LANE

VOL. 32, No. 12

2004

COVERS

CONTENTS

Straight and Level

Aeromail

VAA News

Reminiscing with Big Nick

Reprinted from Vintage Airplane July 1974
by Nick Rezich

FRONT COVER: Syd Cohen's Ercoupe is a beautiful

example of a vintage airplane you can still buy on
a budget. See Budd Davisson 's article beginning
on page 14 for more on making your dream of
aircraft ownership a reality. EM photo by Phil
High, EM Cessna 210 photo plane flown by
Bruce Moore.
BACK COVER: Last year it stole the show when it
was on wheels, but this year Chris Price trumped
his own work by adding a pair of Heath floats to
his Heath Parasol. It was selected as the Grand
Champion Seaplane of EAA AirVenture Oshkosh
2004. See Oshkosh Oasis for more seaplane
activities. VM photo by H.G. Frautschy

The Vintage Instructor

Landings
by Doug Stewart

11

Pass It to Buck
Porterfield 35-70
by Buck Hilbert

14

Entry Level Vintage

"Is there a cheap way?"
by Budd Davisson

20

Oshkosh Oasis
The Vette Seaplane Base 2004
by Kathie Ernst

25

Mystery Plane

STAFF
Publisher
Editor-in-Chief
Executive Director/Editor
VAA Administrator
News Editor
Photography
Production Manager
Advertising Sales
Classified Ad Manager
Copy Editor

by H.G. Frautschy
26

Classified Ads

GraphiC Design

Tom Poberezny
Scott Spangler
H.G. Frautschy
Theresa Books
Ric Reynolds
Jim Koepnick
Bonnie Bartel
Julie Russo
Loy Hickman
913-268-6646
Isabelle Wiske
Colleen Walsh
Kathleen Witman
Olivia Phillip

VINTAGE AIRPLANE

GEOFF ROBISON
PRESIDENT, VI NTAGE AIRCR AFT ASSOCIAT ION

Transitions of a Different Sort

Where did the flying season go? The

coolness of winter weather has already
touched us (in some cases slapped us),
and this is the time of year when any
thing over SOF becomes a real blessing.
This past flying season went particularly
fast for me, and I have to tell you that
I have never enjoyed a flying season as
much as I have this past year. I purchased
a Cessna 170A in March, and the fun be
gan from that moment on.
The transition from my C-8S Cessna
120 to the IS0-hp C-170 was a challeng
ing and educational experience, which
also proved to be a great revisit of all the
do's and don'ts of flying these wonderful
taildraggers.
In early June I was off to Canada to
participate in the annual 70 Knotters'
trip. What's a "70 Knotter," you ask? This
is a great bunch of guys and gals who get
together every year and travel around
the country. The name comes from the
cruise speed of many of the two-place
lightplanes that were flown on the tours
when they started in the 1970s.
This was my second year of attending
this gad-about and I have never learned
so much about flying in such a short pe
riod of time. My companion on this trip
was a 16-year-old young man named Da
vid, and we had a great time. We learned
all about border crossings, and dealing
with Canadian and American customs,
and as is always the case, we renewed
some old friendships. The rally location
was Sky View Airport, just east of the Ca
nadian Customs Office in Sarnia.
Some of the group toured the Dia
mond Aircraft factory in London, On
tario. I would highly recommend a visit
if you find yourself in the area. Just be
sure to call ahead and make an appoint
ment. Also be sure to ask for permission
to park on their ramp, as it makes it very
2

DECEMBER 2004

convenient for your visit.

We also visited an early 1800s operat
ing historic village in Morrisburg, Ontario.
Check it out online at www.uppercanada
village. com. This place was unbelievable.
They have an operational bakery, a saw
mill, a schoolhouse, several restaurants,
operational farm machinery, and a black
smith's shop. You actually felt like you had
stepped back in time to the early 1800s.
Again, the airport is right across the street,
with a short hike to the front gate.
The sights we flew over were often
times breathtaking. As you can tell by my
dissertation, we had a grand time, and I
cannot wait to see where the 70 Knotters
will take us next year. There were many
other weekend trips, and an occasional
day trip to the odd fly-in breakfast or
chapter get together that added to a very
fulfilling 2004 flying season.
By the time you read this column,
the fall VAA Board meeting will be in the
history books. The business of operating
your association is not only challenging,
but I find it exhilarating and at times even
entertaining. As I have stated in the past,
I inherited the reins of an association
that stands on firm financial ground. The
real challenges we face as an organization
include a diverse number of issues. Fore
most on our minds is the responsibility
of retaining this firm financial footing.
There is also the challenge of sustaining
the many membership benefits we offer
on a continual basis. Some of these ben
efits are self-sustaining, such as the insur
ance program. Many of the other benefits
we offer as an association are AirVenture
related, and to a lot of our members they
see such benefits as equally important,
and should all be retained.
I agree with this concept, but I also be
lieve we need to annually review these ben
efits not only for their worth and value, but

also for their value versus expense.

To date I would respond that I see
each and everyone of these benefits to
have been proven to be popular, and of
good value. But we also need to under
stand that these member benefits come
as not only an added expense to the or
ganization, but these are expenses that
continue to inflate on an annual basis,
and this is where the challenge to con
tinue offering these benefits comes into
play. What will the outcome of this con
tinuous review be?
At this point I would speculate that
priority one will be to not only re
tain each of these valued benefits, but
to also continue to enhance them to a
point where we can attract as many new
members as pOSSible, and to also attract
more and more members to attend our
annual convention and take full advan
tage of what their VAA membership af
fords them. I will make it a pOint in my
next column to keep you informed about
the business transacted at the November
Board meeting. It would also be appro
priate to remind everyone that the VAA
Board meetings are always open to the
membership. So if you are ever interested
in observing your VAA Board in action,
please feel free to come by. Your best op
portunity for doing this of course is at
the VAA annual membership meeting
that is held during the convention in Os
hkosh. We are always eager to hear from
the members regardless if it's a positive or
a negative interaction; we appreciate the
opportunity to give a listen to whatever's
on your mind . Time and again we hear
thoughts and ideas that simply never
crossed our minds in the past.
Remember, ask a friend to join us so
they too can enjoy the benefits of VAA
membership and havft~

Thanks Butch!
When Vintage Airplane magazine
arrives in the mail, it gets opened
immediately, and the first thing
I read as I slowly walk from the
mailbox to the house is "Straight
and Level." After the August issue I
will be one of many who will miss
Butch's words.
Butch, thanks for being a great
president of the Association for so
many years. Many of us appreciate
your accomplishments and the en
ergy and effort you have put into
that job for all of us.
Ken Woodard
North Andover, Massachusetts

Bh!riot's Crossing
The referenced article reminded
me of my mother's mention many
years ago of her experience of view
ing the Bleriot channel-crossing
monoplane following its history
making flight. At the time Mother
was a young nurse in her home city
of London.
After th e July 25, 1909 , epic
flight, the Selfridge Store placed the
airplane on display in London to
be seen July 26th, 27th, 28th, and
29th. Mother was given a small
card setting forth all performance
and technical data.

I have made a photo

negative of this historic
document and offer a
copy herewith to repro
duce in the Vintage Air
plane magazine.
With warmest regards,
David H. Kenyon
Eugene, Oregon

Parks ID
Greeting from sunny Florida ...
my wife and I moved down here
after finally calling it quits on
Connecticut winters . We live in
the Spruce Creek fly-in commu
nity in Daytona Beach and are en
joying it very much .
I'd hate to see a fellow Parksman
get in trouble with the ghost of
old Oliver Parks so I figured I bet
ter "correct the record" on a cap
tioned pict ure in the August issue
of Vintage Airplane. In the "Remi
niscing with Big Nick " article on
page 7, the middle photo is de
scribed as a KR-3 1 Challenger. As
an avid (or is it rabid?) researcher
and collector of early Parks" stuff"
I guess the nitpicker in me couldn't
stay silent . .. it is in fact a Parks
P-l. NC962K was manufactured in
September of 1929 sportinll

~
MONOPLA~E~Slh

F = = = = E BLERIOT
TH
M

~
~

1909. marks all

Bleriol on Sunday. Ju Y ho\as achlC1,d the
ot the E nghsh Channel by ;leth century. M. Blen ot , "'les in 1.3 m mut e3
T he CfOsSIOg d in the hIstory of the It wen 1 tmC! a distance of 31 ml h made hr, cro~Sp
epoch 10 Av,atlon~
g across the C hanne comp ~ i n October o( last year e 1 hIS feitt
wa~
.

it

marvellous leat 0 l~~ation {or some few years ~~f 'nearly 9 miles. m \ \ mln~~~;ale the e.cnt
.
C
S T oUf Y to A rlenay. h3 dlstanCnumenl was erected to
has been
560 olfcr<.. 1 by u\e
country Gig It rom kr;ble at the time t ~t a mo the Pox du V oyage 0 I e aC -,):ll l,~ .'!>hed lO
coosloO'eredJ ;37;ro{ 'thiS year. M, B\enotn~yonAlghl of 25 tmles 10 an d~:~!~~: in les ~ ~ha:\ on"
( \
o UY
{ I' the first cross- COU
erformlOg 1lIe

Aero Club of F ranee a M Blen ot was success U dIn fP over 40 miles an hour'hed ll"
hcu"c It,
h 6 hours . '
d a spee 0
eed:; no s
.
no morl t \ an Ch~nnel fhgh t he h<ls a~tamc f the smanest in CXISlfd'lCe. n,
motor c~r. ~ ur.J..'\y 50

st,dYr

cotnT

an

Th ;

B~nol Monop;ard~d~~C~t~~d:e\: the

spah

o~r~c:tcul:r:nt:l~l: the air which eXPl..,lS

0
I: nybut It ovel'COmes t e v
.
can oat on ]
bl
d
5uremenls .
(lIgh' provh~:led would be ulsunnounl~ e f the approxi.mate weights ; n . me~ 150 ~ squMC feet
have ~op.
a few Interesting dela} s 0
S uperficial area a jlfgSl 8 \. inche>
. e give l ' 496 1bs.
Length of blades : .. An~:\I~ " (2 b\.\des,
1 0lal weIgh . 26 feel 3 inches.
Eng",e - 20 h.p_.
\ -J)
T otal length: . 2 S {e~t. 7 mehes.
1
3 cyllOders.-alr coo c( . the wings arc

h OLf.

d whe1'\ the wlOgs arc

t It

Sp'3n o[ wmgs .
1
. 11 [eel . 7 toe.leS.
T he wooden frames 0
Span of e\e\'atmg p a,:,es
a RIght of 2 hours,

