vintage airplane - may 2008

8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - May 2008

1/44


2/44

GEOFF ROBISON

PRESIDENT VINTAGE AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATON

Clearing the cobwebs,

and

other

springtime projects

Spring has definitely sprung here in

the

Midwest now, and many

of you

have be

en

busy

with

the

spring

rit

ual

of op

erating your personal flying

machines

all over th is great country.

Along

with the

milder

temperatures

that

spring brings to my region

is

the

real pleasure of actually being able to

open

the

hangar door

and

enjoy

the

fresh air and mild breezes without the

burden of utility bills

dampening

my

spirit and desire to be there working on

my

personal flying

machines

. I

hope

that

everybody took my earlier sugges

tion and

cleaned

out the

"cobwebs"

that

will naturally collect

not

only on

our

personal flying skills, but also on

our aircraft.

Most

troubling

to me has been

the seemingly increasing number

of

incursions within areas

of

restricted

airspace. Most prominent

of

course

are

the

various tales

of

general avia

tion aircraft being escorted out of the

Washington air defense identification

zone by military fighter aircraft. I re

ally thought that

when

this particular

area of restricted airspace was modi

could be.

We

all need to

sharpen our

pencils

before we

even think

about

engaging that engine starter.

We

sim

ply

need

to be on

our

best

game

for

all four quarters . The real fear for me

has always been that if we prove our

selves

unable to

properly police our

selves, then the result will certainly be

all of

us

experiencing more serious im-

Is

this

a

lack

of

ight

preparation

. . .

pacts upon our freedoms of flight by

even more restrictive regulatory rules

than we have today. I know none of us

would like to watch such

an

event un

fold right before our eyes,

but

I would

be personally quite disappointed in

my

performance

if

my inappropriate

ac

tions were the cause of more restrictive

regulations on recreational aviation.

Doug Stewart's

column

each month is

of the

sales area

of the Red

Barn head

quarters,

along with

a covered

patio

area for

our

valued

volunteer

staff

to

take a break from

their

daily

routine

.

This construction project

is

being

overseen by

VAA

Director Bob Lum

ley,

in cooperation with ou r

Volun

teer Maintenance

Committee

headed

by

VAA

Director Emeritus Bob Brauer.

This project should prove to be of real

value

to our Red

Barn sales area,

and

I'm sure it will also be greatly appreci

ated by

our

Vintage volunteers.

Just as this issue was

being

final

ized, we

learned of

the

passing of

Steve Pitcairn. Steve's generosity

and

tireless work

to ensure

the legacy

of

his

father s

rich aviation

heritage

will be

remembered

for

generations

.

Our

condolences to Steve's wife of

55 years, Jocelyn, and

to his

many

friends . For more on

Steve s pass-

ing, please read

the obituary written

by

H.G.

Frautschy,

with help

from

Steve's good

friend

for many years,

John Turgyan.

Please do us all the favor

of

invit

ing a friend to join

the VAA and

help


3/44

G

N E

MAY

VOL. 36, NO . 5

2008

CONTENTS

e

Straight Level

Clearing the cobwebs, and other springtime projects

by Geoff Robison

2

News

5

Hints for Restorers

Handy tidbits from homebuilders

and

restorers

6

Shuttleworth's Edwardians

The European pioneer era takes flight

by H

.G.

Frautschy and David Macready

1

One

Jenny's

Journey

Ninety years through time and place

by Sparky Barnes Sargent

18

The Sorge Stearman Speedmail Special

The Stearman what?

by Budd Davisson

25

Light Plane Heritage

The ugly duckling from Missouri

by Bob Whittier

3

The Vintage Instructor

Runway incursions

by Doug Stewart

32

Mystery Plane

by H.G. Frautschy

ST FF

34 First Funk

EAA

Publisher

Tom Poberezny

A glimpse of the first powered aircraft

Director of EAA

Publications

David

Hipschman

built by

the

Funk

broth

ers

Executive Director/Editor H.G . Frautschy

by H.G . Frautschy

EAA Art Director

Olivia

P Trabbold


4/44

EAA

AirVenture to Feature

Affordable

Flying

Center

EAA has always been about find

ing a better way to do things through

pooling and

sharing

knowledge

and

information. That's the idea behind

the

Affordable Flying Center, a new

attraction

to

debut

at EAA

AirVenture

Oshkosh 2008.

liThe

EAA

Affordable Flying Center

will focus

on

ways

EAA

members can

achieve and maintain their dream of

flight, even on a limited budget, said

EAA's Ron Wagner, who

is

leading

the

effort to organize the center. "EAAers

have lots of creative ways to get the most

for their aviation dollar, and the idea is

to collect those ideas and make them

available to share with each other.

Located in

the

former

NASA

build

ing (north of the old control tower,

adjacent to the Honda Forums Plaza),

the Affordable Flying Center will fea

ture a mini forum area,

indoor

dis

plays , and examples of

standard

category aircraft like the Taylorcraft

and

Piper

Colt/Tri-Pacer

that

may

provide an economical

pathway to

flight. EAA's aviation experts and vol

unteers will be on

hand

to answer

questions and provide information to

those seeking a less expensive way

to

pursue their aviation passion.

Some of

the

subjects they'll

be

ready to discuss include;

• Partnerships

and

flying clubs.

• Owner-maintenance

opportunities.

contribute or

an

aircraft

to

display,

contact Wagner

at

rwa

gner@e

aa org

EAA

AirVenture Airline Discounts

Midwest

and Northwest Airlines

offer special airfare discounts for EAA

members and others attending EAA

AirVenture Oshkosh. The discounted

fares are available courtesy of the air

lines

and

are subject

to

restrictions.

To

learn about the discounts, visit

www.AirVenture org/20081

f/

ying/

airline_

discounts.html.

Oshkosh: The

Spirit

of

Aviation

Now

Available on DVD

Get pumped

for AirVenture

by

watching EAA's Oshkosh: The Spirit

of

Aviation now available on DVD

Narrated by Harrison Ford, Th

e Spirit

ofAviation presents

an

insider's view

at the people

and

airplanes that

gather annually

in

Oshkosh to enjoy

The World's Greatest

Aviation

Cel

ebration. The DVD includes the 17

minute 30-second video

that's been

fies

the spirit of research, development,

or flight-testing

in the

flight-testing

field. The award was first presented in

1997 by

the

Society of Experimental

Test Pilots and Scaled Composites.

Candidates should have flight-test

experience, and should have shared

their knowledge and experience

with

fellow EAA members through presen

t.ations, written articles, or

as

an EAA

Flight Advisor. The award will be pre

sented at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh

2008. To request a

nomination

form,

contact

the

EAA

Safety Programs of

fice

at sa f

etyprograms@EAA org or call,

toll-free, 888-322-4636, ext. 6864. The

nomination

deadline

is

June I, 2008.

Hints for Homebuilders

Videos

a Hit

EAA 's new online Hints for Home

builders videos are garnering rave

reviews from EAAers. This series of

short videos was developed by EAA

staff and member volunteers to illus

trate handy tips, tricks,

and

alterna

tive

methods

for the various methods

of aircraft construction, including

composite

, tube and fabric , sheet

metal, and wood.

"EAA has always been about shar

ing knowledge among members,

and

these

new

video tips are just another

way of doing that, taking advantage

of the opportunities the Internet pro

vides, said Charlie Becker, director of

EAA's member programs. We're plan

ning to develop an entire catalog

that

mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.airventure.org/20081f/ying/airlinehttp://www.airventure.org/20081f/ying/airlinehttp://www.airventure.org/20081f/ying/airlinehttp://www.airventure.org/20081f/ying/airlinehttp://www.airventure.org/20081f/ying/airlinehttp://www.airventure.org/20081f/ying/airlinehttp://www.airventure.org/20081f/ying/airlinehttp://www.airventure.org/20081f/ying/airlinehttp://www.airventure.org/20081f/ying/airlinehttp://www.airventure.org/20081f/ying/airlinehttp://www.airventure.org/20081f/ying/airlinemailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.airventure.org/20081f/ying/airlinemailto:[email protected]


5/44

Stephen

Pitcairn

1924·2008)

Tom

Poberezny and Stephen

Pitcairn

Stephen Pitcairn,

EM

109260,

VM

4080, passed away Saturday, March 29,

at the

age

of 83.

