrill
and
his
mechanically
in
clined friend, Pat Prociv, did
the
restoration,
with grunt work help
from Kent
and
Kurt. Stripping paint,
unscrewing
this,
and
cleaning up
that were the fun parts the boys "en
joyed." But Pat, who holds an
A P
certificate with an inspection autho
rization,
and
Merrill did
the
bulk
of
the
work.
Since it was an original airframe,
Merrill weighed
the
pros
and
cons of
revising
the
engine installation. The
geared Lycoming engine conversions
were having their own set
of
prob
lems with parts availability, and the
more
he
looked at
the
original
Ranger engines,
the
more
he
realized
the airplane s performance wasn t
lacking because
it needed
more
horsepower.
What
it needed
was a
pair of constant-speed propellers
He
also points out that parts for
the
Rangers are not an
insurmountable
problem. One surprising detail
that
The early color schemes of the World War II era were pretty bright, with plenty of yellow to help identify U.S. airplanes. Soon after the United
States declared war, the schemes became much more subdued. Even the Coast Guard
schemes
which mirrored the Navy livery, changed over
time. Merrill Wien chose to paint his Widgeon
with
the same colors the airframe had when
it
was first rolled
out of
the hangar doors at
Grumman s Bethpage, Long Island, factory.
-
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Feb 2001
21/36
The famous Grumman landing gear
geometry proved itself
tough
over a
wide range
of
airplanes from
the J2F
Duck
to
the
F4F
Wildcat and a number
of other models as well.
In
different
sizes
the gear was common to all the
Grumman amphibious aircraft.
came to light during research on this
article
is
the number of G-44 and G-
44A Widgeons
that
are still registered
as
having the Ranger engine installa
tion. It seems as
though
you rarely
see
one, yet
the
FAA
registration
records show that of 72 G-44 air
frames
still registered, 26
show
Ranger engines, and of the 47 entries
for
the
G-44A, five
show
Rangers.
Certainly most of those aircraft with
Ranger engines are not flying at this
time , so
the actual number is
less,
but there s
still
a
number
of
Wid
geons
out there with the inline
engine installation. Kurt Wien men
tioned
that
he thinks there are about
four or five Ranger-powered Wid
geons actually flying.
Retaining the 200-hp Rangers, Pat
and
Merrill worked
on
getting a field
approval by
the
FAA
for
the
installa
tion of a pair
of
Hartze ll
constant-speed, full-feathering pro
pellers. Made of composite materials
with
a stainless steel leading edge,
the Hartzells are holding up ex
tremely
well,
with littl e wear
showing
on the
blades after 600
hours of operation.
One of the reasons
the
Wien s
Widgeon performs as well as it does
was
their
conscious
effort
to keep
the airplane light. t can be pretty
to allow
for a
higher
gross
weight,
but
Merrill chose to
keep
the ai r
plane at
the
original maximum gross
weight of 4,525 pounds. When they
completed
the
restoration, Widgeon
NC1340V
came in
with
an
empty
weight
of 3,300
pounds,
j
ust
a
hair
more than
th
e origin al
3,240
pounds.
A major part
of
t
hat
760
pound weight gain can be attributed
to the new propeller installation,
versus
the
original fixed-pitch wood
props.
With
its
completion
in 1988,
the
Widgeon was put on flight status
from its home base
at
Port Angeles,
Washington , averaging a little more
than
50 hours
of
flight ti me each
year. The
paint scheme on the
air
plane, identical to
the
paint it carried
in
the early stages
of
the war (later
during
its
military
servic
e
t
wore
dark blue paint), still
lo
oks great over
years later.
Both of Merrill s
sons, Kurt and
Kent, have flown and checked out in
the
Widgeon, with Kurt
checking
out
in
it over eight years ago, and
Kent
getting
his
checkout
in it, too
.
When
dad started makin
g
noises
about selling
the
airplane, Kurt heard
the wake-up call loud and clear.
He rearranged a few pri orities in
his life and bought
the
airplane from
Dad, moving it from its base on the
West Coast to near his
hom
e in West
Ossipee, New Hampshire, not too
far
northeast of Lake Winnipesaukee.
