GEOFF ROBISON

PRESIDENT, VI NTAGE AIRC RAFT ASSOC IATION

AirVenture 2009 proved to be not only an

awesome event, but also awildly successful one!
[ returned from AirVenture and
my head is still spinning trying to
determine what dynamics were
put into place to make this event
so wildly successful. The best I can
come up with, considering the eco
nomic challenges we are all cur
rently experiencing in one degree
or another, is the leadership team
as well as staff at EAA and the many
"before the convention" volun
teers who again put together such
a wide-ranging schedule of events
and attractions for this year's event.
The dedication of so many re
turning volunteers plus what was
planned and then ultimately deliv
ered to our EAA/VAA membership
created an event that many folks
were simply unwilling to miss.
The one word we heard through
out the week of AirVenture was
simply, "Wow." As I stated in last
month's column, all early indica
tors seemed to strongly suggest the
potential for a highly successful
AirVenture for 2009. And a huge
success it was! When was the last
time you saw a Pitcairn PA-18 take
flight? Where else in this world
can you listen to First Officer Jeff
Skiles and Capt. Chesley "Sully"
Sullenberger speak so modestly
among their aviation peers about
their experience last January of
successfully ditching an airliner in
the Hudson River with ISS souls
on board? Where else can you go
and see WhiteKnightTwo perform
such a captivating demonstration

flight in front of so many aviation

minded individuals? Where else in
these United States can you get up
close to and climb aboard an Airbus
A380 airliner, or wa lk around and
observe a demo flight of a Predator
B operated by the U.S. Customs and
Border Protection? It's a rare day in

The one word we heard

throughout the week of
AirVenture was simply,
"Wow:'
your life if you can see a full-scale
replica de Havilland Comet DH.88
on display, as well as in flight. But
these aircraft and their pilots were
all a part of the most exciting avia
tion experience a person can be a
part of, and it all happened at EAA
AirVenture Oshkosh 2009.
In an attempt to quantify the
success of AirVenture 2009, al
low me to share some preliminary
numbers relevant to this year's fly
in and convention. Attendance was
up 12 percent over last year, with
a total of S 78,000 guests. Show
planes in attendance totaled 2,662.
And the number of campers on the
grounds was approximately 41,000.
The excitement of AirVenture
2009 was rounded out by enter

tainment provided by the Doobie

Brothers and by an appearance of
the puppet master/comedian Jeff
Dunham and his sidekick Guitar
Guy. Thousands of our guests at Air
Venture were in attendance at these
very special shows . Wow! You guys
are all dynamite performers, and
your efforts were greatly appreci
ated by all in attendance. The Vin
tage parking area experienced an
other year of wide-ranging aircraft.
The barnstormer's tour brought
in nine fine examples of the barn
storming era, not to mention Clay
"Pork Chop" Adams' beautifully
restored motorized couch, racing
stripe and all. Yeah, you heard me
right. You cou ld see Clay motoring
around the campground nearly ev
ery night of the convention on this
crazy contraption, ridesharing and
having a ton of fun. I got my ride!
Thanks, Clay, it was a hoot. You
guys are awesome. We were also
honored to host the Cessna 172
that Johnny Carson flew when he
took flight lessons. And the most
critically important element I can
provide you with is the fact that
AirVenture 2009 was an extremely
safe event! This of course is a real
tribute to the fine work of all our
volunteer flightline staff and the
FAA controllers; you folks are all
very much appreciated.
As I normally do in the August
Straight & Level, it is my great
pleasure to announce the 2009 re
continued on page 38

N E

VOL. 37, NO.9

2009

TEMBER

CONTE NTS
I Fe

Straight & Level

AirVenture 2009 proved to be
not only an awesome event,
but also a wildly successful one!
by Geoff Robison