Steve was

the son of Harold Pitcairn,

the founder of Pitcairn Aircraft and the

original license holder

to

build auto

giro aircraft based on the designs of

inventor

Juan

de la Cierva. A subsid

iary Pitcairn Airways was the founding

company

for

what later became Eastern

Air Lines.

Building upon

the

Pitcairn legacy,

Steve Pitcairn was a successful business

man

in his own right and an aviation

enthusiast

in

the broadest sense.

As

his

resources allowed, he began to collect

and have restored many of

the

aircraft

built by his father's company. An active

participant

in

both

the

research

and

The

PCA-2

is

one

of only two remain flew patrols for the Civil Air Patrol dur

ing examples of this

unique

aviation

ing World War

II.

Later,

he

built time

artifact. Formerly owned by

the

Cham

in his Pitcairn Mailwing so

he d

have

pion

Spark Plug Company,

and

used

enough

high-powered experience to

for promotional purposes, it was later

apply to the airlines. Flying

as

a DC -3

placed on display in Chicago's Museum

copilot for Eastern

Air

Lines he'd some

of Science and Industry. From there it

times fly by the family home in Bryn

went to a small museum and then a

Athyn so

he

could wave

to

his mom.

storage area

in Vermont, where it was

After graduating from the University

discovered by Stephen Pitcairn

and

re of Pittsburgh (he used

to

commute

to

stored with the help of George Town

school

with

a Bellanca Cruisair), he

son, one of the pioneers of the autogiro

worked for Pittsburgh Plate Glass, and

era.

When

Pitcairn flew it to

EM

Osh

he

married his

hometown

sweetheart,

kosh 1986, i t was the

hit

of the event.

Jocelyn. He was a generous supporter of

Steve Pitcairn was

an

active contrib his local community and church.

utor

to the

EAA Aviation Foundation,

Steve was a dedicated aviation his

on which

he

served as a director,

and

torian, and he exhibited a quiet passion

he

continued

to be an important

and

for aviation, said

EAA

President Tom

valued advisor and contributor to EM's

Poberezny. He

enjoyed sharing

his

programs. His generous underwriting

passion with his fellow EAA members

of the construction of the Pitcairn Avia

through his activities and when demon

tion hangar at

EAA s Pioneer Airport,

strating the Pitcairn aircraft he brought

which was dedicated in 1993, will long to our convention.

His

contributions to

serve

as

a reminder of

the legacY

,of the

aviation history

and

his willingness to

Pitcairn family, and of the generous

share his expertise will

be

missed.

spirit of Stephen Pitcairn.

Thanks

to

Mike Posey, Steve's me

After a childhood illness prevented

chanic for many years, for his contribu

him from serving in

the

military, Steve tions to this remembrance of

Steve.

VAA s 2 8 Friends of the Red am Campaign

First and foremost, our thanks

to

each

of

you who has already made your contribution

for

this

year's

VAA

Friends

of

the

Red

Barn

campaign The Vintage Aircraft Association

has , by necessity, elected

to

underwrite a

portion of its yearlong activities with funds

other

than

members dues

. The proceeds

from this fund pay for all

sorts

of volunteer


6/44

Upcoming Major Fly-Ins

Golden West Regional Fly-In

Yuba County Airpor t (MYV),

Marysville, California

June 6-8, 2008

www.GoldenWestFlyln.org

Virginia Regional Fly-In

Suffolk Executive Airport (SFQ) ,

Suffolk, Virginia

June 14-1 5, 2008

w

ww

. VAEAA.org

Rocky Mountain Regional Fly-In

Front Range Ai rport (FTG) ,

Watkins, Colorado

June 27-29, 2008

www

.RMRFI.org

Arlington Nor thwest Fly-In

Arlington Municipal Airport (AWO) ,

Arlington , Washington

July 9-13, 2008

www.NWEAA.org

EM

AirVenture Oshkosh

Wittman Regional Airport (OSH),

Oshkosh, Wisconsin

July 28-August 3, 2008

www

.AirVenture.org

Mid-Eastern Regional Fly-In

Mansfield Lahm Regional Airport (MFD),

Mansfield, Ohio

TBD

w

ww

.MERFI.info

Southeast Regional Fly-In

Middleton Field Airport (GZH),

Ev

ergreen, Alabama

TBD

www SERFJ.org

Copperstate Regional Fly-In

Casa Grande Municipal Airport (CGZ),

Casa Grande, Arizona

October 23-26, 2008

www.Copperstate.org

U.S. Sport Aviation Expo

Sebring Regional Airport

(SEF)

,

Sebring, Florida

AirVenture Large Fonn

ation

rri

vals

Scheduled

One annual AirVenture highlight actually occurs

before

opening day as large

groups of similar aircraft arrive at Wittman Regional Airport in rapid succession

and camp together in the North 40. Watching these group arrivals is one of

many attractions for visitors

who

come early to AirVenture.

The

FAA

pre-authorizes these formation arrival groups based

on

proven abil

ity to increase overall landing efficiency and safety. Good planning

and

training

are required, allowing these aircraft groups to arrive together in much less time

than would be needed for separate approaches and landings. The groups stage

at other airports so they can arrive in Oshkosh on a predetermined schedule.

Some group arrivals require a pause in the normal flow of aircraft

on

the Ripon

Fisk

VFR arrival, but those holding times are generally brief.

For

EAA

AirVenture 2008, six groups of aircraft have received the requi red

FAA

approval. Groups of Bonanzas (B20sh), Cessnas (C20),

and

Mooneys (Mooney Car

avan) are scheduled to arrive at Oshkosh on Saturday afternoon, July 26. A group of

Comanches is planning a late-morning arrival on Sunday, followed by Van 's RVs

in

the early afternoon and the AirVenture Cup racers in the late afternoon.

Large-formation arrival groups do not have reserved camping spaces in the

North 40. They camp together because they arrive together. If you want to camp

with one of these groups, you need to register with the group organizer and par

ticipate

in

its arrival. If

you

would like to form your

own

group, now is the time

to start planning for AirVenture 2009. Groups must have at least 30 aircraft , a

safety officer, a training officer, a practice plan, and a written Letter of Agree

ment from the FAA. Call EAA Aviation Services at 888-322-4636 or e-mail info@

eaa.org

for the proper

FAA

contacts.

http:///reader/full/www.GoldenWestFlyln.orghttp:///reader/full/www.GoldenWestFlyln.orghttp:///reader/full/VAEAA.orghttp:///reader/full/VAEAA.orghttp:///reader/full/www.RMRFI.orghttp:///reader/full/www.RMRFI.orghttp:///reader/full/www.RMRFI.orghttp:///reader/full/www.RMRFI.orghttp:///reader/full/www.RMRFI.orghttp:///reader/full/www.NWEAA.orghttp:///reader/full/www.AirVenture.orghttp:///reader/full/www.AirVenture.orghttp:///reader/full/www.AirVenture.orghttp://www.merfi.info/http://www.merfi.info/http://www.merfi.info/http://www.merfi.info/http://www.merfi.info/http://www.merfi.info/http:///reader/full/SERFJ.orghttp:///reader/full/SERFJ.orghttp:///reader/full/SERFJ.orghttp:///reader/full/www.Copperstate.orghttp:///reader/full/www.Copperstate.orghttp:///reader/full/www.GoldenWestFlyln.orghttp:///reader/full/VAEAA.orghttp:///reader/full/www.RMRFI.orghttp:///reader/full/www.NWEAA.orghttp:///reader/full/www.AirVenture.orghttp://www.merfi.info/http:///reader/full/SERFJ.orghttp:///reader/full/www.Copperstate.org


7/44

HINTS

FOR

RESTORERS

Handy tidbits from homebuilders and restorers

n

Important Safety Tip

Flammable fluid

lines leading

to

cockpit gauges should

have

restric

tions

incorporated into

the

lines

so that line failure will not permit

large

quantities of the fluid to be

dumped into the engine compart

ment or

the cockpit. These

restric

tions should be installed

as near

the

source of

pressure

as pOSSible,

and

the orifice

should not

be larger

than

about

.040 inches.

