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DickCavin
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Dennis Parks
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DECEMBER 1988. Vol. No. 12
Copyright by the EAA Antiquel Classic Division,Inc. All rights reserved.
Contents
4 LetterstotheEditor
5 WelcomeNewMembers
6 Members'Projects/byNormPetersen
Page12
8 TimeCapsule/byDennisParks
10 VintageLiterature/byDennisParks
11 VintageSeaplanes/byNormPetersen
12 AnAirplaneNamedDavis/byMarkPhelps
19 Fun-FlyingFoursome/byNormPetersen
Page19
23 BeaverRetriever/byRonFerrara
25 PassItToBuck/byE.E."Buck"Hilbert
27 VintageTrader
31 MysteryPlane/byGeorgeHardie,Jr.
FRONT COVER ... Gene Chase (rear cockpit) flies his rare Davis
D-l-W late in the afternoon on a crisp, fall day in Oshkosh. Chuck
Larsen,EAAdirectorofeducationisinthefrontcockpit. (SeePage12.)
(Photo by Carl Schuppel)
REARCOVER...Xen MotsingeratthecontrolsoftheEAAOshkosh
'88 Classic, Class I Champion Award-winning Aeronca 7AC. (See
Page 19.) (Photo by Carl Schuppel)
ThewordsEAA, ULTRALIGHT,FLYWITHTHEFIRSTTEAM,SPORTAVIATION,andthelogosofEXPERIMENTAL
AIRCRAFTASSOCIATION INC., EAAINTERNATIONALCONVENTION,EAAANTIQUE/CLASSIC DIVISION INC.,
INTERNATIONALAEROBATIC CLUB INC.,WARBIRDS OFAMERICA INC., are registered trademarks. THE EAA
SKY SHOPPE and logos of the EAA AVIATION FOUNDATION INC. and EAA ULTRALIGHT CONVENTION are
trademarks of the above associations and their use by any person other than the above associations is strictly
prohibited.
Editorial Policy: Readers are encouraged to submit stories and photographs. Policy opinions expressed in articles
are solely those of the authors. Responsibility for accuracy in reporting rests entirely with the contributor. Material
shouldbesentto:Editor,TheVINTAGEAIRPLANE,WittmanAirfield,3000PobereznyRd., Oshkosh,WI54903-3086.
Phone: 414/426-4800.
The VINTAGE AIRPLANE (ISSN 0091-6943) is published and owned exclusively by EAAAntique/Classic Division,
Inc.,ofthe Experimental AircraftAssociation, Inc.andispublishedmonthlyatWittmanAirfield,3000PobereznyRd.,
Oshkosh,WI 54903-3086.SecondClassPostagepaidatOshkosh,WI 54901 andadditionalmailingoffices.Member-
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VINTAGE AIRPLANE 3
Letters TO The Editor <mi
More on the Marchetti
Dear editor,
As a follow-up to Norm Petersen's
article on Buzz Kaplan's Savoia-Mar-
chetti S.56 (August), here is a photo
ofthe same plane that I took in 1949,
and a little history. I don' t know who
actually owned it at the time, but the
resident of the British Overseas Air-
ways Corporation (BOAC) at the Boe-
ing plant in Seattle got to fly it as his
own in return for keeping it airworthy.
His name escapes me now, but he in
the S.56 and I in my Luscombe 8E
werefrequently togetheratSeattlearea
seaplane gatherings in 1949 and '50.
After the BOAC man left, the S.56
was parked on Renton Airportsouthof
Seattle, where it soon deteriorated to a
basketcase. In the mid-1950s aformer
Seattle resident and glider-builder,
Volmer Jensen heard about it. Since
one of his hobbies is skin-diving, he
was looking for a suitable amphibious
airplane in which to fly to his diving
sites. He ended up buying the Mar-
chetti without having seen it.
A long-time Seattle friend of Vol-
mer' s, Prater Hogue and I packed the
pieces in the crate that my Schweizer
1-26gliderkithadcomein.WhenVol-
mer got it he quickly decided that re-
storation of the S.56 would be more
work than his use for it justified. It
would be easierand quicker to build a
new plane from scratch, as was done
with the soon-to-become-famous VJ-
22 "Sportsman" amphibian that used
wings and tailfeathers from anexisting
Aeronca. Some of the S.56 fuselage/
hull structure influenced the hull de-
sign ofthe VJ-22.
Now please take a good look at the
accompanying photo, which Iselected
carefully from the several different
views that IhaveofNC194M. Itcould
be from perspective, or the camera
angle, but it surelooksto meas though
the right aileron is longerthan the left.
Although American-built, this is an
Italian design ofthe mid-1920s, and it
is known that some Italian designs of
World War I and later had assymetric
wings, supposedly for trim correction
at operating speed without need for
manual trim or control surface dis-
placement.
Doesanyoneknow whetherthiswas
the case with the S.56? The drawings
that I have in old Aircraft Yearbooks,
etc.are too small to permitscalingone
aileron against the other. Perhaps
someonecan contact Buzz Kaplan and
ask ifNC194M actually hasassymetri-
cal ailerons...
Peter M. Bowers
Seattle, Washington
Norm replies:
Dear Peter,
What a genuine pleasure to hear
from you , a true seaplane pilot whom
I have admired for years . Could the
Luscombe 8E on 1400 Edo floats on
page 323 of Juptner' s Vol. 7 be your
airplane? It looks so familiar .
A phone call to Buzz Kaplan's
hangar found both him and Gary Un-
derland up north hunting geese . How-
ever, his handyman Harold "Steve"
Stavenau took time to count ribs! He
reported 10 ribs in each aileron and
six ribs from center line to the aileron
bay on each wing of the S.56. After
looking the wing over carefully, it is
his opinion that both ailerons are the
same length .
And to complete my day, I called
79-year-old Volmer Jensen . He totally
confirmed your letter and added some
additional information. Volmer paid
$150 for the S.56 in 1955 and you and
Prater Hogue packed the pieces in a
crate and shipped them south. Al-
though the airplane was too difficult to
restore, Volmer used many of the S.56
design qualities in his VJ-22
Sportsman . He gave the remains,
minus engine, to a friend and sold the
100-hp Kinner and ground-adjustable
metal prop for $50! (As Buzz would
say, "Ouch!")
It was also a surprise to learn that
Volmer had worked on NCI94M in
1930 in Seattle, rebuilding parts of the
wooden empennage and fixing the
landing gear. He reports that the orig-
inal VJ-22 amphibian is still in great
shape and flying well after 29 years.
Volmer flies it out ofWhiteman Airpark
on a regular basis.
Peter, my fondest hope would be
that you and I would live to be a vi-
brant 79 like Volmer Jensen . His en-
thusiasm for aviation and super keen
mind are an inspiration to us "young-
sters. "
Kindest regards ,
Norm Petersen
Modest author
Dear Mr. Phelps,
It was a surprise to see my Airline
Scene, Then and Now (September) in
THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE. When I
wrote it, it was my idea ofonly pre-
serving orrestoring experiences in my
life. I realize that it was not exactly
what is normally found in THE VIN-
TAGE AIRPLANE. Perhaps a few old
airline pilots suchas Randy Newhouse
here in Tucson may have enjoyed it.
Randy isrestoringan AeroncaC-3and
already has a Fleet and a Bonanza. I
amgoingtotry togethimtotakesome
pictures and do a short piece on that.
Ialmostforgot to tell you how much
appreciate THE VINTAGE
AIRPLANE. I see many old friends in
it. Several years ago when selling tur-
boprop aircraft, Idemoed one for Mr.
Kaplan of Owatonna Tool Co. The
storyofhisEuropeantourin hisSavoia
MarchettiS.56(August)wasoneIread
twice.
Thank you again for using my arti-
cle. PleasegivemybesttoMaryJones.
Sincerely,
Dick Stevens (EAA 258513, A/C
85705)
Tucson, Arizona.
(Continued on Page 26)
4 DECEMBER 1988
WELCOME NEWMEMBERS
The following is a partial listing of new members who have joined the EAA Antique/Classic Division (through September 18,
1988). We are honored to welcome them into the organization whose members' common interest is vintage aircraft. Succeeding
issues of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE will contain additional listings of new members.
HumphreyJr.,Edward R. Masters, BillE.
Columbia,Maryland Rochester,New York
Hutson,RobertW. Matson,GeraldR.
Northbrook,Illinois Sterling,Virginia
Hyman,JerryA. MaHhews, Alan R.
Mesa,Arizona Des Moines,Iowa
Jones,Charles M. Maxwell, William C.
Enterprise,Alabama Cardiff, NewJersey
Jones,J.M. Maynard, Harry
Madison, Georgia Cashiers,North Carolina
Judy,Ronald W. McCaw, BruceR.
Gate,Oklahoma Bellevue,Washington
Killingbeck, Marvin D. McClelland, William F.
Duncanville,Texas AlexanderCity,Alabama
Kilponen,JeffreyG. McCrea, Ross
Dallas,Texas Bennington,Nebraska
Lambert, KennethC. McDermoH, H.C.
Escanaba,Michigan Boca Raton,Florida
Lane, RobertS. Merry,W. Neal
Santa Maria,California Duxbury,Massachusetts
Lapp, Ken Metzger, R.B.
Calgary,Alberta,Canada New York,New York
Larsen,Joseph Miller,Gary
Stroudsburg,Pennsylvania Carlisle,Iowa
Larsen,Paul E. Miller, JamesF.
Spring Hill ,Florida Boaz,Alabama
Lau, DavidC. Mojord, BjornOlav
Oconomowoc,Wisconsin Asker,Norway
Laub,JohnW. Monroe, Daryl
Madison,Wisconsin Fruita,Colorado
Laughter, Dan J. Montedonico,RobertA.
Madlothian,Virginia NewBern, North Carlina
Layne, James Moquin,ThomasA.
Glasgow,Kentucky Florence,Kentucky
Leonhardt,Jack Morris,DanielA.