News

EAA AirVenture 2009 Awards

Yah, Dat Be a Swedish Ahrplane

Lars de Jounge's Saab Safir

by Budd Davisson

12

Lucky Lady-One Simply Splendid Stearman

Brought to you by the restorer and the reluctan t pilot
by Sparky Barnes Sargent

18

It Does Matter

The mission is simple

by Brian Kissinger

23

Light Plane Heritage

The Driggs Dart I

by Jack McRae

26
28

Friends of the Red Barn Thank You

The Vintage Mechanic
Breaking in a radial engine
by Robert G. Lock

34

The Vintage Instructor

Whose Rules
by Doug Stewart

STAFF

EAA Publisher
Tom Poberezny
Director of EAA Publications Mary Jones
Executive Director/Editor
H.G. Frautschy
Kath leen Witman
Production/Special Project
Jim Koepn ick
Photography
Bonnie Kratz
Sue Anderson
Advertising Coordinator
Classified Ad Coordinator
Lesley Poberezny
Copy Editor
Colleen Walsh
Director of Advertising

36

Mystery Plane
by H.G. Frautschy

Katrina Bradshaw

Display Advertising Representatives:

Specialized Publications Co.
U.S. Eastern Time ZoneNortheast: Ken Ross

39

Classified Ads

COVERS
FRONT COVER: Lars De Jounge has always had a knack for finding wonderful unusual
aircraft, and his 1961 Saab Safir certainly fits that bill. Read more about the Safir in
Budd Davisson 's article starting on page 6 . EAA photo by Bonnie Kratz.
BACK COVER: Jeanne Reed fties it, Pete Reed restored it-their 1943 Boeing Stear
man N2S-5 is one beautifully customized biplane, powered by a 300-hp Lycoming
wrapped in a Beech AT-l0 cowl. The Reeds , who make their home in Florida , worked
together to make it possible to keep flying after Pete lost his medical certificate . Read
about thei r solution in Sparky Barnes Sargent's article , which begins on page 12. EAA
photo by Jim Koepnick.

6098223750 Fax: 6099575650

kr40@comcast.net
U.S. Eastern Time ZoneSoutheast: Chester Baumgartner
7275324640 Fax: 7275324630

cballmlll@milldspring.com
U.S. Central Time Zone: Gary Worden
8004449932 Fax: 8167416458

gary.worden@Spcmag.com
U.S. Mountain and Pacific Time Zones: John Gibson
9167849593 Fax: 5102173796

johngibson@spcmag.com
Europe: Willi Tacke
Phone: +49(0)1716980871 Fax: +49(0)8841 / 496012

willi@(lyingpages.com

VINTAGE AIRPLANE

EAA Receives Approval From

FAA for Vintage DERs
By David Sakrison,
EAA AirVenture Today
EAA's Vintage Aircraft Asso
ciation (VAA) and the FAA an
nounced Wednesday, July 29, that
two years of effort resulted in the
approval of a new FAA program
to authorize designated engineer
ing representatives for vintage air
craft-"vintage DERs."
The new VDER designation
should help reduce the cost and
complexity of obtaining engineer
ing approvals for vintage aircraft.
DERs essentially are engineers
for-hire, recognized by the FAA
for their knowledge of a particular
aircraft system-engines, electri
cal, structural. The vintage DER
(VDER) addition to the designated
engineering representative pro
gram covers the following:
Once appointed the author
ity, the VDER program authorizes a
VDER to approve data for only the
types of repairs and alterations to
vintage airplanes and/or engines
that would be eligible for FAA field
approvals under FAA Order 8900.l.
.The intent of this authority
is to allow individuals who don't
meet the conventional DER ap
pointment criteria to become
VDERs with limited approval au
thority in multiple technical
specialties for repairs and/or altera
tions of specific makes of vintage
airplanes and/or engines.
The VDER appointment au
thority covers vintage airplanes cer
tificated under CAR 3 or an earlier
certification basis as well as those
manufactured before 1973 that
meet all the following parameters:
Single engine
Maximum of five places
Maximum of 7,000 pounds
gross takeoff weight
Nonpressurized
Noncomposite metallic or
wood primary structure
2