This may seem a little elementary to

the old pros,

but

we have a few mem

bers who may not know that .. cylinder

nuts or studs

should

not be used for

mounting baffles, braces, etc. unless

the piece being secured is made of the

same material

as

the washers employed

by the engine manufacturer. Other ma

terials may cause cylinder failures due

to the loosening of studs because of the

baffle mounting material squeezing out

from under the nut. In short,

don t

put

an aluminum bracket under a cylinder

hold-down nut.

A D McLarty

Jacksonville, Florida

wood blades should be opened up

after the tips

have been painted

.

Wood propellers are especially

susceptib

le

to damage

from im

proper handling. When moving an

airplane,

special care should be ex

ercised

to avoid

bumping

the

pro

peller.

The practice of

pushing

or

pulling on a propeller blade to move

an airplane should be avoided; it is

extremely easy to impose forces on

a blade in excess of those for which

the blade

is

designed. It

is

continu

ally

necessary

to ascertain that the

glue joints are in good condition and

that the finish on the entire propel

ler

will protect the

propeller

from

absorbing moisture. Two-bladed

wood propellers should

always be

left or stored, whether on or off

an

airplane, in a

horizontal position

to

prevent unbalance from moisture

absorption.

A

good

precaution is to

cover

the

propeller with a well-fitting

waterproof

cover

when not

in

use.

I t is

very important to protect the

shank section of wood blades

from

moisture

changes to prevent swell

ing and subsequent loosening in

the

metal

sleeve.

In the

case

of

var

nished blades, it is

advisab

le to oc

casionally

apply varnish

around the

shank at the junction of wood and

metal. In the case of the plastic-cov

ered

blade, repair cement may

be

all-metal classic

at

the local airport.

A persistent problem

has

been

the

sinking into the ground of the tail

wheel-and

the threat

of

rust freez

ing up

the

assembly as a result of

the wheel being immersed in

water

during

periods

of

rain.

This contributor solved

the

prob

lem by

purchasing

one of the con

crete

drain

blocks

for house gutter

drain outlets. Just remember to tilt

the block slightly so

i t

will drain.

Ralph

S

Ballard

Saint Ann, Missouri

Keeping an Oil

Spout Clean

On the way back from Great Ma

rana Raid, we

stopped in Wicken


8/44

Shuttleworth's Edwardians

The uropean pioneer

era

takes flight

BY

H.G. FRAU

TSC HY

P

OTOS BY D

AV

ID M AC R

EADY

The Shuttleworth Collection contains one of

the

world s greatest flocks of flying pio-

neer era aircraft,

those

amazing aeroplanes flown prior to World War I Thanks to the

foresight of Richard Shuttleworth, some of

the

aircraft were preserved prior to World War

II still others are replicas built for the 1965 film Those Magnificent

Men in

Their

lying Ma-

chines

Here are a few of

them as

seen

through

the lens of

VAA

member David Macready.

Blackburn Monoplane Type


9/44

9 Avro triplane replica)

Look out, it s

that

nasty, boorish Sir Percy Ware-Armitage Okay,

not

quite, but thanks

to

the work done in 1964-1965

to

re-create the pioneer era aeroplanes for the movie

Those

Magnif icent Men In Their Flying Machines

we have this sharp-looking replica of the Avro

Triplane. Powered by a Cirrus four-cylinder engine, it comes complete with a bungee

corded

tailskid

and quad-wheeled landing gear.

ou

can clearly see

the

thin, undercam

be red airfoil used by the replica builders, the Hampshire Aeroplane Club

at

Eastleigh,

Southampton, who did their best to maintain the characteristics

of

the original aircraft

while still building an aeroplane

that

proved to be flyable on a regular basis. When com

pletely stripped down and rebuilt during the

winter of 2000-2001,

it was re-covered and

painted in the markings it wore for the movie.


10/44

T leriot XI

A l

ate

afternoon in early October in England is the setting for this hop down the runway for a Bleriot XI. On u ly

25 , 1909, when Louis Bleriot flew across the English Channel from France to Dover with his Bleriot monoplane, he

needed a br ief rain shower

to

cool the

three-cylinder Anzani. This particular

example, which is

an

original machine

constructor s No.

14)

, utilizes wing

warping for roll cont rol , just as the

original did in

1909.

Built in 1910,

it is the world s oldest flying aircraft

still equipped with its original engine.

While now restricted

to

hops down

the

runway, it was flown by Richard Shut

tleworth each year in the three years

leading up to World War II.


11/44

..... Bristol

Boxkite

This replica built by F.G. Miles Ltd. for the movie is of the No. 12A

Bristol; not surprisingly,

it s

commonly referred to as

the

Boxkite. Like

the Avro Triplane,

i t

has four main wheels and a pair of skids. With

the

wheels located so close

to the

center

of

gravity, each landing would re

sult in a nose-over. The Bristol uses a pair of horizontal stabilizers, with

only the

top

half equipped

with

a hinged elevator. A pair of hinged rud

ders mounted outboard

of

the vertical stabilizer give yaw control,

with

roll control on this replica being effected by ailerons rather than the orig

inal wing warping. On some of the replica aircraft,

it

was found that wing

warping gave only marginal roll control. Since the movie replicas would

be flown in varying conditions, and sometimes in close proximity

to

one

another,

i t

was deemed necessary to modify the original designs on a

few of the movie airplanes, including

the

Vickers-Bleriot, Demoiselle,

Avro Triplane, and

the

Boxkite. Rather than the original 50-hp Gnome

rotary, this replica is powered

by

a Continental C-90.

WHAT OUR MEMBERS

ARE RESTORING

:i:.: ;

21

~ ~ _ .:::.

-

R

EARWIN

SKYRANGER

1948

LUSCOMBE 88

WHAT OUR

MEMBERS

ARE RESTORING


12/44

f

your

travels take you

near the Kickapoo

these biplanes. Iowan

Ray

McWhorter soloed a IN-4D Cur


13/44

local barnstormer to practice this new act-but tragically,

There is no

s W'eeter sound

the

W'orld

to a veteran

aviator

than

the

sound

of

a

Curtiss

OX-5

engine

chuckling

a W'ay as it

1lVings

y n

old

biplane. . . .

Che tPeek

tedious chore of locating replacement parts

and

obtaining


14/44

Here s the

Jenny

, painted

in

Call Field training colors.

Close-up of the wrapped and glued cording

on

the

wingtip s handgrip.

You

can clearly see the hand

frayed edges of each section of fabric. Fraying the

edges gave the dope more surface area

t

keep the

Inside the Jenny s rear cockpit.


15/44

In 989

, Marian and Chet Peek posed with their

Jenny with Marian in a period dress and Chet in a

U.S. Army Air Services uniform.

989

was a banner year for the Peeks and their

Jenny

They were one of the featured airplanes during

EAA 's "Jennys to Jets" display during the annual EAA

convention. With Marian

in

the front cockpit, Chet

begins taxiing the Jenny as they prepare to fly for the

appreciative crowd.

fully finish its restoration, beginning where Gilmore s ex

cellent work

had

stopped.

Restoration Continues

Chet and his

aviation buddies

carefully

loaded

the

treasured project components and assorted parts for the

700-mile journey from Spencer, Iowa, to his hangar/shop

in central

Oklahoma-which

was a tedious undertaking

The Jenny was badly damaged

in

McWhorter's crash

on August ,

92

.

Chet Peek and one of the Jenny's wings during resto-

ration.

You

can clearly see the undercambered airfoil

with its rather sharp leading edge.


16/44

November 2007- he Je

nn

y flies over Wichita Falls Texas.

.. . -

~ ~

- - - - - - ~ _ - - - - ~ -

~

5 Chet fabricated

the

aluminum cockpit cowling and

il: small windshields to authentic shape and form

with

the

i 5 help of patterns

from Hyde, while Hyde built

the engine

'

cowlings. Ever striving

to

retain the

Jenny's authenticity

and

originality

where

possible,

Chet

was able

to

make a

complete set

of

Curtiss wing struts from collected parts.

One

of the

next

challenges

was

fabricating the Jen

ny's numerous wire cables,

and when that and

miscel

laneous

other

items

had been

completed, it

was

time

to

assemble and rig

the Jenny.

