EDITORIALSTAFF

Publisher
TomPoberezny
February1993 Vol. 21,No.2
Vice-President,
MarketingandCommunications
DickMatt
Editor-in-Chief
JackCox
Editor
HenryG.Frautschy
ManagingEditor
GoldaCox
ArtDirector
MikeDrucks
ComputerGraphicSpecialists
OliviaL. Phillip
Sara Hansen JenniferLarsen
Advertising
Mary Jones
AssociateEditor
NormPetersen
FeatureWriters
GeorgeHardie,Jr. DennisParks
StaffPhotographers
Jim Koepnick MikeSteineke
CarlSchuppel DonnaBushman
EditorialAssistant
Isabell eWiske
EMANTIQUE/ CLASSICDIVISION,INC,
OFFICERS
President Vice-President
Espie 'Butch'Joyce ArthurMorgan
604 HighwaySt. 3744 North51st Blvd.
Madison,NC27025 Milwaukee,WI 53216
919/427-0216 414/442-3631
Secretory Treasurer
StevenC. Nesse E.E. 'Suck'Hilbert
2009HighlandAve. P.O. Box424
AlbertLea,MN56007 Union,IL60180
507/373-1674 815/923-4591
DIRECTORS
JohnBerendf RobertC.' Sob' Brauer
7645EchoPointRd. 9345S. Hoyne
CannonFalls,MN55009 Chicago.IL60620
507/263-2414 312/779-2105
GeneChase JohnS.Copeland
2159CarltonRd. 28-3 WilliamsburgCt.
Oshkosh,WI 54904 Shrewsbury,MA01545
414/231-5002 508/842-7867
PhilCoulson GeorgeDaubner
28415SpringbrookDr. 2448LoughLane
Lawton,MI 49065 Hartford,WI 53027
616/624-6490 414/673-5885
CharlesHarris StanGomoll
3933SouthPeoria 104290thLane,NE
P.O. Box904038 Minneapolis.MN55434
Tulsa,OK74105 612/784-1172
918/742-7311
DaleA,Gusfafson JeannieHill
7724ShadyHill Dr. P.O. Box328
Indianapolis,IN 46278 Harvard,IL6OJ33
317/293-4430 815/943-7205
RobertLickteig RobertD. ' Sob' Lumley
1708BayOaksDr. 1265Scuth 124thSt.
AlbertLea,MN 56007 Brookfield,WI 53005
507/373-2922 414/782-2633
GeneMorris GeorgeYork
115C SteveCourt,R.R. 2 181 SlobodaAv.
Roanoke.TX 76262 Mansfield,OH44906
817/491-9110 419/529-4378
S_H_ 'Wes' Schmid
2359LefeberAvenue
Wauwatosa,WI 53213
414/771-1545
DIRECTOR EMERITUS
S.J.Willman
7200S.E. 85thLane
Ocala,FL 32672
904/245-7768
ADVISORS
JimmyRollison
823CarrionCircle
Winters,CA95694-1665
916/795-4334
DeanRichardson GeoffRobison
6701 ColonyDr. 1521 E. MacGregorDr.
Madison,WI 53717 NewHaven,IN46774
608/833-1291 219/493-4724
CONTENTS
1 Straight& Level!
Espie "Butch"Joyce
2 AlCNews!
compiledby H.G. Frautschy
4 AeroMail
5 TheFirstFlight!Sue Islas
7 WoodgrainonMetal?Yes!!
H.G.Frautschy
10 "BOTTOMS" toOshkosh!
Ron Bail ey
13 Widgeon!lH.G. Frautschy
19 SuperCruiserRebuild!
Norm Pet ersen
21 WhatOurMembersAreRestoring!
Norm Petersen
23 MysteryPlane!GeorgeHardi e
24 Passitto Buck!
E E."Buck" Hilbert
27 WelcomeNewMembers
28 Calendar
29 VintageTrader
Page7
Page 13
Page23
FRONT COVER. .John and Linda Schwamm'sGrumman Widgeon is
caughtjust as it touches down on Lake Winnebago during EAA
OSHKOSH '92 by EAA photographer Carl Schuppel. The Widgeon was
t ; : ; ~ : : = : : : ; ] selected Runner-up Customized Antique atthe annual EAA Fly-In. Shot
with a Canon EOS-1 equipped with an BO-200mm lens. 1/500 @ f5.6 on
Kodachrome64. Cessna 210photoplaneflown byBruceMoore.
BACK COVER ..' Movie Planes Over West LA" by artist Frank L. Warren
depictsa fictional formation ofearly Hollywood greats. For moreon this
fun painting,seethedescriptionin AlCNews,startingonpage2.
Copyright 1993 bytheEAAAntique/ClassicDivision Inc. All rightsreserved.
VINTAGEAIRPLANE (ISSN 0091-6943) is published and owned exclusively by the EMAntique/Classic Division,Inc. of the Experimental
Aircraft Association and is published monthlyat EMAviation Center, 3000 Poberezny Rd., P.O. Box 3086, Oshkosh, Wisconsin 54903-3086.
Second Class Postage paid at Oshkosh, Wisconsin 54901 and at additional mailing offices. The membership rate for EMAntique/Classic
Division, Inc. is$20.00forcurrent EMmembersfor 12 monthperiodofwhich$12.00isforthepublicationofVINTAGE AIRPLANE. Membership
isopentoallwhoareinterestedinaviation.
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to EMAntique/Classic Division, Inc., P.O. Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086. FOREIGN AND APO
ADDRESSES- Pleaseallowat leasttwomonthsfordeliveryofVINTAGEAIRPLANEtoforeignandAPOaddressesviasurfacemail.
ADVERTISING - Antique/Classic Division does notguarantee or endorse any productoffered through the advertising. We inviteconstructive
criticism andwelcomeanyreportofinferiormerchandiseobtainedthrough ouradvertisingsothatcorrective measurescan betaken.
EDITORIALPOLICY:Readers areencouraged to submit stories and photographs. Policyopinions expressed in articles are solely thoseofthe
authors. Responsibilityforaccuracyin reporting restsentirelywith thecontributor. Norenumeration is made.
Materialshould besentto: Editor,VINTAGEAIRPLANE,P.O. Box3086, Oshkosh,WI 54903-3086. Phone414/426-4800.
The words EAA,ULTRALIGHT, FLY WITH THE FIRST TEAM,SPORT AVIATION and the logos of EAA, EAA INTERNATIONAL
CONVENTION,EAA ANTIQUE/CLASSIC DIVISION,INTERNATIONAL AEROBATIC CLUBS,WARBIRDS OF AMERICA are registered
trademarks. THE EMSKY SHOPPE and logosofthe EAAAVIATION FOUNDATION and EAAULTRALIGHTCONVENTION are trademarks
oftheaboveassociationsandtheirusebyanypersonotherthantheaboveassociationisstrictlyprohibited.
by Espie "Butch" Joyce
A number of excellent publications
have come my way recently, and I'd like
to share my impressions of a few of them.
First, I received a book from William
Thompson, who served both as an engi-
neering test pilot and manager of the
flight test and aerodynamics at the
Pawnee Division of Cessna for 28 years.
His book, entitled "Cessna Wings For
The World," is an excellent documentary
of the different aircraft that Cessna pro-
duced, with each aircraft's own develop-
ment story, technical information, pho-
tographs and performance figures. It is
available from Thompson Aero Products
of Sun River, OR, phone 800/237-0140.
The book retails for $20 softbound, $30
hardbound.
Two more outstanding publications I
have been sent copies of are WW I Aero
and Skyways, both quarterly journals
published by Leonard E. Opdycke. WW
I Aero concerns the time period prior to
and during the " Great War. " Skyways
covers the time period from 1920 until
1940, "The Golden Age of Aviation."
Both are excellent reading for someone
interested in aircraft of that time. (I'll
second that! - HGF) and contain a wealth
of historical and technical information on
these eras.
In the March issue there will be an ap-
plication blank or petition form to nomi-
nate an individual to be considered for
the Antique/Classic Hall of Fame. This
Hall of Fame has been established by
your Division to recognize individuals
who have contributed to the antique, clas-
sic and contemporary movement , with
their contributions occurring during the
years 1950 until the present. A committee
has been established to review these peti-
tions, which will be during this coming
May. The applications must be returned
and in our hands no later than the of 30th
of April. The person or persons will be
selected between May and the EAA
Oshkosh Convention. They will be in-
STRAIGHT&LEVEL
sta ll ed in the Antique/ Classic Hall of
Fame during the October Board of Direc-
tors meeting held in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
The Hall of Fame inductee's travel
and lodging will be paid. They' ll be rec-
ognized at our Friday night dinner at the
Museum and subsequently wi ll be in-
stall ed in the Museum gall ery, with their
image on a metall ized photograph for ev-
eryone to see in the future. This is a very
prestigious honor and we will treat it as
such. This is another service that your
Antique/Classic Division has established
to make people more aware of the impor-
tance of the era of aircraft in which we
have an interest. Please give this nomi-
nation a lot of thought, and if there is
someone whom you think is deserving of
this nomination, please do not hesitate to
do so. The more nominees that we have,
the more prestigious this honor will be.
I would like to note that our member-
ship now stands at well over 8200 mem-
bers. I am very proud of each and every
one of you who have encouraged an indi-
vidual to join our Division. I still encour-
age you to keep doing just that! Our
dues structure is very reasonable and our
publication is excellent. I would like to
thank everyone for their support.
On a personal note, the way the win-
ter weather has been here in North Car-
olina and the southeast with all the rain
and fog, about the only thing I have been
able to do with my Clipwing Cub is pump
up the tires about every 30 - 60 days. Of
course, it is not getting ravaged by the
weather sitting in my hangar. I look for-
ward to the spring weat her so I can get it
back in the air again. r have been flying
my Baron a bit for business . I was in
Wilmington, North Carolina one after-
noon and had one of my salesmen with
me. We called on a customer t here and
went back to the ai rport about 5:00 p.m.
I jumped into the Baron and cranked the
left engine and WHAMMO, the right
starter would not engage; it had gone out.
I went back into Air Wi lmington there at
the airport and they were very, very help-
ful. I would like to thank these people
for being so responsive to my di lemma by
having a mechanic return to the airport,
putti ng a starter on my airplane and hav-
ing me on my way in very short order.
All of it done at a very reasonable figure,
I might add. If you are ever in Wilmi ng-
ton, please stop by and visit wi th these
people; they are very helpful and really
care for airplane people.
About two weeks later , I was flying
with our South Carolina salesman, Bill
Deane. We stopped in a small airport in
Sout h Carolina which did not have a
FBO. I got ready to leave from our cus-
tomer's location to Georgetown where
Bill had just bought an E Model Bo-
nanza. We got into my Baron and
WHAMMO, the left starter went out
again. This was not good - there was no
one t here - just the ramp, runway and
telephone booth. We were stranded.
Bill called the gent leman whom he was
buying the Bonanza from and he flew
over and picked him up. In the mean-
time, there was a King Air on the airport
from another company. I asked if they
were going to North Carolina or Greens-
boro and they said, "Yes we are, but
there is a company policy that we can't
take any riders, " so they winged off into
the sky without me. Time for another
plan. I called my good friend Emory
Chronister, who happened to be at my
hangar working on his 170. I told him I
was stranded and asked if he would
please drag out the 172 and pick me up. I
gave him my location and he said he
would be on his way in 30 minutes. I was
standing out on the ramp, just me and the
fire ants, and it started getting darker and
darker; twilight, and the runway lights
had not come on. I thought to myself,
this is not good.
Just about dark, I was thinking about
breaking into the FBO's building to see if
there was a switch to fire up the runway
lights. Luckily for me, the lights hap-
pened to switch on suddenly. Then,
about 30 minutes after darkness, I heard
the drone of the 172. Emory picked me
up and we had a night flight back. It took
me three weeks to get back down there
to pick up my Baron, while trying to lo-
cate a starter at a reasonable figure. It is
now back in my hangar.
Finally, I'd like to remind all of you
who entered the Antique/Classic Photo
Contest at last year's EAA Convention to
be sure and send your entries to Jack Mc-
Carthy, Photo Contest Chairman, and his
Co-Chairman Lorraine Morris right away.
