vintage airplane - mar 1982
TRANSCRIPT
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STR IGHT ND LEVEL
In the February 1982 issue of EAA's SPORT A VIA-
TION President Paul Poberezny, in his Homebuilder'sCorner , touched briefly on the possibility of pursuing
the origin of a Repairman's Certificate for the owners
of vintage aircraft . This subject is now before us and
we need your input regarding the possibility of pur
suing the matter through EAA.In discussing this subject several items of interest
arise. Most of us antiquers fly our vintage aircraft only10 to 50 hours per year, and we are very knowledgeable
about the regular annual inspection procedures. Often
this is a financial burden and is very time consumingespecially considering the few hours most of these planes
are flown annually .Homebuilders are now allowed, if qualified, to obtain
a Repairman's Certificate which entitles them to perform their own annual inspections. I have a Repairman
Certificate for each of my two homebuilt aircraft. I personally know every inch of both planes and welcomethe privilege of making my own annual inspections onboth the airframes and engines . I run a continuous
inspection of both aircraft throughout the year and have
inspected all necessary items several times.
I am also the proud owner of an antique aircraft
built in 1937. This aircraft is currently being com
pletely restored . By the time I will have completed
this restoration there will be no single part of the air
craft that has not been thoroughly checked for air
worthiness. I know I am qualified to perform a complete annual on this aircraft, but without the proper
license, I have to stand by and watch the inspection of
the aircraft by an A&P and IA who aren't familiar with
the plane. By retaining a standard airworthiness certificate on this antique aircraft I am assured the same
thoroughness of a 100 hour inspection and annual that
today's modern aircraft undergo, and I welcome this.
Let's take a look at other possible situations. Here
is John Doe with a beautiful and authentic antique
aircraft . John flies his aircraft about 15 hours per
y rad homas
PresidentAntique/Classic Division
planes were new and actively flying exemplifies thefact they don't have the hands-on experience needed
to perform an annual on many of the antiques, and many
mechanics naturally are hesitant to even begin an inspection of one. Even though the aircraft has a standard
airworthiness certificate some mechanics will not as
sume responsibility by placing their signature on a 100hour inspection.
Enter now the case of a beautiful restoration that
was originally powered by an engine which is totally
unreliable or one for which parts are not available.
Another type of engine might be available with identi
calor better performance and reliability but the plane
could not be licensed with the alternate engine in
stalled under today's regulations governing the standard
airworthiness certificate. Try as you may to get a onetime STC, you will probably give up due to the expense
and time involved, not to mention the mounds of paper
work . A Repairman's Certificate in a newly proposed
category would solve this situation .We have not covered the entire field of possibili
ties, but we do feel that a new licensing category shouldbe made available for certain cases in order to keep
our antiques flying and flying safely. To become the
bearer of a Repairman's Certificate in a new proposedcategory, several changes will have to be made in today's
FAR's and the new category will have to be named and
designated. Not everyone needs this new category, for
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PUBLICATION OF THE ANTIQUE/CLASSIC DIVISION, INC.OF THE EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION, INC.
P.O. BOX 229, HALES CORNERS, WI 53130COPYRIGHT © 1982 EM ANTIQUE/CLASSIC DIVISION, INC., ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
MARCH 1982 VOLUME 10 NUMBER 3
OFFICERSPresident
W. Brad Thomas, Jr.301 Dodson Mill Road
Pilot Mountain, NC 27041919/368-2875 Home
919/368-2291 Office
SecretaryM. C. " Kelly" Viets7745 W. 183rd St.Stilwell , KS 66085
913/681-2303 Home
9131782 6720 Office
Vice-PresidentJack C. Winthrop
Route 1, Box 111
Allen, TX 75002214/727-5649
Treasurer
E. E. " Buck" Hilbert
P.O. Box 145Union, IL 60180
815/923-4591
- .... ..~ ~ . . r
DIRECTORSRonald Fritz
15401 Sparta AvenueKent City, MI 49330
616/678 5012
Claude L. Gray, Jr.9635 Sylvia Avenue
Northridge , CA 91324
213/349 1338
Dale A. Gustafson7724 Shady Hill Drive
Indianapolis, IN 46274317/293 4430
AI Kelch66 W. 622 N. Madison Avenue
Cedarburg, WI 53012414 /377 5886
Robert E. Kesel455 Oakridge Drive
Rochester, NY 14617716/342 3170
Morton W. LesterP.O. Box 3747
Martinsville, VA 24112703 /632 4839
Arthur R. Morgan
3744 North 51st Blvd .Milwaukee, WI 53216
414/442 3631
John R. Turgyan1530 Kuser Road
Trenton,NJ
08619609/585 2747
S. J. WittmanBox 2672
Oshkosh , WI 54901414 /235 1265
George S. York181 Sloboda Av e.
Mansfield , OH 44906419 /529 4378
ADVISORSEd Burns Stan Gomoll Gene Morris
Mt. Prospect Road 1042 90th Lane, NE 27 Chandelle D r i v ~es Plaines, IL 60018 Minneapolis , MN 55434 Hampshire, IL 60140
3121298 7811 61 2/784 117? 3121683 3199
John S. Copeland Espie M. Joyce, Jr. S. H. " Wes" Schmid
9 Joanne Drive Box 468 2359 Lefeber Road
estborough, MA 01581 Madison, NC 27025 Wauwatosa, WI 53213
617/366-7245 919/427 0216 414/771-1545
FRONT COVER The EAA AviationFoundation 's Aeronca C-3 after restoration by EAA Chapter 304 in Jackson. MI.See stories on pages 5 and 8
(Photo by Russ Borton)
BACK COVER, , . This 1946 Funk
B-85-C, NC81165, SIN 295 was photographed by Ted Koston at Ch icago 'sPal -Waukee Airport in May , 1946. It
is currently owned by Ralph E. Kingman(EAA 142004), 7611 N.W. 20th, Bethany.OK 73008.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Straight and Level . by Brad Thomas . . . . . . . . . . 2
A/ C News compi led by Gene Chase . . . . . . . . . . . . 4The Restoration of Aeronca C-3, NC16291
· by Christine K Soucy . . 5
Home To Oshkosh, Aeronca C-3· . . by Christine K Soucy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
The 10th Annual National Stearman Fly-In· by John Crider, Jr. . . . . . 10
Step and Fetch It . by Bob s wife Jan . . . . . . 15Member's Projects .. ... . . .. 21
Mystery Plane . .. .. .. , . . . . 22
Letters To The Editor .. .. .. .. . . . . . .. . . .. 23Calendar of Events .. . . .. .. . . . . . .. .. . 24
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D81-18-04, LYCOMING ENGINE
OIL PUMPS
A recent Airworthiness Directive (AD 81-18-04) affectsa substantial part of the general aviation fleet. This ADnote requires inspection or replacement of the engine oil
pumps on most series of direct-drive Lycoming engines.A query to the chief of the Propulsion Section, concerning how to determine if sintered iron impeller gears
are installed in the oil pump, generated the followingconcise response:
A visual inspection can be made through an accessorypad cover to observe if the oil pump idler gear shaft
is secured with a cotter pin as shown in Figure 1 ofLycoming Service Bulletin No. 385C. An illuminated
mirror should be used for this inspection. This checkconfirms that the engine incorporates an early designoil pump housing and that the driven impeller isnot sintered iron (early configuration had a luminum or
cast iron gears).