SEPTEMBER 2009

Note: Vintage engines include

all radial engines and all other
piston engines manufactured
before 1973.
DERs playa crucial role in keep
ing aircraft flying. When a vintage
airplane needs a major repair, a
field modification, or a newly fab
ricated part to replace an original
part, the DER is the one who ap
proves the engineering data, certi
fying that the data are consistent
with or superior to the original.
But vintage aircraft present a
special challenge . A DER is typi
cally limited to issuing approvals
on a particular system or structure.
"If you want to hang a 90-horse
engine on a plane that left the
factory with 6S horses," VAA Ex
ecutive Director H.G. Frautschy ex
plained, "you might have to hire
three DERs to get the engineering
approvals-an airframe DER, an
engine DER, and a propeller DER,"
he said . "The cost of hiring those
DERs can be prohibitive."
Under the new program, the
FAA will begin designating a "new
breed" of DERs-vintage DERs
whose demonstrated expertise cov

ers an entire vintage airplane. They

will have "holistic" authority to
approve engineering data on any
system or structure on a specific
aircraft.
The VDER's authority will be
limited , however, to one make
of aircraft, though a single VDER
could apply for and receive sepa
rate VDER designations for multi
ple aircraft.
"This is going to really help peo
ple with small, older airplanes,"
Frautschy said.
The people who have the exper
tise on these airplanes are in the
type clubs, and their expertise is
broader and more comprehensive
than a single system or structure .
"It makes sense," he added, "for the
FAA to tap that expertise to assist
owners and the FAA."
FAA Small Airplane Directorate
Manager Kim Smith told Frautschy,
"We're excited [about VDERs] for
two reasons: The vintage airplanes
[at AirVenture] are beautiful, and
it's exciting to help them to stay
safe and airworthy. And this is a
great example of the aviation com
munity approaching us with an

2009 VAA Hall of Fame Inductee-Steve Pitcairn

The individual selected by the VAA
board of directors to be honored with
induction into the EAA Vintage Aircraft
Association Hall of Fame in 2009 is the
late Steve Pitcairn. The son of aviation
pioneer Harold Pitcairn, Steve worked
tirelessly to honor his father's legacy .
He dedicated his personal resources
not only to the restoration of vintage
aircraft produced by his father's com
pany, but also to the preservation of
the history of the first half of the avi
ation century. Steve will be inducted
during the annual EAA Hall of Fame
dinner, which will be held October 16,
2009, in EAA's Eagle Hangar. Tickets to
this public event are available by con
tacting EAA's development depart
ment at 920-426-6886.

id ea that m akes sense-t ha t we

hadn't thought of.
''It shows what can happen
when you work together toward a
common goal."
Dave Swartz, of t he Anchorage
Aircraft Certification Office, was
instrumental in getting the VDER
program approved and has been
tasked with overseeing VDER im
plementation. He and Smith out
lined plans for implemen ting t h e
program at the FAA.
Smith told Frau tschy, "You can
get the word out to your members
a lot faster than we can communi
cate with ours. If [applicants] work
with us through VAA, that will help
smooth out some of the bumps."
Frautschy and Smit h agreed
that people who want to apply for
VDER certification should contact
the Vintage Aircraft Association be
fore submitting their applications
to the appropriate aircraft certifica
tion office . In the days fo llowin g
the announcement, the VAA re
ceived nearly a dozen inquiries.
"We can help th em submit the
application, and we' ll work wi t h
[the FAA's Smith and Swartz] t o
get it into the right channels,"
Frautschy said.
EAA an d the VAA are willi n g
to help VDER applicants through
the process by reviewing their ap
plication materials prior t o their
submittal to the FAA. As this issue
of Vintage Airplane was being com
pleted, Randy Hansen, EAA's gov
ernment relations director, was in
the process of finalizing a check
list that can be used by members
who wish to apply to become a
VDER. For those who already hold
a DER designation from the FAA,
the checklist can help t h em cre
ate an addendum to add th e VDER
for the specific make of aircraft
for which they wish to become a
VDER. Please visit VAA's website at
www. VintageAirCTaft.org for a link to
the checklist. EAA and the VAA will
not be approving or disapproving
any applications. We're not the ap
proving authority; the FAA oversees
the program.

The VAA will also be keeping a list

of those members who are approved
VDERs, and we will be posting that
list on the VAA website as th ose ap
provals are made by the FAA.

Vintage Area Popular During

EAA AirVenture 2009
More than 800 showplanes in
the Vintage judging categories were
parked as far south as Row 153 this
year. In fu ture iss ues, we'll have
plenty of coverage of this year's fly-

in in Vintage Airplane and Vintage

Aircraft On line. The new Vintage
Hangar was ent hu siastically re
ceived by th e type club and work
shop folks, and the first year of
Vintage Aircraft in Review on the as
phalt pad in front of the VAA head
quarters area was also mentioned as
one of the h ighlights by many of
our visitors and members. Check
th e awards list starting on page 4,
and look for more to come on the
event in the next few months .......