9th July, f\t

It has petrol c.paclldY (Ih walerplOof ltnen. h ~6 th 27th, 28th and 2
,
d t ash CQvere \\' l
be see n on t e
,
coonpose S I l Monoplane may d . on o f courae.
__ _
~
[ he
erlO
charge for a nl1 s~~
5 el[rl ,lge', Store, n:..:::::=;::::;:::::o~

lor

li

oo=~

the model's usual OX-5 motor. In

1932, it was replaced by an OXX-6
and in 1935 replaced again with
a Milwaukee Tank V-502 engine.
This changed the designation
from a P-1 to a P-1-T. I have pic
tures of 962K with the same paint
scheme but with the Tank engine
... the photo in the article must
be prior to June 1935 when it be
came the P-1-T.
After over four years of begging
and prodding the FAA, I now have
the maintenance and ownership re
cords for all the Parks airplanes ...
Arrow, P-3, P-4, P-1, P-2, and P-2A
(except for one Detroit-built P-2A
which must really be buried in a
dark warehouse somewhere and is
not able to be found ... yet.). My
next step in the research depart
ment is to try and contact the pre
vious owners listed in the records
for any photos or stories they
might have. I do like the detective
work and this "thrill of the chase"
has led me to many of Parks' earli
est students with much informa
tion and memorabilia from their
days at the school.
My Parks P-2A is still in North
Canaan, Connecticut...I'm still
saving my nickels to begin the
restoration. In the meantime , I
bought a 1939 J-4A Cub Coupe to
keep my sanity down here. Very
nice shape with a Cont. 65 and
the "pre-art deco"-type instrument
panel, cowling, etc.
Regards,
John Thomas
Port Orange, Florida
Parksp2a@cflrr.com
I'v e heard it said that typos, like
continued on page 27
VINTAGE AIRPLANE

VAA Calendar Being Reprinted

For those of you who ordered and
received your inaugural issue of the
2005 Vintage Aircraft Association Cal
endar, you have a surprise coming in
the mail. Due to a technical problem
during the production of the calen
dar, the large photos of each airplane
were printed with substandard resolu
tion. To their credit, the folks at Turner
Publishing have agreed to reprint the
calendars and mail new copies to each
of the members who paid for and re
ceived their calendar. You can expect
to see your new copies within a few
weeks of receiving this issue of Vintage
Airplane. Shipping for the new calen
dars is expected near the end of this
month or very early in January.
We appreciate your patience, and
due to their below standard appear
ance, we ask that you destroy the old
calendar once you've received your
new copy. If you have any questions, or
would like to order a copy (a very lim
ited overrun is produced) you can call
Turner Publishing at 800-788-3350.

Friends of the Red Bam

If you would like to make a con
tribution to VAA's Friends of the Red
Barn campaign, there's still time to
make your donation before the end of
the year, should you desire the deduc
tion on your 2004 taxes. There are new
expanded giving categories for the
2005 campaign, and you can check on
the new levels at the VANs website at
www.vintageaircraft.org, or by calling
VAA HQ at 920-426-6110. We'll have
full details regarding the newly ex
panded Friends of the Red Barn 2005
campaign in next month's issue of

"O ur symposium exposed the at

tendees to a wide variety of sport pi
lot experts, helping them learn how
they can build their business in the
new sport pilot/light-sport aircraft
market," said NAFI Executive Direc
tor Rusty Sachs. "They also had op
portunities to take demonstration
flights in dozens of light-sport aircraft
available on site."
Speakers appeared during the two
morning sessions and included John
and Martha King of the King Schools;
Paul Hamilton, founder of Hamil
ton Training Systems and Adventure
Productions; Jack Vandeventer, sea
soned CFI and marketing expert; Bob
Mackey of Falcon Insurance Agency;
Carla Larsh, chair of the EAA Ultra
light Council; Martin Weaver, head of
the FAA's Light-Sport Aviation Branch
in Oklahoma City; and Ed Downs,
president of American Sport Flying
and widely respected aviation writer.
What made the symposium unique
was its "Trade-A-Flight" program,
where participants received a coupon
for a free demonstration flight from
an ultralight instructor in their area.
"When the CFI trades the coupon for
the demo flight, the ultralight instruc
tor fills in the back of the coupon and
mails it to NAFI for a complimentary
membership," Sachs said.
Future events will likely be held in
conjunction with other major avia
tion events, perhaps EAA regional
fly-ins. More information will be an
nounced as plans develop. "Flying is
matchless," said one participant, "but
learning new ways to share it with
the world-and make money doing
so-is a little bit of heaven./I

Vintage Ai/plane.

NAFI Plans Sport Pilot

Symposium Series
Bolstered by the success of its inau
gural Sport Pilot Symposium, attended
by more than 40 CFls, EAA affiliate
the National Association of Flight In
structors (NAFI) is planning additional
sessions for the coming year.
4

DECEMBER 2004

EAA SportAir Workshops Lock in

Several 2005 Dates
For those looking to achieve the
dream of building their own aircraft,
EAA SportAir Workshops has con
firmed several Workshop Weekends,
each of which include Sheet Metal
Basics, Composite Construction, and
Fabric Covering, and a course on elec

trical systems, wiring, and avionics.

Courses will be held in Oshkosh,
Wisconsin, on January 29-30; at the
Sun 'n Fun Campus in Lakeland,
Florida, on February 26-27; in Dallas,
Texas, on March 5-6; and in Watson
ville, California, on March 19-20. For
more information and to register, visit
www.sportair.com or call 800-967-5746.

Free SPILSA Member Briefing

Before SportAir Workshops
Each night before a scheduled EAA
SportAir Workshop, EAA provides free
sport pilot/light-sport aircraft brief
ing for all interested EAA and NAFI
members, followed by a question and
answer period. Watch EAA's website
for details as each SportAir Workshop
approaches.

29th Annual EAA Sport Aviation

Art Competition
The EAA AirVenture Museum is
now accepting entries for the 29th
annual Sport Aviation Art Contest, a
showcase for some of the best avia
tion art in the country. Past compe
titions have been based on a single
overriding theme, such as last year's
"Launching the Next Century of
Flight." That all changes this year, as
artists may submit artwork in one of
four separate categories that better
reflect EAA membership:
- Warbirds-All military aircraft
- Antique/Vintage-Pre-1945 aircraft
- Sport Aviation-General aviation,
ultralights, light-sport, and aero
batic aircraft
- Open Category-All other aviation
related artwork not covered above,
such as commercial, space, etc.
Another addition to this year's com
petition will be a $250 prize to first
place winners of each category. The
work judged "Best of Show" will be
awarded $1,000.
The deadline for entries is March
25, 2005. For more information
and entry forms, visit www.airven
turemuseum.org/art or contact Mary
McKeown at 920-426-6880. ......

REMINISCING WITH BIG NICK

Reprinted from Vintage Airplane July 1974
by Nick Rezich
THE HOWARD STORY
SECOND HALF OF PART Two

All Howards were good stable fly

ing machines. The only goofy ones
are the twisted wing Navy jobs. I per
sonally like the 11 over all the rest, as
it was the best performer of all and
had the best feel. The basic structure
remained virtually unchanged from
the 8 through the 12 and was built
like a brick outhouse. All the while
the factory was in operation, the ci
vilian Howards were never involved
in a fatal accident. Oh, they broke
'em up, but no one was ever killed or
seriously injured.
I remember a few good ones. We
had an 8 that belonged to a furniture
company in Indiana that went on its
back so hard and so fast that it did
not scratch the wheel pants. Damage
amounted to windshield, cabin roof
and vertical fin-no bent tubes in
the fuselage. We had another beaut
... a brand new 15 that belonged to
a peanut man in Minneapolis. This
was a beautiful two-tone red job with
a white pin stripe. This guy was fly

ing it home from the factory and got

into some weather between Lone
Rock and La Crosse, Wisconsin, and
flew it, full bore, into the ground at
a nearly level attitude. He knocked
off the gear and went sliding on the
belly. When the noise stopped, he
and his lady friend got out, called the
factory and said come get it and fix it.
They go on and on. We had a black
and gray 15 which we nicknamed
liThe Hearse." This guy was showing
his ranch to some friends and flew it
into a tree. He came out of it with a
broken ankle. The airplane needed
two new wings, new flippers, new
gas tanks, all new metal, new motor
mount, and prop. We fixed it.
The llfuzz" got into the act, also.
We sold 3 Howards to the CAA-all
these were loaded with special radio
gear and with all that on board an in
spector couldn't find Kansas City! He
put it down in a field and proceeded
to bust it all to hell, but we fixed that
one, also.
This same CAA Howard almost
cost me my life. We were waiting for
the special radio gear to be returned

to the factory after the accident so

that we could finish assembling the
airplane and we were short of fac
tory space, so we decided to hang the
fuselage from the ceiling until the
radios came in. As we were hoisting
it in place, a cable broke and the fu
selage rolled over and came down
inverted. I was standing to one side
during the hoisting, but when the
fuselage rolled, I was directly under
neath and the cabin roof knocked me
to the ground and out. What saved
me from becoming a pancake was a
bench and the motor mount lugs. As
the fuselage was coming down, the
motor mount lugs caught the edge of
the bench and stopped it from crush
ing me. When I recovered and found
out that the cable they were using
was rope instead of aircraft cable, I
stormed into Steve Sanyard's office
and proceeded to tear the hell out of
him. As purchasing agent he bought
the rope cable as a money saver in
stead of aircraft cable. Needless to
say, we put it back up with aircraft
cable!
We had very few working acciVINTAGE AIRPLANE

The ghost of Howard-made by the paint

shop when a layoff was announced.

Jake powered 15. The ship is now in Minnesota.

dents and very little absenteeism.

We trained our own fire brigade and
they saved the factory twice. It seems
to me that all aircraft factories are
the same ... they always place the
welding department and the dope
shop back-to-back. Howard was no
exception. The south wall of the
dope shop was the divider between
the welding department fitting weld
ers and the spray booth. The welders
would hang their lighted torches
on hangers while turning over parts
... with the flame pointed toward
the wall! Well, one fine day one of
these torches burned a hole in the
wall and WHOOM! We had a fire!
When I first saw it, the flame was
about the size of a basketball. By the
time I sounded the alarm, which
was at my desk, the whole west wall
of the spray room was a flame from
floor to ceiling. Behind that wall on
the outside we had stored about 20
barrels of dope thinner. All I could
think about was that soon we would
have Roman candles going off all
over the place when those barrels
6

DECEMBER 2004

went, and that would take care of

the factory.
This is hard to believe, but BE
LIEVE-YOU-ME, the factory fire
brigade grabbed their assigned ex
tinguishers and rushed in and put
out that nitrate dope fire .. . just as
they ran out of extinguishers and
the sprinklers went off. While this
was going on, we had one complete
airplane in there being sprayed with
silver dope, which was removed, be
lieve it or not, without fire damage.
When the fire department arrived,
we were in the process of cleaning
up and were back in production the
next morning. If that fire brigade had
taken 30 seconds longer to respond,
we would have lost the factory! That
fire taught me a lesson .. . I needed
more protection. First, I turned the
welders' benches 180 degrees; next I
moved the dope storage area; I dou
bled the number of extinguishers;
and cut exploSion doors in the roof.
The next fire took place while I
was in Florida on the Gulf Oil Tour
and the Miami Air Races. It happened

on the second shift. Mike Bernat, the

foreman, was spraying a set of wings
with black nitrate dope when he no
ticed the black turning to orange.
When he turned around, the whole
dope room was in flames. Again, the
trained fire brigade extinguished the
fire and saved the factory. The wings?
They were O.K.-no fire damage! Yes,
we were lucky . . . but the answer to
some of that luck was a good and
well trained fire brigade who were
not scared to go into the potential
blast area. Speedy response and the
proper type of extinguishers were the
keys. As I said earlier, everybody at
Howard was super.
We built a super airplane with su
per people and then we built some
super, SUPER jobs . . . like the ISP
that went to George Mason, presi
dent of Nash Kelvinator. This was
the most expensive Howard ever
delivered . It had everything super
special-paint, interior, radios, two
doors-the works. Another super spe
cial went to Merrill C. Meigs when
he was in Washington, D.C., with
the War Department. The company
ordered a scale model of this airplane
to be delivered along with the air
plane. My brother, Mike, built the
model and I must say it was super.
Detail was so fine-it even included
miniature maps in the seat pockets. It