Send your prints to:
Jack McCarthy
14132 South Keeler
Crestwood, IL 60445
If you have a rules question or just
need to contact him ri ght away you can
call him at 708/371-U90.
Let's all pull in the same direction for
the good of aviation. Remember, we are
better together. Join us and have it all! '*
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 1
compiledbyH.G.Frautschy
C-=WJ
ABOUTTHEFRONTCOVER...
Artist Frank L. Warren has this to
say about his submission to the Sport
Aviation Art Competition:
MOVIE PLANES OVER WEST
LOS ANGELES depicts an imaginary
event with the great stunt pilot, Frank
Clarke, leadi ng an ersatz jagdstaffel
consisting of Travel Airs, a Fokker
DVII, and a Pfalz D XII. Clarke's plane
is the Fokker as it appeared in the 1929
epic, Hell's Angels. (Editors Note:
Recent research by Bill Hannan, with the
help of John Underwood and Peter
Bowers, plus many others, has
determined that the Fokker flown by
Clarke in "Hell's Angels" was in fact
painted black, with the white markings
you see depicted in this painting. The
Fokker displayed hanging in the
courtyard of Grauman's Chinese Theater
was evidently painted a shade of red,
with similar black markings. See Bill
Hannan's terrific series of publications
"Stick & Tissue International" Volumes
I and 2. for the information uncovered
by Bill and his merry band of aviation
sleuths. Contact Hannan's Runway,
P.O. Box 210, Magalia, CA 95954.
Please enclose a Self-A ddressed,
Stamped Envelope. If you enclose $1
they will send their entire catalog.- HGF)
The checkerboard Travel Air and
the checkerboard Pfalz are painted as
they were for the 1930 film, "The
Dawn Patrol. " The yellow and the
striped Travel Airs are from 1938's
"Men With Wings." I have imagined
that Frank Tomick handles the
checkerboard Travel Air and Roscoe
Turner follows in the Pfalz. "Ace"
Bragunier is in the yellow plane, while
Dick Rinaldi keeps his eye on Clarke
from the Wichita Fokker with the
sunburst on its top wing.
Incidental note - As I worked on
this picture, I had no idea that NASM
was preparing to exhibit the very Pfalz
I was depicting, and that they also
were painting the real plane as it had
appeared in "The Dawn Patrol "!
However, theirs is red and white and
has only 2 rows of checkers on the
wings-ah well, we movie types never
seem to get anything right. . . The
scene below the planes is UCLA and
Westwood Village as they appeared in
1929 when all the wars the re were
imaginary.
2 FEBRUARY 1993
My educational and professional
background also kept me oriented
towards aviation ... a B.A. in Art ED.
Univ. CA, Santa Barbara, 1 yr. Art
Center , L.A. I spe nt 40 years as
illustrator/designer, and copywriter at
Hughes Aircraft (5 years) and TRW
(formerly Thompson Products). I am a
lifelong aviation buff. My uncle took
me (when I was 6) for my first airplane
ride in his beautiful , black and bright
yellow Waco 10. I was an unsuccessful
Aviation Cadet during World War II
(eliminated-so help me , on a final
check ride in BT-13s). Was a successful
B-29 Propeller Specialist and KP (34
days in a row). I now live alternately in
Santa Barbara, and Norco, CA. I do
occasional free lance jobs and paint a
lot for my own pleasure.
SPORTAVIATIONART
COMPETITION
EAA Air Adventure Museum
Director Carl Swickley rece ntly
announced plans for the 1993 EAA
Sport Aviation Art Competion and its
special theme " Antique/Classic
Aircraft."
The Art Competition will follow a
similar format as that used for the
previous 16 annual competitions; it will
be a juried contest for two dimensional
media having aviation as its theme.
Par Excellence plaques will be
awarded to the top five entries in
addition to Excellence and Merit
awards. Entries from children 16 years
of age or under will be judged
separately in a Youth Division.
A special Par Excellence will be
awarded to the piece the judges feel
best exemplifies this year's theme - the
joy and fun of restoring and flying
Antique, Classic and Contemporary
airplanes of a bygone era.
The deadline for entries is April 30,
1993. For more information, on the
Competition, please contact Joan
Mueller, Registrar, EAA Aviation
Foundation, PO Box 3065, Oshkosh,
WI 54903-3065.
AEROQUIP 601HOSES
Aeroquip Corporation has sent out
a letter detailing problems associated
with the model 601 hose when used
with aviation gasoline. Aeroquip has
seen degradation of the elastomeric
inner tube on the 601 hoses that are in
contact with aviation gasoline, and has
de ter mined that the failures occur
after about 2 years time after
installation. The time in service does
not seem to influence thi s time before
failure - the constant contact with the
fuel over a certain time period is the
determining factor.
If you have any Aeroquip hose
installed on your aircraft, and would
like more information on identifying
and replacing a type 601 hose, contact
Aeroquip.
The letter from the company was
sent to all owners/operators of general
aviation aircraft, but if you did not
receive a copy and would like one,
contact Aeroquip Corporation,
Aerospace Group, 300 South East
Ave. , Jackson, MI 49203-1972. Phone
517/787-8121.
VOLUNTEERSFOREAA
OSHKOSH'93 YOUTH
ACTIVITIES
Convention youth activities
initiated in ' 92 and expanding in '93
need capable, energetic volunteers to
help in the preparation and pre-
sentation of the following youth
activities at EAA OSHKOSH ' 93:
-The WINGS Newsletter needs
help to gather information, prepare
and distribute this pUblication for
youngsters attending the Convention.
EAAers with newsletter or newspaper
experience would be of special help in
this project.
-HANDS-ON WORKSHOP activ-
ities, including traditional aviation
projects plus activities to demonstrate
the basic concepts of flight. Both
aviation craftsmen and educators
could provide significant support of
the Hands-On Workshop for youth at
EAA OSHKOSH '93.
- The CONVENTION QUEST,
provides a daily sequences of activity
for youthful Conve ntion attendees.
We need ideas for activities and
volunteers to staff the activity during
the Convention.
- The YOUTH FORUMS t e nt
nee ds " hosts " to receive the kids,
introduce speakers and answer
questions.
Contact the EAA Education office
at the address listed after this next
itemwithyourinterestandideas.
THECLIFFROBERTSON
AIRPORTWORK
EXPERIENCEPROGRAM
A SummerWorkExperience
forYouth
A new program at EAA' s Pioneer
Airport, starting this summer, will be
the focus ofan exciting new program
for youth. Two youngsters will be
selected to work at EAA from June
21st through August 13th. They will
work 30 hoursperweek for pay in and
around Pioneer Airport. Participants
will also receive ground and flight
instruction plus share in the many
aviation and personal experiences
available at the EAAAviation Center
and with their Oshkosh host fami ly
throughout the Summer. A travel
subsidy for those living outside the
Midwestis available.
Applicantsmust:
-Be participantsin theEAAYoung
EaglesProgram,
-Be16or17yearsofageasofJune,
-Be avai lable June 21st - August
13th,
-Have a demonstrated interest in
aviation,
-Submit a one page letter of
application and a resume of
experiencesplus
-Letters of recommendation from
their local EAA Chapter, school
and others who know and can
recommendthem.
-Application materials must be
receivedbyMay1,1993.
Questions and applications should
bereferredto:
TheEducationOffice
EAAAVIAnON
FOUNDATION,Inc.
P.O.Box3065
Oshkosh,WI54903-3065
Phone(414) 426-4888
PARKSCOLLEGECADETS
Parks College of Saint Louis
University will host a reunion October
2-3, 1993, for all U.S. Army Corps
cadets trained by Parks College
personnel during World War II. The
reunion will be held on the Parks
College campus in Cahokia, Ill. in
conjunction with the college' s annual
homecomingandopen house. Former
All loaded up with mail and ready for takeoff is this DeHaviliand DH-4 bi pl ane
powered with a 400 hp Liberty engine. The unusual part of this photo from the EAA
archives is that the skis are installed backwards! The longer portion of the ski should
be ahead of the axle and the big curved tip should be at the front! One wonders how
the pilot made out on his flight.
instr uctors of cadets are especiall y
invited toattend.
Parks College trained cadets at five
locations: t he Parks campus in
Cahokia, IL; Cape Girardeau and
Sikeston, MO; Jackson, MS; and
Tuscaloosa,AL. If you,oranyoneyou
know, were a cadet or an instructor
involved with the WWII training
programunderParksCollegeauspices,
please contact Nita Browning,
Director of Public Relations, Parks
College of Saint Louis University,
Cahokia, IL, 62206, or 618-337-7500,
ext.206.
SILVER WINGS
FRATERNITY
Bill Auman and Robert Mellinger
both wrote to fill us in on the latest
information concerning this organ-
ization, in response to our news note
last month. Membership is open to
those who have soloed an aircraft 25
years prior to the date ofapplication.
Give the date, location and type of
aircraft you soloed in, along with a
check for $15 to Silver Wings
Fraternity,P.O.Box44208,Cincinnati,
OH 45244. Phone 513/321-5822.
Annual dues are $10 thereafter. The
HQfor the fraternity is now P.O. Box
11579, Burke, VA 22009-1579. Phone
703/303-8763.
Robert and Bill both advised that
the founder of the fraternity, Russ
Brinkley passed away about a year
ago. An early aviation pioneer, Russ
was an airshow announcer in the late
'20s and '30s, and at one time had his
own airshow. He also worked as a
newspaper man and radio announcer,
as well as a stint at the Waco factory
for a period of time. Thanks for the
help,gentlemen!
EAA PERIODICALINDEX
Onceagain,John Bergeson has this
year' s installment of his handy EAA
Reference Guide ready for shipment.
With it, you can locate just the article
youarelookingforinyourcollection.
The basic vol ume covers 1953 -
1989,andcosts$18.
Thesupplementsoneeachfor 1990,
'92 and '93 cost $3 for each
supplement.
Payment is to be made in U.S.
funds, orVisa and Mastercardarealso
accepted. Postage paid (bookrate) to
USA and Canada. Other countries
add$2 peritem.
Send your orders to: John
Bergeson,6438 W. Millbrook, Remus,
MI 49340-9625,phone517/561-2393.
CESSNA140A STC
Basedonthe attentiongiven by the
NTSB and Cessna to water
contamination problems in high wing
Cessna aircraft , C-Mods, Inc. has
announced they have an STC'd kit
available to install a drain valve in the
fuel sump (thelowest point in the fuel
system) of Cessna 140As. The
installation allows water and other
contaminates to be drained from the
fuelsystemduringpreflight.
C-Mods has otherSTCs available
for a variety ofother Cessna aircraft.
Kitpricesrangefor$20-25 peraircraft.
Contact C-Mods , P.O. Box 15388,
Durham, NC 27704 for more
information. .-
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 3
MAIL
Dear Editor,
This is to say that I very much en-
joyed your article in "Vintage Airplane"
on the often abused and maligned (milk
stool) Piper Tri-Pacer.
It seems that very few people can
comprehend the good fortune this perky
little aircraft brought to the aviation
world. First, it gave Piper Aircraft a sec-
ond chance to become another world
leader in light plane manufacturing; 2. it
gave hundreds of small airport operators
a small plane in which they could still
clear a few bucks, 3. and to the private
pilot, a craft in which he could afford to
fly with his family.
Down through the years I have
owned three models of the PA-22; a
1953, '56 and the '63 Colt model ... all
performed well and were very economi-
cal to operate. The only short-coming I
perceived was the little craft 's inability
to carry a full load in high country ...
but what 4 place 150 hp craft can??
I recall , how many years ago, I was
demonstrating the Tri-Pacer to Hubert
Baker, a seasoned pilot and he was as-
tonished at the way you could trim-up
the craft for a 300 fpm sink down to pat-
tern level without touching the controls.
Later on, Piper mentions this control
technique in some of their advertising,
in case a non-rated pilot was trapped on
top of a solid overcast was their reason-
ing for this maneuver.
If r may have the liberty to say so,
there is one statement on page 12 in
your article that I feel needs a bit of ex-
planation. The statement goes some-
thing like this: ("The PA-20 Pacer's con-
ventionallanding gear was making it
tough for Piper to compete with the
Cessna 172. ") During its production
life, the Pacer didn' t have to compete
with the 172, as the 172 did not appear
' til late 1955.