Sheboygan,Wisconsin Greenwood,Indiana
Lightle,CharlesF. Murray,Raymond
Anderson, Indiana East Aurora,NewYork
MacFarlane,James Norman,JaneS.
McAlpin,Florida Chippenham,England
Maher, David Norton, Richard
Billerica, Massachusetts Clinton,Ohio
Manser, EdwinH. Osborne,J.L.
SI. Gall,Switzerland OroGrande, California
Marbach,earlB. Parker, G. Rodney
Ambler,Pennsylvania Fayetteville, Georgia
Peters, Maxwell L.
Donvale, Australia
Pltoniak,Michael
East Hampton,Massachusetts
Posey, DavidL.
Woodstock,Georgia
Prancan, ArthurV.
Newark,Illinois
Prossor, DavidL.
Keysborough,Australia
Rezln, David
Warrens,Wisconsin
Richardson,RobertA.
Bethesda,Maryland
Riggs, Donald L.
Asbury,New Jersey
Rosenberger, AnthonyT.
Ambridge, Pennsylvania
Rudeen, Rik
Bird Island, Minnesota
Russell,JohnW.
Phoenixville, Pennsylvania
Sauer, DavidR.
Evansville,Indiana
Sawdon, EdwinG.
Marysville,Michigan
Sentell, Michael
Maryville,Tennessee
Serviss,Cheryl
Arroyo Grande, California
Shearer,ScoHS.
Lebanon,Oregon
ShuHer, David R.
Wokingham,England
Sizemore,LeslieE.
Waldron,Michigan
Skingley, RobertH.
Westland, Michigan
Smith,LeonardC.
EI Toro,California
Smith,LloydEdward
Salisbury,Maryland
Smith, Michael
Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Snook,George000
Syracuse, Indiana
Speaker,TerranceJ.
Janesville,Wisconsin
Sponseller, RobertD.
Shelby,Ohio
StikeleatherJr., LeeK.
Arlington,Virginia
Stone, CharlesA.
Danbury,Connecticut
Talley, Don C.
Longview, Texas
Tauferner, C.W.
San Jose, California
Thomas, C.S.
Social Circle, Georgia
VaneHen, RobertL.
Ravena,NewYork
Wall, RandallJ.
Ava,Illinois
Warner, Nicholas
Pittstown, NewJersey
WellerJr.,Russell
Placerville,California
Weppner, RichardT.
Boulder,Colorado
Whitesell,Paul
Plano, Texas
Wilde, Harry
Colac,Australia
WilliamsJr.,W.O.
Bryan,Ohio
Wilson,WilliamL.
Oak Grove, Missouri
Wolverton,Adrian
Jackson, Wyoming
Woodrow,JohnK.
Springfield,Ohio
WrightJr.,JohnA.
Springfield, Illinois
Yearout, Michael
Breckenridge, Colorado
Zikoski,MichaelO.
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Zimmer,Dennis
Madison, Minnesota
Zimmerman,L. John
Wichita,Kansas

Markovich,BruceM. Payne, KermitT. Sohn,Randall L.

Canoga Park,California Rock Hill, South Carolina Edina, Minnesota
Massell,Michael Pesch, NormJ. Sowell,PatriciaB.
CedarRapids,Iowa Miami,Florida Statesboro, Georgia
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 5
MEMBER'SPROJECTS...
byNorm Petersen
BeautifullyrestoredCallAirA-3,NC2903V,SIN119,wasdisplayedatthe1988CopperstateFly-In.RestoredbyRonCook(EAA220562,
AlC 8163) ofGoodyear, AZ, therare (oneofnineon theFAA Register) model A-3 was builtin Afton,Wyomingin1948and powered
witha125Continentalengine.RoninstalledaContinentalC-145engine,coveredthewingswithStitsandthefuselagewithRazorback
and finished theaircraftinaspectacularburgundyand silverpaintscheme.
Designed for high altitude work in the mountains, theCall Air A-3 has sprightly performanceat 1550 pounds grossand can carry
two(orthree) peopleplusaload ofbaggageand 30 gallonsoffuel. Normal takeoffroll isabout250 feet!
ThisphotoandinformationwassentinbyGusGustovich(EAA263995)ofRoute2, Box402-E, CasaGrande,AZ85222,abrandnew
studentpilot!Ourcomplimentsand bestwishes goouttoboth Ron Cookand GusGustovich.
Thismodified1950deHaviliand DHC-1 "Chipmunk,"N101JF, SINCHH35, isowned and flown byDr. JonathanFox(EAA304083) of
Miami, FL and hisbrother, Jeffrey, ofCoral Gables, FL. Used fortowingan ASW20C glider, the Chipmunkhasan enlarged rudder
and whatappearstobe a180hpLycomingconversion completewithaconstantspeed propeller.
6 DECEMBER 1988
Another restoration from the duster ranks is this 1943 Stearman
PT-17, N5057V, SIN 75-5598, powered with a R-985 Pratt & Whit-
ney of 450hp. The owner-builder is Enrique Vargas (EAA
304106) of Upland, CA.
The aircraft started out as a crop duster in California and ended
up in Alabama where Enrique purchased it in 1981.
Features include a fuel injection system, complete inverted sys-
tems, 12-gallon oil tank, four ailerons with spades and a smoke
system with 25 gallons of smoke oil! Built up for airshow work,
the Stearman features extra landing wires for outside maneuv-
ers and beefed up wires on the tail.
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 7
by Dennis Parks The Time Capsule
CURTISS GULFHAWK I
The Gulfhawks that Frank Williams
used for the Gulf Oil Corporation flight
demonstration are normally associated
with the Grumman F3F, SF-2 or F8F that
he used from 1936 to 1951 but he first
used a Curtiss.
Purchased from Curtiss in 1930 as a
Hawk lA, this was the plane that started
Navy Lt. AI Williams on his civil career as
manager of Gulf' s aviation department.
Built by Curtiss as a long-range demon-
strator, the plane first came powered with
a Conqueror engine and was registered
as NR636E.
The photo represents the plane as pur-
chased from Curtiss by Williams with a
Wright Cyclone engine, and registered as
NR982V. In August 1931 Williams
changed the powerplant to a 575 hp Bliss
Jupiter. Originally faired with wood string-
ers and covered with fabric, after a crash
the plane was skinned with metal and had
a 710 hp R-1820F-3 Cyclone engine. This
engine was transferred for use to his new
Grumman Gulfhawk II in 1936. The Gulf-
hawk I was placed in a trade school where
it remained 'till purchased in 1958 by
Frank Tallman who restored it with a 600
hp Pratt & Whitney Wasp.
The plane is now part of the National
Air & Space Museum collection.
:,.
TRAVEL AIR 6000
Produced from 1928 to 1930 the Travel
Air 6000 was typical of the large single-
engine cabin monoplanes of the period.
Introduced as the " Limousine of the Air, "
the type saw much use as airliners and
corporate planes. It was a very capable
machine, able to carry a payload of 965
pounds at 102 mph.
An outgrowth of the 5000 series which
included the famous " Woolaroc," winner
of the Dole race to Hawaii, the 6000 in-
creased seating from five to six and had
amenities such as an insulated, heated
cabin. The most popular of the series was
the B-6000 which used a 300 hp Wright
J-6-9 in place of the original J-5. More
than 80 of the 6000 series were built from
1928 to 1929 when Travel Air was ac-
quired by the Curtiss-Wright Corp.
A 12 page illustrated catalog of the over 1,000 negatives in the Radtke Collection is now available from the EAA Foundation Archives for
$3.00 postpaid. Write: EAA Aviation Foundation Library, Wittman Airfield, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3065 or call 1:800-843-3612.
8 DECEMBER 1988
HOWARD DGA-7
The Howard DGA cabin monoplanes
were based on the DGA-6 racer " Mr. Mul-
ligan" which won the Bendix Trophy
cross-country race as part of the 1935 Na-
tional Air Races. The racer was very un-
usual at the time as it was a high-wing
strut-braced cabin monoplane, with side-
by-side seating and dual controls. Up
front was a big Pratt & Whitney modified
to produce 830 hp.
Designed by Ben Howard and Gordon
Israel the racer was to be the basis for
commercial applications. These later
planes were the four- and five-place DGA
(Damned Good Airplanes) cabins of the
late 1930s and early 1940s. The plane pic-
tured is the 1936 DGA-7, prototype of the
DGA-8 series and known as " Mr. Flani-
gan". Looking very much like the " Mr.
Mulligan" it was patterned after, the four-
place ship was powered by a 420 hp
Wright Whirlwind. The production DGA-
8s were powered by the popular 320 hp
Wright R-760E Whirlwinds and produced
a cruise of 185 mph. Some 70 aircraft in
the DGA cabin series were produced from
1937 to 1942 when the US Navy took over
the production output.
~ ~
BOEING F4B-4
The classic naval biplane of the 1930s
was the Boeing F4B series. First intro-
duced in 1928, the design was basically
a refinement of earlier Boeing fighters but
had some new structural features. For
example, the fuselage was constructed of
riveted and bolted square section
aluminum tubing instead of welded steel
tubing.
The F4B-4 was the major production
version of the series with 92 being built.
By the time of its production the forward
fuselage structure had been changed to
a metal-skin steel tube structure and aft
a stressed-skin aluminum monocoque
deSign. A turtledeck rear fuselage fairing
had also been added. Delivery began in
July 1932 and last received in July 1932.
They served at sea till 1938, when they
were assigned to shore duty.
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 9
by Uennis Val"ks
Trends in Airplane Design - 1939
In 1931 the Aeronautics Branch of
the Department of Commerce pub-
lished a study of aircraft design trends
as evidenced by the type approvals is-
sued during 1928 , 1929 and 1930. This
was published as Aeronautics Bulletin
No . 21 "Trend in Airplane Design."
The October 1987 "Vintage Litera-
ture" series examined those trends and
the November 1987 issue compared
those trends with the new aircraft ap-
proved in 1931.
Skipping to the end of the decade
we will examine the aircraft issued
type certificates in 1939 and see if
there were any discernible trends .