The Pure Oil 8 ... before and after.

was mounted on a simulated runway

with grass sides enclosed in glass.
We built some super Howard ISs
for the duPonts, Shell Oil bought
two, Texaco one, Pure Oil two, and
Humble Oil one . Several gover
nors bought Howards; Mr. Putman,
president of Chicago and Southern
Airways bought one, and the Free
French bought some. The list goes
on and on . 1941 was our banner
year ... then BAM! The war. What
could we build for the war effort?
The gutless 18 was going to C.P.T.,
but it was not accepted as a primary
trainer by the Army.
About the time it looked like the
end for the 15, 10 and behold if 01'
"Slim" Freitag, vice president and top
salesman, didn't come up with the
answer. He returned from Washing
ton with an order from the U.S. Navy
for 30 custom built Howard DGA
15Ps. These first 30 airplanes were

built the same as custom jobs, in

cluding a high-gloss silver finish and
plush interior. This now paved the
way for other military orders, which
included the ambulance and instru
ment trainer. Later came a sub-con
tract to build the Fairchild PT-23.
This was when B.D . DeWeese
and the Navy decided to twist the
wing on the 15 and goof up a good
airplane. We stepped up production
to one a day and received the Navy
"E" Award .. . and I was promoted to
plant superintendent.
In the meantime we were build
ing a plant in West Chicago next
to the St. Charles airport (now the
DuPage County Airport) . The new
plant would build PT-23s on one side
and NH-1s on the other. The army
was in a hurry and wanted the PT
23s before the new plant could be
finished. I was sent to St. Charles to
get the 23 program rolling as well as

Humble Oil's red and white 15, one of many Howards sold to the oil companies.

the NH-l. I used my Culver Cadet,

which I bought the year before, to
commute the 15 miles or so between
Muni (present Chicago Midway) and
St. Charles.
The first PT-23 was built in an old
warehouse in Geneva, Illinois, and
assembled at the St. Charles Airport.
The next six were built at the airport.
We then moved into the new factory
and used the hangar as the fly-away
hangar. It was here in St. Charles that
we had our first fatal crashes. The air
port then had two grass runways-a
long E/W and a short SW/NE. Two
Navy aviators were picking up two
NH-1s; the wind was W-SW about
15, gusting to 25. The pilots were in
structed to take off west. As they tax
ied out, one pilot decided to take off
SW without informing the other pi
lot or the hangar. The airplane taking
off west was airborne first ... the one
taking off SW met the westbound
plane at the intersection and
he flew right through it. The
westbound craft crashed and
burned and the other landed
on fire-the pilot survived.
Surprisingly, the surviving
aircraft did not suffer much
collision damage.
We also had a PT-23 crack
up. This time an Army pilot
was taking delivery of a PT
and the engine quit on take
off. He just kept on climb
ing and turning until he
spun in. The company test
pilots never put a scratch on
any airplanes all during the
production days of Howard
Aircraft.
V I NTAGE A I R P LANE

The only near mishap with

a Navy Howard came when the
NACA cowl came loose and tore up
the airplane. This was really funny
when it happened. You would have
to know Walt Diaben, the test pilot,
to fully appreciate this story. This
was GH-2, built by the main plant,
and Walt was west of Muni putting
the airplane through final flight
test-which included a dive to 280
plus mph. It was during this dive
that the cowl came loose . It took
the windshield out, that big chunk
of tin then took out the compass,
and the stabilizer adjustment han
dle (all on the roof). The rest of the
cowl went over the wing, taking out
part of the left wing, flap, and left
flipper. In the meantime 01' Walt
got on the radio and called a May
Day to the Muni tower-which we
could hear on our hangar monitor.
Well, he never turned off the
mike after the first call and all we
kept hearing was, "Whoa, you
#$*)%! Whoa, you %*(#$)! Whoa,
you %*($)#!!!" He landed with full
power to control the ship. Later, he
told us his only worry was whether
the fuselage rib stitching would
hold . He said the fuselage sides
bulged out like a balloon and he
was glad that fabric was stitched!
Walt was killed after the war while
working for International Har
vester-by a B-23 propeller.
Howard continued to grow with
the military contracts and the new
plant. Everything was going fine
until 1944; the power struggle was
on which ended with the plant
closing down before the war was
over. Only two aircraft plants were
shut down during the war-How
ard and Brewster.
With our growing prodUction,
we sub-contracted many parts and
assemblies in the Fox River Valley
area just west of Chicago. I became
president of Valley Aircraft along
with my duties at Howard.
When the power struggle was
under way, the first order of the day
was to eliminate the old original
staff and I became a target-and
a good one. I was slated for plant
8

DECEMBER 2004

A production Navy job-built by the main Howard factory in Chicago.

manager and the new group didn't

want this. They wanted to milk the
government dry with bootleg sub
contracts, phony payrolls, phony
consultants, etc. I was one of their
biggest obstacles ... so I had to go .
But how? Well, I was single with
only my mother as a dependent.
Those (expletive deleted) went to
the Draft Board and told them they
had a new plant manager and I
could be taken off the deferred list.
When the word came down to How
ard Aircraft that I was re-classified to
lA, the stuff really hit the fan. The
preSident, Mr. B.D. DeWeese, went
to the Draft Board and wanted to
know why. He was informed that
his office had directed the Board in
its action. DeWeese then went to
the U.S. Navy contract representa
tive, a Captain. He went to Wash
ington to stop the action, but it was
too late. By the time he got the red
tape untangled, I was on my way to

Fort Sheridan along with about 20

other faithful Howard employees.
That was in July 1944 and How
ard closed its doors less than a year
later.
End of story? No!!
Before I left Howard, I took with
me all the phony records, phony
sub-contracts, etc. When the war
was over and I was operating the
Pylon Club, I was paid a visit by the
FBI, which was investigating the de
funct Howard Aircraft Corporation.
I was still mad at those (expletive
deleted) and was ready and willing
to spill my guts to the FBI. Before I
testified, I called my boss, who was
president of Howard when it closed.
I told him I would keep my mouth
shut if it would hurt him. He told
me to tell everything and he would
back me all the way. I thanked him
and spilled my guts ... end of story
... end of Howard Aircraft.
Next-the Model 18 Howard .. ......

DOUG STEWART

Landings
Several weeks ago on a beautiful
fall afternoon I sat in the back of
my Super Cruiser as a dear friend of
mine flew us down to Candlelight
Farms Airport, located in western
Connecticut. We were flying there
so she could fly a PT-17 Stearman.
She has long admired the airplane
that was used to teach so many
pilots how to fly prior to WWII,
and I thought it would be a great
treat for her and a way of saying
"thanks for all the help she had
given me during the previous year.
Tim Preston runs a marvelous
operation, offering Stearman
training out of the Candlelight
Airport during the summer, and
moving to the Mid-Florida Airport
for the winter months. His Stearman
is a 1941 N2S4, built originally as a
PT-17 but then taken over by the
Navy and converted. Tim is not
only a CFI, but an IA as well and
he keeps his Boeing in pristine
condition. If you are interested in
flying with him, check out www.
f1ytailwheel.com. (He also offers
training in a J-3 Cub.)
My friend had been a little
nervous about flying this big
biplane, particularly the landing
phase. Although she had many
hours in my PA-12, it appeared
quite small when parked beside the
PT-17. I assured her that it would
probably be an easier airplane to
fly than the Super Cruiser, and that
as soon as she recognized just how
much higher her posterior would
be above the ground in the flare,
she would have no problems with
the landing.
II

She did, after all, thoroughly

understand that a landing is not
just one short moment where and
when we transition from air-bound
to ground-bound, but that it is a
five-phase sequence of events.
If we know where we are and
what comes next, it becomes a very
simple process. The only thing that
would be different for her would
be the sight pictures (well, I guess
the sweet rumble of that big round
engine turning at a much slower
rpm than she was used to would be
different too). As soon as she got
used to the proper landing attitude,
I was confident that her landings
in the Stearman would be as fine as
her landings in the Super Cruiser.
So what are those five phases?
They are the glide; breaking the
glide; dissipating the energy;
touching down; and rolling out. I
have observed more landings than
I'll ever remember, but most that I
remember are remembered because
they were examples of the fact that
the pilot did not understand those
five phases. Just spend a little time
on the flightline of any major fly-in
and you'll have ample testimony to
the fact that many pilots don't quite
have a complete appreciation of the
progression of phases leading to a
safe landing.
Let's take a closer look at those
five phases.

The Glide.
The glide has to be on target and
on speed. By on target I mean that
the pilot has chosen an aim point
on the runway. The aim point

could be the touchdown zone

marks, the numbers, a centerline (I
quite typically choose the second
centerline when landing at shorter
runways), or an area of different
color grass (this works great for
me at my home base of Kline
Kill Airport) . Whatever you have
chosen as your aim pOint, you
must now make sure that it is not
moving up or down in the window.
If it's moving up, you'll land short
of your mark, and vice versa if it's
going down. But now, in addition
to keeping your aim point constant
in your Sights, you must assure that
you are on speed. You must fly the
appropriate approach speed for
your airplane. If you are too fast,
you will indeed get to your aim
point, but then you'll float forever
in the next phase. And if you get
too slow you'll rival gliding granite
in the ensuing sink.

Breaking the Glide.

For most of us, vision is the most
useful tool in this phase. We need
to know when to start pulling back
on the stick or yoke to break our
glide, and transitioning our visual
aim point down the runway is the
best way to do it. But it is not only
vision alone that helps us through
this phase . It is a proprioceptive
moment, meaning that it uses all
the senses. I once had a client who
had some major vision problems. I
told her at the outset of her training
that she was facing some perhaps
insurmountable obstacles, but
through steadfast determination
she reached a point where she could
VINTAGE AIRPLANE

grease it on repeatedly. She couldn't

see for beans, but by using every
other sense that she had (hearing,
touch, etc.) she would "feel" her
way into excellent landings.
Obviously if we don't time the
breaking of the glide correctly, we
will either fly into the runway, with
all the correlated problems that
will present, or find ourselves at
the next phase at an altitude that
will result in an arrival rather than
a landing at the conclusion of that
phase, which is ...

Dissipating the Energy.

SELECTED WORKS
FROM A 20 - YEAR
RETROSPECT I VE OF

EAA CH IEF'
PHOTOGRAPHER
JIM KOEPNICK
jim Koepnick' s

If we have come down the glide

slope on target and on speed, and
if we have broken the glide at the
proper height above the runway,
we now have to dissipate our
energy. It is in this phase that I see
many pilots yield to the hazardous
attitude of resignation. They take a
laissez faire attitude, and it's kind
of que sera, sera until they touch
down. We have to remember that
we cannot stop flying yet. As we
dissipate the energy still stored
in o u r airplane, we will have to
continue to increase the deflection
of our control surfaces as we
dece lerate. In a full-stall landing,
this means that we wi ll have to keep
pulling back on our stick or yoke to
deflect the elevator more and more,
maintaining the proper landing
attitude, as the elevator gets less
and less effective in our decreasing
speed. (The same holds true for
ailerons and rudder if landing in a
crosswind!)