Actually, Cessna is the one that had
to compete, after the runaway sales
achievements of the Tri-Pacer which be-
gan in 1951. It seems to me the Piper
Cherokee is the craft that had to com-
pete with the 172.
r believe if Piper had elected to do a
little modification on the PA-20-22 series
4 FEBRUARY 1993
they could have evolved into a line of air-
craft quite similar to the Maule aircraft
which are very popular and useful today.
The above statement is certainly not
to belittle your " Best Kept Secret" arti-
cle ... my hope is to add just a little to it.
I too think the "Milk Stool " has been
abused and overlooked so many times.
As you mentioned in your article, the
Tri-Pacer is now enjoying a new lease on
life as many are being converted back to
Pacer form by sport pilots, and probably
even more so by bush pilots in remote
areas over the world. These aircraft
make a fine light weight bush plane.
ram enclosing a photo of a 1956 model
that was converted by EAA member Ed
Cahill a few years ago, in Juneau, AK.
Ed and r just landed the little craft on the
North Pacific ocean beach, and did a lit-
tle fishing. The first shot shows the PA-
22-20 rigged out as a bush plane, and the
other shot shows the same aircraft rigged
out for cross country flying. Note the Q-
Tip C.S. prop, and wheel pants. Again,
thanks for the good job on the Piper arti-
cle , and all the other fine features of
"Vintage Airplane."
Sincerely yours,
Roy G. Cagle
A IC 9212
Prescott, Arkansas
Thanks for the compliment Roy - and
for the clarification. The Tri-Pacer was
indeed selling the industry on its ear dur-
ing its first year oj production - Pip er
sold more than 900 Tri-Pacers during the
first two years of production. With over
7600 of the airplanes built, it 's a safe bet
that the Tri-Pacer will be around for a
long time to come. - HGF ...
The"FirstFlight"
by Susan Islas
July 11, 1991
Max Kruger's Bird biplane teaches a
new pilol what flying was like so many
years ago ...
It was as if it was out of a story book.
One filled with time that stood sti lL.the
easy life and simple pleasures. A story
without a plot but enjoyed for its content.
It was an early Sunday morning as I
drove across town to "my" airport. The
airport is about 16 miles west of town. A
5000 foot paved runway nestled between
corn fields and vast farm land. Quiet and
remote, it has a charm and personality of
its own that lures and refreshes the soul.
As I drove the final stretch of road
leading to the airport, I took a casual in-
ventory of the familiar sights. No cars. I
am the first one here. That's good. It will
be quiet then. Looks like Lou (the family
FBO) is not up yet. There' s my Cessna
150. She looks pretty sitting there waiting
to be flown this morning. Windsock is
gently flowing, not too much wind right
down the runway too. Corn sure looks
ready to be picked. Amount of rain must
have been just right this year. Liked it
better when there were no crops on these
fields, more places to land. Guess farm-
ers have to farm.
What is that?! Looks lik e an open
hangar. Someone is here after a ll.
Haven't seen that airplane before. Can't
make it out just yet. It's a bright orange
one though. That's strange, I have never
noticed that hangar before, although it 's
always been there.
As I drive closer I can't keep my eyes
off the mystery plane. I always enjoy see-
ing an unfamiliar airplane. Soon I reali ze
it 's a biplane but before I can make out
further details I must turn around the cor-
ner and park.
The child inside of me wanted to
scramble out of the car, and dash over to
the hangar only to be too breathless to
ask questions. Instead, with great self-
control, I slowly exited my car and made
my way to the hangar.
I rounded the corner and stood dumb-
founded at what I saw. There, glistening
with absolute perfection in the early
morning sun, was a Brunner Winkle Bird.
Not that I knew what it was at the time.
However, I was certain it was somet hing
special. Some airplanes take time to de-
velop a personality. The Bird, however,
exuded instant character. She held her
nose high with a certain haughtiness. Yet
the broad fuselage and motorcycle-sized
tires let one know that she was still hum-
ble. The bright fuselage was in stark con-
trast to her cream colored wings. The
fabric was taut , revealing her aerody-
namic form and lines. The metal cross-
wires (later I was to learn they are called
flying wires) stood si lent, but I knew once
airborne, they would si ng. Under her
nose a huge radiator rudely interrupted
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 5
the gentle curve of the cowling. A shiny
wood propeller, open cockpit; all things
from a time past. A time I did not know.
A man was sitting by the old Bird. He
acted as if he had not a care in the world.
Looked as if he were contemplating, but
not too hard. He was looking out , away
from the airplane, watching that early
morning sunrise that complemented the
Bird so.
"Like your plane," I said, trying not to
be over-enthusiastic.
No introduction, no exchange of
names. Wasn't necessary. We already had
a common bond.
"Oh, it's not mine, I just fly it," he said
in even tones.
You just fly it?! , I thought. Wow! This
guy actually flies this plane! He actually
sits in that cockpit, "revs" her up and
takes to the air. He gets to hear those
crosswires sing! He just flies it. Ha! I had
a feeling no one JUST flies it, they experi-
ence it. If she flies anything like she looks,
it must be some great experience. "What
kind of airplane is it?" I asked, not daring
at this point about keeping my enthusi-
asm in check or revealing my possible ig-
norance.
"It's a Bird," he said matter-of-factly.
"Oh?" I said, hoping he would offer a
more in-depth answer.
He spoke as if he were talking about
the Sunday afternoon newspaper. Non-
chalantly, arms folded behind his head,
looking off into the distance, he slowly
began to elaborate about "The Bird."
"It ' s a Brunner Winkle Bird. They
were built in the twenties. This particular
one was built in 1929. Nice f1yin ' air-
plane. In fact , Charles Lindbergh bought
one for his wife to learn how to fly in. Of
all the airplanes he could have had, he got
her this one. She's still alive, you know.
Still talks about her Bird. The engine
though, no, that's a 1917 Curtiss OXX-6.
It's water cooled. That's why you see that
big radia tor. "
"What is the cruise speed?" I asked.
(As if it really mattered.)
"Oh, it ' ll cruise around 85 mph. Yea,
it'll move if you want it to, but this isn't an
airplane to go places in. We fly it around
here mainly. We like to fly it early morn-
ings when it is still cool so we can really
enjoy its great flying characteristics.
"Go ahead, take a look inside the cock-
pit if you want. See those bars up there?
Don' t grab those, they connect the
ailerons. Keep on the black protected
part when you step on the wing."
Carefully, I hoisted myself up onto the
lower wing and peeked into the cockpit.
A stick, a throttle, and little else. Beauti-
fully simplistic.
''I'm waiting on the owner to get here,"
he said. "He was supposed to get here at
7:30 a.m. Maybe he got confused and
thought 8:00. Anyhow, if you ' re still
around here when he gets here you can
6 FEBRUARY 1992
probably go up for a ride if you want," he
stated in that same casual manner. "Prob-
ably won't get many chances to ride in a
Bird."
"Really!? " I exclaimed. (No compo-
sure here, folks.) "That would be great!"
He only nodded.
A ride, I thought, in the Bird! Do I re-
ally want to do this? Am I going to en-
trust my life to a pilot I do not know and
to an airplane that is almost three times as
old as I am? It did have a current airwor-
thiness certificate, I rationalized. I'll ask
Lou about the pilot. Beside, isn't it worth
it to say that I have flown in a 1929 air-
plane, to feel the wind in my hair, feel and
hear that engine and look down from an
open cockpit and to hear those crosswires
sing? ... You bet! My heart pounded a bit
faster at the very thought. You only live
life once and I intend on living it fully.
What an opportunity!
I went to the FBO to do my 'research,'
all the while thinking this was too good to
be true. I couldn't have just blundered
into something as unique as this. Surely
something would fall through and I would
be unable to go up in the Bird. After re-
ceiving a satisfactory approval on both
the pilot and the plane from Lou, my
mind was more at ease.
Soon I heard the roar of an unfamiliar
engine.
"That's it," Lou said. "You better
hurry or you might just miss the chance of
a lifetime." I ran out the door with enthu-
siasm.
Next thing I knew, before I even had a
chance to think twice about it, I was sit-
ting in the front cockpit stuffing earplugs
into my ears, fastening the bulky seat belt.
My heart was pounding.
We taxied to the end of the runway.
No radios to deal with, just the good old
"see and avoid" technique. Lined up and
ready, throttle gently added and she's
rolling! I wondered if it could ever get up
to lift speed. Just as I thought that, our
wheels parted with the ground. It was as
if we floated off from practically a stand-
still. So gently we took to the air that I
thought I was imagining it all and that we
were actually still rolling on the runway
below. For the first time I looked back
over my shoulder at my pilot. He offered
a genial, knowing smile. He wore the typ-
ical old time goggles and helmet.
I felt as if I had been whisked back in
time, for there was no indication of the
1990's. Just farm land, the 1929 Bird with
the 1917 engine, the goggled pilot and his
eager passenger.
As we gradually ascended, I was del-
uged with new sensations. I saw things be-
low I had never seen before. I was look-
ing down , not through a window , but
through the air. The engine roared only a
few feet in front of me . The wind , oh,
how wonderful , the wind rushed through
my hair and in my face. I was flying.
Somehow it felt as if it was for the first
time ever; my "first flight."
We flew over a few green hills and
around the small town at a slow speed,
one for really looking. The farm workers
below momentarily stopped, looked up,
and pointed in amazement. I peered over
the edge of the cockpit, enjoying all the
sensations and sights. I found myself
smiling, feeling wonderfully natural and
free.
After some time the pilot pulled the
throttle back and nosed her over. He
must have known what I wanted.
Quickly, she built up speed through her
own momentum. And in the semi-silence
the wind rushed by the airframe. Then I
heard it, the soft whistle; the singing, of
the crosswires. We pulled up into a stall.
So gentle was the stall, I wasn't sure it re-
ally happened. A few steep turns, an easy
hammerhead or two, and I knew the Bird
was a friendly airplane. She made every-
thing comfortable and easy.
Soon, too soon, it was time to land.
Throttled back, we coasted towards the
runway. However, we were not lined up
with the cement runway, but rather next
to it , towards the grass. I braced myself
for a bumpy landing. I should have
trusted her consistent amiable tempera-
ment , for she took to the grass like it was
a pillow. She' s made for grass, I thought.
Sure hope the pilot did not sense my an-
ticipation. It was the softest landing I
have ever experienced. I smiled back at
the pilot to acknowledge his skill and to
thank him for the flight. He still had that
same smile, as if he knew what I was ex-
periencing.
Slowly, I climbed out, not eager for it
all to end. I walked away with strong im-
ages of the flight still lingering in my mind.
The pilot turned the Bird over to the
owner. I watched as he taxied her away
and took off again to the place where she
belonged - in the air. She slowly flew into
the distance. Her bright orange faded
into but a shadow on the horizon.
Some hours later I was still in a reverie
about my "first flight. " I walked into a
restaurant full of people. All eating, all
going about their lives as usual. I thought
to myself, I have done something this
morning that no one in this room proba-
bly has ever had the chance to do. What a
way to start my day! What a nice experi-
ence to add to my life collection of experi-
ences. It made me glad to be alive.
I have experienced flight in a way that
not even many pilots have. I did not read
or hear about history that day, I experi-
enced it. I felt it, heard it, smelled it, and
lived it. For a brief moment, time stood
still for me and I could imagine what it
was like in that time I did not know. I
learned a most memorable lesson from a
silent but genteel teacher - The Brunner
Winkle Bird. ...
WoodgrainOn Metal?
"Woodgrain by Estes" keeps anold printing process alive
for aircraft and automotive restorers
YESI
by H.G. Frautschy
Editors Note: During the past couple
of years, while I have had the privilege of
editing Vintage Airplane I've noticed and
pointed out that aircraft restorers, by their
very nature, are a pretty resourceful
bunch. Many of the folks involved in
restorations have a particular talent that is
not very well known, or perhaps is very
specialized. In the future, we will try to
highlight some of their handiwork here in
the pages of VINTAGE AIRPLANE.