The first trend as compared to the
earlier studies was the great decrease
in numbers certified. There were only
13 type certificates issued during the
year, one was for an autogiro and two
for multi-engine aircraft. The rest were
single-engine monoplanes (10) or bi-
planes (2) .
Configuration
At the end of the first decade of type
approvals , a major trend in design was
to an enclosed monoplane. At the end
of 1930 there was an almost even split
between monoplanes and biplanes.
The ratio of monoplanes to biplanes
for 1931 was 69 percent to 32 percent.
For 1939 only two biplanes were is-
sued appprovals-the Beech
Staggerwing and the Waco ARE.
Through the first four years of ap-
provals no one type dominated the
other in the ratio of open vs. closed
aircraft. During 1931 there was a slight
trend toward open aircraft with 57 per-
cent of the aircraft being of open con-
.1
.'
I
Til E FAIRCHILD. 14
figuration . In 1939 except for the Kel-
let autogiro, there were no open-
cockpit aircraft approved .
The high-wing design was favored
over the low-wing with seven of the
monoplane designs being high-wing
and three low-wing. The predominant
power package favored was the single-
engine tractor. The multi-engine air-
craft were the Boeing 314 Clipper and
the Model 18 Twin Beech . These
planes had engines buried in the lead-
ing edges of the wing, a trend first cer-
tified in 1933 with the twin-engine
Boeing 247 .
Speed
Top speeds continued to increase
with the 1939 designs having an aver-
age of 148 mph . The average top speed
in 1930 was 126 mph going down to
122 mph in 1931 (probably due to the
large number of lightplanes certified
that year) . The top high-speed rating
for an aircraft in 1939 was 240 mph
for the Twin Beech. The bottom high-
speed rating was 96 mph for the Piper
14B Cub Coupe.
The Twin Beech also had the widest
range between landing speed and top
speed during the year-182 mph-up
almost 40 mph from the 146 mph range
of the Lockheed Orion in 1931. The
average speed range for 1939 was 98
mph with the lowest range 60 mph for
the Piper 14B.
Power Loading
The average weight supported by
each unit of horsepower decreased dur-
ing the period 1927-1930 from a high
of nearly 19 lbs/hp to a low in 1930 of
below 15lbs/hp. There was an increase
in power loading during 1931 with an
average of 15.7 lbs/hp. By 1939 this
had continued to increase with an aver-
age of 16.6 lbs/hp. The highest power
loading for 1939 was 21.43 lbs/hp for
the 75-hp Funk Model B. This was far
below the record set by the Cycloplane
in 1931 which carried an astonishing
30 lbs/hp. The lowest in 1939 was the
nine lbs/hp of the Twin Beech.
Wing Loading
For 1939 the average wing loading
was 15 Ibs/sq ft up from the II lbs/sq
ft of 1931. Both were below the over
19 lbs/sq ft obtained during 1930. The
highest wing loading for the year was
28.78 lbs/sq ft for the Boeing Clipper,
which also carried the greatest payload
of 33,955 pounds. The lowest was
6.83 Ibs/sq ft for the Piper Cub Coupe .
Payload
During 1939 the average payload
per horsepower increased from the
5.72 lbs/hp average of 1931 to 6.59
lbs/hp. In 1930 the rating was as low
as 2.5 lbs/hp.
By this measure of efficiency the
least efficient new aircraft design for
1939 was the Twin Beech with a rating
of 3.06 pounds of payload per horse-
power not much above the low of 1931
which was the 2.87 lbs/hp for the
Stearman Cloudboy. By the same
token the most efficient aircraft was
the 75-hp Stinson 105 carrying 8.76
Ibs/hp.
A Decade Plus Of Aircraft Design
From 1927 to 1939 over 700 aircraft
received type approvals. The trend
went from open cockpit biplanes to en-
closed monoplanes; horsepower rat-
ings ranged from 30 hp to over 1,200;
Power loadings increased from the 2 +
lbs/hp for the Liberty powered
mailplanes to the 8 + Ibs/hp for the
Pipers and Stinsons of the late 1930' s.
The end of the decade saw a trend
from rag and tube construction to all
metal for commercial aircraft. A trend
that would be adopted by lightplanes
after World War II .
.1
~
t--= l _I ' )
v _ 0 I
THE PIPER CUB COUPE
10 DECEMBER 1988
VINTAGE SEAPLANES
by Norm Petersen
Back in 1926, the Hamilton Manufacturing Co. of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, was a noted manufacturer of wooden propellers and all-
aluminum pontoons. From this base, it advanced to the building of airplanes in 1927. The first Hamilton airplane was an all-metal
shoulder-wing monoplane powered by the Wright J-5 Whirlwind engine. Designed by James S. McDonnell, later founder of McDonnell
Aircraft Co. (which beg at McDonnell-Douglas Aircraft Co.), the first model was intended to be a combined passenger and mail plane.
Pictured here with a set of Hamilton metal floats installed, the aircraft was unique in that the lengthwise ribs in the skin were not
straight, but followed the curve of the fuselage. In addition, the passengers looked out through plexiglass panels built into the lower
side of the wing roots! Only this one example was built, the next model was the H-45, which used a high wing and was used extensively
by small airlines before being relegated to Alaskan " bush" flying.
1927 Fairchild FC-2 mounted on Hamilton metal floats and powered with a Wright J-5 Whirlwind. Picture was taken in Canada where
registration was listed under the Great Britain lettering system, prior to the " CF" Canadian system.
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 11
AN AIRPLANE NAMED DAVIS
Gene Chase flies arare, little-known gem from
Richmond, Indiana.
EarlY in 1983, fonner editor of THE
VINTAGE AIRPLANE, Gene Chase
and his wife, Dorothy were having din-
ner in a Chinese restaurant. When
Gene opened his fortune cookie at the
end of the meal, the message read,
"YOU WILL HAVE AN UNEX-
PECTED TREASURE." A few days
later, Gene found that Dale Crites's
Davis D-I-W, an airplane he had
wanted for some time,was up for sale.
Two knowledgable buyers had rejected
the coveted airplane because they were
simply too large to fit in the small
cockpit. Since Gene is short in stature
and long on enthusiasm, the airplane
now sits in his hangar alongside his
other treasured possession, an E-2
12 DECEMBER 1988
by Mark Phelps
Taylor Cub. Gene still keeps the slip
of paper from the cookie to remind him
of the good fortune he enjoyed when
he got his Davis.
A fonner Naval aviator, Gene has
flown more than his share of exotic
airplanes , from 8-17s to Corsairs to
Cubs . His logbook reads like a
"What's what" of aviation history.
Why were you so keen to own a Davis,
Gene?
He answers, "I was transferred to
Tulsa from Salt Lake City when I was
flying for Amoco, the production com-
pany for Standard Oil of Indiana. That
was about 1958. I started flying in my
spare time at the local airport-Harvey
Young. Encel Kleier was restoring a
Davis that had been involved in a fatal
crash at Brown Airport in Tulsa. It had
been damaged pretty heavily and he
didn't even know what shape the fuse-
lage should be. I had some pictures
from my files so I made copies for him.
He got it restored and asked me to give
him some dual in it because I was short
so I could fit in the cockpit! He also
knew that I flew old airplanes. Well, I
fell in love with that Davis. It was a
very early serial number converted to
a Warner 145 just like mine . Clyde
Bourgeois now owns that airplane,
NC848H . At that time I never dreamed
that I'd have the opportunity to own
one."
Gene can't be real specific when you
ask him to tell you exactly what it is
that's so good about a Davis. The best
way to find out is to go fly it. Gene is
eager to give that opportunity to as
many pilots as possible. Since his first
20-minute solo flight in NC 13546 in
April 1983 , the Davis has only flown
three times with an empty front seat.
Pilots who have filled that seat and
sampled the controls all agree, the
Davis is a sweetheart.
Like the hi stories of many pre-De-
pression aircraft types , the Davis story
reads like a classic three-act play. Act
one: (The middle I920s)-Gifted de-
signers create a prototype flying
machine with outstanding performance
and flying qualities . Act two: (The late
1920s through the early 1930s)-An
intrepid financier tempted by
Lindberghian excitement, risks a bun-
dle on producing the airplane. The fac-
tory opens and the designers exit to
create a new design elsewhere. The
company changes hands and turns out
a handful of airplanes before the Great
Depression rings down the curtain. Act
three: (Modern era)-A few remaining
examples of the type that survived in
barns and hangars are restored and fly
on, living testimony to the genius of
the original designer and the pioneer
era of aviation.
The Davis line of aircraft started
with the Doyle brothers, Wilson and
Harvey. After graduating in 1925 from
Harvard and Yale respectively , the two
loaded their Ace motorcycles and left
home in Charlotte , North Carolina for
Detroit, center of the burgeoning
airplane business. If you wanted a job
in the aviation field, Detroit was the
place to be . Among their ideas that
would surely set the world on its ear,
was a system of electric lights arranged
on the belly of an airplane to spell out
messages at night.
No one picked up on that idea, so
Harvey went to work in Grosse lie,
Michigan for the Aircraft Development
Corporation. Hi s less-than-romantic
role was drawing frames for the gon-
dola of the ZMC-2 airship. Wilson be-
came a shopworker on the Hess
brothers' " Bluebird," a three-place,
open-cockpit biplane built in Wyan-
dotte, Michigan. The Doyle brothers
spent their evenings, however, at a
drafting table made from a breadboard,
and worked on their idea of a
sportplane. Experience in the midst of
the industry gave them confidence that
they could indeed build a better
machine than those currently available.
When his paychecks started arriving
intermittently at Hess Aircraft, Wilson
quit that company, bought a Model T
Ford and started scouting the Midwest
for financial backing. Meanwhile,
Harvey ran into a fellow Yale alumnus,
Jan Pavlecka, a Czeck draftsman
working on the mudguards of Ford
trimotors . Pavlecka was also tired of
playing a bit part and agreed to join the
Doyles. Wilson and his Ford made it
as far as Portsmouth, Ohio where he
met William Burke, president of the
Vulcan Last Company, a manufacturer
of shoe lasts and golf clubs . Burke was
willing to take a chance on the three
young designers . Harvey later wrote,
"Mr. Burke told us that our greatest
asset was our ignorance, as we could
not realize that our objectives were
well beyond our abilities and experi-
ence." Since there were no computer
spread sheets in those days to prove
the obvious, Burke took the plunge.