Touchdown.
This phase will occur just once,
if everything preceding it has been
done correctly. If you are not in
the proper attitude, and have not
dissipated enough energy, it will
undoubtedly occur more than once.
I could probably write a whole
article on this, and the following
phase, particularly for taiIwheel
pilots, but suffice to say that if
everything prior to this phase has
been flown properly, it will occur
10

DECEMBER 2004

just once. Unfortunately many

pilots act as if this is the conclusion
of the landing scenario, and relax
the pressures they maintain on the
controls, forgetting that it's not
over 'til the fat lady sings. She's
only just clearing her throat as we
now enter the final phase of the
landing scenario ....

Rollout.
For you Ercoupe pilots it's a
pretty simple phase. But if you
happen to be flying a close-coupled
taildragger in a strong crosswind,
it's probably the most exciting and
demanding phase of the landing.
We must remember to maintain
proper control deflection while
we maintain directional control.
There are way too many incidents
that occur during this phase of the
landing that never make it into the
statistical databases. We cannot
become complacent now, lest we
find ourselves off the runway in a
less than fortuitous situation.
So if we can keep track of where
we are in the landing sequence
of events, and can manage our
aircraft's energy properly, every
landing should be a great one.
Perhaps you have heard it said that
"a good landing is anyone that
you can walk away from ... a great
landing is one in which you can
use the airplane again." There is
no reason why all of our landings
shouldn't be even better than that.
Now you might be wondering
how my friend's landings went in
the Stearman. Many eyes were on her
as she came in for her first landing.
She was on target and on speed;
she broke the glide at the proper
moment and held the plane off as
she dissipated the energy. When she
touched down there was a slight
bounce (of about six inches), but
she kept working, not relaxing the
controls, and the next touchdown
she stayed down. Her rollout was
right down the center of the grass
runway. Her first landing in the PT
17 was much more than great. May
all your landings be as good! ~

E.E. "BUCK" HILBERT

Porterfield 3570

Editor's note: This ({Pass

it to Buck" is one of his ftrst
columns, published in the
November 1988 issue of Vin
tage Airplane. Buck recently
had to undergo an overhaul
of his personal hydraulic
system, and since he's a bit
sore from that surprise event,
I thought the last thing he
needed was an editor poking
him with a stick to get his
column in! So enjoy, for the
next couple of months, the
({Best ofBuck. "-HGF

"Wow! A 35-70 Porterfield!" The

person I said it to was looking all
around for a rifle, not an aeroplane.
This was his first exposure to the Por
terfield Flyabout of the mid-1930s.
We were at the Waco Fly-in at Ham
ilton, Ohio, and the year was either
1973 or '74. This poor little machine
was sitting in a hangar looking just
about as shabby as 30 years of neglect
could make it. I was drawn to it as
were a few other people and eventu
ally Bill Hogan gave me the owner's
phone number.
I called the fella only to find out
there was no way he was going to sell it,
especially to me! I guess I came on kind
of strong with my remarks as to how
could he do that to the poor airplane
and if he left it that way much longer
it'd be nothing but scrap rather than
junk like it was now. I guess I woke him
up though, because from the records
I see that he had the Hogans recover
it for him and then overhaul the en
gine as well. This was all done in 1974;
the Hogans flew the airplane a couple

of hours and then put it back in the

hangar again. With about 130 hours
total time on the airframe and almost a
zero-time engine SMOH!
Again I was down at the Waco
reunion-this time in 1982. In talk
ing to Bill I learned that the airplane
was still there and still just "set
ting." Again I called the man, and
this time he was no more happy
to hear from me than he was the
last time. "This was my father's air
plane, and I'm not about to sell it!"
Well again I took him to task about
it just setting and deteriorating and
insisted that he do something with
it. He did! He sold it to Dick Simp
son, a friend of a friend who had
grown up with the Hogans and had
known about this airplane from the
very first time it landed at Hamil
ton. This was okay with me. Even
though I was disappointed that I
didn't get the machine I knew that
Dick would really take care of it.
Now the real attraction I had to
this machine is that I could remem

ber when I was a budding lineboy

at the old Elmhurst Airport outside
Chicago. This was a new airplane
then. It was a racy, sporty perfor
mance machine in comparison to
the "Cubs," Taylorcrafts, and Aeron
cas of that day. It even had a round
engine on it with 70 horsepower.
It would race along at 95 mph in
dicated! That was a flat 25 big ones
better than your average "Cub." Of
course the stall speed was also 20
mph faster, but it sure was a good
cross-country airplane! I would
add here, that some day I hoped I
could handle one of those hot little
airplanes. Now here it is 50 years
later and I have just come in from
the hangar where one of these little
jewels is ensconced. I flew it home,
here in Union, Illinois, all the way
from Birmingham, Alabama.
When Dick finally was able to
purchase the Porterfield a couple of
things came to light. The total time
on the airplane was "estimated" to
be less than 140 hours. It had been
VINTAGE AIRPLANE

11

delivered from the Porterfield factory

at Kansas City to Hamilton, Ohio,
in 1936, a new airplane. It never left
Hamilton until Dick came and picked
it up and flew it home to Birming
ham, Alabama.
From what I have been able to
learn, the original owner had" gone
West" several years before I came on
the scene. The estate proceedings just
caused the poor little machine to lie
idle for so long that even the original
"N" number was given away when it
was dropped from the register. It was
NCl6490. The Hogans got the num
ber NC17 490 issued to the airplane
when it was re-registered and put back
on the books. New logs were made
up to replace the originals that had
somehow disappeared into the past as
things sometimes do; the total times
shown in these logbooks are backed
up by the Hogans' testimony. They
had known the machine since it ar
rived there.
Dick Simpson took some dual in
the airplane, and then enough prac
tice solo to assure himself that he
could handle this hot machine. After
all, most of his flying experience has
been in "Cubs" and then for the past
lO-or-so years in his Cessna 182 with
a training wheel up front. He just
needed a little practice, is all.
Well, he made it to Birmingham,
and flew it a little around home only
to have the front main bearing in the
LeBlond eat itself up. Guess what?
Overhaul time! And that he did. The
whole bottom came out of the en
gine and was re-done. Then the top
as well, and for the next two years
he had a hobby. He cleaned and he
lightened. He removed about 65
pounds of battery-box and wiring,
and heavyweight plywood floor
boards and the baggage compart
ment door, and side windows and ex
tras that had been added to this air
plane to help it along, only it made it
heavier than it really needed to be. In
the meantime Dick acquired an E-2, a
J-2, a ]-3, and still had his 182. Then
he came across a Fleet Two. And that
was the camel that fell through the
straw. He suddenly realized there was
12

DECEMBER 2004

no way he could ever finish all these

projects. This is where I came in.
I had looked at the airplane when
he had it stuffed in his hangar all dis
assembled, with the engine all apart,
and listened to what he was doing
despite the difficulty of locating parts
and such. I expressed a more-than
idle interest in his final result. He got
it all back together after EAA Osh
kosh '85, and I went down to look
at it. I was enthused, but not enough
to spend any money. I had three kids
in college and had just retired from
UAL so I wasn't in any shape to let go
of my left hip pocket flap.
Then again in 1986 Dick offered
me the airplane, and again in 1987.
He knew I secretly wanted it, and
that it was just a matter of time. Well,
the time was NOW! I went down
there and flew the machine August
25th, bought it, and started home
with it Friday the 26th. Bingo! Right?
The realization of a boyhood dream.
I got another dream airplane! Wow!
How lucky can you get?
Well, 48 minutes after I took off
for Union from Talladega, Alabama,
I was sitting on the airport at Gun
tersville, Alabama, with a three-cylin
der Le Blond engine. "What?" Yes! I
had stuck exhaust valves on both the
lower cylinders! Dick Lusk from Gun
tersville, a retired Air Force mechanic,
jumped in and gave me his full at
tention. We diagnosed the problem
and got with it. Marvel Mystery Oil
and a little exercise got them work
ing again, and two and a half hours
later I was on my way again. I was
headed for Tullahoma, Tennessee,
but circumnavigated the new ARSA
at Huntsville, Alabama. I widened
my circle of uncertainty when I cut
across those big green hills. When I
found the road northeast of Hunts
ville it was the wrong one and the
town I thought was Tullahoma was
Shelbyville. I decided to press on. I
got as far as Murfreesboro, about an
other 25 miles north, when I had a
valve stick again. This time I knew
what to do. I borrowed a car, buzzed
into town, picked up a couple cans of
leaded regular, some 50-to-1 outboard

motor oil and a quart of Marvel Mys

tery. This all went into the gas tank
along with the leaded regular and I
liberally saturated the valve stems,
guides, sprigs, and half the rest of the
airplane with the same stuff. After
half an hour all was working again
and after being pleasantly surprised
that the lineman knew how to prop
an airplane, I was on my way.
Another detour around the east
side of Nashville and then westward
towards Harrisburg, Illinois, my
planned RON spot. I didn't get there!
As I was approaching Hopkinsville,
Kentucky, just north of Fort Camp
bell, the LeBlond let me know it had
had enough for the day. I looked at
my watch, decided to humor the
engine and landed. I couldn't have
picked a better place or better time.
The people there were super! Abso
lutely SUPER! They gave me a cour
tesy car and offered me all kinds of
help. I met one of our EAA types
there. Wish I knew his name for sure,
but Bill showed me his Bellanca Cru
isair, and then offered to drive me
into town or help me anyway that he
could. When I found out that he had
been working all day after putting in
a full night shift out at Fort Campbell
in their simulator program, I sug
gested he go on home and get some
sleep. He promised that if I was there
the next morning and needed help
he'd be more than happy to assist.
I drove into town, got a motel,
called Dick Simpson and let him off
the hook for the night, and after a
bowl of soup I bought some Lemon
Pledge polish, some more oil (Mystery
and outboard) and went back out to
the airplane. I liberally doused all the
valves, added a little more to the gas,
rotated the engine 50 or 60 times, and
cleaned up the whole airplane before
I went back to town and sacked out.
I was up at oh dark thirty and actu
ally lifted off at 6:55 the next morn
ing. The engine was running great!
So great that I made it all the way
to Effingham, Illinois, where I had
planned to stop because I knew they
had auto gas. Here again I was made
as welcome as a warm rain in sum

mer. Courtesy car, a friendly smile,

and a pat on the backside, and after
breakfast I was on my way again to
ward home. I had a dozen or more
alternates picked out in case the Le
Blond acted up again, but I threat
ened to call home for a trailer if it did
it again and firmly "told" that engine
it was replaceable with an 0-290-D if
it didn't want to do the job. The bluff
worked and it ran like a jewel the rest
of the way.
A little light rain started about
Champaign, Illinois, and persisted all
the way to Joliet, which was where
I had planned my next Mogas fuel
stop. A happy tailwind was push
ing pretty good and the fuel gauge
said there was plenty of reserve so
I continued on to the Funny Farm.
I landed with six and a half gallons
still in the 17 -gallon tank.
I guess the reason I'm telling all of
you about this is because in my "Pass
it to Buck" column of last month,
I advocated the VFR direct type of
flying I have just completed. Well,
maybe it wasn't all that direct, but it
was VFR, and it was all done about
1,200 to 1,500 feet above ground
level, and it was very scenic and
without radios, loran, or federal as
sistance. I saw only ONE airplane the
entire way. (So much for our crowded
skies.) And I never had less than
eight or ten miles visibility all the
way home. I also have a tremendous
sense of personal accomplishment
and a really nice looking airplane in
my hangar to boot!
A look at Juptner's Vol. 6 will tell
you all the technical detail about the
little beast. You won't find this par
ticular airplane listed though because
it was dropped from the register, as I
said, but it is serial number 190, man
ufactured May 19, 1936. It's orangish
red with iridescent blue trim-about
as original as you can get. It's per
haps the world's lowest-time antique
with less than 160 hours total time.
No dings and cracks in the cowling
or metal work, and although it isn't a
super sanitary trophy winner, it is a11
original and it's MINE! -z:;2..
L
Over to you,
c.f!-,Itt.[,,/G
VINTAGE AIRPLANE