For now , it s based at th e former
Pease Air Force base in Por
tsmouth
until his
hangar
at Wind sock Vil
lage, a residential airpark, is done. To
-
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Feb 2001
22/36
-
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Feb 2001
23/36
MBERS WHO
HAVE
BEEN WITH
US
DUR-
_ ING THE PAST DECADE
WILL
RECALL
BEAUTIFUL CUSTOMIZED
GRUMMAN
G-
44A WE DETAILED IN THE FEBRUARY 1993J SUE
OF
VINJAGE AIRPLANE. JOHN
AND
liNDA
SCHWAMM WERE THRILLED WITH THEIR NEW
RESTORATION,
BUT
WHEN AN
OFFER
WAS
MADE
SOME YEARS
LATER
THAT WAS JUST TOO
HARD
TO RESIST,
JOHN LET
IT
GO,
AND, SURPRISE,
HE
INSTANTLY
REGRmED
SELLING
IT.
THE SEARCH WAS ON FOR
ANOTHER WIDGEON
(THIS
ONE
WOULD
BE HIS THIRD> HE
KNEW
ABOUT THE HISTORY OF THIS ONEPARTICULAR
-
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Feb 2001
24/36
A much lighter, more utilitarian interior
allows John and Linda to
use the
airplane
for camping trips and
other
excursions. The
F Atlee Dodge fol ing seats are lightweight
and stow easily. To help keep the
weight of
the airplane down, John had Boeing honey-
comb material used for the floorboards. The
cockpit carried
the
simple theme
as
well.
Isn t
it
great
how
so
much avionics capability
now takes up
so
little room?
floats, originally built in the factory
at Bethpage, using a s tretch press to
create a pair of skins
that
gracefully
curved from nose to tail.
While the Widgeon we wrote
about eight years ago was a very cus
tomized airplane, complete with
295-hp Lycoming
engines
and re
tractable-tip
floats,
John really
wanted this airplane to be closer to
the
original.
He
too
chose to
keep
the interior as light as he could.
One of the new materials he used
was Boeing surplus
honeycomb
ma
terial for
the
floorboards. Eschewing
the
retractable-tip float
conversion
that is one of the McKinnon conver
sion details, he stayed with the
fixed-tip float installation.
John
said
the speed cost
was
only
3-5
mph,
and the added 100 pounds of the re-
tractable floats just wasn t worth it.
The two other Widgeons he has
owned
had
an
empty
weight in
the
neighborhood of 4,200-4,300
pounds. He was
shooting
for 3,900
pounds for this airplane,
and
it s just
slightly over that.
The
F.
Atlee Dodge seats are very
lightweight as well. Designed for
Goose
and
Widgeon operators
who
-
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Feb 2001
25/36
-
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Feb 2001
26/36
successful flying other seaplanes first
before being trained in
the
little
Grumman, as he points out that the
airplane
behaves like nothing else
that
flies.
There really is
nothing
like it.
You
shouldn't start out in
a
Wid-
geon, in
the
water, period, he
mentions. ''It would be a lot easier, I
am sure,
in
a Goose."
The first time
he
flew a Widgeon,
he had 800 hours of floatplane time,
most of
it
in a
Helio
Courier on
John s second Widgeon
restoration, which we prof iled
in
the
February 1993 issue
of
Vintage Airplane. A very cus-
tomized airplane,
it
featured a
more luxurious interior,
retractable-tip floats and 295
hp Lycoming engines.
t now
belongs to an
owner
on
the
East Coast
of the
United States.
floats. The
float
experi-
ence
helped
a
bit with
water operations,
but
since
a
flying
boat is in
many
respects
nothing
like a float-
plane, an
entire transition
program
to the Widgeon was in order. Hav-
ing
flown three
of them as
the
owner/pilot,
John
says
that
each
one
has its own personality on the water
and that he
never
takes the air-
plane's handling for granted. The
airplane's ability
is
one
of a kind, he
points out.
"You start looking at
any
alterna-
tive airplane, and
there
is just
nothing
like it. And you .
can't
really
come close to what it
is!"
John adds.
The
paint scheme for
the
new
restoration is similar to the second
Widgeon, but with
much
brighter
colors. Echoing
and
embellishing
on
the
original Widgeon's scheme,
the
curved lines follow the smooth con-
tours
of the
airframe. He tried to
put
the original N number on the air-
plane,
but the
owner
of the
airplane
wouldn't take John's offer to pay for
a new
paint
job
in
exchange for the
number.
His
previous
airplane
was
N144GW,
so
he asked
the FAA for
N244GW [Should it
be
N244GW?].