As Chet

wrote

in his book,

liThe

rigging proved more

difficult

than

we

imagined.

It took Harold Maloy and me a full week to

get it

right.

We

found

that

when

we

adjusted the

angle

of

inci

dence, the stagger

would change

and vice versa. Harold

and

I

would laugh at

each other, because

when making

what we thought would be the final adjustment on one

cable, we

would

find

some

wire on the other side

of

the

plane had

gone

slack

but

we finally

got

all

the

ad

justments

right.

Although the

Jenny

project came with

an

OX-5 engine,

it clearly needed repair.

So

Chet, along with his buddy Har

old

,

thoroughly

researched all

of

the available

informa

tion

they

could find on Curtiss OX-5s. The next step was

cleaning

and

meticulously inspecting the engine parts for

defects and

proper

clearances.

Then they had

the cylin


17/44

rectors approved

the

idea. The con

cept

soon evolved

into

the theme

for the convention:

From Jennys

to

Jets."

The

Peeks,

along with eight

other Jenny

owners, were invited

six of

whom

attended.

Chet and

Mar

ian were quick to accept, even

though

it meant

dismantling

the Jenny and

reassembling

it

in the Weeks hangar

at

Wittman Field. They hired an Al

lied

moving van

and drivers

to

haul

N2525 to Oshkosh a week before the

( l

event. During the week at Oshkosh,

i i j i i ~ ~

the Jennys

were flown

in addition to

being

on

display on

the

flightline,

where Jenny owners enjoyed sharing

_ -___..:.-•

£ ~

~ S S ~ ; ; j stories and answering questions.

David Martin Chet Peek and

Tom

Danaher with the Jenny

Chet Peek flying his

Jenny

those who helped him complete

the

Jenny's restoration.

Though

he hadn't planned

to fly that day, everything

felt right; so on

the

spur of

the moment,

I decided to go

ahead

It seemed so easy; I really didn't have to do

much. The plane just lumbered along, climbing steadily.

The

Jenny

was flying! I remember viewing

with

wonder for the first time those long wire-braced linen

covered

Jenny

wings gently flexing in

the

slipstream,

wrote Chet. No doubt McWhorter and Gilmore

would

Wisconsin

When

the

convention was over, the Peeks brought

their Jenny back to Oklahoma

and

pondered

the

future of

their

rare aeronautical treasure. Insurance

wasn't

afford

able, and Chet realized that there was a risk of damage

to

the

Jenny

each time it was flown . As

he

says in retro

spect, "For me,

the

journey was the fun part-and that

was finding and restoring the Jenny." He soon negotiated

a mutually beneficial solution with the EAA AirVenture

Museum, which serendipitously had space

in

its museum

for a Jenny-and

Chet

was willing

to

lend them his for a

while. And so

the Jenny

continued

its

journey

by

once

again traveling to Oshkosh; it remained in the museum

until 1998.

Engiand

The Peeks advertised their

Jenny

for sale as "ready to

be shown or flown" in

Aeroplane

a British aviation maga

zine, and in February 1998, Englishman Victor Norman

seized

the opportunity to

purchase it. He

met the

Peeks

at

the

EAA AirVenture Museum, where it took three days

to dismantle and pack the

Jenny

in a container for sur

face shipping to England. Chet was certain that he'd seen

his

Jenny

for the last time. The biplane was deregistered


18/44

mained with Joe Ferraro of Indiana. Although Peek's origi

nal registration number was no longer available, Ferraro

had reserved N2525S specifically for

the

Jenny.

Then in

June 2007, N2525S embarked upon the final leg of its

journey (to date)

when

it was purchased by

the

city of

Wichita Falls

and

shipped to Wichita Falls, Texas.

Texas

The quest for a Jenny began

with

local

pilot

Robert

Seabury, who wanted to

preserve

the

history of Call Field

and the role it played in Wichita Falls' history. Named for

1st

Lt

Loren H. Call, it was a WWI military training base

for pilots and mechanics from August 1917 through July

1919. "During WWI, there were

only

five aviation train

ing bases in Texas,

and

Wichita Falls had Call Field. The

present-day Call Field Road is where

the

air base was,

and there's a subdivision there now. There was nothing

to commemorate

the

training base-and I thought there

should be; 34 young men lost their lives out there, learn

ing to

fly

the Jenny," says Seabury, adding, "I had been

at

Oshkosh

and had heard about

Joe Ferraro's Jenny. I

thought that

it could be

the

centerpiece of a

museum

to

commemorate Call Field."

Seabury was convinced he had a

winning

idea, so he

went to

the

city council and presented his proposal. "They

gave us a hangar right at the entrance to the Kickapoo air

port," explains Seabury, adding, and

then

I went to the

4B tax board, which allocates our sales tax funding,

and

persuaded them to purchase the Jenny. Then everything

kind of fell

into

place; Tom Danaher was instrumental in

obtaining the Jenny's airworthiness certificate, and David

Martin helped with

the

rigging of the plane. We had to

get it back to Call Field training colors [olive drab], and it

took a month to carefully remove

the

McWhorter

name

from the fuselage. Now it's identical to the photograph we

have of Call Field trainer number 46."

N2525S will serve

as

a living reminder of

the

role

that

Call Field fulfilled,

and to

that

end,

Danaher and

Martin

have been named as pilots on the biplane's insurance pol

icy.

The two

men

soon contacted Chet Peek (who today,

at

87 years young,

is

a longtime aviator, author of half a

dozen aviation books,

and

a 2007 inductee of the

EAA

"Flying the Jenny was just like driving a truck," smiles

Danaher, adding, it was nearly exactly what I thought

it was going to be,

and

I was very pleased with it. It's

not

unstable-it's just that when a gust hits you, it takes a lot

of work to get it back to where you want it. I've got seven

or eight hours in it, in mostly gusty, windy weather."

The other pilot, Martin, is captain of the U.S. Unlim

ited Aerobatic Team, won a gold medal in the World Aero

batic

Championships, and

was

U.S.

National Aerobatic

Champion in 2001.

The

Jenny is

quite

a contrast to the

CAP 232 he flies competitively.

Yet

Martin was absolutely

thrilled to be given

the

opportunity to fly

the

Jenny,

and

says, "My grandfather flew Jennys a little bit in

the

1930s,

and

that's

why

I've always been interested in them.

It

flies

like a big, heavy Cub and seems to be real easy to take off

and land

on

grass. I've done basic stalls and wingovers,

and it's an honest airplane.

If

you let loose, it'll go off on

a wing,

but

it's amazing

that

it flies

as

well

as

it does for as

old as it is. It

doesn't

have a lot of power, and it's heavy

on

the controls,

but

other than that, I was surprised because

it flies a lot better than I

thought

it was going to fly-it's

really fun "

One Jenny

s

Journey

The WWI Call Field Living History Museum

at

Kicka

poo

Downtown

Airport (sponsored by the Museum of

North Texas History) should be completed in early 2008,

and in addition

to the

Jenny,

i t has

purchased

a 1916

Model T Ford that will be painted in military colors. "On

special occasions,

the museum

will come

to

life

and the

Jenny

will be flown," explains Seabury, adding, "we want

it to be an educational experience for children, and we

plan to give a child a carrier pigeon in a cage,

put them

in the Model T

and

drive

them

to the opposite end of the

airport, where they'll write a note to their friends back at

the hangar. Then we'll let the pigeon fly the note back to

their friends, so we can show

them

what communication

was like before cell phones "

Reflecting upon the significance of the Jenny to Wichita

Falls, Seabury says, "Others could have bought

the

Jenny,

but it wouldn't have the meaning for them that it does for

us-because

as

we say our skies were full of Curtiss Jennys


19/44


20/44

w lked round

the irpl ne

three

times

while

trying

to

keep

the questioning

look off my

face


21/44


22/44

BONNI£

KR TZ

I was your typical kid in

that

I

spent a lot of time trying to hurt my-

self on minibikes and motorcycles,

Steve

remembers.

However,

at

the

age of 12, I did try

to

build a Rogallo

wing

with Visqueen covering,

but

was never successful with it.

Graduating from

the

Milwau

kee School

of Engineering

(MSOE)

airport, which by the way

is

the same

airport where I would eventually meet

Jim and get my Stearman project.