FUNK MANUFACTURING RIGHTS
FOR SALE
The Funk manufacturing rights and license plus some
inventory ofparts are available. Contact Thomas McClish,870 N. Stateline Road, Masury, OH 44438. Tel. 216/448-
1982. This information is from The Funk Flyer, newsletter of the Funk Aircraft Owners Association edited byG. Dale Beech A/C 3180 , Sacramento, CA.
CFI SEMINAR AT OSHKOSH 82
Once again Gaits Teaching Seminars, Inc ., 9414 West
Bluemound Road, Milwaukee, WI 53226 will sponsor aCFI Refresher Clinic during the EAA Convention at
Oshkosh. Dates are July 30, 31 and August 1 at the
Pioneer Inn , Oshkosh, WI. This may be an opportunity
for participating CFIs to qualify for some tax deductions.For further information contact Gregory Gorak (EAA24895) at the above address. Tel. 414/258 4992.
AERONCA CLUB
After many years as President of the Aeronca Club,Ed Schubert, Janesville, WI decided not to continue.
Augie Wegner (EAA 85671), 1432 28th Court, Kenosha,WI 53140 has agreed to accept this responsibility and
his wife, Pat will handle the roster and treasury. Membership dues are only $2.00 per year and this includes twonewsletters.
Ed Schubert and his 1937 Aeronca K, N18896, SI N K165,
photographed at Oshkosh 73 by Ted Koston
REARWIN GROUP TO PUT OUT
NEWSLETTER
Gary Van Farowe A/C 2168), 1460 Ottawa BeachRd., Holland, MI 49423 has been named Chairman ofthe Rearwin Club and asks that all Rearwin and Commonwealth owners and enthusiasts contact him. Please send
Model Number, N Number, Serial Number , Date of
Manufacture and if the aircraft is currently flying.
Gary hopes to publish an occasional newsletter forinterested persons . He is also research ing the last 14Commonwealths which were built in Muskegon, MI after
the factory closed down.
CORRECTION
The gremlins are at it again. Last month s front coverphoto was credited to Ted Koston, when it was Jack Cox
who took the picture. Also, the owner, Robert H. VanVranken attended Oshkosh '80 with the beautiful N3N ,not Oshkosh '81.
PLANS AVAILABLE FOR REPLICA
AIRCRAFT
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By Christine K Soucy10950 Easton Road he Restoration of Rives Junction MI49 77
NC16291, a 1936 C-3 Master 500 Aeronca, was donated
to the EAA Museum Foundation on December 27, 1965by Ken Cook and Fred Sanlader of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Some readers may recall having seen the yellow Aeroncawith the colorful wood duck emblem painted on both
fuselage sides on display in the EAA Museum at Frank-
lin, Wisconsin. Most aircraft relegated to museum lifespend the rest of their careers standing proudly beforeadmiring crowds, resting on their laurels, so to speak.But to every rule there is an exception and NC16291 has
a remarkable tale to tell.Early in 1977, two EAA members, Jim Murphy and
John Houser, employed by the Engineering Department
of Aeronca Inc. of Middletown, Ohio, offered torestore
the plane along with EAA member Robert Hollenbaugh
and other employees in the Aeronca plant. They pickedit up in April of that year and began a restoration program to return the plane to its factory-original condition.
I t had been hoped the project could be completed by1978 and the plane returned to the Museum in time tohelp commemorate the 50th anniversary of Aeronca Inc.Unfortunately, due to circumstances beyond their control ,sufficient time could not be devoted to the project and
it was not completed until the spring of 1980.
..NC 629
Jim Murphy was chosen to fly the C-3 to Oshkosh1980 where it would be featured during the convention.Jim started out on the flight to Oshkosh on August 1,1980 in the C-3 with EAA member Robert Hollenbaugh
flying chase in a Cessna 172. But fate stepped in and
dealt a crushing blow. About ten minutes from Anderson,Indiana, their first planned fuel stop, the Aeronca was
observed slowly spiraling downward, crashing into astone quarry . Jim was dead at the scene and all indications
pointed toward pilot incapacitation prior to the crash .The Aeronca was destroyed.EAA Chapter 304 ofJackson, Michigan, had purchased
a basket case 1940 Porterfield Collegiate and rebuilt
the aircraft in approximately 18 months. They flew the
aircraft to Oshkosh 1980 and won the Contemporary AgeChampion Award. The members were ecstatic.
Chapter 304 is a very active chapter, and the officerswere sniffing around for another winter project. RussBorton, president, and Colin Soucy, treasurer, were
discussing the possibility with Gene Chase, of doing some
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The Aeronca was well known in the 60s with the wood duck
emblem on its side, shown here in the EAA Museum circa 1968.It was donated on 12/ 27/65 by Ken Cook and Fred Sanlader of
Milwaukee, WI.
repair work on the Museum's Aeronca K when the verysad news concerning the C-3 came up . Borton's eyes lit
up . The proposal to take on the project of rebuilding the
C-3 was met with unanimous approval from the member-
ship at the next chapter meeting. Within two weeks, the
Museum gave Chapter 304 the go-ahead.On September 6, 1980, the chapter drove to Anderson ,
Indiana to pick up the C-3. The aircraft had been dragged
from the crash site and pushed under a semi truck trailer
in a temporary form of storage . EAA Chapter 226 ofAnderson, Indiana had rescued the C-3 and were shelter-
ing it in the hangar of Jim Mahoney, Chapter President.
To give you an idea what kind of a project we werefaced with, consider that the e t re aircraft fit on the
back of a pick-up truck with the tail gate closed The
original dimensions of the C-3 include a wingspan of 36'and a fuselage length of 20'% . The flying wires were
bent double as were the fragile ailerons and stuffed insidethe fuselage. The airframe from the cabin forward was
destroyed. t was an almost unrecognizable mass of twisted
steel tubing, ripped fabric, and wooden splinters. The
wings were little more than fabric bags filled with piecesof wood.
When the aircraft arrived in Jackson , the members
began sorting and labeling the pieces. By the end ofthe afternoon , most of the parts had found their way homewith a member for reconstruction.