Those people or companies with a little
known but much appreciated or sought
after talent are the ones we are looking
for, so if you know ofsomeone or a small
company who has an unusual talent,
please drop us a line - we'd love to tell oth-
ers about them, and I'd bet they would
like to have the exposure here in the mag-
azine.-HGF
It looks like wood. But it doesn't
sound like wood when you rap it with a
knuckle, and it ' s cold to the touch, just
like metal. What is it? Self-adhesive
vinyl? Paint? Formica? Nope. None of
the above. It ' s metal printed to look like
wood grain!
Back in the decades before and after
WW II, a number of companies, including
a few aviation firms, took advantage of a
printing process that gave the appearance
of woodgrain, but without the muss and
fuss of wood finishing and its attendant
maintenance headaches. All sorts of
things had "woodgrain" applied to them,
including jukeboxes, but by far the most
prevalent use of the woodgrain printing
process was the automotive industry -
over 65 different car companies used the
system to detail the interiors of their cars.
Everything from Plymouth to Packard
and Dusenberg had the woodgrain ap-
plied for trim. According to Bennie Estes,
in addition to the Aeronca Chief instru-
ment panel, other aviation manufacturers
that used the woodgrain trim included
Stinson, Waco and Fairchild.
Also, a few models of cash registers
made by the National Cash Register Com-
pany (NCR) in Dayton, Ohio also used
this process, which resulted in a light, easy
to care for finish that was somewhat unaf-
fected by heat and humidity, and could be
easily cleaned. The automotive firms
found it to be a cheaper (on a production
line basis!) and attractive way to "dress Bennie and Pat moved their business
up" the interior of their autos, without to Sarasota, FL in 1978, and have been
having to add wood finishing costs to the steadily working ever since, doing work
final price of the car. Aeronca and evi- for customers world-wide, from instru-
dently a few other aviation firms found ment panels to finishing the woodgrain
the "woodgrained" panels added an auto- stock on a prop gun for the Oliver Stone
motive look to their cockpits , perhaps movie "JFK. " It seems the producers
making them a bit more appealing to the needed a realistic looking replica of Lee
average Joe who might be shopping for Harvey Oswald' s gun, and the woodgrain
his post-war aerial carriage. process (which can actually be applied to
Bennie Estes was an engineer at NCR any material, as long as the base material
during the 1960s, and had watched the can hold a smooth coat of paint) was the
production people at NCR apply the pro- finishing touch they needed. Other cus-
cess to the cash registers that were run- tomers include Don Garlits, the famous
ning through the production line. He re- drag racer, who is having a number of his
calls watching them apply the woodgrain show cars finished off with this woodgrain
and thinking to himself, "That would be a process.
fun hobby to get into. " During the years The process sounds simple, but it re-
1967-68, NCR decided to phase out the quires a deft touch and and methodical
process, and shortly thereafter, Bennie mind to make it all work out. Bennie and
left NCR to start his own machine shop. his business partner, Pat Estes, have be-
He purchased the equipment from NCR, come masters at applying the woodgrain
and started playing with it. After three to any surface, including a compound
years of research, Bennie decided to sell curve!
the machine shop and dive headlong into After carefully prepping the material
the woodgrain printing business. with zinc chromate and making certain
The first jobs he did were restorations that any surface imperfections have been
for antique cars that had originally had eliminated, the process begins with a
this process applied to the dashboard. As base coat of paint applied to the piece to
so often happens, as the Estes' work be- be woodgrained. This paint will be the
came known in antique car circles, a few light "in between the grain" portion of
auto enthusiasts who were also into air- the "wood." Then the actual printing
planes began to have work done for them. process begins.
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First, the appropri ate type of
woodgrain is selected, and the cor-
responding photo-etched plate is
laid out on the workbench. Bennie
and Pat currently have over 90
plates from which to choose. Each
plate i s etched from 3 to 7 thou-
sandths of an inch deep, which will
give appropriate variations i n the
grain. One style of woodgrain is
shown.
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 7
The ink is then carefully applied to the piece to be printed. A crude
analogy would be using a rubber stamp and a stamp pad - the
process is similar. This part of the process requires an adroit
touch, and must be done using great care. One slip, and it's strip
it off and try again! Normally, at this stage, only the base coat of
paint would be visible, with the woodgrain ink being applied over
the lighter color paint. In this demonstration photo, the panel has
already had the woodgrain printing and protective urethane
topcoat applied. Each pass of the rubber roller must be carefully
matched to the edge of the previous pass.
An expensive ink is then applied to the
plate, and is carefully squeegeed into
the etched areas of the plate, using a
finely machined metal squeegee. With
the 90 plates they have in stock, Bennie
and Pat can produce over 1600 grain
variations.
A very soft rubber roller is used to pick up the ink from
the plate. How soft is the rubber? Its hardness is in the
range of 4-6 dirometers - close to Silly Putty with a
memory. If you were to push your fingerprint into the
roller surface, the imprint of your finger would remain for
a number of minutes, and then the rubber would return to
its molded state. A variety of rollers and applicators are
used to transfer the ink, but they all have very soft rubber
as the transferring surface.
The completed panel, showing the fine
variation of the wood grain pattern.
After the ink has dried, a clear coat
finish of urethane is sprayed over the
surface to give a varnished look to the
woodgrain finish, and to protect the ink
and base coat of paint from the
elements.
8 FEBRUARY 1992
The complete process can take as
long as 3 to 4 weeks. After each step, in-
cluding the prep work, adequate time is
given for the paint or ink to cure, with-
out any additional heating used to speed
the cure. Each panel may get 15 or 30
minutes attention each day, as each piece
of the puzzle is linked together to com-
plete the process.
They also prefer to do all of the
preparation work themselves, to make
certain the base for the printing process
will be compatible. Fortunately, with
the new urethane primers and paints
available versus the nitrocellulose lac-
quers used originally, the restored in-
strument panels should last much
longer, and be more resistant to the en-
vironment.
The cost is not inexpensive - the
Fairchild panels you see here were priced
at approximately $225. Unfortunately,
since each panel is done as an individual
project, the relatively low cost per piece
of a production line run, when hundreds
or thousands of pieces were done at the
same time, is simply not possible. But if
replicating the exact same process used
on your piece of trim is important to
you, investigating whether this process,
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(Above) Densel Williams' EAA Oshkosh
'92 Grand Champion Classic Aeronca
11 CC Super Chief has an instrument
panel finished by "Woodgrain By Estes"
as the centerpiece of his nicely restored
interior. Aeronca used the woodgrain
effect in an effort to make the cabin of
the Super Chief more "car like." It also
has the added benefit of being much
lighter in weight than a wooden panel of
the same configuration.
Bennie Estes and his business partner,
Pat Estes, proudly show the finished
panels for Joe Hindall's Fairchild 24W.
The finished panel looks spectacularly
like the real thing!
done the same exact way as the original,
may be worth it. You can contact
"Woodgrain By Estes" at 2230 Whitfield
Park Dr. , Sarasota, FL 34243. Phone
813/753-9663.
Remember, if you or someone you
know performs a rare or unique process,
and you think other Antique/Classic
members would like to know about it,
drop me a line here at EAA HQ. Your
fellow members will be happy to find out
that "Hey, that can still be done!" and
the person or company doing the work
will be pleased that others will know
how to contact them. Let us know! ...
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 9
B . o. T. T. 0 .M . S.
"
by RonBailey(EAA408304)
Edmonton,Alberta,Canada
Whenmyyoungestgrandson helped
meblowoutthecandlesonmy sixty-
eighthbirthday,Icametothesobering
realization thatthe timeremainingin
my allotted "threescoreandten"years
was diminishingatanalarmingrate.
Theadvancingyearswerealsocatching
up with "KiloCharlieTango,"my aging
1946 Cessna 140. By EAAcriteria,she
was a"classic"in spiteoflanguishingin
thetall grassatThunderBay,Ontario,
St. Andrews, Manitoba and Cooking
Lake,Alberta. Ourlastpilgrimageto
Oshkoshhadbeenin 1983,butthathad
been from the Lakehead. Nineyears
havesinceelapsedandCookingLakeis
thatmuchfurtherremoved. Icameto
theconclusion thatifwe wereeverto
makeonelast "hadji"tothataviation
mecca in Wisconsin, it had betterbe
soon. Duringherannualmedical this
springIasked MikePaplinskiofAero
Tech Albertaif"CharlieTango"could

to Oshkosh
makethelongjourneytoOshkoshand
return. Hethoughtthatshecould,but
in caseshecouldn't,heinstalledasetof and resetsthegyrooccasionally,we planeandacquireda bride. Notan un-
shoulderharnessas aprecaution. shouldbeabletofind Oshkosh. usualcircumstance. Idecidedtoextend
Navigatingby deadreckoningis an In asocietyobsessedwith acronyms, theinvitationforhim toaccompanyme
anachronismsynonymouswith thesail- this flight would be conducted by through my newdaughter-in-law,hop-
ingship. "CharlieTango's"panelfor " BOTTOMS" (BackOverToTheOld ingitwouldbeacceptedwith moreen-
the mostpartis littlechangedsincethe ManualSystem). Ihada thoughtofac- thusiasm thanhermother-in-lawhad
daysherolledoffthe assemblyin Wi- quiringa LoranorGPSbutratherthan shown. Loandbehold,itwas, andthe
chita,forty-six yearsago. Apartfrom an sit mesmerized by a panelofnaviga- flight planningcouldbegin.
altitudeencodingtransponder,manda- tionalinstruments,Idecidedtolookfor ThefollowingdayIjourneyedoverto
toryin theEdmontoncontrolzonefor aco-pilotinstead. Wecould thenenjoy theEdmontonFlyingClubtopick up a
somedubiousreason, acompassanddi- thesceneryenrouteand atleastknow setofmaps. Forthosewhohaven'tpur-
rectionalgyroareall we have toguide wherewe'dbeen. chaseda new"sectional"lately,bead-
us. Whatthe heck!! CaptainCookcir- My youngestson,Grant,wholives in vised thattheynowcost$13.59percopy
cumnavigatedtheglobewithless. Surely Saskatoon,was aonetimepilot. That (in Canada). Thatshouldbe enoughto
ifonekeepstrackoftheisogoniclines was beforehedisposedofhis thirdair- eithersendthelow budgetflyeroverto
10 FEBRUARY 1992
the tourist bureau for a road map or
commit the old bird to a Ritchie Auction
- and take up golf!
Planning a flight of this duration in-
volved some current factors that were
never discussed at the flight school I at-
tended. A great deal of emphasis was
placed on fuel efficiency and provision for
reserve. I wish that some aviation medi-
cal practitioner would develop a chart
similar to the Koch chart for density alti-
tude, that would relate age, distance and
bladder capacity. By drawing a line on
such a chart one could determine the
ideal dist ance between fuel stops, etc.
Not having such precise data available, I
determined by experience that the flight
time of one hour and thirty minutes be-
tween Cooking Lake and L10ydminster is
about the ideal interval for both fuel and
other requirements. Beyond L1oydmin-
ster, Saskatoon, Regina and Estevan, this
criteria results in an odyssey of middle
America. Stops are indicated at Minot,
Jamestown, Fergus Falls, Flying Cloud,
Waupaca and Oshkosh. This will entail
considerable landing and take-off practice
if nothing else.
The flight to L10ydminster was routine
although I did discern a drop or two of oil
on the tarmac after fueling up. At Saska-
toon, where I picked up my co-pilot , the
oil consumption appeared normal but
again a slight drip from the cowl was
noted. A similar situation prevailed at
Regina and when we arrived at Minot to
clear Customs, the drip had become a
trickle. I feared our Oshkosh flight might
terminate at Minot , ND.
We were parked in front of a hangar
emblazoned with the name Pietsch Fly-
ing Service above the door. The name
struck a respondent chord in my mem-
ory. Twenty-five years previous, I had
made one of the great miscalculations of
my life. I had taken my present co-pilot,
then ten years old, to an airshow at St.
Andrews, Man. The star performer that
day was a stunt pilot named Al Pietsch.
Thus began an involvement in aviation
that would disrupt our happy family ,
usurp my hard earned savings and culmi-
nate here in Minot , North Dakota, star-
ing at a puddle of oil trickling out of an
ancient Cessna.