Without the original
number,
he
didn't
feel particularly
bound
to keep
the
color
scheme
strictly
as it was
when
the airplane was first delivered.
Since John and Linda now split
their time between
Alaska
and
Ari-
zona, don't
be
surprised i f you see
the
airplane all over
the
western half
of North America. After all, there are
few places a Widgeon can't visit ......
The
Quality
Goes
In Before
The Tag Goes
On
Reduce Engine
Maintenance
Costs
RECONDITIONING AND
OVERHAUL
SERVICES INCLUDE:
CRANKSHAFT GRINDING
ROCKER
ARMS
STARTER
ADAPTERS
CRANKSHAFT
BALANCING TAPPET
BODIES
ULTRASONIC INSPECTIONS
CAMSHAFT GRINDING
COUNTERWEIGH
TS
CUSTOM
MACHINING
CONNECTING RODS
MAGNAFLUXING PLATING
Aircraft
Specialties
Services is
the
industry leader
for reconditioning
and
remachining
-
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Feb 2001
27/36
WHAT OUR
MEMBER
ARE
RESTORING
by H G Frautschy
DANISH PIPER L-4H
After five years of restoration, this 1943 Piper L-4H, OY-DHN,
serial number 43-29774, looks like a new aircraft. The restoration
was completed
in
Denmark by the
father/son
team of Henry
Schou (shown
in
the
cockpit), Esbjerg,
Denmark, and
Finn
Schou EAA 362178) of Heming, Denmark.
This
L-4H
was built at Piper's Lock Haven, Pennsylvania plant
on
December 10, 1943
and
delivered
to the USAAF on the
same
date. It departed
the
United States
in
January 1944 for service
with the 8th Air Force in England. t was dropped from inven
tory in May 1946, having never returned to
the
United States.
Congratulations to Henry
and
Finn on a beautiful job of
restoring a L-4H Grasshopper.
GRIGGS STINSON V-77
-
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Feb 2001
28/36
February Mystery Plane
This
month's
Mystery Plane
comes to
us
from
a batch of inter
esting and rare airplane photos
supplied
by Ralph
Nortell. The
jaunty-looking cabin
on
this smaller
monoplane
is
quite
unusual,
no
doubt
an attempt to give the pilot
good visibility over
the
nose.
Send
your answer
to: EAA Vin
tage
Airplane,
P.O.
Box 3086,
Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086. Your an
swer needs to
be
in no later than
March
15, 2001, for
inclusion
in
the
May issue of Vintage Airplane.
You can
also send your response
via e-mail. Send
your
answer
to
Be
sure to include both your
y
H G Fraut
schy
Yackey Monoplane
-
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Feb 2001
29/36
Above) Another view
of
our
Mystery Plane,
the
Yackey mono
plane registered
as
-1296.
It
was
one
of the two
Yackeys that were
civilian entries in
the
National
ir
Races
held September
19
-
25
1927,
at Felts Field, Spokane,
Washington.
Right) -672 was the
other
partici
pant
of
the National
ir Races.
Both Yackeys were powered by a
220
-hp
Wright Whirlwind
J-5
engine. Photos are courtesy
of the
Ralph Nortell collect ion .
-
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Feb 2001
30/36
Fly In
alendar
The fo
ll
owing
l
ist
of
coming even
ts is
furnished to our readers
as a
matter
of
informatio
n on
ly
and d
oes not
constitute appr
ova
l, sp
onso
rsh
ip,
involvement, con
tro
l
or
direction ofany event (fly-in,
seminars,
fly
market,
etc.) listed. Please send the information to
EAA,
Att: Vintage Air
plane,
P o
Box
3086,
O
shkosh,
WI
54903
-3086. Information sh
ou
ld be receivedfour mo
nths
p
rior
to the
event date
.
FEBR
UA
RY II -
Mondovi,
WI
-Ski
Fly -In at Log
Cabin Airport. Info: 715/287-4205 .
FE BR UARY
24
-25-
Riverside
(Rubidoux)
,
CA
-
EAA
Ch.
One 's
48th Annual Fly
-In.
F1a-Bob
Airport.
A tendees coming
to
this year s fly-in will
be
greeted
by anew
full-field-length
runway
, paved
ramp
and new
taxiway.
Info:
909/682
-6236
(Leave
name, phone
address.)