13

irplanes aren't cheap. No

matter how you look at it
and no matter how much
work you think you can do
yourself, they just aren't cheap.
So, what does a person do who
doesn't have the income to plunk
down $25,000 to $50,000 for an
airplane? Is there hope for those of
moderate means?
In the first place, we have to define
"cheap" and we have to recognize
certain realities, the first being that
if a person is having trouble paying
the rent, then this is probably not a
discussion for them-cruel, but real

A
14

DECEMBER 2004

istic. If, however, the budget allows

an extra $300 a month for frivolities,
there's definite hope. Three hundred
dollars a month is the payment on
a $15,000 loan at 7.5 percent inter
est for five years or $20,000 for seven
years. Just for the heck of it, let's use
$15,000 as a budget and see what we
can do with it.
There are a lot of ways you can go
when trying to become a vintage air
plane owner. Here are the most obvi
ous ways:
-Buy the best flying airplane you
can for $15,000
-Buy a flying airplane that needs

TLC and upgrade it

-Locate a project and have it re
stored
-Locate a project and restore it
yourself
Partnerships-Two Wallets Are
Always Better Than One

We're going to assume you're go

ing this alone. In reality, however,
the partnership concept works ex
tremely well on a vintage airplane
because many of them aren't the
kind of machines you take for an en
tire weekend and go to the Bahamas
or someplace distant, so scheduling

is rarely a problem. Having a partner

doubles your buying power or halves
your expenses. Either way, finding a
good partner is often much harder
than finding a good airplane. You
can always make a weak pilot stron
ger and you can generally work out
the financial factors, but if a person
is a jerk, you can't do much about it
and none of us wants to live with a
jerk. So, pick partners carefully.
Buying a Flying Bird to Go Flying
The assumption here is that you're
going to buy an airplane, fly it pretty
much as is, and then resell it without
spending any time or money on it.
There are a surprising number of
airplanes that can be had for $15,000.
However, at that level you're working
at the bottom of the airp lane food
chain and, not only are the pickings
slim, but sometimes they are pretty
ugly. For that reason there are a few
rules that you must follow because
quite often buying cheap gets expen
sive when something breaks and the
airplane is no longer a bargain. Also,
if you buy smart, chances are you can
fly the airplane for several years and
sell it for more than you paid for it.
The Cheapskate's Guide to Buying a Fly
ing Vintage Airplane
- Don't bu y a n a irp lane that has

flow n very little fo r t h e past

few years. Unless the price is low
enough to cover tearing the engine
down for a complete inspection,
you could be buying problems.
Lycomings especially love to de
velop rust in areas you can't easily
inspect (rear cam lobes) and that
rust eventually goes through the
engine, eating bearings and other
important stuff in the process.
- Do n ' t bu y a n a i rpl a n e th a t is
w ithin a few hu n dre d h o u rs
of TBO. Even if it runs perfectly
and will give you several hundred
hours of trouble free flying, you'll
have troubles reselling it. Plus, if
it goes sour, it's going to take a lot
of money to get it flying again or
you'll have to dump it and lose a
good part of your investment.
- Don' t bu y qu estio n a bl e l og
books. Give preference to those
with complete logs that show their
entire history and speak of good
maintenance.
- Don't buy a questio n a ble over
h a ul. Look for familiar names in
the logbook, especially from the
last overhaul, and check up on the
names you don't know.
- Stick w ith p opular engines. It's
hard to beat the A-65 Continental
and it's harder to support many of
its peers, such as the 0-145 Lycom

ing or 90-hp Franklin. They aren't

bad engines, but should any prob
lems develop, you'll have more
trouble finding parts and mechan
ics that understand them.
- Avo id deteriorat ed a irfra m es.
Rust, rot, and corrosion are good
reasons to walk away from an air
plane regardless of how cheap it
is. Unless you're qualified to do
the repairs yourself, you're talking
about a money pit.
- Buy at the top end of th at airplane's
price bracket. Every airplane has a
price range that is driven by con
dition. Let's say the price range for
normal (not the super cream puffs)
Luscombes is $12,000 to $20,000.
It makes more economic sense to
extend the loan out to seven years
from five so you have the $20,000
to buy the best one available. That
one will give you less problems, e.g.,
cost less money, to keep running
and you stand a better chance of
recouping your investment when
you sell. A dog will always bring dog
prices and they usually cost more to
keep flying.
- Give preference to popular types,
if you plan on reselling. Although
"fringe" airplanes, such as the Por
terfields, Interstates, Funks, etc.,
represent the best buys in terms
of flying airplanes, if you're think-

VINTAGE AIRPLA NE

15

Locate a project and

have it restored.

ing about reselling, remember that

those airplanes are less expensive
than something like a Cessna 140
for a reason: the market has deter
mined it's willing to pay more for a
140 than a Porterfield. Keep that in
mind when thinking of reselling.
Ignore the reput ations of air
planes and get the facts. Aviation
is rife with old wives' tales about
airplanes . Go to the type clubs
and get the facts, plus get a flight
in whatever you're thinking about
buying. A classic example of un
earned reputations is the suppos
edly "squirrelly" Luscombe: it han
dles fine as long as you're checked out
properly. Its reputation stems from
pilots who haven't really learned to
fly and they blame the Luscombe,
when it's really the pilot's fault.
Buy on condition, not appear
ance. Look past the paint and in
terior to see the actual condition
of the airplane. You can fly with
ugly paint for years but shiny paint
won't make the engine last any
longer or cure corrosion.
Double check Airworthin ess Di
rective (AD) compliance. Some of
these airplanes have gone for years
without having ADs brought up to
date. You don't want to be the one
caught holding that bag.
Buying a flying airplane that
needs TLC and upgrading it.

This is every buyer's dream: buy an

ugly airplane, spend a few weekends
16

DECEMBER 2004

cleaning and polishing, and have an

airplane as good as those that cost
more. We said it was a dream and it
usually is. The costs associated with
fixing anything more than the most
trivial cosmetic problems always
drive the investment above the ac
quisition cost of the top airplanes
in this bracket. The chances of this
working out are slim but definitely
not impossible. If this is to happen,
the following conditions absolutely
must be present:
- Low- to mid-time engine with
good history
- Basic airframe is clean with no rust,
corrosion, or bad dings.
- Exterior has only cosmetic prob
lems like paint but fabric and metal
are good.
- All ADs are complied with.
- Instruments and radios (if any) are
serviceable and legal.
- Overall condition is above average;
appearance is below average.
- Primary problems are of a hygienic
nature, which a good bath and a
little paint (very little) will fix.
This is a very iffy proposition that
requires you to really look at the air
plane closely and put a sharp pencil
to the plans you have for it. Too of
ten we let our enthusiasm carry us
away and we would have been better
off buying the most expensive air
plane of its type. This concept works
best when the owner can do much
of the work and there are few, if any,
parts that must be bought.

We can make this short and to the

point: this is not the way to get into
vintage airplanes inexpensively and
especially not for $15,000. Shop rates
vary wildly, but $25 to $35 per hour
seems to be about average, which is
about $250 per day. Now, think how
many days it will take someone to
do whatever it is that your airplane
needs. Let's say six weeks to disassem
ble, cover, and repaint your airplane?
That's 30 working days or $ 7,500
and doesn't include materials. Or,
shop around and get prices for dif
ferent segments of it. Recovering at
$10,000, engine $8,000, so now we
have spent more than our $15,000
and we haven't even bought an air
plane yet. To put it simply: you can't
pay someone else to do the work and
get into vintage airplane projects on
the cheap.
Locate a project and
restore it yourself.

This has real possibilities, but again,

only if certain things happen or are
present. The first move, however, is
to evaluate yourself before you evalu
ate a project. It's super common for
people to get all enthused about the
airplane, and then, when the gritty
reality of restoration sets in, the air
plane starts gathering dust. It would
probably surprise all of us to know
how many classic airplanes are sit
ting in garages and barns
not being worked on.
Self Evaluation

-Are you pro j ec t

oriented? When
you start a project,
do you keep after it day after
day, or, as the enthusiasm wanes
do you let it slip in favor of other
activities? Be honest here.
-Do you have the workspace? A dou
ble garage is more than enough for
most two-place airplane projects.
It's amazing how good a Luscombe
or 120 looks sitting in a double ga
rage workshop. It can be done in
a single garage, but only if there's

storage space available for com

pleted components.
-Do you have the time? There is
no such thing as "free" time. It all
comes from somewhere and for
most folks that means family and
family activities get short changed.
This has to be examined closely.
More than one project has been
abandoned because it was caus
ing too much unrest in the house
hold. Or conversely, the project
continued but the marriage didn't.
Get the family into the project,
or at least make sure you aren't
building resentment by not being
where you're supposed to be.
-Do you have the skills? This is a
nonquestion because you can
learn any skill. Besides, everything
you do must be rechecked by an
A&P anyway. In fact, one of the
most valuable skills you can de
velop would be the ability to make
friends with A&Ps and convince
them to come check your work in
exchange for barbeque or some
thing. For those skills you don't
want to learn, e.g., welding, paint
ing, etc., you can bring the project
right up to the ready-to-weld or
paint stage and pay to have the fi
nal work done. Most of the cost of
either types of work is in the time
spent in preparation. Once ev
erything is cut and fit in place,
two hours of actual welding
is a huge amount of welding.
Ditto painting. The cost is in the

disassembly, cleaning, masking,

and prepping. Actual spraying
time to paint an entire airplane
probably isn't two hours including
all the small parts, if they are well
organized and ready to shoot.
Project Evaluation