The Vulcan Aircraft Division of the
Vulcan Last Company rented a second-
floor room to complete the drawings
of its first product. Wilson went back
to Wyandotte to pirate some shopwor-
kers from Hess and the group returned
to a former streetcar barn in the middle
of Portsmouth to build the airplane.
The shopworkers included Bob Pad-
dock, a former welder from Cadillac's
body shop, Delos Cassidy, Tom
McCorkle, Chuck Bell, a painter and
"Irish", a janitor. The engine of choice
for the airplane was the 60-hp Detroit
Air-Cat, built by Eddie Rickenbacker' s
company and famous for shedding
parts in flight. In the winter of 1927,
the crew worked in an unventilated
Carl E. Schultz, EAA NumberTwo, owned NC13546 during World War II. He installed thebrakes.
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 13
shop with highly volatile dope fumes
and two bi g potbellied stoves . For
some reason, the whole operation did
not go up in a puff of smoke, although
Harvey wrote that ,"we and our work-
ers were half intoxicated," from the
fumes.
After the airplane was assembled
and rigged, the crew towed it through
the town of Portsmouth to Rock Haven
Airport at midnight, to avoid poten-
tially embarassing public scrutiny. The
following morning, airport operator
Pat Love made ground runs in lightly
falling snow with Harvey in the front
seat. After the weather cleared , Love
made the first test flight s. Much to
William Burke's surprise, the airplane
flew beautifully (after a slight nose-
heaviness was corrected in rigging)
and that same basic airframe was used
on all subsequent Vulcan and Davis
models, including Gene's Davis D-J-W.
Burke named the original airplane the
American Moth to try to cash in on the
popularity of the British deHavilland
Moth series.
The fuselage was built up from steel
tube ranging in diameter from one-
half-i nch to one-inch. The firewall
consisted of a sheet-steel oil tank
welded in a "Y" shape with three en-
gine-mount Ibngerons attached to each
arm of the "Y." Five longerons at-
tached to the landing gear fittings and
wing strut-ends. The boot and upper
cowls , as well as the turtledeck, were
sheet aluminum. Aluminum wing ribs
were screwed to spruce spars. The ribs
were all different on the variable-air-
foil wing and had outward-facing
flanges on each lightening hole that
were shaped with an old book press.
The airfoil tapered to a Clark Y at the
roots and tips but transformed to a
Goettingen 387 at its widest points.
It was the combination of airfoi ls
and the configuration of the control
system that gave the Moth and Davises
their delightful handling characteris-
tics . All the controls except the rudder
were actuated by torque tubes with
ball-bearing joints. The resulting hand-
ling was finger-tip light and smooth as
a summer-evening sky. For anyone
used to arm-wrestling the heavy bip-
lanes of the era, the Davis was a much
more obedient airplane, seemingly re-
sponding to the pilot's thoughts before
the controls were consciously moved.
The efficiency of the parasol config-
uration and the taper of the wing made
the airplane fast as well as smooth.
William Burke was quick to realize
that his gamble had produced a winner.
In the true spirit of the Roaring '20s,
the American Moth was dispatched on
a goodwill tour to Florida in the com-
pany of two Waco support ships and
Benny Martinez, a parachutist. Mar-
tinez would jump from the Moth and
land in a field close to each town along
the way, carrying a set of Vulcan golf
clubs under his arm! Fore! The public-
ity tour worked well unti l Martinez
broke his leg one gusty day. Neverthe-
less , the group arrived back in
Portsmouth amid much fanfare and ap-
preciation. The Doyles and Jan Pav-
lecka, however, felt excluded from the
festivities and when Pat Love was ap-
pointed shop manager, Pavlecka went
to work for the Hudson motor car com-
pany and the brothers moved to Balti-
more where they formed the Doyle
Aircraft Company. They designed the
Doyle "Oriole," a similar aircraft to the
American Moth but wi th a simpler
wing that was easier to produce. As
many as 14 Orioles were built before
the Depression and a fire forced the
company into bankruptcy. Harvey
Doyle remained in the aviation indus-
try and subsequently worked on a
Mach 3 all-weather interceptor-a
long way to come for the original de-
Every antiquer's dream - a sun-dappled fuselage hidden in a barn. NC13546 about 1960 in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan.
14 DECEMBER 1988
signer of a sleek , open-cockpit parasol.
He died last year in Charlottesville,
North Carolina the hometown he left
on his motorcycle in 1925 to start his
aviation career.
Back at Vulcan , in September 1l)2X
the Air-Cat engine gave way to a
Warner and an American Moth (now
known as the Vulcan V-3) , finished
second in the National Air Races , "A"
Division New York to Los Angeles
Derby. It later finished first in the Los
Angeles to Cincinnati event with an av-
erage speed of 90.3 mph. Unfortu-
nately, William Burke died about thi s
time leaving Vulcan in poor financial
condition. That was when Walter C.
Davis came onstage.
Davis was born in 1893. His father
was a successful builder of quality au-
tomobiles before the days of assembly
lines. The Davis Automobile Company
was located in Richmond, Indi ana
where young Walter grew up. As an
18-year-old, he experimented with a
glider towed by a motorcycle--ending
up in a ditch with a broken glider. Dur-
ing World War [ , the University of
Pennsylvania graduate was trained as
an Army pilot at Wilbur Wright Field,
now Wright-Patterson AFB in Dayton,
Ohio . After shipping out to France in
191 8, hi s skill as an instructor kept him
stymied in that role, unable to wangle
a combat assignment. One of his stu-
dents was Carl Spaatz. Davis finished
the war as a captain and commanding
officer of Fields 3 and 5 of the Third
A viation Instruction Center at Is-
soudon, France.
After nine years working in the fam-
i[y automobile business, Davis was
free to re-enter aviation when the Davis
Automobile Company was sold to the
Automotive Corporation of America in
1928. Walter acquired the production
rights to the Vulcan V -3 late that year
and began work on the first
"Davis"model s in March 1929. Davis
hired Pat Love , the airplane's first test
pilot and Dwight Huntington, an en-
gineer to come with him to Ri chmond
where he opened hi s factory in the old
Richmond Piston Ring Company
building. The airframe was slightly re-
designed by Huntington, including the
gentle curving of the vertical stabi lizer
leading edge.
Vulcan had only turned out a few
production V -3s . Under the director-
ship of Davis, a dealer network began
to take shape with branches in Califor-
nia, Dayton, Boston, Seattle, Salt
Lake City and Pittsburgh. Throughout
3 and Vern Roberts ' s Monocoupe. The
prospects for the future looked
brightest just before the stock market
crash. In only a short time, the airplane
had established itself as a comer.
The Depression, however, was the
noose around the necks of many fledgl-
ing aircraft companies and Davis was
not an exception. [n addition to the
economic disaster , Davis suffered the
loss of Pat Love in the crash of the
prototype Alexander " Bullet:' an early
four-place ship designed by Al
Mooney. The Bullet reportedly had
poor spin characteristics. Love was kil-
led when it fai led to recover from a flat
spin during a test flight.
In December 1929, Davis began
work on re-engining the V-3 airframe
and received two new type certificates.
The Model 0-1 had a 65-hp LeBlond
engine and the D-I-K was powered by
a Kinner K5 of 100 hp. Sales were not
brisk, however and in January 1930 he
began an aggressive direct sales cam-
paign to bring the airplane to the
buyers . Davis also believed in trade
shows and, in February bought display
space at the Second International Aer-
onautical Exposition in Saint Louis
and , in April , at the All-American Air-
craft Show in Detroit. Later that
month, the D-I-66 with an 85-hp Le-
Blond was certified, later to be known
also as the D-I-85. May's events in-
cluded Davis's participation in the
New York Aircraft Salon show, a sub-
stantial price cut and a fire that de-
stroyed hi s entire inventory of finished
aircraft, although the production
facilities were not damaged.
Like everyone else in aviation ,
1929, Davises raced successfully The wings were found uncovered and re-done in 1967. The fuselage fabric today may
against such aircraft as the Barling NB- be unchanged since 1960.
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15
This is the snapshot of NC13546 that Clancy Hess carried throughout the South Pacific during World War II. When Gene showed
him the Davis in 1986, Clancy cried.
Davis was hoping against hope that the
Depression would go away and a "nor-
mal" business climate would return.
By the end of 1931 , the price of a D-I
with a 65-hp LeBlond was down to
$2,695 from $4,185, with the Kinner
powered D-I-K available for $2,995.
Art Chester had become involved in
racing Davises in September 1930
when he bought a D-I-85 and won the
25-mile event of the National Air
Races . Throughout 1931, Davises con-
tinued to do well on the racing circuit
and poorly in sales. Chester placed
third in several events of the September
National s behind such dedicated racing
machines as the Heath Baby Bullet ,
Bob Hall' s Menasco Gee Bee, and
race-bred Monocoupes owned by Bart
Stevenson and Vern Roberts . The in-
herent efficiency of the Doyle
brothers' design coupled with the right
powerplant was tantalizingly exciting
as a racing sportplane, but the market
just wasn't there to be successful com-
mercially. By early 1932, the D-I-K
held the dubious honor of being the
lowest priced airplane with a Kinner
engine at $2,295.
It's unclear how many airplanes had
been produced by the factory to thi s
date, but best estimates indicate that
about 50 airplanes were built. The poor
fortunes of the aviation business in
early 1932 led Walter Davis to tum to
the production of lawn mowers, and it
was late 1933 before another airplane
came from the Davis factory. Appa-
rently, the few airplanes built at thi s
time were constructed from leftover
parts or airframes that had been re-
turned to the factory for one reason or
another . They were issued new serial
numbers and re-regi stered as new air-
16 DECEMBER 1988
craft. Walter Davis's personal airplane
was built that year and was the first to
include a hatch cover for the front
cockpit. It also had wheel pants and a
racing cowl. It was at this time that
NC 13546, Gene's airplane was also
built.