MA RCH 1
-3 -
Kalispell, MT
-
Montana Aviation
Conference at Cavanaugh s Outlaw Inn. Work
shops, seminars, national/y
recognized
speakers,
trade show. Info: Montana Aeronautics Div .,
406/444-2506.
MARCH
2-4-
Casa
Grande,
AZ - 43rd
Annual Cac
tus Fly-In at
Casa
Grande Airport, sponsored by
the
Arizona Antique Aircraft Association.
1nfo:
John Engle 480/987-5516 or www.
americanpilot.org cactus.
MA
RCH 4-
Santa
Paula , CA - Fl
y
n Swapm
ee
t, 9
a.m.
-
5
p.
m.
Sel/ or
buy.
Antique engine
auction.
Antique airplane
disp
lays.
1nfo: 805
/
525-5893.
APRIL 1- Santa Paula , CA - April Fools Day Re
gional Luscombe Fly-In sanctioned by Continell/al
Luscombe Association. I
nfo: 805
/
642-3315.
APRIL
8-14 -
Lakeland,
FL
-
Sun
'N
Fun EAA Fly
In,
Info: www.srm
-nfun.
org.
MA
Y5 - Wiscasset, ME - Katahdin Wings 99s host
Maine Poker
Run.
Info:
Ann
at 207-882-5475.
MA
Y
6- Santa Paula
,
CA
- Piper
Cub Fly-In,
in
con
junction
with Santa Paula Airport
First Sunday
of
the
Month Fly-ln. Info: 805
/525-708/.
8 a.m. - 5p.m. Pancake breakfast 8
a n1
- 11 a.m.
Static display
of
various aircraft;
airplane
and he
licopter rides available, demos, aircraft judging,
children s play area
and
ongoing
activities.
Con
cessions, souvenirs, and good food. Info: Ms.
Tangy Mooney
703
/780-6329 or EAAI86@
netscape. net.
MA
Y 20 - Niles, MI -
VAA Ch. 35 Hog
Roast Lun
cheon at Niles Airport (3TR).
Info:
616/683-9642
MAY 20 -
Warwick
,
NY
-
EAA
Ch.
501 Annual
Fly
-I
n
at Warwick Aerodrome
(N72).
10:00 a.m.
-
4:00
p.m. Unicom advisory frequency
is
123.0.
Food
will be
available and trophies will
be
awarded for
the different classes
of aircraft.
Registration for
judging
closes at 2:00 p.m.
I
nfo:
Michael
Mani
atis, 212-620-0398.
MA
Y 20 - Romeoville,
IL (LOT)
-
EAA
Ch. 15 Fly- In
Breakfast, 7a.m . -
Noon
at Lewis
Romeoville
Air
port. I
nfo:
Frank,
815
/436-6153.
MA
Y
25
27
-
Watsonville, CA -
EAA Ch.
1
19 's
37th
Annual
Fly-In Air Show.
I
nfo: 831-763-5600.
MAY
26
- Zanesvill
e,
OH (Riverside Ai/port) -
EAA
Ch.
425
Annual Memorial Day
Pan
cake
Breakfast
Fly- In/Drive- In,
8
a.m. -
2
p.m. (Rain date, May
27.) Lunch items and
airplane
rides
available
af
ter
11
a.m.
Info
:
720/454
-
0003
JUNE
1-
2 - Merced, CA - 44th
Merced West Coast
Antique Fly-
In
at
Merced Airport.
Info: Virginia
or
Ed
Morford
209/383-4632
JUNE
3 -
DeKalb, L (DKB) - 37th Annual EAA Ch.
241 Fly-In/Drive-In Breakfast, 7a.m. - Noon. Info:
Breakfast,
8
a.m. -
2
p.m. Lunch items and air
plane rides available after
11 a.m.
Info : Don,
740/454
-0003.
JU
LY 24
-30 - Oshkosh, WI -A irVenture Oshkosh
2001 , Wittmall Airport, IlIfo:
920
1426-4800,
www.airvelltur
e. org.
JULY
27-
Oshkosh, Wl-
Stinson
Lunch at Oshkosh,
I
1:30
a.m. meet at the
Vintage
RedBamforafree,
short bus ride to GolfCentral Restaurant. Pay on
your own at the restaur
ant.
Sign
up in
Type
Tent
or call
630/904
-
6964.