The Aeronca factory provided us with a set of original
1936 blueprints for the C-3. Some of the blueprints werevery difficult to read , but the chapter members meticulously referred to them throughout the project. To supplement the drawings , numerous trips were made to Lansing,
Michigan to photograph, measure and study another C-3.The members worked together on th e project every Satur-
day and Sunday, but as the self-imposed deadline of
August 1981 approached, Tuesday evenings were added
as well.As a basket case, this one was a classic. The only
original parts remaining in the aircraft are the engine,
fuselage aft of the cabin area (the fuselage was straight-ened and sections of the longerons were replaced, so it isrelatively original) , tail feathers , wheels, and controlstick. All the wood in the aircraft is new.
(Gene Chase photo
Chapter 304 members ponder the engine problem at Oshkosh
81 Colin Soucy faces the camera.
(Gene Chase photo
The new left wing panel takes shape in the Chapter 304 hangar.
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(Jim Mahoney photo)The badly damaged Aeronca was loaded onto a trailer by
members of EAA Chapter 226, Anderson, IN and transported
from the crash site to Chapter President Jim Mahoney s
hangar. It was stored there until the group from Chapter 304took the plane to Jackson, MI for restoration .
The engine is a two cylinder, 36 hp Aeronca E-113C.One of the jugs was broken and the Y-shaped exhaust
pipe was completely flattened and crumpled. Aside fromthose problems it seemed to be in fair shape. A major
overhaul was completed before the parts were reas-sembled. The major engine parts were gleaned from the
museum's coffers, and the exhaust stack was constructedlocally.
Although the entire project was a challenge, the most
difficult job was the construction of new ailerons. The
blueprints showed what the finished product should be,but not how to do it The ailerons are made of soft
aluminum (.010) and pleated at the trailing edge. Thus
they are very lightweight, yet strong. The original ailerons
had numerous patches on them attesting to their vulnerability to damage and that new ailerons were not readilyavailable. As far as we know, no one has attempted tomake C-3 ailerons since Aeronca originally made them
in the 1930s. We soon discovered why.No one at the Aeronca factory knew how to make them
and no details concerning the construction of C-3 ailerons
could be found anywhere t took roughly 50 to 60 hours
of thinking and trial and error before a way was foundto build a jig that would produce an aileron. Mter the
mechanics of building the ailerons were worked out,finding the .010 aluminum was the greatest problem.The aircraft went together steadily piece by piece.
On July 20, 1981 NC16291 flew once again. The C-3handled beautifully to the chapter's joy. With justifiable
pride they clapped each other on the back. In just 314
days a crushed pile of junk had been transformed into a
(Gene Chase photo)
Paul Stephenson (left) from Albuquerque, NM discusses the
C-3 with Russ Borton at Oshkosh '81.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. So it is with the
Aeronca C-3. Due to its odd profile, the C-3 had beenreferred to as a Flying Bathtub," "Belly-Wompus" and
"Airknocker. With a fuel capacity of eight gallons, it
is economical, if no speed demon. Cruise was advertisedas 85 mph, but it took 55 minutes to fly 35 miles with a 10knot headwind
There were only 250 C-3 Masters built, and few ofthem are left today. The C-3s originally sold for $1890.00.Extras included a left side door for $15, brakes for $100(pilots often reached out the door to hold onto the wheelwith a gloved hand in lieu of brakes during the enginerunup), and a cabin heater for $9.50. NC16291 is one ofthe deluxe models with all the above extras.
NC16291 departed Jackson, Michigan on July 30 andarrived in Oshkosh August 1, 1981 where it was displayed on the flight line during the Convention. t was
a happy and very proud moment for Chapter 304, but
the feat would have been impossible if it were not for the
generous help and donations from so many people. Tothem we are deeply grateful.
Many thanks to Mac Whyte Wire, Ray Stits, SensenichPropellers , Midwest Sheetmetal, P D Airframe ,Wicks Aircraft, John Houser of Aeronca Inc ., Rick Demond
of EAA Chapter 384, EAA Chapter 226 of Anderson,Indiana, Brian Van Wagnen, and the many talented
members of EAA Chapter 304.
Editor s Note: Christ ine K Soucy is an active member of
EAA Chapter 304 in Jackson, MI. She also has the rarecombination ofa private pilot certificate with an instrument
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ERONC C-3The first time I saw an Aeronca C-3, I scoffed ir
reverently and said that it was the most ridiculous and
ugly aircraft I had ever seen. Little did I know that years
later I would actually be a passenger, and yes, lose myheart to one
I met NC16291 September 6, 1980. The entire aircraft
arrived on the back of a pick-up truck, truly a basket
case " Our chapter president , Russ Borton, a plucky
optimist, volunteered EAA Chapter 304 to rebuild the
aircraft. The members were equally enthusiastic, and
314 days later, "Andy-Ronka" was ready for his first
flight. (At this point let me explain that I have an affinityfor giving our aircraft names, as they seem to have
personalities all their own.) My husband, Colin, landedafter the test flight all smiles, and everyone agreed "Andy"was ready for the first flight to Oshkosh.
The odyssey began July 30, 1981. Colin and I arrived
at the Jackson, Michigan airport bright and early. Weloaded eight quarts of oil, a spare magneto and carburetor,
a roll of paper towels (more about the paper towels
later), a very small satchel with a change of undies, asleeping bag, and some peanut butter sandwiches aboard.The plane looked like a stuffed turkey
Barry Elder joined us for the trek with his Cessna 150.Our first fuel stop was Davis Field, 30 miles north ofJackson. The cabin was too cramped, so we gave Barry
our RON kit. The little C-3 was behaving well , so wepushed on, refueling at Mt . Pleasant, Grayling, andPellston. All the way, the engine roared happily. (AndI o mean roared. Conversation in a C-3 is very limited )
Pleased with our progress (we were making a blistering
70 mph groundspeed with the 17 mph tailwind ) we leftBarry at Pellston, contentedly munching a cheeseburger,promising to meet at Manistique, Michigan. At 100 miles,this was to be the longest leg of the trip. We began prepar
ing to cross the five miles of water at the Straits of
Mackinac by climbing. I must admit that at this point ,I had been lulled into a sense of utter complacency and
trust, but my husband wisely held a more skeptical view.At one time or another most of you probably have been
to a hangar-flying session discussing how engines go on"automatic rough" when flying a single-engine aircraft
over a body of water. At the exact moment the Aeronca'swheels crossed the shoreline, the engine quit, caught
again, and began to miss badly St. Ignace seemed an
ocean away, so we turned south, knowing Pellston also
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By Christine K Soucy
10950 Easton Road
Rives Junction, MI49277
was out of reach.Mackinac City airport is about five miles south of the
Straits. t was a WWII emergency field constructed more
of sand than grass, but it looked just fine to us . We hadenough altitude to circle the field once and land, with the
engine producing a maximum rpm of 850 As we struggled
off the runway , another aircraft landed. Barry must have
seen our predicament But it wasn't Barry. t was Joe
Van Wagnen, brother of Brian Van Wagnen, friend (andAeronca enthusiast) of EAA Chapter 304 Joe had cometo visit friends at Mackinac City and spend the day scuba
diving with them . Joe's lovely friends Rose Armstrong
and George Dunklebur g, loaned us their car and we drove
into town to seek advice for repairs. The one and onlymagneto installed on early model Aeroncas had died. (Themodern custom of installing two per engine has merit )Colip phoned Russ Borton and Brian for advice - How doyou time one of these, or do you time them?