Deciding what makes a good proj

ect isn't easy and price is most of
ten the least important part of the
equation.
-Size. Don't bite off more than you
can chew. Luscombes and 140s are
good little weekend garage proj
ects. A Tri-Pacer is a little more la
bor intensive and a 108 Stinson is
a quantum leap up the time and
complexity scale. If you opt for a
bigger airplane, make sure that you
want that airplane more than life
itself or you'll run out of steam.
-Condition. If the airplane is a proj
ect, why did it stop flying? Was it
damaged? What kind of damage?
Some types of damage are easier to
fix than others and much of it is
outside the capabilities of a back
yard restorer. How much storage
damage does it have in the form
of beat-up skins, ribs, etc. What
about storage conditions? Was it
dry or wet? Is there rust or corro
sion? These are hard to fix. Were
mice making an apartment house
of the airplane, complete with
their nasty hygiene habits?
-Type ofconstruction. Differentindi
viduals have different affinities
Some like wood,
others are

more comfortable with aluminum

or rag and tube. Each material re
quires different skill sets and abili
ties and all demand a thorough
understanding of FAA-acceptable
repair techniques. This is where a
good A&P is worth whatever he or
she charges for guidance.
-Damage assessment. An airplane
that has been in a serious accident
is generally better left for the pros
or semi-pros unless the damage is
minor or limited to rag and tube
airplanes, which lend themselves
better to amateur repairs.
-Completeness. An airplane that
is missing parts is an airplane that
is going to cost a lot in phone
calls and aggravation. Plus those
parts aren't cheap. Don't under
estimate the problems associated
with replacing something fairly
minor like an aileron or parts of
the control system, for example.
If the airplane is only disassem
bled into its major components
(wings/fuselage/engine), it's easy
to see what is or isn't there. But, if
it's a true basket case or a project
someone has already totally dis
assembled to work on, doing an
inventory is a major task that ab
solutely must be accomplished before
money changes hands. Also, if this
is to be an accurate restoration, as
opposed to a sport flying restora
tion, it's critical that all the trim
pieces on the interior and
cowling be accounted for.
This inventory will be the
basis for arguing price with
the owner. The price should
reflect missing parts.
-Engine. If the engine is missing,
the project had better be very in
expensive, if you're going to finish
up for less than $lSK. If it is there,
it has to be determined if it's a use
able engine, a core to be rebuilt or
a bunch of mangled parts that sort
of look like an engine but aren't.
Don't be afraid to argue for pulling
a jug for inspection. The longer
the engine has been hiding under
a workbench, the more likely it is
to be just a parts donor. A project
VINTAGE AI RPLANE

17

with a fresh engine is worth a size

able premium.
-Paperwork. DON'T BUY A PROJ
ECT THAT HAS NO PAPERWORK
OR DATAPLATE. This is something
the pros seem to be able to pull
off, but the average guy isn't set up
jousting with the FAA Registration
Branch. In the first place, without
a data plate the airplane has no of
ficial identity and that means you
have no way of proving it's yours
or it hasn't been stolen. Without
a data plate there is almost no way
you can license it. Don't even think
about trying to get it licensed as
an Experimental aircraft. The FAA
won't allow a formerly certified
airplane to be moved to that set of
certification categories.
Treat the paperwork exactly the

same as if you were buying a flying

airplane and you'll avoid major
hassles later on. And don't plan
on working this out later. It would
be a real bummer to finish an air
plane and then find you can't li
cense it.
-Proforma budget . Before buying
the project, sit down with a pencil,
or better yet, a computer spread
sheet, and work up a budget for
parts, materials and outside labor.
Mentally walk through what you
have to do to the airplane start
ing at the front and working back.
Make up three columns labeled
"Least," "Expected" and "High"
and put numbers in each of the
columns. This should give you a
range. If possible, get your local
A&P or EAA Technical Counselor

Editor Low-buck Picks

We're goingto skip the obvious Luscombe/120/140/Champ/T-craft mainstream
aircraft and talk about some you may not have thought about that can be fit into
the $15K budget.

Aeronca
Chief-This is a side-by-side Champ; good Super Chiefs (85 hpj probably won't
be in the $15K budget.
65TAC-Defender-Pre-war/wartime tandem, pick carefully because of age.

Piper
J-4 Cub Coupe-A side-by-side Cub that for some reason hasn't skyrocketed in
price like the J-3. Good project but rare.
Colt-A two-place Tri-Pacer. $15K should buy a reasonable flying airplane or
build a good project.
125 Tri-Pacer-This is an early Tripe w/0-290 but look for a good engine and
prepare to do some welding. Check the engine carefully-the 0-290 is an "orphan"
engine as far as Lycom ing is concerned.

Interstate Cadet
A-65-lsn't really enough power but still flies okay. Some had Franklins.

Ercoupe
Thousands out there, $15K will buy a flying airplane or super project.

Funk
Both pre- and post-war models, a good flyer, and fairly fast. Has a T-bar control!
yoke system. A real antique in a tiny package.

Cessna 150
Don't laugh. The square tail, pre-1963 models are true contemporary classics
but look for a good engine, as the 0-200 is expensive to overhaul.

Stinson lOA
Hasn't caught on at all. Two-place but could use more power (can't everything?).
This will probably be a project.
18

DECEMBER 2004

to sit down and go through it with

you. An extra set of eyes is well
worth the effort. Then add at least
SO percent and you'll be close to
what it'll cost to put it back in the
air. At that point you're ready to
start arguing with the owner about
the price.
-Location. Proximity has a lot to
do with the worth of a project
because transportation is such a
problem. Although the airplane
that is on the other coast may be
a much better project at a better
price, by the time you get it home
it won't be much of a bargain. At
the same time, you have to evalu
ate the balance between projects:
it may well be worth the time and
money if a distant project will re
quire enough fewer parts and work
to justify the trip.
-Where t o look . Trade-a-Plane is
always the first place to start look
ing, along with Barnstormers.com
and the classified section of maga
zines, including Vintage Airplane.
However, the best deals will al
ways be found on bulletin boards
at fly-ins and at local airports. A
lot of airplanes are in the hands of
people ready to dump them just to
get them out of their hair and they
usually aren't advertised.
-Typ e club i s i m p ortant. The
more popular the type, the stron
ger the type club will be and that's
important. If you're restoring a
Porterfield, you'll have a much
smaller number of people to help
you than if doing a Luscombe or
120/140. If you have your heart
set on a given type of airplane,
your first move should be to join
that type club.
It would take a book the size of the
Manhattan phone directory to cover
all of the bases on ways to get into
vintage airplanes on a budget. We've
covered some of the basics. Now it's
up to you to spend some time bal
anCing your checkbook and talking
to everyone who will talk to you
about entry-level classics and con
temporaries. You may be surprised
what you learn.
.....

Oshkosh Oasis

The Vette Seaplane Base 2004

KATHIE ERNST

Like the water lilies that ring the perimeter of the base, Cub row extended southwest
into the seaplane cove, thanks to the clever work of the seaplane docking crew.

20

DECEMBER 2004

While not a vintage airplane, the BE-103 is an interesting airplane that gets plenty of attention. This year I was fortunate to
be offered a flight in a new Russian twin-engine amphibian, the Beriev BE-103. It's a rather unusual looking light twin, with its
wing-in-the-water configuration. I had never seen anything quite like it before and was curious as to how it would fly.
We had a very experienced crew at the controls; Skip Niedhardt (the Seaplane Pilot's Association's most experienced
instructor) and Kent Linn (another seaplane pilot and the North American distributor for the BE-103) were the pilots.
We embarked on our adventure in the late afternoon, hoping to catch a sunset flight. I must admit that it was a little
unsettling to sit so low in the water, I but was reassured of its very sturdy construction. It handled remarkably well in both
the air and in the water. It was a very enjoyable flight. "Spasibu," thanks to the Russians!

ne of the highlights of EAA

AirVenture Oshkosh 2004
was the Vette Seaplane
Base. It is truly one of the jewels of
the convention. A short shuttle trip
from the main grounds, and you find
yourself in a hidden paradise.
As you walk down the moss
covered path leading to the
floatplane cove, you encounter tiki
lights and signs that warn of poison
ivy. You can feel the stress of daily
life slowly melt away. It's like going

to summer camp (but like camp,

don't forget to pack your sunscreen
and bug repellent!).
There is no place quite like the
seaplane base with the friendly and
always helpful staff and the resort
like atmosphere; it's a vacation in
itself. You can take a leisurely boat
ride around the protected cove
and view all the different planes
up close. You can enjoy the several
cookouts the base offers each year,
such as the perennial favorites-the

corn roast and the watermelon fest.

(But get your tickets early because
they are always a sell out!) Or, you
can find a comfortable, shady spot
and watch the day-to-day activities
at the base . It's delightful to watch
these little water birds take off and
land in one of the most picturesque
places in Oshkosh.
Treat yourself to a little vacation
next year at Oshkosh and visit the
Vette Seaplane Base. You won't be
disappointed!

The Outstanding
Amphibian of this
year's convention is
Bill Bardin's Republic
Seabee, which is
based in Brockport,
New York, not too far
from where it was
built at the Republic
plant on Long Island.
VINTAGE AIRPLANE

21

The Grand Champion Gold Lindy winner of all

the seaplanes was Chris Price's fantastic Heath
Parasol, mounted on a pair of Heath floats. It was
Antique Custom Built champion at last year's EAA
AirVenture.
Chris buiH the floats using plans published in the
Flying and Glider Manual of 1931, available from
EAA by calling 800/843-3612. Chris was feeling a
bit under the weather during the convention, but
he graciously agreed to do some high-speed (okay,
relatively speaking) runs on the bay outside of the
seaplane base. See back cover.

Bill Schlapman of the Heath Parasol Club took this photo of Chris
and his Heath just prior to starting. You can see how small the Heath
and its floats really are. Each is buiH up with spruce framing covered
in 3I32-inch mahogany plywood, with the floats then covered in
lightweight aircraft fabric.
With the changes he had to make to the airplane to power it with
a Continental A-40, Chris wasn't too sure about the float rigging, so
he built a shallow tank in his hangar to test the configuration!
To fly it to the seaplane base from his hangar in Brodhead,
Wisconsin, Price had to truck the Heath to Decatur Lake, just north
of Brodhead.
After takeoff during his initial test flight on floats, VAA member
and volunteer photographer Nigel Hitchman captured these two
dawn photographs of the Heath with Chris at the controls. Chris
flew formation for a bit with the Curtiss Jenny restored by Frank
Schelling, and being flown by Eric Presten.
After the float installation was deemed proper, the Heath was
fueled and then flown off the lake for a 60-mile cross-country flight
to the Vette Seaplane base.

The Bronze Lindy winner in the Seaplane category is this sharp Piper PA14 mounted on a pair of amphibious Wipline 2100
floats, and owned and flown by Jon Gottschalk of Phillips, Wisconsin, up in the lake country of the state, northwest of Tomahawk.

"Okay, now that I caught it, what do I do with it?"

Daria Chirhart, whose mom, Becky, and dad, Todd,
are local Oshkosh residents who volunteer at the
Seaplane base, spends part of her week catching the
reptilian versions of amphibians present at the base.

The folks up in Hibbing,

Minnesota, who run Tuffloats
Inc., brought their company
Stinson 108 to the base,
mounted on their composite
floats. The "Rainy River" floats
displace 2,475 pounds, and
weigh a total of 270 pounds.
See them at www.tuffloats.com
or call at 8009550237.

VINTAGE AIRPLANE

23

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AGUAR

BY H.G . FRAUTSCHY

THIS MONTH'S MYSTERY PLANE

COMES TO US FROM THE ZIEGLER COLLECTION IN THE EAA LIBRARY.