I walked into the hangar office and
was greeted by a comely receptionist who
smiled when I inquired if this was the
same Al Pietsch whom I remembered
from long ago. She nodded to two chaps
sitting on an adjoining sofa. They were
AI's two sons who had just returned from
flying airshows at Fort St. John and
Whitehorse. Then AI himself showed up.
I asked if he remembered flying an old
Starduster Too at an airshow at St. An-
drews, Man. in 1967. He repli ed that it
was a new Starduster Too and is now an
old Starduster Too.
On learning of our predicament, he
immediately dispatched a fine young me-
chanic who pulled "Charlie Tango" over
to the hangar. After steam cleaning the
engine, it was determined that the leak
was in the generator seal and he immedi-
ately began to remove the generator.
The next morning all was back together
and we were on our way to Oshkosh
once again.
I get distressed when I hear disparag-
ing remarks about our American friends
and the above incident only amplifies my
unease in this regard.
At each FBO we stopped we were
treated courteously. "Charlie Tango"
inspired favorable comment and re-
ceived TLC during each fueling opera-
tion. We had decided that I would fly
the morning shift while fresh and Grant
would take over after lunch as I began to
fade. After laps from Minot to
Jamestown and Fergus Falls, I was
happy to relinquish the controls for the
flight to Flying Cloud. We had decided
to overnight in Minneapolis and visit a
cousin of mine. Flying Cloud is located
deep within the Twin Cities control zone
(TCA) and the radio traffic suggested
this would be a good warmup for
Oshkosh. Our Mode C transponder
came into use and we were vectored into
Flying Cloud directly. On the ground
we proceeded to Aero Services, Inc.
where they fueled us up and provided
hangar storage free of charge. Depar-
ture the following morning was handled
like the arrival and we were cleared on
course right through the control zone.
H is a two and one quarter hour flight
from Flying Cloud to Waupaca. We ar-
rived over this picturesque little Wiscon-
sin town shortly before noon . The
Oshkosh ATIS advised that the field
would be closed until 1900. This being
Saturday, the second day of the big air-
show, we had anticipated such a contin-
gency and arranged to stay at Waupaca
which has a fine uncontrolled airport with
a new terminal building and great
tiedowns. That afternoon we rented a
" U-Drive" and drove to the " 1201140
Assn." barbecue at the Oshkosh Country
Club. Of all the attendees, we had flown
the farthest and were royally treated.
Sunday proved another difficult day
for arrivals. The pilot of a KR-2 suffered
a heart attack during flight and crashed
off the south end of the airport. This re-
sulted in various complications so we de-
cided to postpone our attempted field ar-
rival until the following day.
In the sky, bright and early over Wau-
paca on Monday morning, we learned
Oshkosh was closed and holding was in
progress due to congestion of arrivals.
The Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pa-
cific Railroad once had a branch line run-
ning through the towns of Ripon and Fisk
into Oshkosh. The abandoned line runs
straight to Wittman Field and is used to
direct incoming arrivals by a controller on
the ground at Fisk. We were finally able
to penetrate the great circle of planes
milling around Rush Lake. Prop to tail ,
in single file, around and around we went
for almost an hour, listening to the con-
troller's instruction. No verbal response
VINTAGE AIRPLANE11
Ron's grandson, Cody Bailey, poses by a "Corsair Statue" at Denver's Centennial
Airport. He is of the next generation of pilots.
is needed. Finally we heard the following,
"Red and white Canadian Cessna 140,
rock your wings, proceed down the tracks
to Fisk. Maintain 90 knots and 1800 MSL.
Monitor Oshkosh Tower 118.5 over Fisk.
All trailing aircraft follow Canadian
Cessna, single file. " We were to lead the
parade! Down the old right-of-way we
went toward Fisk. Changing to tower fre-
quency as requested, our instruction was,
" Red and white Canadian Cessna 140,
downwind right, two seven, on the button,
clear to land. Out over Lake Winnebago
on downwind, right base and short final
to two seven."
No sooner had our wheels touched
the pavement than a bike rider waved us
off the runway and we began our tortu-
ous taxi to the show plane parking area
at the far end of runway 36. Finally we
had arrived. Row 85, third space in from
the flight line, an ideal location for view-
ing the airshow and the arrivals and de-
partures.
One of the major highlights of Oshkosh
for me was a visit to the EAA Air Adven-
ture Museum. This was my first opportu-
nity to view the new Eagle Hangar, added
in 1989. Awesome!!! This museum is a
world class facility and like the Tyrrell
Museum of Paleontology in Drumheller,
Alberta, two or three days are required to
do it justice. I also enjoyed Pioneer Air-
port , a Stan-Reynolds-like collection of
vintage aircraft , all in flying condition and
stored in vintage hangars as Stan has done
at Wetaskiwin. Each day they wheel them
out on the tarmac for viewing or a flight
12 FEBRUARY 1992
around the patch.
The heavy military metal that we en-
joyed at Namao this spring was somewhat
different than the " heavy iron" at
Oshkosh. There was, however, a good
supply of "Warbirds" and some beauti-
fully restored B-25 Mitchells that flew in a
Doolittle commemoration of the raid on
Tokyo fifty years ago.
Another highlight was the appearance
of a second Lockheed Super Constella-
tion restored to flying condition. I had
last seen this old aircraft languishi ng away
at Dorval, Quebec, after a spr uce bud
worm spraying expedition. It was pur-
chased in 1984 by John Travolta and is
now owned by Vern Raburn of Scotts-
dale, Arizona. The Gee Bee was parked
nearby a nd each time a shower threat-
ened, they pushed it under the Connie's
broad wing for s helter. Delmar Ben-
jamin's Gee Bee was also a treat to watch
in the air and his flying performance at
the airshow was spectacular.
For one whole week at Oshkosh, we
heard not one word of murders, rapes,
AIDS or politics. The only talk we heard
was about airplanes , the people who
built them, the people who owned them
and the people who flew them. Oshkosh
is a tonic to last the whole year. Good
on you, EAA.
All good things must come to an end
however, and tomorrow we must pack up
and head for home. The next morning as
we arose at dawn , departures were a l-
ready underway. We completed our ablu-
tions and had our last breakfast in the
Hangar Cafe. Since my co-pilot had got-
ten us safely into Oshkosh, it was my turn
to get us safely out. The ATIS advised
that runway 27 was in use for departures
with a wind of 300/12. Our bike escort
was waiting and guided us back through
the tortuous route we had followed on ar-
rival. The taxiing process consumed al-
most an hour. The scene that greeted me
on arriving at the threshold of 27 was one
to make the heart of a pasture pilot skip a
beat. Aircraft were departing in pairs
from either side of the center line. At any
one moment, there were six planes on the
runway in various stages of departure,
many of them taildraggers like ourselves.
There was no turning back however, when
we got the wave, it was right aileron, full
throttle, get the tail up and away we go!
"Charlie Tango" pointed skyward like a
horse heading for the barn in a snow-
storm. The euphoria of that moment will
remain as the apogee of my aviation ex-
perience forever.
We touched down at Waupaca to fuel
up with 80/87 and access the Pan Ameri-
can Weather Network, which provides
hard copy of the SA' s, IT's, upper winds
and weather map. A big "high" was build-
ing over North Dakota so once again, the
Lord tempers the wind for the 140 flyers.
Having forgone a second cup of coffee
this morning, I manage to endure the
three hour flight to St. Cloud, MN. My
co-pilot flies the next three hour stretch
to Jamestown where we overnight. Two
Globe Swifts follow us in with the same
idea. One is a si ngle pilot and the other a
couple, each heading for California and
dodging a front in Wyoming. We share
the mot e l limousi ne , have dinner and
spend a convivial evening together shar-
ing our Oshkosh experiences.
The weather is CA vOK (CAVU in
the U.S.) next morning and we will make
the best of it. Two and a half hours to Es-
tevan and a similar interval to Saskatoon,
where I (reluctantly) lose my co-pilot.
The next day it was on through familiar
skies to Alberta.
Except for the incident in Minot, " Kilo
Charlie Tango" performed flawlessly.
Home again, she has resumed her static
angle of repose on the three concrete
slabs embedded in the turf at Cooking
Lake. To the casual observer she might
have just returned from a flight to Tofield,
Camrose or Wetaskiwin. I, however,
have a plaque with her picture on it and a
mug adorned with a set of pewter wings,
to prove she had once been an " An-
tique/Classic" showplane at EAA
Oshkosh '92. She done good.
The flight to Oshkosh covered some
3000 miles , involved sixteen stops and
required thirty-five hours flying time.
The acronym "BOTTOMS" turned out
to be descriptive because after that
length of time in a Cessna 140, I cer-
tainly had a sore one! ...
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Poised on the flight line at EAA OSHKOSH '92, John and Linda's 1942 Grumman G-
44A Widgeon displays the classic lines of the stout airframe designed by the
engineers of the "Grumman Iron Works."
The late 1930s saw remarkable changes
in the still relatively new industry called
aviation. Aircraft manufactured towards
the end of the decade would benefit from
the advances being made in aircraft struc-
tures and aerodynamics, as well as a loos-
ening or the Great Depression's financial
stranglehold. Grumman Aircraft was in a
unique position to reap the rewards of
these changes.
As the United States geared up its mili-
tary for the defense of the free world,
Grumman produced a series of military
aircraft that literally spanned the changes
that would characterize the decade - from
biplanes with fabric covered surfaces, to
all metal monoplanes. Roy Grumman's
company began with work for the U.S.
Navy, designing an amphibious float for
14 FEBRUARY 1993
use with the Vought Corsair biplane
fighter. With the exception of outside re-
pair work on Loening Air Yachts, done to
help keep the company coffers solvent
while the engineering and fabrication
work was done on the military project ,
Grumman built aircraft entirely for the
military. But the civilian market was
never far from Roy Grumman's thoughts
and, in 1936, after being contacted by a
syndicate of 10 wealthy businessmen, pen
was put to paper to create Grumman Air-
craft's first civilian airplane design, the
twin-engined G-21 Goose, an amphibian
with plenty of room for the businessman
/sportsman who could afford the $60,000
price tag. Grumman was in the unique
position of having a lot of experience
building seaplanes, having built the J-l
and J-2 Duck series for the military since
1934. Experience gained from the hull de-
sign of the Duck, and the ingenious land-
ing gear designed by Roy Grumman and
Bill Schwendler would add up to help
make the Goose, and its smaller sibling,
aircraft with no equal. The Goose first
flew May 31, 1937, and would stay in pro-
duction until 1945, with a total of 345 air-
planes built.
The Goose proved to be a success for
Grumman, but it was, for some, a bit too
large. Market studies showed there was
potential for a smaller twin-engined am-
phibian with the same basic capabilities as
the 6-place Goose, but at a lower operat-
ing cost.
In August 1939, the engineering staff at
Grumman began work on the new smaller
(Below) The front office of the Widgeon,
complete with overhead engine controls.
The hatch on the right side of the
cockpit allows entry to the bow hatch. A
removable rudder bar fits in a receptacle
on the floor to allow the co-pilot to fly
the amphibian using the throwover yoke.
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amphibian, the 4 to 5-place model G-44.
The G-44 was basically just a shrunk down
version of the G-21 Goose, of which the
flight characteristics were considered out-
standing for a plane of its weight and size.
Maintaining the company tradition of
naming the amphibious aircraft after wa-
terfowl , the new trim little airplane was
dubbed "Widgeon," after a small freshwa-
ter duck found in various parts of the
world. (The British, who would later take
delivery of 11 of the military model J4F-2,
would, no doubt referring to the ancestry
of the smaller amphibian, dub the airplane
the "Gosling. ") Work on the airplane was
completed by the middle of 1940, and Bud
Gillies and Roy Grumman first test flew
the airplane on June 28, 1940. Pleased
with the results, work progressed towards
certifying the design, as war clouds loomed
on the horizon. The Widgeon would have
just 37 built before Grumman was to shift
all production to military aircraft. The
Widgeon line was not stopped though - it
simply became the J4F, as its utility be-
came known to the military. The U.S.