Meanwhile, Barry had finished lunch, and was en
route to Manistique . Colin phoned the Manistique airport and asked that a message be forwarded t Barry when
he ar rived . The people of the Manistique airport are very
nice. Mrs. Bernard, wife of the airport manager, always
offers cakes or something equally tasty to the pilots migrating to Oshkosh. As I understand it , a mixup occurredwith the aircraft N-numbers and Mr. B was trying to
convince two young pilots just arrived from Canada inCessna 69U, that they just had to go back for the C-3.WHAT C-3? "But you must go back They are waiting
for you " At about this time, Barry and 64U arrived.
"What's this about a C-3?" So Barry started back.
Remember, he had our RON ki t.Back in Mackinac City, Colin and Brian conferred via
telephone. An Aeronca magneto should last 10 hours. Wegot six. Not bad Brian volunteered his help,and at sunset
he and Daryl Sherwood arrived in Daryl's Cessna 172, with
extra parts and two mags. They worked until well afterdark, at last succeeding with mag number two. At 10:00p.m. we sacked out, but Brian was still tinkering with
the offending mag.Early the next morning, Colin took "Andy" up for a test
flight, and the engine purred like a contented kitten. Amidcheers, he landed, and we were soon off again, with Barry
not far behind. (Barry got a lot of practice with short,soft fields this trip ) The C-3's wheels crossed the shoreline (you would think that a "Flying Bathtub wouldn't
Continued o Page 22)
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Photos by Kenneth D Wilson)THE 10th ANNUAL NATIONALJohn Crider, Jr .
(E 161764, IC 5824)
1606 Blake DriveRichardson, TX 75081
StoBPIRBn FI 2-lnLeaning forward, the pilot peered between the struts
and wires and around his passenger in the front seat.
He was looking for a first glimpse of his destination: adark patch on the horizon, indicating the tree-filled town,or a break in the pattern of section lines , betraying the
airport . Finally , it was in sight: Galesburg , Illinois ,marshalling yard for the Burlington Northern Railroad ,the town that gave America the poet Carl Sandburg and
the home of the National Stearman Fly-In. During the
second week of September, 1981 , this scene repeated
itself again and again as Stearmans converged upon
Galesburg Municipal Airport from all points of the
compass.
Pilots and passengers had only a few seconds to climbdown and stretch away their stiffness before friends began
converging from all sides. In the tumult of greeting oldacquaintances, the tiredness that comes with flying opencockpit cross-country was forgotten . t had been a goodsummer on the plains. Summer rains had pushed the tips
of the corn stalks up even with the top wings of the biplanes. The air was alive with th e promise of a bumper
harvest and it looked as though th ere might be a bumper
crop of Stearmans as well.Bertie Duffy was one of the pilots who arrived Wednes
day , the first day of th e fly-in. She flew her Stearman
from Van Nuys Airport near Los Angeles, California and
this 2000 mile flight to Ga lesburg was the lon gest made
by any fly-in participant. t was quite a trip, especially
for someone who had only begun flying a Stearman
regularly the previous December.
By sunset there were 23 Stearmans tied down in the
grass parking area and Grif Griffin's usual after dark
arrival raised the count to 24. That evening the early
arrivals got a preview of a series of Navy films dating
from WW II. These were the actual films shown to Navy
cadets about to begin flight training. They were really a
Stearman operating manual on film. Robert Taylor, thena Navy Lieutenant, played the part of a primary flight
instructor which in reality he was at NAS Glenview)
and narrated the films. The consequences on not operating
by the book were humorously demonstrated by a cadet
called Mac . Hapless Mac was played by John Switzer,better known as Alfalfa in the Our Gang series . In
hi s trainer over onto its back. Each time something
happened to a Stearman, most viewers cringed.Thursday morning brought another beautiful, cool,
cloudless day. Except for the brisk right crosswind , it was
ideal for Stearman flying. By la te morning th e parking
area and the grass runway were humming with activity.Every few minutes, conversations were interrupted while
everyone looked skyward to watch a flight of Stearmans
pass in review overhead.
By ea rly afternoon the arrival of new Stearmans had
resumed. The group from Tulsa , Oklahoma arrived at 3:30
making a formation pass over the field. The five regular
biplanes were led by a rather peculiar-looking Stearman ,that on closer in spection, turned out to be a Beech King
Ai r. Deed Levy, who rode in the lead King Air, described
the join up and formation pass as a five-mile long incipient stall. Now there were 52 Stearmans at the fly-in.
The afternoon bloomed into a gorgeous mid-western
evening . Even after most of the pilots had called it a day ,a few stayed to spend the last minutes of daylight flying
formation in the motionless air found just before sunset.
As the day came to a close, a single flight circled the
fie ld , then flashed down the airport just above the corn
st alk s. The sun was on the horizon by now and from the
air the surfaces of lakes had turned to silver. One last
pass . The three biplanes circled, turned final and closed
ranks. Across the field they came again, three planes
flying as one, engines growling in unison. At the center
of the airport they broke formation and became three
separate black specks against the blue sky overhead.
One by one the silhouettes circled, drifting down through
layers of blue, then pink , then purple sky onto the darken
ing grass. And 56 Stearmans slept at Galesburg that
night.
A party was held at Tootie's Steeplechase that evening
and there .were more Stearman films at the Holiday Inn.
Each morning found more and more fly-in participantsgetting to know one another over breakfast. t was a time
for making new friends and sharing the anticipation
of the day ahead.
Rain fell before sunrise on Friday leaving the air
washed and clear. The sky was a deep blue with just
enough clouds for color. A few trees were beginning to
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This P W 450 powered ex-duster Stearman N66219 is owned by Ron Cech of
Grand Haven MI.