AUGUST
5 - Queell
Ci
ty,
MO - 14th Annual
Water
me lon Fly- In at Applegate Airport. Info:
660-766-
2644.
AUGUST
11
- Cadillac, MI - EAA
Ch. 678
Fly
In/Drive-
In Breakfast at
Wexford County Airport
(CAD),
7:30a.m. -
Il :OOa.m. Info: 2J3/779-8Jl3.
AUGU
ST
I9 -Dayton, OH -
EAA Ch.
48 Pancake
Breakfast at
Moraine
Air
park.
Info: 937/
291-
1225
or 937/859-8967.
SEPTEMBER 1
- Zanesville
, OH (Riverside
Airport)
-
EAA Ch. 425
Ann ual
Labor Day
Weekend
Fly
I
II
/Drive-In, 8
a.m
. - 2p.
m.
Lunch items and
airp
l
ane rides
availab le after
1
I
a.m.
I
nfo:
SEPTEMBER 2 -
Mondovi, WI
- 1
5th
Annual Fly-In
at L
og
Cabin Airport. I
nfo:
J
5/287-4205.
SEPTEMBER
7-9 -
Sacramento, CA -
Golden West
EAA Fly-
In.
SEPTEMBER 9- Marion, OH - Mid-Eastern
EAA
Fly-
I
n
SEPTEMBER
14-16
-
Watertown
, WI
(RYV)
-
17th
http:///reader/full/www.srm-nfun.orghttp:///reader/full/www.srm-nfun.orghttp:///reader/full/www.srm-nfun.orghttp:///reader/full/www.srm-nfun.orghttp:///reader/full/www.srm-nfun.orgmailto:[email protected]://www.airvellture/http://www.airvellture/http://www.airvellture/http://www.airvellture/http:///reader/full/www.srm-nfun.orgmailto:[email protected]://www.airvellture/
-
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Feb 2001
31/36
- Diamond from page
mond. A propeller blank of ash was
BUILDERS
WORKSHOP
soon laminated
the propeller pro
files
at selected stations determined
Greensboro, NC
and the
carving began. After
untold
February 17-18, 2001
hours of handwork the raw wood
• Sheet Metal • What's Involved in Kit Building*
was turned into a beautiful example
• Fabric Covering •
Ga
s Welding
of a Paragon propeller the type used
• Electrical Systems • CompOSite Construction
on the Diamond.
The
replica prop
• Engine Installation and Avionics
even has
the
correct decal installed
• Introduction to Aircraft Building
on each blade. y this time the en
gine had been fitted to the airframe
and the
radiators
mounted to their
EAA MEMBER
209- 289
NON-MEMBER
234- 314
supports. Again all
parts
fit
pre-
*Saturday evening-Whafs Involved
In
Kit Building,$30
cisely the new with the old.
One of the innovative design fea-
tures of the Curtiss-Type aeroplane
is the
ability to remove and install
the outer wing sections as a com-
HANDS-ON
plete unit allowing
for
easy
transportation
and storage. The
WELDING
original builders had also incorpo
rated
this feature which may
be
WORKSHOP
seen in
an
old photograph in
the
Spend 2
1 2
days at our TIG
Griffin, Georgia
iamond design. The restoration
Welding Workshops.
team
was able to
make
use
of
this
March 2-4, 2001
feature and assembled the com-
EAA MEMBERS NON-MEMBERS289-$349 314- 374
pleted outer wing sections and
fine-tuned all of the wire bracing be
fore the wings were attached to
the
aeroplane. The entire center section
with the canard aft stabilizer and
BUILDERS WORKSHOP
udder was
complete
ly assembled
with all wire bracing fine-tuned. The
Pittsburgh, PA
final mating of the
outer
wing pan
March 3-4,2001
els including ailerons to the center
section would occur in the museum
• Basic Sheet Metal •
Wha
t'
s Involved in Kit Building*
• Fabric Covering
• Elect
ri
cal
Sy
s
tem
s and
Av
ionics
allery itself.
The Hiller Aviation Museum lo
• Composite Construct ion
cated on the San Carlos Airport will
• Gas Welding
• Introduction to Ai rcraft Building
ffiCially unveil the new
exhibit
-
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Feb 2001
32/36
VINTAGE TRADER
~
'* 7
Something to buy, sell or trade?