Coast Guard was the first military cus-
tomer, buying 8 airplanes in 1941 for use
in coastal patrol. (It would later buy 17
more during 1942.) The Navy also found
the Widgeon useful , and would order 131
for use as utility aircraft - submarine spot-
ting, search and rescue, medical evacua-
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15
tion and whatever else the Navy had a
need for. Even the U.S. Army found the
Widgeon useful, sometimes flying the air-
craft as landplanes, removing the tip floats
for a little added speed. The uniquely
large cabiil, essentially a box with the bot-
tom hull " Y" added, was very comfort-
able for almost any activity the military
could come up with. For added utility,
the Coast Guard aircraft had a flip-open
hatch added to the top of the fuselage,
just above the normal door opening. The
top loading hatch allowed easier loading
of patient litters.
A Coast Guard Widgeon also served
as an offensive weapon - the Widgeon as-
signed to th e C.G. base at Houma,
Louisiana is officially credited with a sub-
marine kill in the Gulf of Mexico, south of
the Mississippi river delt a. The action
took place on August 1, 1942. The J4F
had bee n modified to carry a 325 lboo
depth charge under the starboard wing.
On routine patrol over the Gulf, Chief
Aviation Pilot Henry C. White and his
crewman, Radioman First Class George
H. Boggs, Jr. spotted the 225 foot long
16 FEBRUARY 1993
German submarine U-166 on the surface.
As the sub tried to make its escape by div-
ing, White released the depth charge
while in a dive with the Widgeon, and Ra-
dioman Boggs observed the bomb ex-
plode with what appeared' to be a direct
hit. The sinking of the U-166 was the
only sinking of a sub by the Coast Guard
during WW II. This Widgeon is still fly-
ing in Alaska today. A similar scene had
been enacted by the Civil Air Patrol two
weeks previous - Wynant Fan and Johnny
Haggin tracked a German U-boat off the
New Jersey coast for three hours until it
came up to periscope dept\l, at wbich time
they dutifully dropped two depth cbarges
on the target. They too were credited
with a submarine kill.
As the war drew to a close, Grumman
began to produce a civilian model of the
Widgeon again. A slight design modifica-
tion to the hull was made (the G-44 had a
tendency to bury its bow on landing if the
approach was made at too Iowa trim an-
gle, as documented in NACA Report W-
104.) The new deep keel configuration
was designed to alleviate that problem.
76 G-44As would be built between 1944
and 1949. An additional 30 aircraft, desig-
nated SCAN 30s, were built in France un-
der license by Societe de Constructions
Aeros Navales in 1949, powered by the
Salmson 8 AS-OO engines of 200 hp.
As the Ranger engine became less and
less the engine of choice for some owners,
a number of modifications were STC'd to
upgrade the Widgeon. One of the most
startling was the install at ion of a pair of
300 hp Lycoming radials. Instantly, the
Widgeon looked even more like its big
brother, the Goose. A different idea was
in the making though - the installation of
the 260 hp Lycoming fl at-opposed engines
gave the Widgeon the added kick it
needed. With constant-speed props and a
total of 120 more horsepower, the Wid-
geon had more acceptable engine out
characteristics (it would now maintain al-
titude on one engine, something it could
not do with the fixed-pitch wood prop and
Ranger engine combination).
Certainly the most commonly known
conversions of the Widgeon were done by
the McKinnon-Hickman Co. Commonly
referred to as the McKinnon conversion,
the centerpiece of the changes made to
the airplane was the installation of a pair
of Lycoming GO-435A engines, equipped
with 2-bladed Hartzell propellers. The
smaller diameter of the 2-bladed props
helps keep them out of the water spray
that is so detrimental to the life of the
prop blades. Additional changes include
the installation of an augmenter type ex-
haust system, and on some airplanes, the
modification of the wing to accept re-
tractable tip floats. As time has passed,
the horsepower of the engines installed
on converted Widgeons has steadily
climbed, to the point that many of the air-
planes now feature almost 1/3 more power
than they had install ed ori ginally. The
added clout of the new installations really
helps the airplane's rate of climb, not to
mention its ability to take off from even
more restricted waterways and runways.
The versatile Grumman Widgeon kept on
doing the job it was designed for long af-
ter it became a bonefi de ant iq ue. For
many owners, nothing else can replace it.
John Schwamm has had the Widgeoo
" bug" for a long t ime. He and his new
bride Linda are enjoying the fruits of the
labor involved in the rebuild of Grumman
G-44 Widgeon serial number 1324,
N144GW. When it was first built in 1942
as a J4F-2, it wore the drab blue and white
of the U.S. Navy, but when it arrived at
EAA OSHKOSH '92 it had a spectacular
new paint scheme, and immediately drew
a small crowd of admirers.
The waterway to Oshkosh was a long
haul for the bantam Grumman - it had
not had a easy life up to that point.
According to John, this Widgeon, in
more than. one occasion in its lifetime, has
had the nose section torn off. Two times
in the past the airplane has suffered a
mishap resulting in its sinking. The first
time, the pilot of the Widgeon, in an at-
tempt to avoid a collision with another
aircraft during a takeoff run, had to lift off
too early. The Widgeon cleared the other
Carl Schuppel
airplane, but without sufficient speed to
maintain fl ight, the pilot wound up land-
ing the amphibian in a lake with the land-
ing gear down. Putting any airplane i n
the water with the gear down just about
guarantees the ai rplane will immediately
bury its nose in the water and l ~ p over on
its back. This time would prove to be no
exception - the Widgeon's nose plunged
into the water, and the loads imposed on
the fuselage were too much, with the nose
of the airplane being torn from the rest of
the fuselage. Dragged back to shore, the
Wjdgeon langui sbed until bought by an
ai rli ne owner who had the airplane re-
built. After flyi ng it for a few years, and
putting a couple of hundred hours on it,
he too had an unfortunate landing - once
again the Widgeon wound up on the bot-
tom of a,lake with the nose of the airplane
ripped off. The airplane was salvaged, a
fiberglass nose put on it and the Widgeon
was flown out to have another major re-
build. A new nose was grafted onto the
airplane, the forward hull you see on the
airplane today. But its days of rough wa-
ter were not yet over.
John does not have all the details, but
after this resurrection, the airplane and
the airline owner were once again plying
the airways and waterways of Alaska
when they became the main players in an-
other incident. While flying off the water,
the Widgeon came back down and landed
on the water surface, but was too close to
the shoreline to turn. It climbed the bank
and went crashing through the trees, tear-
ing off the outer wing panels and twisting
the aft fuselage . The props were man-
gled, and it seemed there was hardly a
piece of metal left in the airplane that
VINTAGE AI RPLANE 17
John and Linda Schwamm
had not been bent or dented, with one
exception - the nose was spared any
major damage this time! John and
Linda said there were a few minor
dents to be worked out of the metal on
the nose, but by and large it was dam-
age free.
Incidentally, in all three of these
crashes , as far as John knows every-
body involved walked away with noth-
ing major hurt. Quite a testimony to
the stout airplanes built by the "Grum-
man Iron Works."
This time, the insurance company
sold the salvaged wreck to an Alaska
Airlines pilot, Dave Strelinger who
later sold it to John Schwamm. When
you've been bitten by the Widgeon
"bug" so hard, you're willing to tackle
anything, so piece by piece, parts were
gathered, rivets drilled and once again,
serial number 1324 Grumman Wid-
geon was made whole. A new set of
wings were found, and the intricate
task of transferring the McKinnon re-
tractable wingtip floats was done. Also,
18 FEBRUARY 1993
to extend the range of the Widgeon,
long range fuel tanks were installed,
bringing the total on board to 176 gal-
lons. Other sheet metal work was
farmed out to various mechanics. Dave
Strelinger, the Alaska airlines pilot,
had a full time mechanic, Chris Ed-
wards, working for him at his shop in
the Seattle area. He worked on the
project for two years, helping John re-
alize his dream of flying a Widgeon.
The 270 hp engines were also re-
placed with a pair of 295 hp Lycomings
that were sold 20 years ago for use on
the Helio Courier. A friend of John's
had run across them in, of all places,
Thailand. They were leftovers from
Helios used during the Vietnam War
era. Even though they came " new" in
the boxes , John had them carefully
checked and overhauled. A pair of
long (90") 3-bladed Hartzell props
help convert all that horsepower to
thrust. The extra power is quite no-
ticeable. The Widgeon can be a hawk
in duck's clothing - with all the extra
power coupled with the new props, it
will surprise you with an astonishingly
rapid acceleration on takeoff, and an
equally impressive rate of climb. All I
could say was "Wow!" as John just sat
over on the left side of the cockpit and
grinned.
The aft cabin presented quite a chal-
lenge to the rebuilders. Badly twisted
and banged up, the aft hull of this Wid-
geon is all new sheet metal, with the
vertical fin off a Coast Guard J4F-1
Widgeon.
As the mechanical work came to a
close, the decision on the color scheme
had to be made. For six months, John
and Linda worked on the paint ideas.
"We really agonized over it," she re-
called.
Keeping elements of the original
paint jobs of the first Widgeons, and
working with the lines of the hull and
wing, they, with the help of Alaskan
artist Don Dawson, came up the the
very pleasing scheme you see on these
pages. The entire airplane is finished
with Ditzler polyurethane enamel, ap-
plied over a three month time frame by
Lindbergh Aircraft in Arlington, W A.
The interior and cockpit were also
carefully restored, with soundproofing,
and pleasant gray leather and tan side
panels. Also included in the ceiling is a
laminated map of Alaska, as their
friends George and Ruby Pappas had
done in their Widgeon.
Up in the cockpit, an entire set of
modern instruments and avionics was
installed in the completely reworked
panel. All of the cockpit placards were
redone, as well as refinishing the many
knobs used on various controls.
Active in the real estate business in
Alaska, John intends to use the WId-
geon more for pleasure than for busi-
ness, for trips to the wilderness to camp
or visit their cabin for fishing.
John and Linda are quite tickled that
such a terrific airplane has come into
their lives, and they look forward to ex-
ploring their ~ state of Alaska with
the Widgeon. Looks like fun to us! ..
by Norm Petersen
A neat photo of Dr. Carl Nichols
standing next to his 1947 Piper PA-12
"Super Cruiser," N3336M, SIN 12-
2194, was featured in the February
1992 VINTAGE AIRPLANE maga-
zine under the column heading "What
Our Members are Restoring." At the
time, we noted that Dr. Nichols' arm
was being gently twisted for him to
come forth with the full story of the
PA-12 restoration.
Lo and behold, this fine gentleman
from Mississippi sent us his entire
photo album with the story of the PA-
12 from beginning to end. With a bit
of information gathered from him, we
are able to complete the story of this
pristine Super Cruiser.
Dr. Nichols made his solo flight in a
J-3 Cub way back in 1941, while a stu-
dent in the Civi l Pilot Training Pro-
gram at "Ole Miss" in Oxford, Missis-
sippi, his alma mater. He admits to an
affinity for Piper aircraft ever since
that time. Over the years he has
owned nine airplanes - of which eight
have been Pipers! (His one "excur-
sion" was a Citabria.)
Shopping about for a PA-12, he
had a PA-12 with a lowtime 150 Ly-
coming that was in good shape, with
one exception - the paint was peeling.
It had been rebuilt about six years
previous but the dope suffered from
poor adhesion. Sensing this would be
a good starting point, Carl bought the
PA-12 and fl ew it up to Cleveland ,
MS home of Pete Jones' Air Repair,
Inc. - well known for Stearman
restorations.
Overhead shot reveals how the paint
was peeling from the fuselage with just
the slightest amount of provocation.
The lack of bonding was painfully
evident.
came across hi s friend, Billy Ray
The original instrument panel really needed some help, especially with the two
Handly of nearby Arcola , MS who
radios removed.
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19
Fuselage is suspended so it can be rotated while the Ceconite
is put on and the first coats of dope are applied. Note the cast
aluminum valve covers on the 150 hp Lycoming.
A close inspection revealed that
mice had chewed most of the ribstitch-
ing in the wings, so the best course of
action was to tear it down and do a
complete rebuild of the airframe. Pete
Jones and his crew agreed to do the
job - provided they weren't "pushed."
(Of necessity, in Pete's shop the Stear-
mans get first priority.) The PA-12
was torn down to reveal a really fine
airframe which was carefully restored
to new condition. A new instrument
panel was fabricated and a new inte-
rior was installed. The outside was
covered in Ceconite and butyrate
dope and finished off in a red and
white paint scheme.