Two

years later, I borrowed some

more

money,

this time

from

one

of

my college

roommates, and

bought

a Cessna 150. I

started taking

les-

sons

out

of Hunfield , now known

as

Guntly

Memorial. The owner and

Vagabond

that

I had helped rebuild

while I was working on my license.

Still, biplanes kept pulling at me,

and

I bought a modified Pitts S-1 C called

the

Sanderson

Special. I flew

that

to

Bartlesville, then took a

little trip

through

Texas and as far west as Las

Cruces, New Mexico.

All

the

time I was at Bartlesville, I


23/44

Above and below: Steve included

some whimsical artwork in tribute to

his friend im Miles on each side of

the fin and

on

the fuselage

........

"

. ,- -

. . - 'to '; . _

.

= ......

.

- ;

. ~

I . ; . : . ~

~ ~ ~

1>/ .... . _

_ •

I

I

,. .

, . : : . . ~

. ~ .

. \, \

War

II

(WW

II

)

when

there were

no

specialty spray planes.

He

had

been

an instructor in AT-6s at Ponca

City, Oklahoma's No.6 British Fly

ing Training School, and when he

came out

and

decided to go spray

ing

, the Stearman, or some varia

tion of it, was all

ther

e was.

Jim had sprayed his entire life

a

nd had

amassed

an

amazing mess

of Stearman parts

and

airframes. I

don t how know many he actually

had, but it looked as if he had five

hundred wings sittin g around in

various states of disrepair.

As I was getting started in my

search for a Stearman, Jim decided

that he d

stop spraying

and

started

selling off his stuff. But,

that

wasn't

an easy decision. Jim was really

emotionally attached

to

his air

planes. I bought my Stearman from

monument

to

him and

his life.

Steve

didn

' t

originally

think

in

terms of modifying

the

airplane. He

just knew he wanted a Stearman, al

though

the

urge to do

something

different must have

been

flittering

around the edges of

his

mind, be

cause it didn t take much to get his

imagination going.

I

had

just

taken the

fiberglass

off the fuselage and removed the

19

pounds of

lead from

the

tail post

when I saw a pair of Pitcairns at Osh

kosh. One of

them

was a PA-8 and I

loved

the

long nose

and the

way

the

windshield said 'speed.' I decided to

put

the pilot back where the baggage

compartment

was

in

my

airplane,

and the

entire

project

took off

in

a

different direction . That's when I re

alized I didn t

want

to build another

PT-l?

I wanted something special.


24/44

L

ike

a 35 Ford roadster

pickup

that Ford

never built

ye

t many are

driving around,

the

Sor

ge

family s

Speedmail

Spe-

cial was

an airplane

that Stearman

could h

ave

built, but

didn t.

The pilot's cockpit has been

moved aft of the PT-l7 s original

lo

cat ion. The windshields were

in-

spired

by

the rakish windscreens

on the Pitcairn mail planes of the

1920s nd '30s.

the

rudder cables

coming

out

mid

height

and the

tail shape."

The fuselage of those old airplanes

combined

the

pilot-in-the-rear look

of a racer with a long-in-the-nose look

of

an

early transport or mail plane.

"I used

up

a lot of cardboard and

string trying to get the fuselage shape

just right. I made

the

firewall 4 feet in

diameter, which would look right with

The forward cockpit

is

wide

enough to accommodate a pair of

skinny teenagers.

The

front fuselage

is

the

same

width

as it was originally,

but

I

had

to

relocate some tubing. It's tight ,

but

I

can

get two of my four teenagers in

the front seat,

although

I

don't

think

they'd be

happy

flying very far

in

it."

The

multifaceted, heavily

sloped

rear

windscreen

is obviously part

Pitcairn and part C3R,

but

the wide

front

windscreen,

while looking fa

The Pratt Whitney R-985 sits

out

in

front of a 4-foot-diameter

firewall. Coupled with the carefully

faired fuselage,

it

lends a prewar

transport biplane look to

the

Spe

cial, somewhat reminiscent of the

Pitcairn Mailwing.

A pair of Fischer 36-inch-diameter

wheels looks just right when

in-

stalled

at

the ends of the outrigger

landing gear.

along and noticed the

vent

covers

on

top of a Pizza

Hut that

turned

out to

be exactly what I needed.

"The duct cover was made out of

1100 series aluminum,

which

is pretty

soft

and

welds great. More important,

i t

forms well, too. This helped a lot

when I hand-formed the air duct

on

the bottom.

I made

up birch

form

blocks and started hammering. I also


25/44

unique approach to

a

landing

gear.

Unless a person looks

at

it closely, it's

easy to miss

that

the gear legs are rigid

and the struts telescope inside them.

Plus,

the

entire gear

is

a single unit,

axle to axle, that bolts to the bottom

of the fuselage. The gear is so identi

fiable

that

replacing it with anything

would

have

changed

the

airplane's

identity,

but

Steve

wanted

that

area

to have a certain look.

The gear

is definitely Model

4

Speedmail. Although none of the di

mensions

are the same, I copied

it

as

closely

as

I could,

including

hav

ing the outriggers inclined at a 10

degree angle. I did, however, go en

tirely

modern

in

the

suspension sys

tem, and rather

than

using bungees,

as the originals did, I simply found

a coil-over automotive racing shock

absorber

that

would do the trick and

ished before I realized I should actu

ally have gone with

the

larger 32 by

6s. The difference in appearance be

tween the

two is

dramatic,

and

the

airplane just wasn't going to look

right

with the

smaller

ones. The

brakes are

ll-inch

Hays units that

look and work just right."

The only visage of PT-17

styling

that's identifiable is the plan form

of

the wings,

but even

there

minor

items like detailing around the gas

tank makes them different.

"The airframe I got from Jim Miles

had

led a pretty rough

and

tumble life

including three unusual accidents.

The first was when Jim was flying un

der some wires and

bounced

off

the

top of a truck. The second was when

he was taking off in a ground fog and

didn't

see an old Buick parked at

the

end

of

the

runway. Some good old

boys were sleeping off

the night

be

fore. Jim saw

it at

the last moment

and again skipped off the top

of it.

The damage was

minimal

to the

Stearman, the Buick, and the guys

inside. Then,

when

they were

hand

propping the airplane, it ran off

on

its

own and hit

a truck.

"There was a crewman standing on

the wing loading

the

hopper when

it happened. He wasn't hurt but the

bottom right

wing

was torn up, so

they replaced it with a metal one. I re

placed that wing

with

a

wooden

one

that I built up from all new material.

Incidentally,

the

truck

the

air

plane

hit

was owned

by

Joe

Nor

ris, who at the time was a cranberry

grower, but is now with

the

EAA.

I t

is said that bad things happen

When we were covering

and

painting

the airplane, they got right in there

with Tracy, my wife, and helped with

the

rib stitching

and

wet sanding. In

addition, Tracy sewed

the

covering

envelopes. The entire

thing wouldn't

have happened

i f my

family hadn't

been totally behind it. This kind of

project takes unbelievable amounts

of time,

and

besides jumping

in

to

help, they

understood what

kind of

commitment it took on my side."

Now that the airplane is done and

flying,

what

kinds of modifications or

improvements does he have in mind?

Improvements? he laughs. I'm

done working on it We're going

to

fly

its wings off

and

enjoy it.

"I do, however, want to say a lot

of thank-yous to a lot of people. Cer

tainly to my family, who for 15 years

put up

with airplane

parts

in

every

room of the house, including the

shower while rinsing

paint

remover

off

the

stabilizer trailing edge.

Then

there are those who, without their

help

and

support, this project would

have never seen

the

light of day, let

alone a stiff breeze through the fly

ing wires.

Tom

Guntly, who in addition to

offering up his Vagabond,

taught

me

all about

restoring

rag and tube air

craft. Tom Hegy, one of Jim's closest

friends and

contemporary

spray pi

lot, was there to answer any questions,

offer a bit of advice, and connect me

to

the

right

people,

when

needed.

Tom was also generous enough

to

let

me fly his Travel Air biplane around

the patch nine

times

before I first

flew my Speed mail.