In fact, the exact origin of the
airplane is something of a mystery and
the confused state of affairs at the fac-
tory at the time may explain why. Ac-
cording to CAA records, Davis Air-
craft Corporation sold NCI3546 to
William Moffett on November 22,
1933 , but the data plate lists February
1934 as the date of manufacture. One
explanation may be that Moffett
bought his 85-hp LeBlond engine sepa-
rately and it may have taken a few
months to install the engine.
It was only June when records indi-
cate that Moffett transferred ownership
back to Davis aircraft and the next
owner was none other than Art Ches-
ter. Chester's racing Davis , NCI50Y
had been destroyed in a collision with
a Monocoupe during the 1932 Nation-
als with Bill Warrick at the controls.
There are no clues in the records to
indicate what Chester did with
NC 3 5 4 ~ h e owned it for only 45
days. Perhaps it was purchased as part
of his dealership agreement with Davis
and resold shortly thereafter.
Throughout its lifetime , the airplane
was based in the Midwest. It spent sev-
Pat Packard applies the Davis logo to the fuselage.
Original Consolidated panel, tachometer,
and Ford Model A fuel gauge.
eral years at Harlem Airport near
Chicago and off and on at Ashburn
Airport . There are 19 transfers of own-
ership recorded and the addresses in-
clude several from Chicago, Detroit
and the Milwaukee area as well as
some in Iowa. There may have been
other owners who never registered the
airplane and therefore never were
listed on the federal register.
Gene tells how Clancy Hess, a
former Naval aviator from World War
II, once told him that he owned the
Davis as a teenager, but lost it in 1940
when he couldn't maintain the pay-
Davis logo on fairing for 6.50-10 wheels.
ments. Hess kept a snapshot of the
Davis in his wallet and carried it
throughout his tour of duty in the South
Pacific. The photo even has an official
stamp from the Navy censors on the
back. Gene says that when he opened
his hangar here during EAA Oshkosh
, 86 to show the airplane to Clancy,
there were tears in his eyes.
Carl Schultz, EAA Number Two,
was an American Airlines mechanic in
Detroit when he bought the Davis for
$500.00 in 1944. He designed and in-
stalled the brakes. Gene says they work
very well, enabling a 1,600 rpm runup
Original locking clasp on the Davis's baggage compartment. Don't bother memorizing
the combination, it's never locked and Gene keeps only old pajamas inside for cleaning
rags.
and providing good maneuverability
on landing and during taxiing.
Moreover, the toe brake pedals are lo-
cated up under the bulkhead, invisible
from the outside of the cockpit but
handy to use by the pilot. The front
cockpit has no brake pedals, or instru-
ments either for that matter, although
it is equipped with a full set of controls
and a throttle lever. The Consolidated
panel in the rear cockpit includes the
usual oil pressure and temperature
gauges, airspeed indicator and sensi-
tive altimeter. Gene's tach is also an
original as well as the primer and back-
ward mixture control (in for lean, out
for rich) .
Paul Ollenburg then of Waukesha,
Wisconsin bought the Davis in 1958
and Bob Huggins (A&P number 7576)
converted it to the present configura-
tion with its Warner 145-hp Super
Scarab engine. Up to this time the
airplane had flown behind its 85-hp
LeBlond and was a D-I-85. After its
conversion to Warner power it was de-
signated a D-I-W, even though the
original D-I-Ws had llO-hp Warners.
The conversion of NC 13546 was not
the first done on a D-\-85. A Davis
owned by Charles Farmer in Colorado
had been similarly configured and
Huggins used the data from that con-
version in his work. At this time the
wings were also re-covered. The en-
gine came from a Fairchild 24 and now
runs with the original Sensenich pro-
peller. Dale Crites later flew the Davis
with a Curtiss Reed prop but reported
noseheaviness and vibration. He put
the Sensenich back on and Gene says
it is the best combination.
Paul Ollenburg never got to fly the
Davis after it was converted. He
moved to California and it took several
long-distance telephone calls before he
agreed to sell the Davis in 1967 to Dale
Crites, manager of the Waukesha Air-
port. Dale owned the airplane until
1983 and flew it an average of six
hours a year until selling it to Gene.
The fact that Dale's schedule left him
unable to fly it more often helped lead
to the sale. Total time on the airframe
in 1983 was only 869 hours, 50 min-
utes! Gene has since added 55 hours
for a current total time of 925 hours.
Another mystery surrounding the
airplane involves the date of re-cover
on the fuselage. The wings were co-
=>
vered with Grade A cotton in 1967 by
Bob Huggins but there is no record in
the logs about the cotton on the fuse-
lage and tail surfaces. Someone gave
Gene a set of snapshots at a fly-in that
show the airplane in a barn in Sault
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17
Ste. Marie, Michigan. In the photos,
the Davis appears in its current paint
scheme, including the time-consuming
checkerboard pattern on the vertical
tail. The photos were supposedly taken
about 1960. Either someone painstak-
ingly reproduced the current paint
scheme after an unrecorded re-cover
job, or the fabric is 28 years old! Either
way it still punches fine, according to
Gene.
With the Warner engine, the Davis's
empty weight is 1 , 134 pounds,
maximum gross weight is 1,471
pounds for a useful load of 337
pounds. It holds 20 gallons in the cen-
tersection fuel tank, enough for about
one and a half hours endurance with
reserve. The fuel gauge is from a
Model A Ford. The fuel line connects
at the lower right comer of the fuel
tank so Gene is careful to request a
right pattern when the fuel is low . A
few fatal crashes in Davises have re-
sulted from fuel starvation when the
gas slid to the other side of the tank on
a left-hand landing pattern.
Gene cruises at 1,750 to 1,800 rpm
at 110 mph. The Davis will produce
130 mph at full power. The baggage
compartment on Gene's aircraft has the
original clasp and 14 pounds of bag-
gage weight is included in the empty
weight of the airplane. That was for
the tool kit that came with it from the
factory.
The rocker box covers come off
every spring for greasing and four
ounces of Marvel Mystery Oil goes
into each 10 gallons of gasoline as an
18 DECEMBER 1988
upper lube. Gene's 40-hp Continental
in his E-2 Cub has been getting the
same treatment since 1970. When he
bought the Davis from Dale Crites in
1983, Gene made a deal about the large
numbers on the side. He and Dorothy
went out to the airport with a box of
sandpaper and a few buckets of water
and didn't quit until the numbers were
gone. Dale then repainted the side
panels of the fuselage with a fresh coat
of yellow.
Gene then tapped the talent of EAA
Museum designer Pat Packard to
reproduce the Davis logo on the fuse-
lage and wheel covers. Working from
a factory brochure, Pat enlarged the
logo and hand-painted it on the air-
plane.
Of the 50 or so Davises built, Gene
knows of three others that are currently
flying although there are several that
could be in flying condition. Cole
Palen regularly flies his Davis at the
Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome in New
York . EAA Board Member Morton
Lester reports that his Davis is ready
for cover. His is the first Davis built
after Walter C. bought the company.
Morton was visited regularly at his
home in Virginia by Harvey Doyle be-
fore his death last year. Calvin Wallace
has his Kinner-powered Davis D-I-K
in Crestwood , Missouri and Dr. Roy
Wicker and Barbara Kitchens have one
in Milner, Georgia.
In June of 1983, with the flush of
having acquired the Davis fresh in his
cheeks, Gene drove from Hales Cor-
ners, Wisconsin to the Aeronca Fly-in
in Middletown , Ohio to cover the event
for THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE. On the
way home, he and Dorothy stopped off
in Richmond, Indiana to try to locate
the original Davis Aircraft Company
factory . Stopping for lunch , Gene
asked an old-timer at the counter if
he recalled the old airplane company .
Sure, he said. The building was down
by the railroad tracks, 300 feet east of
the Penn Line Passenger Station on a
brick paved street with a cement
sidewalk. The city car stopped in front
of the office in those days. It was on
the comer of 12th and E Street.
Gene and Dorothy beat through the
bushes and climbed a few fences to
find the building. Later, at the Wayne
County Historical Museum they found
the display dedicated to the Davis man-
ufacturing activities in Richmond .
There were a few lawn mowers and a
Davis automobile but only some
photos and a propeller to mark the
Davis Aircraft Company . Museum di-
rectors would like to have more.
Walter C. Davis died in 1952 after
flying commercially for hundreds of
hours in Waco cabins and serving Pratt
& Whitney as a tech rep during World
War II. He was also instrumental in
developing the municipal airport in
Richmond . He left behind a legacy of
efficient , smooth-flying airplanes that
are known to few, but appreciated by
any pilot lucky enough to have the
chance to fly one. The smile that splits
Gene's face when you mention his
Davis is evidence of the strong feelings
he has for his treasure .
THE FUN-FLYINGFOURSOME
andtheiraward-winningAeronca Champ.
I mmediately following the two top
choices in the Classic awards at the
1988 EAA Oshkosh judging (Grand
Champion and Reserve Grand Cham-
pion), the Class I Champion (0-80 hp)
turned out to be a nicely restored
Aeronca 7AC "Champion," NC82650,
SI N 7 AC-1292, flown to Oshkosh
from way down in South Carolina.
The 11-1/2 hour flight to Oshkosh
was made by Xen (pronounced "Zen")
Motsinger, EAA 19886, Cayce, South
Carolina with a friend (and Mooney
pilot!) as a passenger. They spent one
night in Seymour, Indiana arriving at
Fond du Lac and Oshkosh on the sec-
ond day .
by NORM PETERSEN
Although the Champ was registered
at EAA Oshkosh in Xen Motsinger's
name (for simplicity's sake), there is
more to the story than meets the eye
- quite a bit more!