Arriving pilots found the little airport a beehive of
activity. Stearmans were landing, Stearmans were executing go-arounds and Stearmans were circling the fieldlooking for a break in traffic. The kind of problem that
occurs when s many airplanes try to land in such ashort time was exemplified by what happened to BobHawk. After landing, he was rolling to a stop in his newlyrestored Stearman when he felt it lurch slightly. Underneath his wheels were the crumpled remains of one ofMonmouth's VASI lights . Fortunately, his airplane
suffered only a dented landing gear fairing and a nicked
propeller. Bob, very good naturedly, put up with a lot ofkidding during the rest of the fly-in, but the same thing
could have happened to any pilot there.By the time all the airplanes were on the ground,
both edges of the old grass runway were lined with Stear-
mans, almost to the far edge of the airport. Breakfast
was hosted by the Monmouth Pilot's Club and the Stear-
man Restorers Association picked up the tab .Mter breakfast, while the Stearman aerobatic con
test was being organized, Chet Reyckert and some other
members of the Tulsa group set up their banner towing
equipment . Soon Chet was towing a banner aroundMonmouth airport that read, Stearman Capital of the
World Tulsa OK . When geography class finally recessed,the aerobatic contest got underway. The rules of the
contest are designed to encourage participation. Pilotsfly five maneuvers of their own choosing and the winner
retires from competition for a year. This year ten pilotscompeted in the event. By 11:00 the aerobatic competitionhad ended and groups of Stearmans began heading back toGalesburg airport. There, the planes were being lined
up for photographs . The line of Stearmans parked wingtip to wingtip stretched from out in front of Galesburg
Aviation almost to the airport fence. Fifty-two Kaydets
standing smartly in line at parade rest. Counting thoseback in the parking area 68 Stearmans were present.When was the last time there were that many Stearmans
on one field?At 1:00 the first of the two afternoon contests began.
Each participating pilot made a short field take-off, twoflour bombing runs on a barrel out in the grass and then
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One of the many formation flights of Stearmans pass over the
Galesburg Airport.
landed as closely as he could on the far side of a line markedo the grass runway. The formation contest began at
3:30 and with most Stearman pilots taking their formation flying seriously the feeling of competition was strong.Perhaps this is due to the team spirit that develops whenever four airplanes and four pilots work together soclosely. Six flights vied for the formation flying championship. By the time the last flight landed, it had been afull day, indeed. Most everyone was ready to return tothe motel.
Saturday evening everyone enjoyed a delicious mealprepared at the Holiday Inn and after din.ner, guests
were introduced. Among them were Jerry MIller, Galesburg's mayor; Mrs . Marilyn Carr Lloyd Stearma.n'sdaughter; and Deed Levy, Chief Experimental Test PIlotfor the Stearman Aircraft Company . Jim Leahy an-
nounced that the total number of Stearmans attending
this year reached 86, a new record. John Hooper, ~ c kRuhlin and Bertie Duffy presented plaques to each pIlotwho flew in the aerobatic contest and announced the
winners. John Hooper sponsors the contest and he urgedmore pilots to compete next year.
Deed Levy the former Chief Experimental Test Pilot for the
Stearman Aircraft Co., poses with Doyle Cotton s prototype
Stearman C3R, NC8828, in which he flew all the original certifi-
cation tests in 1929.
AWARDS
TIRED BUTT AWARD - Stearman N3946, Bertie Duffy.BEST HANGAR PILOT A WARD - The whole Tulsa
crew .HARD LUCK AWARD - Stearman N4545N, Bill Rogers.OLDEST STEARMAN - 1929 C3R, NC8828, Doyle
Cotton (flown by Bill Watson).MOST OBNOXIOUS STEARMAN - Bob Swint.
SNAFU AWARD - N52470, Robert Hawk.10th FLY-IN AWARD - Jim Leahy.MOST CONGENIAL :' Stearman N61496, Ed Brockman
(presented by Dacy Air Service).SHORT FIELD TAKE-OFF - Stearman N777JG, John
Grace.SPOT LANDING - Stearman N10583, Tom Beamer.FLOUR BOMBING - Stearman N79535, Jack Ruhlin.FORMATION FLYING - N72AA , Willard Duke;
N60562, John Hooper; N1914H, John McCormick;N49793, John Crider.
AEROBATIC CONTEST - 1st Place - N60562, John
- McCormick; 2nd Place - N66417, Tom Lowe; 3rd Place-
N9078H, F.R. Grifrm.
DUSTERS SPRAYERS SUPPLY AWARDS
BEST MILITARY STEARMAN - N777JG, John Elsie
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David Frederick s Stearman N14101 received Dusters
Sprayer s award as the Best Civilian Stearman.
Bob Cassens announced the winners of Saturday
afternoon's contests as well as the recipients of several
comical awards. I t was thanks to Bob and his staff ofjudges that the contests went s smoothly. Among the
honors was the SNAFU Award which was presented toBob Hawk . John Hooper gave Bob various pieces of broken
glass, conduit and chicken wire from the Monmouth V ASI.John struck this same 'obstruction four years previouslyand he claimed Bob's mishap had finally lifted an albatross
from around his neck.For those who could stay, Sunday afternoon featured
a professional airshow including Stearman aerobatics
by Jim Leahy, Dave Dacy and John Mohr. But already
the tide of Stearmans had begun to ebb. Airplanes rolled
This modified Stearman with a metalized fuselage is just
one of the many Stearmans that attend the fly-in every year.
down the grass and lifted into the air for the last time at
this fly-in . Framed by rudders and stabilizers, again and
again, Galesburg faded into the afternoon haze.In his story about the first Stearman Fly-In, Gordon
Baxter, the Stearman poet laureate, closed by quoting
the words of Carl Sandburg's resting place, For it couldbe a time to remember . With the 10th National Fly-In,the Stearman gathering came of age and Bax's Prophesyhas been fulfilled. This year's gathering was a far cryfrom the first fly-in where pilots headed for Galesburg
wondering if anyone else would be there. The excitement
of that first fly-in, however, has becoq1e a permanent
fixture. You are invited to share it, September 8-12, 1982at the 11th National Stearman Fly-In. ,
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By Bob's wife Jan
Editor's note: Jan Wilson's husband Bob is Ale 5377.
They live at R > Box 1224, Pipe Creek, TX 78063. Bobhas built or restored about'> 26 planes and currently
owns five antiques. .
The other day I got caught in a conversation with another "step &fetch it wife of an airplane hobbyist. Seems she was feeling a little
embarrassed about having the interior of her home redecorated with
airplane pieces. When I told her of some of my same experiences, shesighed in relief. Just knowing someone else was in the same scrap metal
heap was quite comforting.
Even before we were married, Bob had enjoyed many
years of model airplane building. So it was no surprise
when he voiced his decision to build a plane that couldreally fly. This was something he had wanted to do all his
life.Our garage, always too full of boats and junk for
our car, was cleaned out to make way for the new project.As the days went by, the construction slowly began to
resemble an aircraft.I suppose I should count my blessings and be thankful
that he started with a Smith Mini-plane instead of a Waco- for one evening after Brownie meeting I came home
to find the fuselage in the kitchen.I couldn't get to the kitchen right away. I barely had
enough room to open the front door. You see, Bob had
moved our large dining table and six chairs into the
living room. I had to step from chair seat to chair seat
and across the table top to get to the kitchen.I'll never forget that evening meal. We sat on both
was on the move again. Into the house came a 17' wingthat was perched on sawhorses. This didn't go into the
kitchen, but only because it was too big. The wing cameto rest, half in the dining room and half in the livingroom. Whenever we wanted to get to the kitchen we had tocrawl on our hands and knees under it.