Ted Koston 1923-2009

Famed aviation photographer Ted Costopoulos (aka Kos
ton) of Melrose Park, Illinois, passed away Saturday, August
2, at the age of 86. Ted loved aviation and managed to get
involved in as m any facets of it as he could . Over the past
four decades, Ted has blessed EAA with his services as a vol
unteer photographer. Starting in the 1960s he shot some of
the most famous images of EAA and VAA members and their
aircraft. He continued to contribute to Vintage Airplane on a
Ted Koston in a familiar regular basis, and our archive of images shot by Ted over the
years will always be a valued resource. Ted's photography has
pose to many longtime
EAAers- behind the
been published in EAA publications and all over the world.
viewfinder of aGraflex For his broad dedication to the world of vintage airplanes
and the people who fly them, he was inducted into the EAA
camera.
Vintage Aircraft Association Hall of Fame in 2001.
Koston's first flight, made in 1937, was in a Kin
ner-powered Bird CK biplane. Ted 's lifelong fascina
tion with photography blossomed, and he was soon
shooting aircraft on a regular bas is. During World
War II, he served as a naval aviation photographer
aboard the aircraft carrier USS St. Lo (ex-USS M id
way) . His naval service also included a stint perform
ing reconnaissance photography in the Marshall
Islands and Guam. Returning to Chicago after World
War II, he opened his own photography stud io and
immediately got busy on a number of civilian avia
tion fronts. He served as:
.President of the Illinois Air Pilots Association.
Fellow aviation photographer
.One of the founding fathers of U.S. Coast Guard
Eric Lundahl captured Ted with
Auxiliary Aviation Flotilla 3-8 at Glenview, Illinois.
afew of his favorite cameras in
.A mem ber of the O'Hare Senior Squadron of the
front of the VAA Red Barn, an
Civil Air Patrol; he was named the Civial Aie Patrol 's
area of the EAA fly-in he docu
Outstanding Information Officer in 1964.
mented for decades.
.Director of the Cross and Cockade Midwest
Chapter of World War I Aero Historians.
.President of t he Illinois Wing of the OX-S Aviation Pioneers and Historians. In
1994 he was honored by the national OX-S organization during its annual con
vention when he was presented with its Aviation Historian of the Year award.
In recognition of his dedication to antique airplanes, he was made an honor
ary lifetime member of the Midwest Antique Airplane Club in 1972. He's number
3-Dale Crites and Paul Poberezny are numbers 1 and 2, respectively.
Ted was inducted in the Illinois Aviation Hall of Fame in 1994.
VINTAGE A I RPLANE

ANTIQUE AWARDS (THROUGH AUGUST 1945)

Transport Category Champion-Bronze Lindy

Antique Continuously Maintained Aircraft

Robert Penny, Versailles, Missouri

1944 Cessna T-50, N30F

Dean Del Bene, Monee, Illinois

1937 Stinson SR-9C, NC18407

World War II Military Trainer/Liaison Aircraft Outstanding

Jay Rud & Pete Nelson, Sandwich, Illinois
1942 Boeing A75N1 (PT-17l, N59223

Customized Aircraft Outstanding

Jim Head, Galena, Ohio
1943 Boeing A75, N450BB

Customized Aircraft Champion-Bronze Lindy

Jerry & Vivian May, Kearney, Nebraska
1936 Rearwin Sportster, N16473

World War II Era (7942-1945) Champion-Bronze Lindy

Kurt Bromschwig, Bloomington, Minnesota
1945 Beech D17S, N51121

Bronze Age (7931-1941) Champion-Bronze Lindy

Customized Aircraft Runner-Up
Paul Fries, Wheeling, Illinois
1943 Boeing B75N1, N347KF

Mark McGowan & Ken Kreutzfeld, Plymouth, Michigan

1940 Taylorcraft BC-65, NC24371

Silver Age (1928-1936) Champion-Bronze Lindy

World War II Era (1942-1945) Runner-Up
Ted Davis, Brodhead, Wisconsin
1941 White New Standard D-25A, N7286