A unique four-way partnership had
restored the yellow and orange Champ
over a 2-1/2 year period. Besides Xen
Motsinger (the "elder" of the group at
61), there was Ken Herrill, (EAA
181880) , Columbia, South Carolina,
John Gardner (EAA 260594) , Cayce,
South Carolina and Ray Ackerman
(EAA 164495) of Leesville, South
Carolina.
If ever there was a melding of talents
to accomplish a desired result, this
group of four has it all! Although they
tend to refer to their foursome as
"sportsman aviators" in deference to
their type of flying and joint member-
ship in EAA Chapter 242 (Columbia,
South Carolina) , I think we may safely
add some other monickers to this Fa-
bled Foursome.
The four had been operating to-
gether since the early 1980s and had
Overhead view above Lake Winnebago shows why the Champ will carry a good load on 65 hp. 170 sq. ft. of wing uses the NACA
4412 airfoil and gently rounded wlngtlps.
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19
redone several Cessna 172 aircraft, in-
cluding a '56 model, a '69 model and
a 1976 172. The partners discovered
many hidden talents during these re-
builds including Ray Ackerman's
machinist ability, John Gardner's
painting capabilities and Ken Herrill's
record-keeping ability. Xen Motsinger
is kind of the catalyst that keeps the
whole group going.
After working on the Cessnas for
several years , the feeling among the
Fabulous Foursome turned to the
lighter side with thoughts of doing a
"fun" airplane. (They wanted to be-
come the Fabric Foursome .)
A rather tired looking Aeronca 7 AC
had been bouncing around Columbia's
Owens Field for some time and had
been damaged in a hailstorm . The
holes in the paint surfaces and fabric
made for a tough looking airplane. Xen
Motsinger purchased the Aeronca as a
future project. However, when the
Fastidious Foursome became in-
terested, the 7 AC was turned over to
the group and the idea of patching a
few holes and having some fun flying
came to the surface!
It was not a good surface. The signs
of rust were coming through the fabric
on the rudder and along the lower fuse-
lage. Biting the bullet, the Failsafe
Foursome removed the fabric and dis-
covered a need for much work.
Xen Motsinger carefully wipes the inside
of the cowl as he readies the Champ for
the judges at Sun 'N Fun 'SS.
The lower longerons were entirely
replaced along with several cross
tubes. Xen carefully tack welded them
in place and a professional welder
finished the job. When everything was
properly repaired, the entire airframe
was painted with Imron. Only later did
they discover the Stits covering pro-
cess would lift the paint, so - back to
square one - and paint the airframe
with two-part epoxy primer!
About this time (1986) the bunch
took in the Aeronca Fly-In at
Middletown, Ohio - the gathering of
people and airplanes with the name
Aeronca on the sides and in their
minds. All went well until our Finicky
Foursome ran into Harold and Bob
Armstrong of Rawlins, Maryland, who
had meticulously restored Aeronca
7AC, NC84988, and garnered the
Grand Champion Classic award at
EAA Oshkosh '83. The Armstrong
father-son team carefully explained to
the eager rebuilders how to restore to
absolute factory new original condi-
tion. Xen Motsinger figures this little
talk cost the partnership approximately
$10,000 in extra expenses to go origi-
nal - and he likes to tease the
Armstrongs on this point.
Determined to have an authentic,
award-winning Aeronca, the Feverish
Foursome went to work - one night
a week plus Saturdays. They replaced
The Friendly & Famous Foursome pause by their restored Aeronca 7 AC Champ. From the left: John Gardner, Xen Motsinger, Ken
Herrill and Ray Ackerman. (Those shirts really add a touch of class!)
20 DECEMBER 1988
all the bolts and hardware , installed
new control cables and pulleys, built
new floorboards and began covering
the airframe with Stits HS90X . There
was only one problem. The group had
covered one wing and used the wrong
rib stitch! Now, the Filament Four-
some removed the wing fabric and
redid the job properly. They opted to
use rib stitching instead of the zillion
metal screws to fasten the fabric to the
wing.
Every member of the Flat-iron Four-
some admits the covering process was
indeed an education. They all knew
Ray Stits on a first-name basis, having
made so many telephone calls seeking
information on proper procedures! Ken
Herrill, (age 39 and manager of a state
auditing department) had done an ex-
cellent job on the wooden fuselage for-
mers and was now called upon to in-
stall the new headliner in the cabin .
Combining skilled hands, plenty of pa-
tience and very sticky fingers, he was
able to complete the delicate job in due
time.
Meanwhile, John Gardner, age 39,
brought his auto body shop skills into
play and began the painting process -
gun in hand. Each coat of silver Poly
Spray was carefully sanded until the
finish was super smooth. Many hours
were spent with the wet sandpaper
(1,000 grit), standing on wet floors and
making the hands and fingers sore. It's
a necessary ingredient for a winner!
Following the build-up coats on the
fabric, the final colors of Stits Poly
Tone were sprayed and sanded and the
final masking was done for the lower
fuselage red-orange, the huge wing
numbers on the upper-right and lower-
left wings and the fin and rudder trim.
A final clear coat of urethane was
sprayed over the color to give the shine
to the Champ.
Inside the cabin, the new floor-
boards were installed along with a
myriad of small details. The sides of
the cabin and inside of the door re-
quired a "flocked" finish. Many at-
tempts at finding a source for such ma-
terials proved futile until a company in
Ohio came through. The Flocking
Foursome really went to work on this
portion of the project and the lost art
of making a flocked finish was re-
vived! (And, they did a beautiful job!)
Before long the handcrafted new
seats were installed (with measure-
ments provided by Harold and Bob
Armstrong) and the little wooden con-
trol knobs on the end of the control
sticks were re-varnished. A newly con-
structed instrument panel relocated the
Engine photo taken at Sun 'N Fun shows
cast aluminum valve covers, new
polished baffles and Bendix mag. Just
the top of the mis-matched Eiseman mag
can be seen. Firewall was painted rather
than original galvinized steel finish.
Low angle photo of the nose area shows
original type air filter, highly polished
exhaust pipes and brake/wheel area. The
judges thought these were chrome plated
until a close examination revealed other-
wise!
few basic instruments to their proper
places. The black "krinkle-finish"
proved to be a problem until Kenny
Day in Pennsylvania came up with the
proper paint which krinkled when the
heat was applied as it dried . Neat!
Unable to resurrect the old A65-8
Continental engine , the Fearless Four-
some scoured the country until they
found an A65-8 from a damaged
Taylorcraft in Arizona . A rebuilder of
some two dozen Champs , Marshal
Field, Jr. (EAA 3982) of P.O. Box
3082, Sells , Arizona 85634, came up
with the engine which was quite low
time . However, to be on the safe side ,
a top overhaul was done before instal-
lation in the Champ. One of the Ferret
Foursome found a set of cast aluminum
valve covers in the back of an old
hangar. They were cleaned, painted
and installed on the A65. A new set of
baffles was fabricated and polished to
the "nth" degree before installation on
the engine. The end result was a very
sanitary looking engine compartment.
The Fabricating Foursome removed
all the dents, breaks, etc. in the cowling
by building a complete new cowl , in-
cluding the boot cowl. Only the
nosebowl was reused as it was in excel-
lent shape although it was fiberglass
instead of aluminum. The end result
was a really sharp looking forward fu-
selage and nose of the aircraft. John
Gardner's excellent painting even
made it better. A brand new Sensenich
wooden propeller along with an
aluminum "skull cap" spinner really
completed the finished look.
Ray Ackerman (age 40), who soloed
a Cessna 150 back in 1975, completely
rebuilt the Hayes mechanical brakes to
where they not only worked perfectly
(with the heels), but the brightly
polished partS were mistaken for
chrome plate by the judges! A couple
of genuine Aeronca hub caps, obtained
at the Aeronca Fly-In, completed the
wheel assemblies.
By March 1988, the Floundering
Foursome were doing their absolute
best to have the Champ at Sun 'n Fun
in April. It seemed like a million small
details had to be finished! With just a
few days to go, Xen made the test
flights in the restored Aeronca and
found one magneto to be acting up . A
replacement Eiseman was installed and
the beautifully restored Aeronca was
flown to Lakeland, Florida for the big
fly-in. The overhauled Bendix mag-
neto had been returned just before the
flight and was carried in the baggage
compartment, wrapped in a piece of
cloth.
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21
Very sanitary rear seat with flocked walls
and naugahyde seat covering. Curved
control stick with flexible " boot" is stan-
dard. Varnished floor boards are nicely
fitted.
As Xen taxied up and parked, he
was met by two fr iends from years
back, Jack and Golda Cox of EAA.
Exclaimed Jack, "That's not your
ai rpl ane, is it Xen? It could be one of
the three best Champs in the country!"
(Jack was referring to the Armstrong
Champ and Ron Wojnar's Champ,
NC85448, that won Grand Champion
Cl assic at EAA Oshkosh ' 78. )
When all the judging was over, the
Champ scored very high - wi thin less
than a point of the Grand Champion -
and garnered the Reserve Grand
Champi on award . The Forl orn Four-
some lost a point on Philli ps
head screws , a point on too sli ck a
fi ni sh (urethane) and a point on hav ing
di fferent magnetos . (The correct mag
was the one sitting in the baggage com-
part ment. )
However, the Fluorescent Foursome
was very proud of their accompli sh-
ment and after returning their Champ
to South Carolina, the moti ons were
put in order to get the Aeronca ready
for EAA Oshkosh '88. They had tri ed
in vain to locate an origi nal gas cap
that had " 13 gall ons" stamped on it.
Xen found one at Sun ' n Fun attached
to a Champ gas tank that was for sale
at $300. The owner refused to sell onl y
% the cap - and Xen thought the pri ce
if a bit steep for onl y a usable gas cap!
-l!:
The group finall y had to go with a pl ain
cap with the" 13 gall ons" pasted on it.
As noted earl y in thi s article, the
fli ght to EAA Oshkosh '88 took 11 - 1/2
hours as Xen brought the result of 2-1 1
2 years of group labor to "the big one."