Classified Word
ds
: $5.50
per
10 words, 180 words maximum, with boldJace lead-in
onfirst
line.
Classified Display ds: One column wide
2.
167 inches) by 1,
2,
or 3 inches high at $20 per inch. Black and white only, and no Jrequency discounts.
dvertising Closing Dates: 10th ojsecond month prior to desired issue date (i.e., January 10 is the clos
in
g dateJar the March issue). VAA reserves the
right to reject any advertising
in
conflict with its polici
es
Rates cover one insertion
per
issue. Classified ads are not accepted via phone. Payment must
accompany order. Word ads may be sent v
ia
Jax (9201426-4828)
or
e-mail ([email protected]) using credit card payment (VISA
or
MasterCard).
Include name on card, complete address, type ojcard, card number, and expiration date. Make checks payable to EAA. Address advertising correspon
dence to EAA Publications Classified d Manager, P.D. Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086.
BABBITT BEARING
SERVICE
-
rod bearings
,
main
bearings,
camshaft beat
ings ,
master rods
,
valves. Call
us Toll
Free
1/
800
/233 -6934 ,
e-mail
Web site
www.ramengine.com
VINTAGE ENGINE MACHINE WORKS,
N.
604 FREYA ST
.,
SPOKANE
,
WA
99202.
AIRCRAFT FABRICS -
Imported Unen
, Certificated Grade A Cotton. Tapes - Straight and pinked . For an 18-18 sample , send 10.00. Contact for
price
list. Vintage
Aero Fabrics, Ltd.
,
18
Joumey 's
End
,
Mendon, VT
05701
USA Tel:
802-786-0705,
Fax
: 802-786-2129 .
E-mail
: www.avcloth.com
WANTED
-1950's era McCulloch radial two-cycle engines (aircraft), also known
as
Umbaugh autogyro engines. Radial design with
even
number of cylinders. Complete
engines or crankcase, and misc. parts . Send i
nfo
, or picture if possible, to Joe Hicks, P.
O.
Box 159 , Fisherville,
Y
40023 . 502-649-5833
WANTED
- Aviation magazines
from
1920s, '3
0s
&
'40s , Air News
or
similar types, single magazines
or
sets. Mail info or call, J. D.
Hicks
, P.O. Box 159, Fisherville, Y
40023.
502-649-5833.
TN'
GNLY n '
WAYTG
G ~
YG '
Of
course
i
you
plan
to
f ~
it
,
the etUiestway is
stiD
Poly-Ylber.
~ y P o l y f i b e r
Because for 30 years builders
have followed our
easy
steps and achieved safe,
Fly high with
a
quality Class
i
interior
Complete interior assemblies for dO-it-yourself installation.
Custom
qual ity at econ
omical
prices.
• Cushion upholstery sets
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:///reader/full/www.ramengine.comhttp:///reader/full/www.ramengine.comhttp:///reader/full/www.ramengine.comhttp:///reader/full/www.avcloth.commailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:///reader/full/www.ramengine.comhttp:///reader/full/www.avcloth.com
-
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Feb 2001
33/36
Archie
and
Roberta Lane
Cypress CA
Archie:
Naval aviator
1952-1964
Engineering
test
pilot
1965-1981
Aerospace
program
manager, 1991-1995
Robbie
:
Homemaker
952-present
three children
We
are glad to give our endorsement
to your agency
in
light of both the
AUAis
approved
To become a
insurance you have provided at
reasonable cost and the way our claim
was handled when disaster struck.
"AUA's fair and prompt settlement
following an off-airport, night,
gear
-up
landing allowed us to rebuild our
Staggerwing to be an Oshkosh show
. "
AUA s xclusive E
intage Aircraft Assoc
Insurance
Program
Lower liabilitX and hull premiums
Medical
payments included
Fleet discounts for multiple aircraft
carrying all risk coverages
No hand-propping exclusion
-
8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Feb 2001
34/36
VINTAGE
AIRCRAFT
M e m b e r s h i ~
Services Directon'_
Enjoy the many benefits ofBAA and the
BAA
Vintage Aircraft Association
ASSOCIATION
OFFICERS
Presi
dent
Vi
ce-Pre
si
dent
Esple
'Butch' Joyce George Doubner
P.O. Box 35S84 2448 Lough Lane
Greensboro. NC 27425 Hartford.
WI
53027
336/393-0344
262
/673-5885
antlque2@ao