The papers came next. About ten inches of them,
placed on the floor under the wing. You guessed it.That crazy horse doped the wing in the house Have youever eaten eggs that tasted like dope? Or cake? Or
pie? You ain't lived until you haveEven the Christmas tree smelled dopey At least we
didn't have to hang it from the ceiling. We finally didfind a spot for it in the den.
As you know, most mothers have nothing to do the
week before Christmas except to knit and eat chocolates.So I was selected to sew up slip covers for the wing. I had
never heard of a French fell seam before, but I surely
caught on quickly.
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The Lincoln Sport mounting a radial Salmson enginetook on the appearance of a first line fighter plane.
Notes o Strut and Wing Fittings For Lincoln Biplane
Here are some more of the unus Ually complete set of
details on the building of the Lincoln Sportplane -
how the wing fittings and sheet metal work is done.
PART II
Hi there How's the HangarGang this month? Here we havegreat summer weather - just
the time you feel like gettingout on the tarmac and cuttingcapers with a ship - i f you'vegot one. And why not have one?Modern Mechanics, pioneer inpresenting plans of all the leading light airplanes of the country, has added another coup to
the magazine's list of publishingscoops in capturing the plans ofthe wonderfully efficient LincolnSport Biplane, which can be builtfrom rudder post to prop capfrom the plans now appearing inthe magazine.
Frankly speaking, as explainedin the last part, these plans arenot for the rank novice, for rank
novices have no business with
the building of airplanes. But interest is at ·such fever pitch onthe light airplane question, andso many of you fellows in theHangar Gang are versed in planeconstruction, that the completely dimensioned set of plans presented in this Lincoln how-tobuild series will give you who are"in the know" all the details youneed. The plans as appear in theseries are full and complete, justas the designer, Mr. Swanson, ofthe Lincoln Standard AircraftCo. Lincoln, Nebr., laid them out.
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fOlth with a fe w constructionalnotes which should be sufficientto clarify how-to-build points forall save rank beginners. The de-
tails given in this part will makethe set of plans in your possession still more augmented, andin the next part the final details,making the plans complete fromstart to finish , will be published.
The side elevation calls for attention first. You can get a goodidea of the 15 % in. stagger,
which gives the plane very goodvisibility. The longerons are 7/8
in. ash forward, and are splicedto spruce at the forward cockpitwhere the notation "No. 14Wire" is seen. This follows practice which can be seen in any ofthe wartime production ships,such as Jennies and Standards
which may be near your localairport. These are long splices,with the length of the spliceabout eight inches in this case,securely glued with Curtis coldwater glue, obtainable at any airplane supply house, and tapedwith pinked edging tape whichis later doped to bind it.
The brace wiring is of No. 14wire. The forward struts are 7/8
by 1 in . spruce, bellied a .bitfor str:ength fore and aft as thedrawing shows. The pJacing ofthese may be ascertained by carefully scaling the drawing with di-viders. As mentioned previouslythe longerons and fuselage areshaped up in a rough box mold ,and wired and trued to shape.
r ,
r \
· ~ . ~ ~ - __ __ ~ ~ ~ - - ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ PULLEYS: ~ : L E R O N W R E S. ~ C O N T R O L CABLE~ ~ p . : ~4 ~ i
. - =-=-;r
FRO ,T ELE VATION
The wings Gf the LincGln Biplane, the plan view Gf which was shGwn on pag.e 40in this issue ).f Flyin.g Manual, are built in Gne panel. The dihedMI is bum in.The spars Gf the wings are spliced in the same manner as the IGn:gerGns.
The front elevation will serveto give a very good idea of thetrimness of this little ship. Thecontrol wires are run as shownin both views, with fittings to cor
respond to details illustrated onfollowing pages.Plane Flies Well
In the lower left hand cornerof this page you will see the planebuilt to these plans by Fred
Trump, an enthusiastic lightplane builder. Mr. Trump's planeis powered with a Lawrence 28
hp motor in which a two throwcrank has been substituted toeyen up the power impulses , thusmaking the motor a true opposedjob. Test flown by Speed Holman,holder of the world's outside looprecord and judge of odern -
chanics Win Your Wings Con-test, the little plane behaved welLConsidering that Mr. Holmanweighs well over 200 lbs., and is
Photo by Fred Trump
about 6 ft. 4 in . tall, the abilityof the plane to carry a usual loadis well certified
In the lower corner of thispage, a shot of the framework of
Mr. Trump's plane is shown. Rather than cut the lightening holesas per strict specifications in thedetails, Mr . Trump bored outlightening holes as may be seenin this picture.
Note that the wings are builtin one panel, both upper and low-er spars being built according to
the wing plan in last issue, andhaving the dihedral built in. Further details on this constructionwill follow. The motor shown inthe drawings is the 35 hp Anzaniwhich will give the ship a topspeed of 100 mph.
Motor Nose PlateThe motor plate or nose plate
is the one for the Anzani 35,around which the ship has beendesigned, and which should beused to get real performance.
This is of 12 gauge cold rolledsheet steel, which can be cut
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The manner in which thelower wing is attached tothe fuselage is plainlyshown in this plan. Thefittings rest on the spars,
and there are two pointsof contact on the frontspa·r and one on the rearspar. Half·inch steel tubeis used for strutting.
cylinders, and a sort of U-boltclamp around the cylinders forholding the motor thereto.
You will notice that the underwing of this particular design is
solid too. The dihedral is built inin the usual way.
The wing is mounted in thesame way as the famous BristolFighters had their lower wingsmounted. The lower wing wasblanketed but very little, and onmaneuvering, side slipping andso on the ships are still the fa
vorites of many a wartime flyer .The mounting of the Lincolnsportplane lower wing is parallel to that of the Bristol and givesa wing which has little interference. The front edge is cut awayin small boxes where the landinggear struts are in the way, but
the effect is so small that the ad
vantages more than outweigh thedisadvantages.
In rigging the wings the landing wires are first snugged homejust enough to keep the wings lin·ed up with the blocking you employ to set the wing panels right.I f you set them home too snugthe splices in the spars will be
apt to weaken. When the landingwires have been tightened just
enough to take the load off theblocking, the flying wires can beset against them and the riggingis all done.
If e O l T S CORNt:R S WCL O(O .
AfTER. SENDING Z ~ 4 . ~ ~ ~ ~HEAO Of 60l.T TO F?- - - \
r iTTING TO PRE VENT ~ At?T URNIN G _ ~ _ - - _
nTTING FOR . T T. C H....ENT Of
R( AR SPAR or WING
TO rU 5 [LAG.( I REQ' Q 16 GoA
METHOD OF
BRACING BOTTOM
WING SUI' PORT
The sizes of the struts, namely Ys by l a in. aft of the cockpit, are shown in thisdrawing. The actual length of the strut will depend upon the fuselage layout.The way in which the turnbuckles and the fittings are joined is also made clear.
e AP STR IP SAME AS
? REO 'O FOR STAB ILIZER C ROSS SEC T ION - ON WING RIBS
I REQ 'O f OR r IN AT A -A 3
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Ave., Minneapolis, Minn., and the
Johnson Airplane and SupplyCo .,
as well as the Heath Airplane Co .,of 1727 Sedgwick St., Chicago,Ill., all sell parts of the type reoquired for the construction ofthis plane.