26/44


27/44

Light Plane Heritage

The ugly duckling from Missouri

BY BOB

WHITIIER

Editor's Note: Longtime aviation enthusi,asts will recognize

the

byline of Bob Whittier. Bob has

been a regular contributor to

EAA

publications since

the

founding of

the

organization, as well as a

knowledgeable author for other aviation

and

boating magazines. Bob's Light Plane Heritage series

in

EAA s xperimenter

magazine often touched

on

aircraft

and

concepts related to vintage aircraft

and their history. Since

many

of our members have

not had

the opportunity to read this series, we

plan

on

publishing those

LPH

articles

that

would be of interest to

VAA

members. Enjoy -HGF

OdaY's

aviation

magazines

carry

the

advertisements of

several

companies that

sell

aircraft sold off at low prices by the gov

ernment began to

scatter far

and

wide

over

the

country in the

hands

of barn

Above: The Nicholas-Beazley

NB-8G of

1931

and

1932

flew well

and was an economical sport;

training

plane but

it never won


28/44

A clutter of struts,

pus

hr s , bracing cables, and gas line did little for

the Nicholas-Beazley s appearance. But visibility was very good indeed.

both centers of aviation activity-the

Nicholas-Beazley firm was well lo

cated to serve barnstormers roaming

the vast plains of the Midwest.

Knowing that

stranded

gypsy pi

lots demanded

good new

parts and

supplies and wanted them as quickly

as

possible, firms like Nicholas-Beaz

ley

had no

choice

but to

quickly de

velop good reputations for prompt

service. In

those

days bus lines and

airlines were in their infancy

and the

national railroad system was very

alive and flourishing. So shipments

often

reached

stranded

pilots

with

agreeable swiftness.

By

1930 Nicholas

Beazley had eight stock depots scat

tered around the United States

as

well

as

one each in Canada and Mexico.

In the course of locating and pur

chasing a wide assortment of aircraft

engineering profession. Powered by

Velie

LeBlond, and occasionally other

small radial air-cooled engines in the

60- to 65-hp range, it performed fairly

well

and

could carry a pilot

and

two

passengers

on that

modest power.

Designed

with light

weight and

ease of servicing very

much

in mind,

it was a

squared-off,

angUlar, awk

ward-looking craft. It sold in small

numbers to such customers as were

looking

for

economy.

But

in the

1920s, fuel economy wasn't much of

a seIling pOint, and there was strong

competition from

other

better-known

and

better-looking airplanes. Sensing

that

this ship wasn't going to win any

sales sweepstakes, Nicholas-Beazley

began to consider other designs. By

now it was 1930, and the stock mar

ket

crash of the

preceding

October

structor and student sat side by side.

By 1930 flying schools were begin

ning

to

realize that

students

did not

rea

ll

y have to sit on a plane's center

line

in

order to judge nose

position

in

right- and left-hand banks. Kirkup

felt also that the two funnels and a

hose speaking tubes then in common

use did

not

afford the easiest and most

understandable communication be

tween instructor and student. He rea

soned

that i f communication

could

be improved, instruction would prog

ress easier

and

faster, allowing airports

to offer flying courses

at

lower and

therefore more attractive costs. And

students who got their licenses on a

side-by-side trainer would find it easier

to

get accustomed to flying

the

four

seat cabin monoplanes then begin

ning to replace open-cockpit biplanes.

Kirkup's

design

was

named the

Nicholas-Beazley NB-8, and serious

development

work was

undertaken.

For its type,

the ship

was larger

and

heavier than some other

light

two

seaters also

appearing

on

the

scene.

It had a wingspan of 37.5 feet, a wing

area of 183 square feet-fairly great

for

any

two-seater-and

its

weights

were

660 pounds

empty

and 1,160

pounds gross.

A 36-hp, two-cylinder Aeronca en

gine was installed on the prototype,

and performance was soon shown to

be unacceptably sluggish. So a 45-hp

three-cylinder

Szekely

(pronounced

Saykay )

engine

was tried. Perfor

mance was not usefully improved.

The Aeronca

C-3

flew nicely on 36

hp

because it weighed only 409 pounds

empty and 875 pounds loaded. The

Szekely-powered Alexander Flyabout


29/44

The Nicholas Beazley NB 8 was quite a large plane with its 37.5 foot

wingspa

n

With wings folded it was only 1 feet 4 inches wide. This

is

the prototype fitted with the 45 hp Szekely engine for early tests.

rience did the designer of this

plane

have? Where

and

under

what

circum

stances was he working?

What

tools,

materials,

and

engines were avail

able

to him?

And , what was he try

ing to accomplish when he designed

Probably because

no

similar Ameri

can engine was

then

availabl

e,

Fairch

ild had imported around 60 Armstrong

Siddeley "Genet" five-cylinder, 80-hp

radial engines from England to use on

the

planned F-21s. (A genet is a small

er-better than the 400 fpm t

yp

ical

of popular 40-hp ships . DeSignated

the NB-8G, the low price of Genet

en

gines obtained from Fairchild enabled

it

to

be sold for the reasonable price

of $1,790

compared

to

the

1

,

500

typically asked for

40-hp

jobs. A lot

more was asked for the heavier, more

powerful biplane trainer of its day. In

1931 and 1932 about 60 were built

and

sold. That used

up

the original

stock of Genet engines. Armstrong

Siddeley would surely have asked a

higher

price

per engine

for

another

supply

of Genets. Also, by 1932 the

Depression was at its worst .

So

that

was the end of NB-8G production.

As

an aside,

there

is one on display

today in the museum section of Old

Rhinebeck Aerodrome

at

Rhinebeck,

New

York

.

The

ship

had

good

and

tractable

flying and handling qualities,

at

least

for its time,

and

it served owners well

both as an economical trainer

and as

a

weekend

flyabo ut. Early examples

had rigid l

anding

gears

and

depended

on the

th

en-

new

low-pressure Good

year

airwhee l" tires for

shock

ab

sorption

. These worked all

right

on

paved runways,

but

Nicholas-Beazley

was not the only company

to

dis

cover they

had

a quirk. When a plane

fitted

with

them gained speed while

taking off from an unpaved

and

not

very smooth runway, it could develop

a bucking or porpoising action as

the

soft

tires and firm grou

nd

fought

a

duel.

So

later

mode

ls were

fi tt

ed with

oleo shock struts. These

tamed

takeoff

runs

along

with

the airwheels

made

the

ship a good one for rough fields.


30/44

Figure 1: The NB-8 used this

RAF-34 airfoil , which featured

small center-of-pressure travel

and also good depth for light but

st

rong spars

tive

sales

feature.

It's

not possible

for us to

know what the designer s

thoughts were as he drew plans for

the

NB-8 more

than

60 years ago,

but

perhaps his motto was I/Form follows

function.

What

we now callI/indus

trial designers were a

novelty then

and

had

not had much

impact

on the

styling of products. Automobiles were

still rather angular and boxy-looking.

So,

working in remote Marshall,

Missouri, it's possible

he

gave little

thought to sleek looks. Then, too,

it's a fact

that

some designers have a

good sense for lines and shapes and

others simply do not.

Since he had chosen the not-exactly

compact span of 37.S feet, it must have

occurred to him that folding wings

would make

the

plane easier

to

store

away in a hangar to protect it from sun

light

and rain when not in use-and

private planes often sit

on the

ground

for weeks

on

end as owners tend to

business and family matters.

To

achieve folding,

he

used B-type

wing struts arranged

in

such

a way

that the

front ones angled back to

join

the

rear

ones

at a

common

fu

selage fitting on the lower longerons.

This fitting and that of the rear spar

where

it

attached to

the

center

sec

T ~

A _ L

r

-

I

I

A

~ .

i

I

~

F ~ ~

R COCLT

'

Figure 2: Left to right, elephant ear,

Fr

iese, and paddle-type aileron

balances.

the

struts a stout and also I/heavy

look

that

clashed aesthetically

with

the

spindly

center

section and land

ing gear struts.

The center section flap

was

in

stalled so that

when

in flight, its trail

ing

edge

could

be raised

or

lowered

slightly so as to make it work as a

trim

tab. This seems like a

huge

trim

tab because we

have

become accus

tomed to small ones located on tail

surfaces. But, it was located so close

to the center of

gravity and had

so

much area that it

could

in fact alter

trim

just as is

the

case

with landing

flaps mounted on the wings of mod

ern planes.