Send your answer to EAA, Vintage Airplane, P.O. Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086. Your answer needs to be
in no later than January 10 for inclusion in the March 2005 issue of Vintage Airplane.
You can also send your response via e-mail. Send your answer to mysteryplane@eaa.org. Be sure to include your
name plus your city and state in the body of your note and put (Month) Mystery Plane" in the subject line.
fI

SEPTEMBER ' S

MYSTERY

ANSWER

Here's one we received via e-mail:

The Mystery Airplane in the September issue
is a no-brainer for me. It is a Thunderbird W-14.
Having had the opportunity to help restore Den
nis Trones' Thunderbird, it is hard to not recognize
one when I see it. We feel that Denny's T-bird may
be the last survivor of about 18 built. The one pic
tured was a later version with the longer nose and
underslung radiator. Restoration was completed a
little over a year ago and the Thunderbird is cur
rently based at the Brodhead, Wisconsin, airport.
Kent McMakin
Rockton, Illinois
The other correct answer was received from ....._ _ _ _ _...;....0
Walter Bowe, Sonoma Skypark, California.

Thunderbird W-14
VINTAGE AIRPLANE

25

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mation should be received fo ur months prior to the event date.

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Classified Word Ads: $5.50 per 10 words, 180 words maximum, with boldface lead
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Classified Display Ads: One column wide (2.167 inches) by 1, 2, or 3 inches high at
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Advertising Closing Dates: 10th of second month prior to desired issue date (i.e. ,
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advertising in conflict with its policies. Rates cover one insertion per issue. Classified
ads are not accepted via phone. Payment must accompany order. Word ads may be
sent via fax (920-426-4828) or e-mail (classads@eaa.org) using credit card payment
(all cards accepted) . Include name on card, complete address, type of card , card

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DECEMBER 2004

Warner engines. Two 165s, one fresh

O.H. , one low time on Fairchild 24
mount with all accessories. Also
Helton Lark and Aeronca C-3 project.
Find my name and address in the
Officers and Directors listing and call
evenings. E. E. "Buck" Hilbert.
Flying wires available. 1994 pricing.
Visit www.flyingwires.com or call

800-517-9278.
For Sale - 1939 Spartan Executive ,
3500TT, 10 SMOH. 214-354-6418.
A&P I.A.: Annual, 100 hr. inspections.

Wayne Forshey 614-476-9150

Ohio - statewide.

continued from page 3

diamonds, are forever. To keep the
flavor of both the times and of Nick's
delivery, we've done minimal editing
to the 30-year-old "Reminiscing with
Nick" series, and in this case, it bit
us. Thanks for keeping us honest! If
you have solid information regard
ing Parks aircraft, feel free to con
tact John at the e-mail address noted
above. - HGF

More on Mystery Oil

About the Marvel Mystery OiL ..
I have a little bit of information
that may be of interest.
After being discharged from
the Air Force in the early 1950s,
I was able to go to work for North
Central Airlines because I already
had my A&P mechanic's certifi
cate. I worked nights at first and
when a plane terminated after its
last flight we cleared up any dis
crepancies that the pilots wrote
up during the day's flights.
If a pilot wrote that an engine
ran rough at times, we would take
a quart of M.M.O. up to the cock
pit and run the engine up, and
suck the quart of M.M.O. into the
engine via the manifo ld pressure
line that we disconnected from
the gauge.
We had the 9-cylinder Wright
1820 engines and it was usually a
high-time engine that needed the
treatment. It worked every time.
I've used it in my own aircraft
ever since whenever I felt a need
due to a sticking valve. It won't
help a burned va l ve, however.
Some hope it will.
Don Macar
Duluth, Minnesota

JOIN TODAY!

800-322-241 2

TAKE SOME OF THE EXPERIMENTING

OUT OF HOMEBUILDING

jan. 2 1-23

Griffin, GA
(Atlanta Area)

jan. 29

Oshkosh, WI

Test Flying Your Project

jan. 29-30

Oshkosh, WI

Feb. 25-27

Griffin, GA
(Atlanta Area)

TIC Welding

Feb. 26

Lakeland, FL
(Sun 'N Fun
Campus)

Test Flying Your Project

Feb. 26-27

Lakeland, FL
(Sun 'N Fun
Campus)

Introduction to Aircraft Building

Sheet Metal Basics Fabric Covering
Composite Construction
Electrical Systems and Avionics
Cas Welding

Introduction to Aircraft Building

Sheet Metal Basics Fabric Covering
Composite Construction
Electrical Systems and Avionics

1-800-WORKSHOP
1-800-967-5746
V INTAGE A I R P LANE

27

Vanderlei Nazareth . . .. . .. . ... Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil

Stephen Anton elli . ... . .. . . . ...... Fayetteville, NC

Enrico Celant ................. Ispra Varese, Italy

Jan MCDouga ld ....... . .. . . .. ..... Gold Hill, NC

Edmund Houtte .... . .. . ..... . .... . .. Palmer, AK

Kurt M. Charpen tier ... . .... . . . Lyndeborough, NH

Brendan P. Carmody . . .. . ... .. ........ Fresno, CA

Rand Peck . .. .. . ............. Mount Vernon, NH

Joseph Davis . . ............. . ... .. Firebaugh , CA

Steven S. Dow ... .. . . . ............... Byron, NY

Mark Timothy Dean .................. Fresn o, CA

Ch ristoph er Frank .... . ........ . ... . .Jamaica, NY

Ted G. Lumpkin ... . . .. ...... . .. . Inglewood , CA

Josep h Prato . . ............... . ..... Livonia, NY

Tyler C. Peterson ... . ........ Diamond Springs, CA

Jefferson Sh ingleton ................. Aubu rn, NY

James Reyner. ................. .. San ta Clara, CA

Bru ce W. Mitton ................ . ... Fayette, OH

Paul C. Rzad . . ........... .. .. .. . . . Martinez, CA

Timothy Sh oll ... . ............... Colu mbus, OH

Frank Hitlaw .................. . .....Sebrin g, FL

Emerson C. Stewart .............. WayneSVille, OH

Daniel S. Jones . .. . ........ Panama City Beach, FL

Edward C. Yess, II I. . ............ . Blanchester, OH

Randy Walls .................. . .. Kennesaw, GA

Bill Jackson .. . ... . ... . .......Oklahoma City, OK

John A. Craig..... . . .. ..... . .... . . Sun Va lley, ID

James D. Sheen . .... .. ......... . . Gettysburg, PA

Ray Fagre, Jr. .............. .. ......... Ath ol, ID

Kenneth B. Carpen ter .. ............ Knoxville, TN

Thomas P. Baber . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . McHenry, IL

Dan Bush ... .. . .. ... . . . ... . ....... Roan oke, TX

Larry A. Lyons ...................... Stockto n, IL

Tim Ell iott ..... .. ... . . . ..... Sulphur Springs, TX

David McCollough .... .. .. . .. . .... St. Ch arles, IL

Nancy Hoffman ....................Yoakum, TX

Albert Schrautemyer . ......... . ........ Itasca, IL

Howard Hollinger .. ........ . ......... Dallas, TX

Alan N. Harder . .. .. . .. . .. . ...... Terre Ha ute, IN

Blaine Hu nsaker .. . ..... .. . . ... Brigham City, UT

Nelson D. Reynolds, Jr.......... . ... Evansville, IN

Martin Duke . . .. . ...... .. . . ........ Renton, WA

Alvin E. Tanzey .... . ................ Chopin , LA

Jay Jacobsen ...... . ................Sequi m, WA

James B. Hawkes .... . ......... . ..... Beverly, MA

Robert Maves . .. .. ........... ... . Ellison Bay, WI

Daniel Feirman ..... . ........... .. . Portland, ME

Ken nith M. Mazac. ................ River Falls, WI

Charles W. Checker, Jr. ............... Monroe, MI

Th omas Schobe r ............... Oconomowoc, WI

Cameron Chute . . . . .. . .. ... ....... St . Paul, MN

Donald E. Casto . ............... Pt. Pleasant, WV

Everett K. Hall ... . ..... . ... . ..... Springfield, MO

Wi lliam D. Ha ll ................ . Hu ntington, WV

AERO CLASSIC
"COLLECTOR SE RI ES"

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Show off your pride a nd joy with a
fresh set of Vintage Rubber. These
newly minted tires are FAA-TSO ' d
and speed r ated to 120 MPH. Some
things are better left th e way they
wer e, and in the 40 's and 50 's, these tires were perfectly in
tune to th e excitin g times in aviation.
Not only do these tires set your vintage plane apart from
th e rest, but also look exceptional on all General Aviation
aircr aft. Deep 8/32nd tread depth offer s above average
tread life and UV treated rubber resists aging.
Fi rst impression s last a lifetime, so put these jewels on and

bring back the good times.....

New General Aviation Sizes Available:

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Oesser has the largest stock and

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hese are the first tools you need

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T
your
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thing to having one of our staff right
beside you. The VHS tape and the
DVD will give you the Big Picture,
and the manual will walk you step
by step through every part of the
process. You're never on your own
when you're using Poly~Fiber.
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Telephone : 800-247-8473 or

I{j

DESSER

TIRE I'< RUBBER COMPANY

01 Aviation Since 1920....

28

DECEM B ER 2004

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323-721-4900 FAX: 323-721-7888

6900 Acco St. . Montebello, CA 90640
3400 Chelsea Ave, Memphis, TN 38106

www.desser.com

Aircraft: CoaHngs

800-362-3490

T.C. Dayis
Renton, WA

_ Rilot for 50 years

_ Many years as sailplane
and tow-plane pilot
_ Former aircraft salesman,
retired from maior aircraft
manufacturer in SeaH/e

"I have been a customer of AUA for a number of years

lowest prices I can find and never any hassle for a
renewal. It's appreciated_"

- T.C. Davis

.,

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AUA's E;xclusive EAA Vinta e Aircraft Association Insurance Program Lower liability and hull premiums
Medical flayments included - Flee discounts for multiple aircraft carrying all risk coverages - No hand-propping exclusion
No compo

t parts endor-sements - Discounts for claim-free renewals carrying all risk coverages

The best is affordable. Give AUA a call - it's FREE!

800-727-3823
Fly with the pros... fly with AUA Inc.
www.ouoonline.com

Men's Tone on Tone

Logo Sweatshirts ..$18_99
2X _.. $22.99

Ladies' Blouse..