It is well to remember in the
handling of the sheet metal that
goes to make up the fittings ofthe Lincoln Sportplane no heat-ing must be employed. The metalis cold rolled sheet steel, whichis fairly hard , though mild. I f it
is heated it will lose much of itsstrength and the result is to in-vite disaster.
Wooden parts on an airplanesuch as this are few and can bemade in comparatively few hours.It is the metal fittings in whichthe work to be done is concen-trated that takes the care and
time. For that reason the atten-tion of the Gang is called to eachof these little items as it appears.
Look at the last blueprint inthe present article. You will findthere the details of the fittingswhich make up the wing strut
anchorages and flying wire at-tachments, which we have already
noted in the remarks and point-ers about rigging. You will noticethe wing spars are hollowed out
on one side, being 1 in. thick atthe flange and half inch thickthrough the channel.
The elevator and aileron pul-leys are shown in sufficient de-tail to enable their construction
to be grasped nicely and with-out any complexity.
I t might here be remarked that
in anticipating the particular
problems which the builder ofthe plane might encounter, that
Photo by Fred Trump
Construction details of Fred Trump's Lawrence powered Lincoln Sport.
'L :<>- LANDING WIRE SHACKLE
-". \ 4R (O"O 16 ....
;.".. , J , -..L ___
or .
W---------- i:.J j FLYING WIRE JHACKLEo 0 , 4REO O HI ....
STRUT niTING NO 10ENT[R N ~2 R(O O 12 CA _ ~ g
L ___~ ~ o ( j)1 o 0~ .- 4
WASH[R PLATE FOR FITTING NO10 J ~3REQ'O 18 GA .
AlLCRON PULLEY " (,CLI P --- ,
LOWER REAR SAAR fITTING NO . 92REQ'D leGA_
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Drawing left g i v e sengine mounting foropposed type engines .
may as well be 1 by 2 in. Thiswill allow you to get clamps inbetween so as to hold the long-erons when they are bent to shapewhich may take a bit of hot, drysteaming to momentarily softenthe wood. The longerons are leftin the mold until they are suchshape as to be readily bent toform when being rigged.
At this stage of the game it iswell to be on guard for theparting of the grain of the wood .Do not allow such splits to occur .The reason is obvious.
The small slight split is thefracture of tomorrow, and if dif-ficulty is encountered in bendingthe longerons they should bewrapped in cloth. They can thenbe bent without splitting.
A secondary word might alsobe here interjected concerningthe gluing of the spars and thelongerons. Glue if properly han-dled makes the best joint possible
and the splice, like a good weld ,is almost always stronger thanthe original weld . Spruce is usedin the wing spars of the LincolnSportplane , routed as previouslyexplained, and the dihedral isbuilt in where the wings arespliced.
t would be impossible to get
straight spruce of the span of thewing nor would there by anypoint in it. Therefore as the sparmust have dihedral for stability,the dihedral is built in at thesplice at this point. The splice is
ENGI NE MOUNT I N ;
r \ONT EL EVAT ION
· · 2 0 -ojH
ENGINE MOUN f i NG
PLAN ViC: W
fOR L WRENC[ LA·26 P NGINE
wings. The same care must be from these points when you aretaken on the gluing of the long- in the air and are called upon to
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This section of The VINT GE IRPL NE is dedicated to members and their aircraft projects. We welcome photos along with descriptions, and the projectscan be either completed or underway. Send material toth e editor at the address shown on page 3 of this issue.
This 1946 Ercoupe 41SC N2438H, SIN 3063 belongs to Woodrow
Wilson, Jr. EAA 170208 , P.O. Box 1169, Alice, TX 78332.The original metal wing tips have been replaced by new
ones fabricated with foam and fiberglass. An STC has been
applied for on this installation.
This 1939 Taylorcraft BL-65 , NC23869, SIN 1505
named The Old Crow is owned by Ricky Boggs (EAA127680 lC 5659), 3743 Ohio St. , Grove City, OH 43123 .The plane is all black trimmed in white, in an originalpaint design.
Ricky and his father , longtime Taylorcraft enthusiast
William E. Boggs (EAA 43462), accomplished the rebuilding of the plane over a period of 14 months. William had
rebuilt several Taylorcrafts prior to this one.During the restoration period, Ricky wrote to the FAA
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MYSTERY PLANE
Charles N. Trask A/C 3163), Stevens Road, Box 194,R.D. 2, York Haven, PA 17370 provided this month s
Mystery Plane photo. t will be identified in the May 1982issue of he VINTAGE AIRPLANE
Once again, no one identified the Mystery Plane of the
month. The strange looking machine pictured in the
January issue is actually a ground training vehicle whichappears to have considerable pitch an4- ·r()ll capability
while keeping the two large airwheels on the ground.We
have no further information on the machine.4..
HOME TO OSHKOSH .Continued from Page 9
mind water ) and the engine began to miss. As Colin
turned to the south, it began missing in earnest. We madeit back to the field safely, this time with Barry in trail.