Unusual in that it still has cast alu-
minum valve covers with the large Ly-
Last piece of bootcowl metal is carefully fitted before final
painting. The interior with new instrument panel has also
been installed. Interior colors are red and black.
With the tail feathers and ailerons covered, the airplane is assembled for rigging
coming " L" cast into them, the 150
with the new control cables. You can see that the interior and landing gear are
(continued on page 26) already installed.
All dressed up and ready to go, the "new" PA-12 looks sharp in its fancy new covering and paint scheme - even the hub caps
are red! Note wing fairings on strut ends and jury struts.
20 FEBRUARY 1992
WHATOURMEMBERSARERESTORING
----------------------------by NormPetersen
Jeff Forrest's Stinson 108-1
Brought back to mint condition in
1989, this sharp looking Stinson 108-1
" Voyager ," NC8189K, SIN 108-1189,
is the proud possession of Jeff and
Sharon Forest of Bloomfield Hill s,
MI. Finished off in blue and whit e
Stits using an original paint scheme ,
the Stinson r e tains it s original
Franklin e ngin e in a compartment
that really sparkles with attention to
detail. The aircraft interior is done in
a matching blue and grey that compli-
ment s the exterior. Ori gin a l me t a l
wheel pant s finish the Stinson look.
The poli she d metal prop a nd l arge
spinner gives the first clue that this
classic is something different - plus the
chrome plated nose grill s. The For-
rest' s Stinson is based at the Oakland
Pontiac Airport in Pontiac, MI and is
one of 2308 Stinson 108 series remain-
ing on the FAA register.
Doug Williams' Champion 7GCA
The "fi rst attempt" at rebuilding an airplane re-
sult ed in this very nice looking 1960 Champion
7GCA, N8921, SIN 7GCA-168, by its owner, Doug
Williams (EAA 299040, AIC 11781) of Moreland,
Georgia. Doug reports the rebuild took three and
one-half years of spare time work after the Cham-
pion was damaged by hi gh winds fro m a squall
line. The two spars in the right wing had to be re-
placed and the entire airplane was covered with
the Stits process. A new interior really dressed up
the cockpit area. Powered wit h a Lycoming 0-320
of 150 hp, the Champion would make an excellent
towplane or floatplane - especially with its full
electrical system. Doug says he had planned on
keeping the blue and white Champion forever, but
now wants to rebuild another airplane so he might
consider selling the rather rare bird. (It is one of
only two 7GCA's li sted on the FAA register.)
Doug's phone is 404-253-1120.
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21
WHATOUKMEMBERSABERESTORING
-----------------------byNormPetersen
James Jones' Piper J-3 Cub
An energetic and excited James
Jones (EAA 404793, A/C 19174) of
Cadot , WI r ece ntly brought this
res torabl e woodspar Pipe r J-3 Cub,
22 FEBRUARY 1993
N41567, SIN 9047, to his shop to com-
mence work. Built on April 21, 1942,
the Cub has logged 2703 hours on the
airframe. The original Franklin 65 en-
gine was replaced with a Continental
A65 in 1946, which in turn was rebuilt in
1960 by Southern Minnesota Avi ation
Service, Owatonna, MN for a total of
$611.00! The labor alone was 55 hours
at $3.75/hr. The Cub has been flown
677 hours since then, mostly in central
Fran Nans' Cessna 170B
Some people end up with the best of
all worlds! This very nice looking 1952
Cessna 170B, N8314A, SIN 25066, was
purchased in Minnesota and moved to
Wisconsin by its new owner, Fran Nans of
Cudahy, WI. Complete with a matching
set of Edo 89-2000 floats, the 170B was
Wisconsin by five different owners. It
was placed in storage in 1986 until James
discovered it in a dark, dusty shed in the
spring of 1992. James, who is a brand
new pilot, plans on a total restoration to
original condition.
A close look at James' Cub pictures
reveals a nice '40 Chevy two door and a
1946 Buick fastback in the yard. If these
are an indication of his ability and work-
manship, the Cub will be a dandy.
taken off floats so the new owner could
learn t o fly a taildragger (on whee ls)!
Once this is accomplished, Fran hopes to
put it back on floats in the summer and
enjoy the pleasures of seaplane flying
along with acquring a seaplane rating on
hi s pilot license. Note how the paint
scheme is carefully carried over to the
floats for an overall pleasing effect. ..
Here's what might be called the "basic
flying machine" a "bare bones" airplane.
the photo is from the Russell collection in
the EAA archives. Answers will be pub-
lished in the May, 1993 issue of VIN-
TAGE AIRPLANE. Deadline for that
issue is March 20, 1993.
The November Mystery Plane evi-
dently puzzled many readers, for only
two replies were received. Roy Cagle of
Prescott, AR had the correct answer. He
writes:
"The aircraft was designed and built
during 1929-1930. George H. Orydden,
the designer, had been associated with
William Stout during the development of
the Stout all-metal aircraft. This aircraft
was known at the time as the Prudden-
Whitehead All -Metal Trimotor mono-
plane. The Whitehead part was a Mr.
Edward Whitehead, a World War I vet-
eran and successful businessman who
likely financed the project.
"The aircraft was built by the Atlanta
Aircraft Corp. of Atlanta, Georgia, and
was all-metal throughout of duraluminum
and duraluminum Alclad. It had many
new features for its day - NACA cowling
with collector rings , engine nacelles
mounted in the leading edge of the wing,
Aero shocks, Bendix brakes with high
pressure tires, and a wash room and toi-
let. It was powered by three Wright J-6
R-670 engines and was an eight-place
configuration, or mail and cargo varia-
tions. Wingspan was 66 ft. 6 in.; length 44
by George Hardie
145 mph, landing speed 55 mph. Take-off
run 384 ft. (These references are from
Southern Aviation" and "Aero Digest. ")
An extensive article on the airplane can
be found in the British magazine Flight
for January 2, 1931. "
Charley Hayes of Park Forest , IL
came close. He writes:
"Could the fertile mind of William B.
Stout have been involved in the concep-
tion of this aircraft which certainly looks
like a low-wing Ford Trimotor?"
Roy Cagle also sent in further infor-
mation on the Mystery Plane for August.
John Underwood, Glendale, CA was
right - it is the Frenard Duck. Roy sent a
copy of a short article that appeared in
Air Progress Special , Spring & Summer,
1966 describing the airplane. Quoting
from the article:
"This unusual homebuilt was first
flown in 1950, following four years of de-
sign and construction work by Fred
Arnoldi , a former Curtiss engineer. Craft
seats only its pilot, is known as a ' Fre-
nard' . A quick removable tri-gear plus
addition of floats , permits water opera-
tions. Wings are of fabric-covered torque
box construction and swept; hull is all
plywood with tail fabric over plywood
structure. Stabilizer and elevator are lo-
cated across the bow in a canard configu-
ration, utilizing a plywood/fa bric con-
struction ... The 'Frenard' can be
assembled/disassembled in under an hour
and has its own trailer for road trans-
portation, approximate cost of construc-
tion was $2500 . ..." '*
ft 10 in. Gross weight 7735 Ibs, top speed
Prodden- Whltehead All- Metal Trlmotor monoplane
VINTAGE AI RPLANE 23
DearBuck,
...And here' s more poopon that
knocker Defender. I took t heses hots
whileworkingonTara,Tara,Tara. The
bird belonged totheCAPatthattime(or
someone in the CAP). I sent for t he
bookletdetailingthe hostile fire incident
involvingthislittlebird. I wasa tadatthe
time(about1943). Maybeoneofthese
bookletsis stillextant.
WarmestRegards,
BobO'Hara
EAA77223
AIC 9561
Neat photos! How about it, all you fel-
low Antique/Classic "Pack Rats"? Who
still has a copy of "The Unbelievable Ad-
venture," a small booklet written by
Robert Casey and published by Aeronca
in the 1943 time frame. Casey also wrote
abollt the attack on the Aeronca flown by
Roy Vitousek in his book, "Torpedo Junc-
tion. "
Wally Baldwin also sent in some infor-
mation concerning the incidents involving
Aeroncas during the attack on Pearl Har-
bor. According to the information Wally
has gathered, the airplane shown in the
April, 1991 issue of VINTAGE A I R-
PLANE was shot at by the Japanese dur-
ing the attack, but it was being flown at
that time by a female flight instructor
(Tommie Tombestin) and her student,
James Duncan. Duncan later went on to
become an airline pilot. Roy Vitousek was
flying a different Defender that Sunday
morning in December, 1941. Wally also
included a copy of an ad from Air Trails
magazine, July 1943that highlights the
Roy Vitousek incident.
A BITMOREAERONCASTUFF
DearBuck,
Greetingsfrom RushCity, MN. Ij ust
pushed the Chiefintot he hangarafter
24FEBRUARY 1993
P=1\=SS=IT=T=::rJuck
An information exchange column with input from our readers.
byBuckHilbert
(EM21 ,NC 5)
P.O.Box424
Union,IL60180
A Civil Air Patrol member points to the repaired fuselage longer on damaged by
JapanesegunfirethemorningofDec.7,1941.
AnotherviewoftheDefendershotupduringtheattackonPearlHarbor. BobO' Hara
tookthesephotoswhileworkingonthemovieTora,Tora,Tora.
C')
.,-
(J)
'"
....,
$

I-

\\ THE UIIBELIEVABLE ADVEIITURE II
- OYER DIAMOND tz (r -(:: III ,I," 11 11.",11'11 urly lip'
or II.a' ralcrul tk.:emloer 71h - dvilhm ,.ilol Roy VilollKk mel
Lhe .dn'lltufl: ill _hid. we think of at lteloo!inS .okly
iul"!! r(,lIlm or aUl:!h lIIylhical aupermcn all Tt.rry ..ulthe Pin.tr:..
Will"low 01 tllQ N .... .,. or Ihn1C:y Butr:,. tz 0- Ci rd;"", hi /[h
,,',-r Iot:acb al W.:i liki he .li ved Ih,-lilht early Will',
to juin ",I,a' 1m a"Ullle,1 w., :l familiar ' fluatl ron of Ann,.
hien,j" 01 .. I,.'rul - 1Il"...e n" lalcr II hUllIt of ru achinr.p:un lire
fnull ,I,e nc.reId all i )1 CIIII,I, ..;u:.1 the. ..tollu.hinl f. t:t Ihal bo
"' ' an ""UI On tht' fino' W!I.'l'Il of Jap plaun a t t.cki nl; PeRri
lJarbor. 6' tz 0 The Cculll,lcle II10ry of how thi. "maU II I'"r'
I'iul<" ... forenlllller of Gu.... 11Oi'(X"r ... lu:IJl'l-.1 il a uwner
ht."r.Oul e the r aul Reyer ... of uur u",leo;: l.re,! ,",'lIr wi,l. J_111111 iJ but

,'L":ST

giving rides all day. I can' t remember
the last time I ' ve had so much fun.
I've got to tell you, I thought I would
never see this Chief again. My father
owned it from 1972 -1976 (I am only
22 now, so I was between 2-6 years
old then) . He then sold it to a fellow
in Hinck ley, MN. From there it
passed through to it's present owner.
I looke d at it in mid-1991 . It was a
mess. It had been recovered in 1982
but it had sat since then. The engine
had sat for some six years after r e-
build ( luckil y, someone had pickl ed
it). With the help of my friend, (who
also has his IA), we put the rest of the
pre-war bird toge ther. Since then , I
have put about 40 hours on it giving
rides to kids that are no older that I
was when my father owned it. What I
am really trying to do with the airfield
here is to get some act ivity brewing on
an otherwise dead airstrip, a nd it 's
working too! Well , if you are ever in
the neighborhood, stop into our new
clubhouse - the coffee's always hot,
and the conversation is always about
flying.
The picture was taken around mid-
August 1992. That' s me with a certain
1941 Aeronca Chief 65-CA, N36526
that I truly enjoy flying.
James G. Lockbaum
Burnsville, MN
EAA 372424
AIC 16420
Sounds Good!