Needl ess to say, all four members of
the Formidabl e Foursome were present
at the fl y- in and were abl e to enj oy the
warm days and wonderful hospitality.
They all admit there is no other place
in thi s world like Oshkosh.
01 ' NC85260 gave a good account
of it self in the midst of some very
strong competiti on. The judges were
put to a real test to properl y score each
aircraft , often getting down to splitting
hairs! The awards ceremony on Thurs-
day evening had many people holding
their breath , however, when the Class
I Award was called for Aeronca 7AC,
NC85260, the Foot-weary Foursome
came front and center and made the
trip to the announcer's stand - lump
Designed to make Cub pilots jealous, the
roomy front cockpit of the Champ is a
sterling example of simplicity. Note cabin
heat on firewall and heel brakes protrud-
ing through the floor for both front and
rear occupants.
in throat and cotton in mouth, but very
happy!
Taking turns while flyi ng the
Aeronca back to South Carolina, the
Flabbergasted Foursome had time to
think of all that had happened to them
in the past 2- 1/2 years of devoted ef-
fort. All agreed it had been a tremen-
dous experience, however, it was nice
to get reacquainted with their fa mili es,
who had put up with so much for so
long!
At the latest report , the Champ has
150 hours on it and the rebuilders are
enj oying fl ying for fun - which is
exactl y what they started out to do .
Fuel cap with Its all-important grommet to stop fuel from running into the cabin, shows 13 gallon capacity with 73 min. octane. Note
excellent workmanship on windshield installation.
22 DECEMBER 1988
deposited me in , or more properly,
through the camera hole .
BEAVER RETRIEVER
We called the tower on the hand-held
Captain Ron Ferrara the last time he flew a deHaviliand Beaver - March 1971 in Viet
Nam.
by Ron Ferrara
GaZing out the window as the met-
roliner completed the approach, I saw
it. Big, bright, yellow, dominating the
other aircraft on the ramp. There was
no mistake. This was the aircraft I had
come to take home. Perhaps I should
start at the beginning. A few months
earlier we heard that this aircraft was
available from the Department of For-
estry at Texas A and M University.
We felt that it would be a valuable ad-
dition to our aerospace program at
Middle Tennessee State University so
my collegue and co pilot for this ven-
ture, Billy Cox, initiated the paper-
work to obtain it. To our surprise our
efforts were successful and we were
now the proud owners of a highly mod-
ified 1952 deHavilland Beaver. Used
as a photo plane for the last 15 years,
the aircraft had camera holes in the
belly replacing two of the fuselage
tanks and two very large, 80-gallons
each, modified F-I04 external fuel
tanks under the wings.
Although we had not seen the air-
craft we had talked extensively with
the personnel from the forestry depart-
ment and a local operator named Louis
Porter. Louis had confidently said that
all we had to do was "fill 'er up and
fly 'er home." However, since the air-
craft had not been flown for a year we
convinced him to look it over for us
and prepare it for the flight to Tennes-
see.
On July 14, my birthday, we ar-
rived . We had attempted to retrieve the
plane a week earlier but had been
foiled by weather. We were now in
Texas and committed. Both Billy and
I were a bit uneasy about flying an un-
familiar airplane 650 miles, especially
in view of the fact that neither of us
had been in a Beaver in nearly 20
years. We were both college professors
in non flying positions and while cur-
rent in taildraggers, our proficiency
level for this type of operation was
probably not what it once had been.
The uneasy feeling increased upon ap-
proaching the airplane. This thing was
HUGE. I didn ' t remember a Beaver
being this size. Years of being around
152s and Cherokees had had its effect.
My confidence was rapidly eroding
and the sight of a throw over control
wheel and one set of brakes made the
situation even worse. This was turning
out to be more than I had bargained
for.
As luck would have it, Louis Porter
was very familiar with this airplane,
having flown and maintained it for a
number of years. Extensive experience
cropdusting in Stearrnans had made
him confident and capable, however
when I asked him to fly around the
field with me a few times he was some-
what less than enthusiastic . He finally
agreed on the condition that I fly from
the right seat so that he could control
the brakes ... just in case . While taxi-
ing to the active with Louis explaining
the important points of operating
N8306 my seat came loose and almost
radio and advised that We Were abort-
ing the takeoff and taxied back to fix
the seat. I was sincerely hoping that
this wasn't an omen. A few minutes
were required to secure the seat and
we were off again. This time we made
it into position. As Louis talked me
through the takeoff I could feel his
input on the pedals until we were safely
off the ground. Reducing power to 30
inches of manifold pressure and 2,000
rpm the Beaver climbed steadily. The
airplane was rock solid as if to say
"What is it you were worried about
anyway? I have done thi s thousands of
times ." The familiar old feeling began
to return and the sensation of being in
a strange airplane was slowly disap-
pearing. The only thing left to do was
land. Louis suggested a wheel landing
and we slid down final at 90 with flaps
in the landing position . Full flaps re-
sulted in a buffett due to the wing
tanks . The aircraft was still stable and
comfortable as we approached the mo-
ment of truth. Holding about a foot
above the runway the Beaver slowed
and began to settle. As the wheels
touched the ground I could again feel
Louis on the pedals. The landing was
uneventful, if not perfect, but I still
had a nagging doubt. How much of
that landing was my skill and how
much was Louis?
We were ready to take care of the
final details and prepared the plane for
a dawn departure. We had our not so
reliable hand-held radio and a "porta-
ble" loran along. The loran was more
or less an experiment as neither of us
had ever used one before. We fully ex-
pected to fly home using dead reckon-
ing and pilotage. It took 15 minutes to
hook up the unit to the ADF antenna
through a preamp. A borrowed C-
clamp held the unit to a brace on the
panel. This jury rigged installation was
not aesthetically pleasing but it worked
flawlessly throughout the trip (once we
learned to program in the required
zeroes).
We returned to the motel and to the
consternation of the night manager left
a wakeup ca11 for four a.m. We finally
explained what he considered our very
strange request and he offered to meet
us and drive us to the airport. His offer
of assistance was just one example of
the attitude of the vast majority of the
people we came in contact with
throughout the trip. We retired to our
room and tried to sleep but there was
a lot of nervous energy in the room and
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23
N8306 note modified F104 wing tanks, 80
gallons each.
we were both awake before the call
arrived. A quick shower, a doughnut,
a cup of coffee, and we were at the
airport performing a preflight and a
final engine runup as the sun began to
rise. It was then that we noticed some-
thing strange. The night had been crys-
tal clear but now a halo was beginning
to appear around the various lights at
the airport . Within a few minutes the
end of the runway disappeared, soon
to be followed by the tower. In a matter
of minutes ground fog had completely
socked in the airport and it would be a
long wait for two anxious pilots before
it lifted.
We shut down and began the wait
as countless pilots before us had done
and will do. We wandered around, re-
peatedly called weather and tried to
catch up on lost sleep. Another waiting
pilot asked what we were flying . I
pointed to the bright yellow Beaver.
He looked at the airplane, looked at
my well worn Biplane Aviation cap
and said "You look like the type." I
took that as a compliment.
About 11:00 the weather finally
cleared enough for us to begin our first
leg-Pine Bluff, Arkansas by way of
Lufkin and Shreveport. The takeoff
was a thing of beauty, if I do say so
myself, and the Beaver seemed as anx-
ious as we were to begin the journey
to her new home. The airplane seemed
to levitate off the ground at 36 inches
of manifold pressure and takeoff flaps .
The rate of climb was not spectacular
but more than adequate considering
our 195 gallons of fuel . As we circled
to pick up our heading we could not
help but notice a small group watching,
seeming to say goodbye to the Beaver
that had been a local attraction for so
many years .
We picked up a 68 degree heading
to Lufkin. The adventure had finally
begun. As we climbed to 2,000 feet
and skirted light rain showers we de-
cided to experiment with our loran.
Within minutes it had pinpointed out
position, speed, heading and did ev-
erything but offer us coffee and a
snack. Being from the old school we
24 DECEMBER 1988
continued to navigate by pilotage using
the loran only to make us feel smug
with our navigational ability. In an
hour, slowed by the large external
wing tanks, we were over Lufkin ,
headed for Shreveport. Everything
worked perfectly and with a power set-
ting of 27 inches of manifold pressure
and 1,850 rpm the engine wasn't
straining, although it was very loud
and, I might add, very reassuring. With
every passing mile my confidence in
the 35 year-old bird and myself was
growing stronger. About I :00 Pine
Bluff was in sight and it was time to
prepare for my first Beaver landing
without help in 18 years. Pine Bluff,
Arkansas is a center for crop dusting
and a poor landing would be painfully
obvious to those talented pilots. "90
on final, 80 over the fence, wheel it
on ." I could hear Louis as clearly as if
he were still riding with me. Needless
to say I followed his advice as closely
as possible. With flaps down in a flat
glide the wheels kissed the runway and
A welcome addition to the program at
MTSU. The plan is to restore the Beaver
and use it to fly the flight team to regional
competitions.
the Beaver rolled straight and true
without the least tendency to wander.
The old airplane was acting like a real
lady and making me look good in the
process .
A small crowd gathered as we taxied
in. With the engine shut down the
crowd came closer with one smiling
middle-aged gentleman leading the
pack. "I haven't seen an L-20 in 25
years" he said, revealing hi s military
background. "Where did you get it?
Where are you going? How fast does
it cruise?" We were besieged with
questions even as we retreated to the
restaurant for a burger and a large glass
of ice tea. This aircraft was certainly
generating a lot of interest.
We were halfway home and a call
to weather revealed ideal conditions
for the remainder of the trip. Adding
only two quarts of oil to the five-gallon
tank we took off and headed for
Helena, Arkansas and onward to Mur-
freesboro, Tennessee. As we cruised
over the flat country at 2,000 feet we
watched the many cropdusters working
and my mind wandered back over the
years to other Beaver flight s long ago
and far away. Faces long forgotten ap-
peared in the mind's eye and times,
both good and not so good, were re-
membered. All thi s due to an old bright
yellow airplane.