Larry Howard, Green Acres, Washington

1930 Laird LC- 1B-300, NC1 0402

Antique Reserve Grand Champion-Silver Lindy

Bronze Age (1937-1947) Outstanding Closed-Cockpit Monoplane
James Lange, Brookfield, Wisconsin
1941 Taylorcraft BC12-65, N33951

Jack Tiffany & Jim Hammond, Spring Valley, Ohio

1932 Pitcairn Autogiro PA- 18, NC1267B

Antique Grand Champion-Gold Lindy

Bronze Age (1937-1941) Outstanding Closed-Cockpit Biplane
Ron & Mark Morrison, Bloomingdale, Illinois
1938 Beech F17D, NC18781

Joseph Kaminskas, Biglerville, Pennsylvania

1930Waco RNF, NC859V

CLASSIC AWARDS (SEPTEMBER 1945 THROUGH 1955)

Bronze Age (1937-1941) Runner-Up

Outstanding Aeronca Champ-Small Plaque

Jack & Carol Vautin, Thousand Oaks, California

1939 Piper J-3C-65, NC23266

Steve Krueger, Merrill, Wisconsin

1946 Aeronca 7 AC, N83355

Silver Age (7928-7936) Outstanding Closed-Cockpit Biplane

Outstanding Aeronca Other-Small Plaque

John Patterson, Frankfort, Kentucky

1934 Waco YKC, N 14047

Michael Hoag, Three Rivers, Michigan

1949 Aeronca 15AC, N1 01 OH

Silver Age (7928- 7936) Outstanding Open-Cockpit Biplane

Outstanding Beech-Small Plaque

Clay Adams, Rosemount, Minnesota

1929 Curtiss Wright Travel-Air E-4000, N397M

Shawn Jennings, Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin

1948 Beech A35, N660B

Silver Age (1928- 7936) Runner-Up

Outstanding Cessna 120/140-Small Plaque

Dennis Guentzel, Faribault, Minnesota

1929 Waco ATO Taperwing, NC8565

Richard Poppe, Waterloo, Iowa

1947 Cessna 140, N4062N

Replica Aircraft Champion-Bronze Lindy

Outstanding Cessna 110/180-Small Plaque

Thomas Wathen, Santa Barbara, California

1993 de Havilland Comet DH.88, NX88XD

Bela Havasreti, Kent, Washington

1954 Cessna 180, N2417C

SEPTEMBER 2009

Outstanding Cessna 190/195-Smal/ Plaque

Reserve Grand Champion-Silver Lindy

Arnold Peckar, Boulder, Colorado

1947 Cessna 195, N4331N

Donal Halloran, Dodgeville, Wisconsin

1948 Piper PA- 15, N4469H

Outstanding Navion-Smal/ Plaque

Grand Champion-Gold Lindy

Alan Sickinger, New Philadelphia, Ohio

1947 North American Navion A, N285TC

Charles & Robert Parish, Tullahoma, Tennessee

1952 Beech D18S, N4477

Outstanding Piper J-3-Smal/ Plaque

Clarence Easley, Pleasanton, Kansas
1946 Piper J-3C-65, N92446

Outstanding Piper Other-Small Plaque

CONTEMPORARY AWARDS (1956- 1970)

Outstanding Beech Single Engine-Outstanding In Type
Kevin O'Halloran, Cordell, Oklahoma
1960 Beech 35-B33, N638V