When

the

wings were folded

the

ship

was 10 feet 4

inches

wide. This

enabled an NB-8G to be tucked

hand

ily

in

among

other

planes in a

han

gar,

but

it was still too wide to fit

through

a

standard

garage door. But

apparently Kirkup

did not

visualize

owners trailering their planes

home

behind cars.

I f

anyone had tried that,

he

would have

encountered

a dis

Figure 3: Planes of the

193 s

used a combinati

on

of thick and

strong plus light and slim tubing.

The wing was set surprisingly high

above the fuselage, and this contrib

uted

to

the

ship s

gawky

look.

Be

cause

there

was a door on the

right

side of

the

cockpit, this high mount

ing probably was not simply to facili

tate

cockpit entry and exit . Perhaps

the

high location

was

the

outcome

of the

designer's stress analysis.

I f

it

had been positioned lower for better

appearance, the angle between the

V

struts

and

lower surface of the wing


31/44

The paddle -type aileron balance reduced stick loads as explained

in

right size and position

and

to install.

As

you can visualize from the photo,

when

the

aileron goes down,

the

pad

d le located ahead of its hinge line

develops lift and

thus

lightens

the

contro

l stick feel.

While this

was a

tec

hn

ica

ll

y logical solution, it added

ano ther awkward looking detail to

an already cl uttered plane. Later NBs

were fitted with Friese ailerons.

When

this

plane was designed, it

was standard practice to build tail sur

faces

as

shown in Figure

3.

A triangle of

stout steel tubes provided

the

needed

strength , wh ile both

the

ribs and out

line were ofmuch lighter tubes. Tubing

used for

the

outlines could t

hu

s read

ily be bent to nice curves

on

a simple

jib, and

as

a result planes of th at time

displayed all kinds of

both

handsome

and ugly tail surface

out

lines. Fabric

tensi

on

eas

il

y pulls straight tubes out

of shape, b

ut

curved ones resist su

ch

deformation well.

So

the NB's vertical tail had an ap

preciably cur ved shape. The reason

why

it was so ta ll was

to

get some of

its area we

ll

out of turbulent air

fl

ow

ing back from

the

large open cockpit.

Large rudders were

an

adva

nt

age

on

p

la

n

es

having tails kids

and

no brakes,

for one then did not have to op

en th

e

th rottle too much to get enough rud

der

fo

rce to t

urn

aro u

nd

at runway's

end . The trouble was,

this

curvy tail

clash ed wi th the angularity of some

o

th er parts of the ship.

Th e

la

nd

in g

gear

cons

i

sted

of

r ig

ht

a n d l

eft

tripods

made of

ro und stee l tubing. To provide ad

eq

uate

propeller gro

u

nd clearance

and enoug h stability

to wit

h

stand

this article.

Ea

rly examples had plain ailero ns

with

no

balancin g of any

kind

. This

type was easy and inexpensive to man

ufactur

e

but often r

es

ulted in a heavy

control stick

fee l. Figu

re 2 shows three

a

il

eron balanci

ng

me

th

od

s.

The left

hand ske tch shows th e "eleph a

nt

ear"

type much used

durin

g World War

I and on some 1920s plan es. Wh en

NB -8G pilots complain ed of h eavy

a

il

ero n feel, incorporating

th

is

ty

pe

of balance would have required com

plete rebuild of th e wi ngtips.

Bes

ides

th

is type was notorious for catc

hin

g

on

hangar doors when ships were be

ing moved in

and

out.

The middle sketch shows the now

co

mm

on Fri

ese

type of balan

ce

, named

after its developer. T

hi

s type reduces

bo

th

st

ic

k forces a

nd

adverse yaw ten

denci

es

but it takes much flig

ht

testing

to find just the right slot and a

il

eron

leading edge shap

es

and

th

ere are more

operations involved in manufacture.

The easy

fi

x thus ad

op

ted by Nich

olas -Beazley was th e paddle-type bal

an ce sh own in

th

e th ird sketch.

I t

was easy a

nd

qu

ick to find exactly

th

e


32/44

BY DOUG STEW RT

Runway

incursions

As

I

monitored

the UNICOM fre

quency I heard the following in my

headset: Anyone

on base

or

final,

please

announce.

Looking

toward

the arrival end of the runway I saw

a sleek composite, glass-paneled air

plane taxiing

onto the

runway.

The only

problem

was there was

a NORDO (no radio) Luscombe 8A

on

about

a

quarter-mile

final. And

it was obvious that the pilot taxiing

onto

the

runway was unaware of

the

arriving airplane on short final. Not

only had he

not

heard the pilot of

the Luscombe reply on

the

radio, be

cause the 8A did not have a radio, but

also the Luscombe didn't appear on

the big lO-inch screen showing traf

fic to the pilot of the

TAA

(technically

advanced aircraft) because a tran

sponder in the Luscombe would have

been

as

useful

as

an

empty

gas tank,

as it didn't have any electrical system

whatsoever. It was obvious

that

the

pilot of the

TAA was

relying

solely

on his electronic equipment for his

for I must

confess

that I too, had

once inadvertently pulled

out

onto

an active

runway,

right in front of

an

airplane on

short

final. In

my

de

fense I will state that I had listened

on

my

radio

and scanned

the

final

approach

path,

but somehow I had

missed

the airplane

on final. Was I

tired?

Was

I in a hurry? Was my radio

volume

turned

down? Was I

tuned

to the

proper

frequency? Was I dis

tracted by my

passenger?

Was the

approaching airplane in a blind spot

to my

vision?

I

don't

really

know.

But I do know that I was terribly em

barrassed that I had done such a stu

pid thing and vowed never to allow

that

to

happen

again.

Runway

incursions have

been

happening as

long

as there have

been

airports

in

existence. And

they

usually have

nothing to

do

with

pilot skill or lack thereof. I t could

happen

to

the best of us. A friend

of mine

who is

an

excellent, safety

conscious, and diligent pilot re

To this day I don't recall exactly

what the clearance was, but accord

ing to

the

controller

he

later told me

he had

cleared me to Taxi

into

posi

tion and hold.'

I'm certain the

reason

was for

a potential

departure on

the cross

runway, although I didn't know it

at

the time

. I t wasn't unusual for

someone to do a fairly quick turn

around

at

one

of

the FBOs

on

the

east

end

of

the

field, where a taxi

for departure was hardly 100 yards.

As

I said,

there

was

no other

traffic

in

the

pattern, and no communi

cations from

other

aircraft

on

the

tower or ground frequency, but

i t

didn

' t take

long

for that

to

change

at that airport.

I don't recall having been issued

a

'taxi into position

and

hold'

clear

ance

in

a very

long

time,

and

I sus

pect I 'heard'

what

I wanted to hear,

rather than the actual clearance is

sued

by

the tower controller. In any

event, I taxied out onto 17, applied

I

asked him if he 'd like me to call curs

ions

as well as

best

practices to more great suggestions, so I highly


33/44

him when I returned, and he said no,

that we'd both

learned all we were

going to by that point. I've never for

gotten how badly I felt about

that

incident

.

It

was really

the

first

time

after a decade of flying that I'd made

an

error that

was in direct conflict

with a controller's clearance, and I've

never

wanted to

have

to go to

bed

again with that

crummy

feeling in

the pit of my stomach. Long before

it was

announced as

required

on ATIS

broadcasts, ever since

that

inCident,

I've

been

a maniac about repeating

'hold

short' and 'taxi into

position

and

hold

'

or

'land and

hold short'

clearances. I

wouldn't

want

to con

tribute to anyone else having a bad

day, including

the other

person who

might be in

the

pattern with me."

Twenty-five years ago, if

that

con

troller

had

wanted

to

file a violation

on the errant

pilot, t here would not

have been

much the

pilot could have

done to protect himself, but that is not

the case now. There

is

a

program in

place today known

as RIIEP

(Runway

Incursion Information Evaluation

Pro-

gram

).

It

is

similar in many respects to

the

NASA

Aviation Safety R

epor

ting

System. Basically it is a FAA program

developed to help gather and analyze

facts about

runway incursions

.