The trip would soon be over and by
now I hated to see it end. I was com-
fortable and happy and I would have
liked to keep flying and remembering
for a while longer but the present was
intruding. Murfreesboro, Tennessee
was under the wing so we entered
downwind for runway 36. Once again
it was "90 on final and 80 over the
fence and wheel it on." Straight and
true-what a teddy bear. Perhaps the
airplane appreciated the pilot as much
as the pilot appreciated the airplane. It
was as though two old friends were
reunited and spending a short time to-
gether after a separation of many years.
Another small group, this time stu-
dents , appeared with cameras at the
ready, shaking their heads at the size
of the plane. We sat in the cockpit with
the engine ticking over but with ears
still filled with the roar of the Pratt &
Whitney. With the mixture to idle
cutoff the unmistakeable sounds of a
cooling radial were interrupted by the
questions. "Where did you get it? How
fast does it fly?" And "Gosh, I didn' t
know they were that big!"
We sat for a few seconds more,
quietly smiling, saying nothing. It had
been a bit of an adventure, a strange
airplane, strange country, six and a
half hours flying time, and the
memories . This one flight reinforced a
once strongly held belief that flying
was rewarding, and more importantly
fun , a belief that had faded over the
years as it became more of a business
and less of an adventure. The adven-
ture and reward were still there when
we allowed them to surface.
Reluctantly climbing down from the
cockpit I was already eagerly anticipat-
ing the next flight in the big bright yel-
low time machine .
Tired but happy. Ron Ferrara and Billy
Cox with N8306 after return to Murfrees-
boro.
PASS IT 10
--1]
An information exchange column with input from readers.
by E.E. "Buck" Hilbert comm cross countries. It was fraught
(EAA 21, AIC 5) with the usual weather and servicing
P.O. Box 145 inconveniences and the open cockpit
Union, IL 60180 was pretty cold, but it was fun. There
815/923-4591 was one thing common to all my stops
though, that requires comment. Find-
Hand Propping! ing someone to hand prop me when it
I just finished another of my YFR, was time to leave .
I ,OOO-ft-above-groundievel no nav, no All of the insurance policies have
E. E. "Buck" Hilbert
hand propping clauses in them. Usu-
ally they don't absolutely forbid the
practice, they just won't cover you if
there isn't a qualified person at the con-
trols . I find that the qualified person at
the controls is not the problem. It is
the person at the propeller that gives
me fits!
Trying to get someone to prop usu-
ally goes like this, "Can you prop me?"
"Well, I did it once when I was in col-
lege. Guess I can do it." or, "Why
sure! I've been around all kinds of
airplanes all my life! Pawnees,
Cherokees, and Tri-pacers, I can do
it!" And then he grabs the prop about
three inches from the tip and promptly
sticks his head into the plane of rota-
tion. And I cringe.
Propping an airplane is practically a
lost art and I'm glad. Those blades
snapping unexpectedly can catch even
the most experienced, once in a while.
Recently, at Oshkosh as a matter of
fact, Mike Wilson from Cedar Rapids,
Iowa showed up with his hand in a
cast. Now here is the PT-22 "King" of
Iowa and half of the rest of the country.
His Kinner bit him! Since then, he has
been bugging me for a starter installa-
tion (that I keep telling him I don't
have) . A moment of inattention and he
caught it. Fortunately the broken
thumb and badly bruised hand will be
okay, but it wasn't a fun experience.
I almost got my head knocked off
about \0 years ago at Oshkosh, not by
a prop but by Bill Haselton who was
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25
propping my Fleet. Bill swore I " DID
IT" to him. Here is the most experi-
enced person I'd ever hoped to find,
but because of an impulse-coupling
malfunction there he was with a busted
hand.
There is a lesson here . Never, EVER
assume that all is safe when you are at
the business end of a prop. Before you
even touch the thing, go to the cockpit
and look at the switches and the engine
controls for placement and position .
Brief the cockpit person on exactly
what you and he want to do , and estab-
lish communication that assures both
of you exactly what your and his inten-
tions are. Make commands to each
other LOUD and CLEAR so there are
no under heard misstatements. Then do
the job correctl y.
Don't ever, as I like to term it,
"make love" to a propeller. Treat it like
it's hot, Always! Never assume that
the throttle , the switch and the mixture
are in a safe position. Make damn sure
they are!
Don't be timid or afraid of the prop.
Grasp it firmly about half way out from
the hub and use your body weight to
pull it through while you step back as
you puII. You step back so you are out
of the way as you swing it. Forget that
old Hollywood stance of swinging
your leg up and under the plane of ro-
tation. That stuff went out with the bat-
tery ignition engines of World War I.
Also make sure that area behind where
you are going to step is clear, the
ground firm, and clear of slippery mud
or ice patches, and spectators. More
than once I've had to caution bystand-
ers to stand clear. "If this thing starts
I' m going to run right over you getting
out of the way."
Another oft overlooked point. Most
engines are equipped with an impulse
coupling for easier starting. It retards
the spark for starting, or anytime the
engine is turned at slow speeds, usually
below four hundred rpm. By swinging
the prop hard enough to exceed the rpm
limit of the impulse, you negate its pur-
pose. If you hear that impulse click,
its working. If you don't hear it there
is a good chance you'll get a kick-
back. So the best method of propping
is to pull that prop so you get the best
effect from that impulse. Firmly, but
not too fast.
Incidentially that impulse-coupled
magneto is the only one that is firing
when the key is in the "Start" position
on most mag switches. In the start pos-
ition the non-impulse mag is not
operating until you release it back to
the "Both" position .
Find out which mag has the impulse
and then put the switch on THAT mag-
neto for the hand propstart.
I could go into great detail as to how
many lucky escapes and some of the
weird experiences I've had over the
years at propping airplanes, but I'll
spare you by mentioning only a few.
My first learning experience was about
a week after getting my first job at the
old Elmhurst Airport in Illinois. There
had been a sudden summer storm and
our students came running for home.
One woman had tried to take a short-
cut taxi route and wound up in a shal-
low ditch. The two of us hung onto the
wing struts in the rain and lightning
and wind until it passed over and then
we pushed the Cub up onto the taxi
strip and she got in while I waited at
the business end to prop it. I called,
"Switch off," and she replied, "Switch
off," and promptly turned it to "Both ."
I carelessly grabbed the prop with two
hands and almost immediately got
wacked across the back of both hands
with the advancing blade. MAN-O-
MAN!!! Did that HURT. I couldn't
even unbutton my fly for the next week
and that friends is why I respect the
propeller end as I do.
I could confess to the couple of
times that the Swallow chased me
across the airport 'cause I had the throt-
tle open when it started, and I could
also tell some more tales of defective
ignition switches that in effect were on
"Both" when they said "Off." There
was an A.D. note on the old A-7 igni-
tion switches in the early Champs and
T-Crafts back in 1946 and '47 where
the brass contacts wore and bridged all
the positions together. Any time the
switch was out of any detent, both
mags were hot. I still see these
switches being used in restorations
today. Watch out for them . They've
been in the junk box for years and have
been resurrected because they are neat ,
and authentic for sure. But they can be
very dangerous .
Things are lookin' up. I've been get-
ting phone calls from some of the
members who either have comments
to make about the column or would
like information. One call was to ask
why an antiquer would pose beside an
Ultralight. Another was to ask some
advice on a Fleet restoration and a
couple more were for little details and
just to talk. Keep 'em comin' fellas .
Over to you
"Buck"
LETTERS .. . Monocoupe 110, NC 12345 In the April 1987 issue of THE VIN-
(Continued from Page 4)
Duck Soup
Dear Sir,
In "Flat-engine Monocoupe" (Sep-
tember) , your raise the question of the
origin of the Monocoupe logo. I be-
lieve the answer will be found in John
Underwood's OF MONOCOUPES
AND MEN, page eight , paragraph five .
The paragraph reads, "Luscombe at-
tributed (the Monocoupe's speed) to
the short tail and quick reduction in
cross-section aft of the cockpit. Some-
where he had read that the teal was
the fastest member of the duck family
because of its peculiar cusped tail .
Luscombe concluded, without scien-
tific proof, that the Monocoupe was
fast for the same reason." Sounds like
TAGE AIRPLANE you had a wonder-
ful article by Dick Cavin about John
Bowden's Curtiss . Since Cavin's arti-
cle, Bowden sold the airplane to the
Albuquerque Museum for its "Bal-
loons to Bombers" exhibit - one of
the best-attended ever - and the Cur-
tiss will find a permanent home in our
newly renovated Albuquerque Interna-
tional Airport .
a good theory, Jack.-Ed.
Sincerely, Sincerely,
Jack McCarthy Bowden's Curtiss relocated Charles Rapson
Stevensville, Maryland Dear editor, Albuquerque, New Mexico
26 DECEMBER 1988
WITNESSTOTHEEXECUTION
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S \ ~ ~ W A \ ~
THE JOURNAl Of ~
THE AIRPlANE 1920 1940
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VINTAGE AIRPLANE 29
AVIATION HISTORY AS IT HAPPENED!
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plus $3 shipping/handling (WI residents add 5% sales tax)
THE BUILDING OF
THE
by George A. Hardie, Jr
Flying/Marinac/Henderson Mercury.
While on a vacation trip last July ,
Dick Stevens of Tucson, Arizona took
the photo of this month's Mystery
Plane at Janes' Field, Anoka County,
Minnesota. Obviously, the airplane is
a cabin type twin with radial engines.
Can you identify it? Answers will be
published in the March 1989 issue of
THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE. Deadline
for that issue is January 10, 1989.
The Mystery Plane in the September
1988 issue is variously known as the
"Flying Mercury, " "Marinac Mer-
cury ," and "Henderson Mercury." The
airplane was restored by members of
Chapter 25, Minneapolis , Minnesota
in the 1960s and presented to the EAA
Aviation Museum . The photo was
taken in the old museum at Franklin,
Wisconsin. No answers were received
at press time .
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 31