Over to you,
Buck
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25
Dr. Nichols'PiperPA12150
(continued from page 20)
MEMBERSHIP
INFORMATION
AhappyDr. NicholsinthejumpsuitacceptsthefinishedproductfromPeteJones,Jr.
Lycomingengine had been removed
from a wreckedPiper Super Cub,ma-
joredand then install edin the PA-12.
Atthe same ti me, balancedPA-18el-
evatorsandstabilizershad beenfi tted
tohandle the higherhorsepower. The
onlyotherchanges from originalwere
t he 8:00X 6 Clevel andwheels a nd
brakesand the 3200Scotttai lwheel.
A newsetofwi ng str ut s was or-
dered fro m U nivai r " to removea ll
doubts! " Whe n a ll the part s were
ready, the PA-12wasassembl ed and
thefinishingtouchesappl ied. The re-
sulthasbeenanexceptionalflyingair-
craft thatDr. Nichols reall y e njoys.
Hesays t he extraponiesupfrontal-
lowfo r a quick takeoffregardl essof
load. Andoncein the air, the three-
pl acerwill indi ca t e 130 mpha t f ull
power. Nor mal crui seis 2250rpm,
which yieldsa steady120crui seat7.8
gallons per ho ur. Withthe 38gall on
wing tanks, t he r a nge is nearl yf ive
hours.
Dr.Nichols hasbuiltan open type
hangaron a " pristine ri cefarm" just
no r t h of Le la nd , MS wherehe fl ies
t he PA-12 fro m the beauti ful gr ass
landingstrip. He readilyadmitsthata
shortfli ghtin the sharp lookingSuper
Crui seris t he perfect way t o e nd a
harddayatt he office. (Dr. Nicholsis
a Se ni or FAAMedicalExaminer.)
Astheysayin theTVcommercial," It
doesn' tgetanybetterthan this!" ..
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VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27
APRIL30-MAY 2- CLEVELAND,
OH- 9th AnnualAir RacingHistorySym-
posium. 216/255-8100.
MAY 2 - ROCKFORD, IL - EAA
Chapter22 annualFly- In breakfastwi ll be
held at Mark Clark'sCOURTESYAIR-
CRAFT,Greater Rockford Airport. For
informati on,call Wall aceHunt, 815/332-
4708.
MAY 2 DAYTON, OH- 30t h An-
ni ve rsary EAA Chapt er48FundaySun-
day Fl y- In at Moraine Airpark,Dayton,
OH. Lotsoffood,anti ques,flea market
andmore. Call Jenni e Dyke at513-878-
9832.
MAY16- BENTONHARBOR,MI -
Ross field,7th annualEAA585 pancake
breakfast,aviationand localexhi bi ts, clas-
siccars, Lunchavailable for nonarrivals.
Cont act :AlTodd,616/429-8518orwrite
Dawn Pat rol, 4217 Red Ar r ow Hwy,
Stevensville,MI 49127.
MAY29-DECATUR, AL -EAA
Chapter9411Decatur-AthensAero5thAn-
The followi ng list of coming events is furnished to our readers as a matter of
nualFLy- In. Experimentals,Warbirds ,
information only and does not constitute approval , sponsorship, involvement, control and Antiquesand Classics . Awardsfor
or direction of any event (fly-in, seminars, fly market, etc.) listed. Please send the planesandpi lots. Campingavailable. Call
information to EAA, Att : Golda Cox, P.O. Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086. formoreinformation:(205)355-5770.
Information should be received four months prior to the event date.
J UNE 4-5 - BARTLESVILLE,OK-
Frank Phi ll ips Fie ld. BIPLANEEXPO
' 93,the7thannualNational BiplaneCon-
vention and Exposition. Biplaneairshow,
FEB. 7 - OSHKOSH, WI - EAA Air Page Field. 813/947-1430.
forums, seminars,workshops. Biplanes
AdventureMuseum - CharlesLindbergh MARCH19-21- CHANDLER,AZ- 10th
and NBA membersfree,forall othersan
and theSpiritofSt. Louis,adiscussion by AnnualShamrockAir DerbyCrossCountry
admission fee is required. Contact Charles
VerneJobst. 414/426-4800. Speed Race (AZ99s). 602/961-1172.
W. Harris,Chairman,9181742-7311 orVir-
FEB.7- FT.MYERS,FL- EAAChap- MARCH20- OSHKOSH,WI - EAAAir
gil Gaede,ExpoDirector,918/336-3976.
ter66 Pancake BreakfastFly-In,Page AdventureMuseum. Women in Avia tion
JUNE 24-27- MT. VERNON,OH-
Field. 813/947-1430. presentedbythe99s. 414/426-4800.
34th Annual National Waco Reunion.
FEB.12 - PAL-WAUKEE,IL- Pal- MARCH20 - PUNTAGORDA,FL-
"GreatestWACOShow On EARTH".
WaukeeAirport PilotsAssn .Valentine's EAAChapter565 Fly- In Breakfast. Char-
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DayParty. 312/853-3550. lotteCo.813/575-1471.
JUNE26-27- GREELEY,CO- EAA
FEB. 13 - LEESBURG, FL - EAA MARCH24 - PAL-WAUKEE,IL- Pal-
RockyMountain Fly-In. 3031798-6086.
Chapter 534 Fly-InlDrive- l n Break- WaukeeAirport Pi lotsAssn. GeneralMeet-
J ULY 7-11 - ARLI NGTON, WA -
fast/Lunch. 904/360-0293. ing. 312/853-3550.
Northwest EAAFly-In. 206/435-5857.
FEB. 20- OSHKOSH,WI - EAAAir MARCH27- OSHKOSH,WI- EAAAir
THURSDAYJULY29-WEDNES-
AdventureMuseum - "ChoosingaHome- AdventureMuseum's6th Annual ModelAir-
DAYAUGUST4,1993- OSHKOSH,WI
builtAircraftDesign" . A discussion by planeShow. 414/426-4800.
- 41stAnnual EAAFly- InandSportAvia-
Ben Owen. 414/426-4800. APRIL4- FT.MYERS,FL- EAAChap-
tion Convention. WittmanRegional Air-
FEB. 20 - ROCHESTE R, MI- 36th ter66 PancakeBreakfastFly- In, PageField.
port. ContactJohnBurton,P.O. Box3086,
Annual Amelia Earhart Luncheon. 813/947-1430.
Oshkosh,WI54904-3086. Call 414/426-
3131781-6488. APRIL17- OSHKOSH,WI- EAA Air
4800 for moreinformation. ITSNEVER
FEB. 27- 28 RI VERSIDE, CA - AdventureMuseum - Wiley Post and the
TOO EARLY TO MAKE PLANSTO
FlabobField.EAAChapter140th Annual Winchester21 seminar. 414/426-4800.
ATTEND!
Open House. All aircraftwelcome,(espe- APRIL18- 24,1993- LAKELAND,FL
AUGUST12-15- LOCKHAVEN,PA
ciallyStits homebuiltdesigns). Fun flying, - "TheGift OfFlight " . The19th Annua l
- WilliamT. PiperMemorialAirport.Sen-
Six' sburgersand Hank' ssandwiches. An- Sun 'n Fun EAAFly-Inand International
timentalJourney'93. " Aerial MailTo
nual fundraiserdinner,7:30pm Saturday, Aviation Convention. Lakeland-LinderRe-
LockHaven"is thisyearstheme.Allmakes
Paul Poberezny,featured speaker. Call giona l Airport. For information call
and modelswelcome,especiallyAntique
909/683-9582, 683-5634, 686-6268 or 813/644-2431.
andclassicairplanes.Call717/893-4200
818/287-2139for moreinformation. APRI L24 - GLOBE,AZ- Holy Angels
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SEPT.11-12- MARION,OH- EAA
ference. Sponsored byParksCollege. APRI L25- SPRI NGFI ELD,I L - 2nd
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MARCH 6 - 0SHKOSH,WI -EAA Airport. 2171483-3201.
SEPT. 18-19 - ROCK FALLS, IL -
AirAdventure Museum - Aviation Re- APRIL30- MAY 2- BURLI NGTON,
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SEPT.25-26 - WILMINGTON,DE-
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28 FEBRUARY 1993
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I I
259LowerMorrisvilleRd., Dept.VA
Fallsington,PA19054 (215)2954115

perword,$5.00minimumcharge.Sendyouradto
TheVintageTrader,EAAAviationCenter,P.O.Box3086,Oshkosh,WI 549032591.
Paymentmustaccompanyad.VISA/MasterCardaccepted.
AIRCRAFT:
PT-19 Fairchild Fuselage - Center section rotted but has fuel
tanksand maingear,rangermount,noseatsorinstrumentsandno
flying surfaces.$2,500OBO.Mighttrade.MerleVeverka,P.O.Box
636,Frederick, CO80530-0636(2-1)
MISCELLANEOUS:
CURTISSJN4-DMEMORABILIA- Youcannowownmemorabilia
from the famous "Jenny', as seen on ''TREASURES FROM THE
PAST".Wehaveposters,postcards,videos,pins,airmailcachets,etc.
WealsohaveR/Cdocumentationexclusivetohishistoricaircraft.Sale
of these itemssupportoperating expenseto keepthis"Jenny'flying
for the aviation public.We appreciateyour help. Write for yourfree
price List. Virginia Aviation Co., RDv-8, Box 294, Warrenton, VA
22186.(c/5/92)
Fly-AboutAdventuresandtheErcoupe-Fullcolor, 130 pages,
$1 7.95.Fl yAbout,P.O.Box51144, Denton,TX76206. (ufn)
SUPER CUB PA-18 FUSELAGES - New manufacture, STC
PMAd, 4130 chromemoly tubing throughout , also complete
fuselage repair. ROCKY MOUNTAIN AIRFRAME INC. (J. E.
Soares,Pres.),7093DryCreekRd.,Belgrade,Montana.406388-
6069. FAX406/388-0170. RepairstationNo.QK5R148N.
GEE BEE, etc. - Superscale model plans (used for Benjamin' s
R-2) . Catalog $3.25, refundable. Vern Clements, 308 Palo Alto,
Caldwell ,ID83605.(c-4/93)
AirSalvageofArkansas- Dealing in aircraft and engine parts,
hardware, Route 1, Box 8020, Mena, Arkansas 71953. Call Ron
Otto,501/394-1022 or FAX501/394-7475(Answermachi nealso).
(2/93-4)
AntiqueandClassicwheelpants- Willcustombuildinfiberglass
fromoriginaldrawings,blueprintsorphotographs.HarborUltralights
ProductsCo., 1326BateyPlace, HarborCity,CA90710,310/326-
5609,FAX310/530-2124.(c-10/93)
WINDSHIELDS- WINDOWS- CANOPIES- forallunpressurized,
certified, custom or experimental aircraft. Unmatched 1/2 price
replacementwarranty coversdamageduring installation and ser-
vice for 6 months after purchase. AIRPLANE PLASTICS CO.,
8300K DAYTON ROAD, FAIRBORN, OH 45324. 513/864-5607.
(c-1/94)
WANTED
Wanted:OneeachcylinderbarrelforMilwaukee"tank"engine(type
73) (OX-5 Conversion). Can swap earlier type 63. Also OX-5
magnetodriveass'y. Chuck, 603/742-3171 ,leave message.(21)
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 29
-Propellers -Tall Draggers .SteelSheet&
-MasterCylinders .Alumlnum
COVERINGSYSTEMS
INTERIORITEMS
i
-Stlts -Randolph -CushionSets
.. ' -Ceconlte -Air-Tech -Headliners -Seat
. . Dopes.Fabrics.Tapes. -Carpeting Slings
Primers&Accessories -canopy&WindshieldCovers
-BaggageCompartments
FABRIC ENVELOPES
-Stlts- Pl03andHD2X2
"AN- HARDWARE
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DROP-ININTERIORKITS
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YlEROPLANE
ofour
1992 .:::

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CoIl1-800-831-2949To order
ACCESSORIES 8DECALS,STENCIlS
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-ShockCords - Tires' .
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madison, north carolina 27025
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909.684.4280
FAX:
909.684.0518
Box3084-5
Riverside, California
92519-3084
We Are the Paint Experts
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30 FEBRUARY 1993
.INC.
Aviation Underwriting Agency
P.o. Box 35289 Greensboro, NC 27425
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