$32.99

Wear this blouse to work for a

great business look and after
work go casual by rolling up the
sleeves. Great for a busy day.
Light blue with blue embroidered
Vintage logo.
Small ................ V03542
Medium. .......... . ... V03543
Large . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. V03544
X-Large. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . V03545

Ladies' Chambray Shirt. $31.95

Stone washed for soft comfort in any
season will look great at all aviation
activities.
Medium. ................... Vl1148
Large . ... . .......... .. .... V11149
X-Large . ................... Vl1160

Ladies' Sweater..... $24.99

Love to travel? Love to fly? Here
is the sweater for you! Airplane
trinkets dazzle this sweater with
clouds and travel bag motif. Boat
neck and a longer length make
a comfortable sweater for most
any occasion.
Red
Small . . ... .V02929
Medium . ...V02930
Large . .... .V02931

White
Small . ..... V02932
Medium ....V02933
Large . .....V02934
Navy

Small . ..... V02935

Medium . ...V02936
Large . .....V02937

Medium Navy .. V03976

Large Navy . ... V04237
X-Large Navy .. V04238
2X Navy . ..... V03977

Ford Tri-Motor Paperweigtrt

Exquisite, fascinating, unbelievable
are just a few words to describe
this beautiful acrylic paperweight.
The 3-D plane floats inside the
crystal cube to create an inspiring
piece of art.
V03492 . .............. $14.00

Biplane Pins
Accent any outfit with one or more of
these stylish biplane pins. Available
in silver or gold tone. Has 1 inch
wing span.
Silver V02844
$11.99
Gold V02845
$11.99

18" or 24" Tube Socks . . $7.59

Great for any athletic activity or for
simply keeping your feet warm and dry
during the fall and winter months. Fits
any size.
18" V02928
24" V02927

Multi-Tool with Flashlig11t

Rts in your pocket for any quick mainte
nance job that happens on the go. You'll
wonder how you got along without it. Ap
prox size folded is 2 3/4 inches.
V03517. . . . . . . . . . . .
. ... . $14.95

VAA GoN Balls

Whether on vacation or thinking
ahead to the warm sunny days, get
ready for the golf course with these
Top Flight LX VAA logo golf balls.
V02587................... $9.99

Copper Logo Caps

Men's Sand Tone on Tone

VAA Logo Shirt
Light-weight long or short sleeve
shirt has an embroidered tone on
tone logo and is made of 100% nylon
with polyester mesh panel lining.

Short Sleeve ............. $34.99

Denim Apron

Medium
Large
XLarge
2X

100% cotton, embossed with logo

and airplanes this apron is perfect
for in the kitchen, a cookout or
even working in the shop.
V00403. ............... $17.99

Medium
Large
XLarge
2X

V03534
V03535
V03536
V03537

The VAA logo is in beautiful copper on a

forest green or maroon cap.
Forrest Green ....... V03519
$14.99
Maroon . ........... V03520
$14.99

12

Long Sleeve. ............. $37.99

V03538
V03539
V03S40
V03541

out the web for a view

of file Items In color

VINTAGE

Membershi~ Services
AIRCRAFT

ENJOY THE MANY BENEFITS OF EA A AND

ASSOCIATION
THE EAA V INTAGE A IRCRAFT ASSOCIATION
OFFICERS
President
Geoff Robison
1521 E. MacGregor Dr.

New Haven, IN 46774

260-493-4724

chie{7025@aol.co11l
secretary

Steve Nesse
2009 Highland Ave.
Albert Lea, MN 56007
507-373-1674
shles@desk/lleriia.coJlI

Vice-President
George Daubner
2448 Lough Lane
Hartford, WI 53027
262-673-5885
vaa(lyboyCdJJnslI.colll

Treasurer
Charles W. Harris
7215 East 46th St .

Tulsa,OK 74147

918-622-8400

cwh@hv5u.com

DIRECTORS
Steve Bender
85 Brush Hill Road
Sherborn, MA 01770
508-653-7557
sst l()@\:omcast.llet

David Bennett
P.O. Box 1188
Roseville, CA 95678
916-645-8370

Dale A. Gustafson
7724 Shady Hills Dr.
I nd ianapoli s, IN 46278
317-293-4430
daiefaye@111sll.C0111

Jeannie Hill
P.O. Box 328
Harvard, IL 60033-0328
815-943-7205

1l11tiqlfer@illreach.com

diIlS'wu@uwc.l1et

John Berendt

Espie "Butch" Joyce

704 N. Regional Rd.
Greensboro, NC 27409
336-668-3650

7645 Echo Point Rd.

Cannon Falls, IvIN 55009

507 -263-2414
Illjbtcl/ld@rcoll"ect.collI

willdsock @aol.com

Robert C. "Bob" Brauer

9345 S. Hoyne
Chicago, I L 60620
773-779-2105

Steve Krog
1002 Heather Ln.
Hartford, WI 53027
262-966-7627

photopi/ot@aol.co11l

55krog@aoi.com

Dave Clark
635 Vestal Lane
Plainfield, IN 46168
317-839-4500

Robert D. "Bob" Lumley

1265 South 124th SI.
Brookfield, W I 53005
262-782-2633

davecpd@;quest.net

1IIII1per@execpc.coIII

John S. Copeland

Gene Morris
5936 Steve Court
Roanoke, TX 76262
817-491-9110

I A Deacon Street
Northborough, MA 0 1532
508-393-4775
copeland 1@jllllO.C011l

Phil Coulson
28415 Springbrook Dr.
Lawton, MI 49065
269-624-6490

(coll/son516(q'cs.com
Roger Gomoll
889 1 Airport Rd, Box C2
Blaine, MN 55449
763-786-3342
pledgedrive@m51lCOI11

genelllorri5@evl.llet

Dean Ri chardson
1429 Ki n gs Lynn Rd
Stoughton, W I 53589
608-877-8485
dar@aprilaire.co1l1
S.H. "Wes" Schmid
2359 Lefeber Avenue
Wauwatosa, WI 53213
414-771-1545
SI15Clllllid@lllilwpc.COIII

DIRECTORS

EMERITUS

Gene Chase
2159 Carlton Rd.
Oshkosh, WI 54904
920-23 1-5002
GRCHA@c/larter.llet

E.E. "Buck" Hilbert

P.O. Box 424
Union, IL 60180
815-923-4591
b7ac@mCllet

Ronald C. Fritz

15401 Sparta Ave.

Kent City, MI 49330

6 16-678-50 12

rFritz@patlnvaYllet.com

Directory

EAA Aviatio n Cen ter, PO Box 3086, Osh kosh W I 54903-3086

Phone (920) 426-4800

Fax (920) 426-4873

Web Site: http://www_eaa _org and http://www.airventllre_org

EAA and Division Membership Services
800-843-3612 . . ... . . . FAX 920-426-676 1
(8:00 AM-7:00 PM
Monday-Friday CST)
- New/ renew memberships: EAA, Divi
sions (Vintage Aircraft Associatio n, lAC,
Warbirds), National Assoc iation of Flight
Instructors (NAFI)

- Address changes

- Merchandise sales

- Gift memberships

Programs and Activities

EAA AirVenture Fax-On-Demand Directory
. ...... . ................ 732-885-6711
Auto Fuel STCs . _ . . .. . ... . . 920-426-4843
Build/ resto re informati on .. . 920-426-4821
Chapters: locating/orga nizing920-426-4876
Education .. . . ...... ... . . . 888-322-3229
- EAA Air Academy

- EAA Scholarships

E-Mail: vintage @eaa.org

Flight Advisors informatio n ..

Flight Instructor informatio n
Flying Start Program .. . ....
Library Services/ Resea rch ....
Medical Questio ns ... ... . ..
Technical Counselo rs . .. . . . .
Yo ung Eagles ... .. . .......

920-426-6864
920-426-6801
920-426-6847
920-426-4848
920-426-6112
920-426-6864
877-806-8902

Ben efits
AUA Vintage Insurance Plan. 800-727-3823
EAA Aircraft Insurance Plan . 866-647-4322
Term Li fe and Accidenta L ... 800-24 1-6103
Dea th Insurance (Harvey Watt & Company)
Editorial . ... . ... . . .. ..... 920-426-4825
...... .. ..... . .. .. .. FAX 920-426-4828
- Submitting article/pho to
- AdvertiSing informa tion
EAA Aviation Foundation
Artifact Do nations . ..... .. 920-426-4877
Financial Support. ......... 800-236- 1025

MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION
EAA
Membership in the Experimental Aircraft
Associa ti on, Inc. is $40 for one year, includ
ing 12 issues of SPORT AVIATION. Family
membership is an additiona l $10 annu ally.
Junior Membershi p (under 19 years of age)
is available at $23 annually. All major credit
cards accepted fo r membership. (Add $16 for
Foreign Postage_)

EAA SPORT PILOT

Current EAA m emb ers may add EAA
SPORT PILOT magazine for an additional
$20 per year.
EAA Me mb e rship and EAA SPORT
PILOT m agazine is available fo r $40 per
yea r (SPORT AVIATION m agazin e not in
cluded). (Add $16 for Foreign Postage_)

VINTAGE AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION

Current EAA m embe rs ma y jo in th e
Vintage Ai rcraft Association and receive
VINTAGE AIRPLANE magaZine fo r an ad
dition al $36 per year.
EAA Membersh ip, VINTA GE AIRPLANE
magaZine and one yea r membership in the EAA
Vintage Aircraft Association is ava ilable for $46
per yea r (SPORT AVIATION magaZine not in
cluded). (Add $7 for Foreign Postage_)

lAC

Current EAA m embers may jo in th e

Intern atio nal Ae robati c Club, Inc. Divi
sio n and receive SPOR T AEROBATICS
magaZine for an additional $45 per year.
EAA Membership, SPOR T AEROBAT
ICS magazine and o n e yea r m embership
in the lA C Division is available fo r $55
per year (SPOR T AVIATION m agazi n e
not in cl ud e d )_ (Add $15 for Foreig n
Postage_)

WARBIRDS
Current EAA members may join the EAA
Warbirds of Am erica Divisio n and receive
WARBIRDS magazine for an additional $40
per year.
EAA Mem be rship , WARBIRDS ma ga
zine a nd on e ye ar m emb ership in t h e
Warbirds Division is available for $50 per
year (SPOR T AVIATION m agaZine no t in
cluded). (Add $7 fo r Foreign Postage.)

FOREIGN MEMBERSHIPS
Please submit your remittan ce wi t h a
ch ec k or dra ft dr aw n o n a United States
ban k payable in United States dollars. Add
required Fo reign Postage am o unt for each
membership.

Membership dues to EAA and its divisions are not tax deductible as charitable contribut ions
Copyright 2004 by the EM Vintage Aircrah Association
All rights reserved.
VINTAGE AIRPLANE (ISSN 0091-6943) IPM 40032445 is published and owned exclusively by the EM Vintage Aircrah Association of the Experimental Aircrah Association and is published monthly at EM Aviation
Center. 3000 Poberezny Rd., P.O. Box 3086, Oshkosh, Wisconsin 54903-3086. Periodicals Postage paid at Oshkosh, Wisconsin 5490 1 and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to EM
Vintage Aircraft Association, P.O. Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086. Return Canadian issues to Station A, PO Box 54. Windsor, ON N9A 6J5. FOREIGN AND APO ADDRESSES - Please allow at least two months
for delivery of VINTAGE AIRPLANE to foreign and APC addresses via surface mail. ADVERTISING - Vintage Aircraft Association does not guarantee or endorse any product offered through the advertising. We invite
constructive criticism and welcome any report of inferior merchandise obtained through our advertising so that corrective measures can be taken.

EDITORIAL POLICY: Readers are encouraged to submit stories and photographs. Policy opinions expressed in articles are solely those of the authors. Responsibility for accuracy in reporting rests entirely with
the contributor. No remuneration is made. Material should be sent to: Editor. VINTAGE AIRPLANE, P.O. Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086. Phone 920/426-4800.

EAA and SPORT AVIATION, the EAA Logo and Aeronautica are registered trademarks, trademarks, and service marks of the Experimental Aircraft Association, Inc. The use of these trademarks and service
marks without the permission of the Experimental Aircraft Association, Inc. is strictly prohibited.
The EM AVIATION FOUNDATION Logo is a trademark of the EAA Aviation Foundation, Inc. The use of this trademark without the permission of the EAA Aviation Foundation, Inc. is strictly prohibited.

32

DECEMBER 2004