The

benefits to pilots, above and

beyond

the obvious data gathering to pinpoint

the causes of runway incursions and

create training scenarios to help com

bat

them,

is that the

FAA

will forego

legal enforcement action against the

pilot who participates in the program.

An

y pilot is eligible to participate in

avoid them is Advisory Circular (AC)

91-73A: Sing le Pilot Procedures During

Taxi

Operations It

is

quickly down

loaded from the www.FAA.gov web

site .)

It

includes numerous tips

and

sugges

tions to

reduce the

incidence

of

runway

incursions. Some of these

include proper, thorough planning,

coordination, and

communication;

the use of

airport

diagrams to mon

itor your movement

about

the air

port; writing

down

taxi instructions;

th

e clarification of air traffic

control

instructions, if not understood, in

cluding proper read-back/hear-back

using standard phraseology; the

proper knowledge of airport signs,

markings, and lighting,

as

well as the

airport

diagram,

to

keep the aircraft

on

its assigned taxi route;

maintain

ing

a sterile

cockpit during

taxi op

erations;

not engaging in

any other

cockpit duties

(like programming a

GPS)

while taxiing; and monitoring

UNICOM frequencies

at

nontowered

airports. The list goes on,

with

many

advise a reading of

that

AC.

I know

that

we would all like to

think that

the incidence of runway

incursions is on the decline, but un

fortunately

the

opposite

is

true.

In

the

FAA's

fiscal year 2007, there were

40 more runway incursions than in

the

previous year,

and

indicators for

FY '08 indicate

the

numbers

are ris

ing.

All it takes is

one moment

of

complacency, of distraction, of con

fusion

to

create a

runway

incursion.

Everyone

of us could be susceptible.

We

all need to do our best to help

re-

duce the frequency

with which they

occur.

Without

due diligence it could

ruin

the day for anyone of us. A day

that might otherwise have . blue

skies

and

tail winds.

Doug Stewart

is

the

2004 National

CFI of the Year, a NAFI Master Instruc

tor,

and

a deSignated pilot examiner.

He operates DSFI Inc.

www.DSFlight.

com),

based

at

the Columbia County

Airport (IBI).

. . . . . . .

BuIlds

bounce right

oft

the

Poly-Fiber .. sec?

W

e here at Poly-Fiber are mighty proud to help heroes like Captain

Eddie defeat the dreaded Hun in the skies over France by covering

his ship

with

the toughest.

easiest-to

repair fabric known to ma n. It's easy to

http:///reader/full/www.FAA.govhttp://www.dsflight/http:///reader/full/www.FAA.govhttp://www.dsflight/


34/44

BY

H.G. FRAUTSCHY

THIS MONTH'S MYSTERY PLANE COMES TO US FROM THE VAA COLLECTION.

Send your answer to EAA

Vintage Airplane

P.O. Box You can also send your response via e-mail. Send

3086,

Oshkosh,

WI

54903-3086.

Your answer needs

your answer to

[email protected].

Be sure to include

to be in no later

than

June 10 for ·inclusion in the

your

name,

city,

and state

in the

body

of

your note, and

August 2008 issue

of Vintage

irplane

.

put

(Month) Mystery Plane

in the

subject line.

FEBRUARY'S

MYSTERY ANSWER

C-4-125 (military designation L-365;

engine

TC

No. 67) of 125

hp

at

2175

rpm.

Accommodations

for two in

tandem were provided under a slid

ing cockpit cover. The aircraft crashed

shortly after takeoff on its first flight,

swered the December Mystery Plane

mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]


35/44

correctly. Here's his answer related

to

the February

MP:

The

February

2008

Mystery

Plane is the Jones Aircraft Co. Inc.

1937

S-125

(later,

White

S-125/S

150). The

photo

which appears

in

Vinta

ge Airplane is

identical

to

that which appears on NASM La

ser Videodisc I, Side

B,

Frame 8075

( Jones, Frames 8060-8077

.

The

aircraft was probably de

signed by

Benjamin Jones in

1937

and

was

built at Schenectady,

New

York.

It

was originally powered by

a 125 hp Menasco C-4

and

was reg

istered as X16791. The span

of the

Jones S-125

was

31 feet 0 inches,

and the overall length was 24 feet 3

inches.

The

useful

load

was

reputed

to be 750

pounds,

and the maximum

speed

was 151

mph, with

a

cruise

of 136

mph,

apparently in its later

incarnation

with an up-rated 150

hp Menasco C-4 (a C-4

with the

bore increased to 4.75

inches.

Gun

ston,

William. World Encyclopae

dia

of Aero

Engines,

p 97) . In any

case, the sole S-125 was badly dam

aged

during

its

maiden

flight.

Jones also

purchased around

10

New Standard D-25s

from the

Met

ropolitan

Aircraft Corp. of Sara

toga, New

York,

in 1938. Five

of the

D-25s were completed

(19155/57

and 19197/98) , and five were un

completed prior to the sale of the

Jones

Aircraft

Company's

assets

to

the White Aircraft Co. (Donald G.

White, owner)

of

Woodward Airport,

Le

Roy,

New

York (also

in

1938).

White

completed the

five

unas

Your One

ST P

Quality Shop

1·888·388 8803

1·78D 447·5955

Exhaust Systems

Carb

Air

Boxes

Structural ssemblies

Clamps &Hardware

Round Engine Exhausts

Engine Mounts

F

uelCel s

Heaters

All Makes Mo l.

www acomweldl

.....

com

soon installed an up-rated 150

hp

Menasco

C-4, and then may have

changed the

designation to S-150.

In addition to the assets

of

the Jones

Aircraft Co., White acquired the as

sets

of

the

Argonaut

Aircraft Inc. O.

LeRoy

Sutton, of

North

Tonawanda

,

New

York)

in

1939

and

modified

(and redesignated) the Argonaut

H-24 flying

boat

as

the

White Gull,

which was

retrofitted with

a

Mena

sco C-6. During 1938, White also

constructed

the 165

hp Ranger

powered White A-R,

and in

1940

he purchased the rights to

the

Ver

ville Sport

AT

(a

point

I

neglected

to

mention

in connection with

the

November 2007 Mystery Plane-I

must be slipping). Fitted with a 200

hp Warner

Scarab, White's version

of

the

Verville

Sport AT had

a span

of 31 feet and a

length

of 24 feet

3 inches (oddly, the same dimen

sions as

the

S-125,

and not the

same

as other Verville Sport

ATs

. White

had planned to produce

the

Verville

Sport AT

for the Civilian Pilot Train

ing

Program (CPTP) as the

PT-7

(this

The safety

of

modem

Mil- Spec avia tion wire

With that classic

braided and lacquered

look.

PO

ox

51( 107 Woodville Rd.)

Wood River Jet. , RI 02894

(40 1) 364-3839 fax (401 )364

-3

830

www.n

rr g nsenr

epr

od

uctions.

o

m

Iiil.

nately, the fate of the S-125 remains

something of a mystery. In April

of

1938 Flying ces magazine published

photographs and

possibly

a

set of

model plans for the aircraft (which

may still be available through the

Academy

of

Model

Aeronautics.

NASM Laser Videodisc

IB

Frame

http://www.acomweldl/http://www.acomweldl/http:///reader/full/www.narragansenreproductions.comhttp:///reader/full/www.narragansenreproductions.comhttp:///reader/full/www.narragansenreproductions.comhttp:///reader/full/www.narragansenreproductions.comhttp:///reader/full/www.narragansenreproductions.comhttp:///reader/full/www.narragansenreproductions.comhttp:///reader/full/www.narragansenreproductions.comhttp:///reader/full/www.narragansenreproductions.comhttp:///reader/full/www.narragansenreproductions.comhttp:///reader/full/www.narragansenreproductions.comhttp:///reader/full/www.narragansenreproductions.comhttp:///reader/full/www.narragansenreproductions.comhttp:///reader/full/www.narragansenreproductions.comhttp:///reader/full/www.narragansenreproductions.comhttp:///reader/full/www.narragansenreproductions.comhttp:///reader/full/www.narragansenreproductions.comhttp:///reader/full/www.narragansenreproductions.comhttp://www.acomweldl/http:///reader/full/www.narragansenreproductions.com


36/44

First Funk

glimpse of the first powered a

r

vintage airplane - may 2008

Documents