A truck with a flat-bed trailer to haul the aircraft toOshkosh was discussed and rejected. Brian worked on the
third mag. Four hours later, all went well on the test
flight. The guys determined that this mag was weaker
than the first two. To help cool and keep the engine fromoverheating, I and the excess baggage were loaded into the
Cessna 150.Colin and "Andy" took off and circled the airport for
altitude while an anxious knot of people watched frombelow. We had "stolen" fuel from Daryl s Cessna 172to top off the C-3's tank . Colin must head northward soon,it was going to be a long leg with a headwind. At last
the little yellow bird pointed its nose northward, and
Barry and I jumped into the 150 to fly escort. The C-3had vanished
We scanned the sky and the airport, no C-3. We checkedthe highway, fields, shoreline, straits, nothing Maybe hewent to St. Ignace? Nope. I determined that I wouldn t
panic - yet - and opened the chart, and poking my finger
at a point south of Gilchrist, I said, "We'll catch up with
him here." As we approached the checkpoint, we bothstrained through the haze and there he was, chugging
westwardThe rest of the trip was relatively uneventful. We'd
give him a six minute headstart , catching him en route
continued on to Oshkosh, passing over the eastern side of
Appleton, Wisconsin. It was at this point I realized Colinwould never have come this way. There were too many
buildings and busy streets. No pastures for emergencies.He would fly on the west side. Perhaps we'll intercept him
on the southern side. But when we reached that point, the
skies were void of yellow C-3s.Shrugging it off, we flew the Ripon arrival at Oshkosh
and landed. After tying down the trusty 150, we began
walking to where I expected the C-3 to be parked. By this
time, the sun had set and it was getting dark. We trudged
onward. At the appointed spot, no C-3 stood, but whatlooked like a C-3 tail poked out among a row of other
antiques. With no flight line pass, the gate tender didn t
want to let us in, but with some fast and anxious talk,
he relented. Anxiously, I approached the tail, but myheart sank I t wasn t "Andy's" tail Oh no They must be in
a field somewhere what to do Not to panic yet, Ithought, soon, but not yet I set my luggage down, and
told Barry I'd try headquarters next. Surely they wouldhave a phone. We'll check with Russ, Paul Poberezny,and the dorms and then I saw my husband sauntering
up behind me, be specked with oilAll the time Barry and I were walking on the outside
of the fence, Colin was driving Tom Poberezny's commandcar on the inside looking for us, and never the twain didmeet And the C-3 was parked only 100 feet ahead ofwhere we were pondering our dilemma
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LETTERS TO E ITOR
Dear Paul Poberezny:Enclosed are two pictures showing examples of the
little-known and very rare Australian designed and built
DeHavilland D.H.A. 3 Drover trimotor. Only 20 machines
were ever built, and were used by Qantas, Trans Australia
Airlines and the Royal Flying Doctor Service, amongst
others. About a dozen or so Drovers still exist most onlyas static display aircraft. The two pictured show an airworthy one at the manufacturer's facility at Barkstown,
near Sydney, N.S.W., and they have only just acquired
the aircraft . The other aircraft mounted on poles, islocated at Mount Isa, Queensland. During my term there
as Base Pilot for the Royal Flying Doctor Service , Iorganized the recovery of two wrecks from different points
in the desert areas west and south of there . Over a twoyear period, we rebuilt a single example, and had to make
quite a few components myself. I am quite keen on the
Drover as a marque, and have even written a book on the
history of the type in conjunction with a friend in Perth,
Australia - Geoff Goodall, who contributes to Air Progress.One Drover each is located in England and New
Zealand - but none are in the U.S.A. Knowing that certain
enthusiasts here are keen on rare types, perhaps somebody may be interested in obtaining probably the last
airworthy example still available. Hawker de HavillandPty. Ltd., P.O. Box 30, Bankstown, N.S.W. 2200, Australia , would be able to advise the current status and
location of Drover VH-ADW, which was being consideredby them for acquisition before Drover VH-PAB becameavailable.
With thanks again and best wishes for now.Yours sincerely ,Ben Dannecker
c/ o The Heffieys
4824 Blaney AvenueFort Worth, TX 76118
Dear Gene:Regarding the Myst.ery Plane in Th e VINTAGE AIR
PLANE, December 1981 , it's a Thaden all-metal monoplane (Argonaut). Ref: 1929 Aircraft Year Book, pages241 and 315.
Perhaps a true antiquer would enjoy a chance for achase. A few years back a friend who was seriously chasing a Ford Tri-motor stopped here. He had learned about
the bones pictured in "Sport Flying," Volume 2, 5 ofMay 1968 (copy enclosed) and assumed it was a Fordsince it was corrugated . When our contact sent Polaroidshots of the plane, then in very poor condition, we realizedit was a Thaden and he wanted a Ford. If I remember
correctly the airplane was at Tanana, Alaska and the
wings were supposed to be in the building to the left inthe enclosed copy of the photo.
Looks like a chance for some super-active antiquer tochase a rare one.
Best regards,Skeeter CarlsonAiC 2043
Route 1, Box 202Spokane, WA 99204
Dear Gene:The Florida Sport Aviation Antique and Classic
Association has established a fund to be used to buildan Antique and Classic Headquarters for Sun 'n Fun .Construction was started on December 29 and if time
and money o not run out, we expect to have the buildingdried in and usable by Sun 'n Fun '82 time.
The building is 20' x 32' with a front porch that facesthe aircraft parking area and the runway. Should be a goodplace to sit in a rocking chair and watch the fly-bys or
the airshow. The building, when finished, will look likean old country house. t is set up on 20" piers, with boardand batten exterior and a metal roof.
If you could give our cause some publicity in Th eVINTAGE AIRPLANE, it would be greatly appreciated.Contributions can be sent to:
A/C Building Fund
P.O. Box 5292Lakeland, FL 33803
Individual -contributions of $50 or more or organiza
tional contributions of $100 or more will be appropriatelyrecognized on a plaque to be permanently displayed in
the building.If you get down to Sun 'n Fun this year , be sure to
come by the new building and sit a spell on the porch!Sincerely,Gene Crosby, Chairman
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CLASSIFIEDADS
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ACRO II - The new 2-place aerobatic trainer and sport
biplane . 20 pages of easy to follow, detailed plans . Complete with isometric drawings, photos, exploded views.Plans - $85.00. Info Pack - $4.00. Send check or moneyorder to: ACRO SPORT, INC., P .O. Box 462, Hales Corners, WI 5313 414/425 4860.
POBER PIXIE - VW powered parasol - unlimited inlow. cost pleasure flying. Big, roomy cockpit for the oversix foot pilot. VW power insures hard to beat 3V gph at
cruise setting. 15 large instruction sheets. Plans - $45.00.Info Pack - $4.00. Send check or money order to: ACROSPORT, INC., Box 462, Hales Corners, WI 53130. 4141
425-4860.Antique Aviation Items For Sale - Original 1910/1950.
Memorabilia and ephemera - Forty page catalog airmailed , $5 - Jon Wm. Aldrich, Pine Mountain Lake
Airport, P .O. Box 706, Groveland, CA.FOR SALE - McCauley Prop. 102 inch - 20 spline - 0time - refinished blades, cad plated hub . Ground adjustable. Price $1000.00. Phone 704/366-1743. George McKiernan , 5301 Finsbury Place, Charlotte, NC 28211.BOOKS FOR VINTAGE AIRCRAFT BUFFS. Out-of-printand current. State specific needs . Catalog $1.00. John
Roby, 3703B Nassau, San Diego, CA 92115.
AVAILABLEBACKISSUES1973 March through December1974 All Are Available
1975 All Are Available
1976 February through May, August through
December1977 All Are Available
1978 January through March, August, Octoberthrough December
1979 February through December1980 January, March through July , September
through December1981 - All Are Available1982 - January, February
Back issues are available from Headquarters for $1.25each, postpaid, except the July 1977 (Lindbergh Commemorative) issue, which is $1.50 postpaid.
MEMBERSHIPINFORMATION• Membership In the Experimental Alrcralt ASSOCiation. Inc. is $25.00 lor one year. $48.00 lor 2 yearsand$69.00 lor 3 years. All Include 12 issues 01 SportAviationper year . JUniorMembership (under 19EAA years 01 age) S available at $15.00 annually. Family Membership is available lor an additional $10.00
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