Steven Johnson, Boise, Idaho

1954 Piper PA-18-135, N9967Q

Outstanding Bellanca-Outstanding In Type

Outstanding Stinson-Small Plaque

Gail & Steve Jones, Wadsworth, Illinois

1965 Bellanca 14-19-3, N8506R

Shawn Haring, Lincoln, Kansas

1948 Stinson 108-3, NC6010M

Outstanding Cessna ISO-Outstanding In Type

Outstanding Swift-Small Plaque

Kevin & Becky English, Deerfield, Wisconsin

1959 Cessna 150, N5978E

John Renwick, Minneap<;>lis, Minnesota

'1950Temco GC-1 B,N2431 B

Outstanding Cessna 170/172/175-0utstanding In Type

Outstanding Limited Production-Small Plaque

Frederick Bradford, Fort Worth, Texas

1967 Cessna 172H, N2722L

David Smith, Milaca, Minnesota

1954 Meyers MAC-145, N551

Outstanding Cessna 180/182/21 O-Outstanding In Type

Preservation-Small Plaque

Robert Moreland, Byron, Illinois

1957 Cessna 180A, N5224D

Ronald Busch, Cedarburg, Wisconsin

1947 Aeronca 11 BC, N3923E

Outstanding Cessna 31 a-Outstanding In Type

Custom Class B (87 - 750 hpj-Smail Plaque

Gary Hess, Dexter, Michigan

1968 Cessna 31 ON, N5063Q

Joseph Leslie, Abbotsford, British Columbia

1946 Fleet Canuck, CF-EAU

Outstanding Champion-Outstanding In Type

Custom Class C (151-235 hpj-Smail Plaque

James Bunner, Belleville, West Virginia

1958 Champion Aeronca 7FC, N7543E

Marvin Homsley, Maumee, Ohio

1946 Globe GC-1 B, N61 PK

Outstanding Mooney-Outstanding In Type

Custom Class 0 (236+ hpj-Smail Plaque

Lawrence Freer, Burien, Washington

1964 Mooney M20E, N93GG

Mike Barron, Perry, Misso uri

1944 Beech C-45H, N241t>

Best Custom Runner-Up-Large Plaque

Peter Kerwin, Naperville, Illinois
1946 Piper PA-12, NC2755M

Outstanding Piper PA-24/30 Comanche-Outstanding In

Type
Garry Bernardo, Lakeworth, Florida
1964 Piper PA-30, N7409Y

Outstanding Piper PA-28 Cherokee-Outstanding In Type

Class I (0-80 hpj-Bronze Lindy
Raymond Cook, Spring Grove, Illinois
1946 Piper J-3C-65, N70971

William Seiter & Bob Brundage, Crystal, Michigan

1966 Piper PA-28-180, N9329J

Outstanding Limited Production-Outstanding In Type

Class /I (87 -150 hpj-Bronze Lindy
Lindy and Allison Whittlesey, Coto de Caza, California
1950 Cessna 140, N5625C

Ross Warner, Benton Harbor, Michigan

1966 Meyers 200D, N2988T

Most Unique-Outstanding In Type

Class IV (236+ hpj-Bronze Lindy
Robert Schjerven, Highland Village, Texas
1949 Cessna 195, N3435V

Brandon Haines, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

1968 Aero Commander 100, N4129X

Preservation Award-Outstanding In Type

Best Custom-Bronze Lindy
Jeffrey Huntoon, Cape El izabeth, Maine
1947 Aeronca 7BCM, N94578

James Rollison, Vacaville, California

1960 Cessna 310, N6817T

continued on page 33
VINTAGE AIRPLANE

The Safir features a swing-open canopy (complete with curtains!) for easy access to the cockpit and baggage area.

"I had started learning in 1947,"

Lars remembers, "and was flying Kl
emms, which had been part of the
Swedish air force and before that
had been used by the German Luft
waffe as trainers. During each of my
vacations from the mines, I flew the
Klemms as much as I could. So, I
guess I have a soft spot for the air
plane because that's where I first
learned to fly."
His career took him all over the
world, including a sojourn in India,
where his wife began taking lessons
in Cubs, but the bug didn 't bite her
as hard as it had Lars. "She never so
loed, but didn't mind if I spent time
and money at it myself."
A trait that appears constant
throughout his career is keeping an
eye open for aircraft he would like
to own, buying them, then storing
them until the day he could actively
work on them.
"In 1962 I found a Klemm that
actually had a runnable engine, but
it had been sitting outside and had
a lot of rotting plywood. I finally de
cided it would be too hard for me to
restore, so I put it in storage. Then,
in 1972, I bought a Tiger Moth proj
ect, which was in better condition,
Right: Maintainability is the

watchword for the Saab's design,

particularly for the engine.

SEPTEMBER 2009

Thanks to the aerobatic capabilities of the Saab Safir, the seats feature full aer
obatic harnesses.

The cockpit of the Saab has a portable Garmin 296 GPS mounted on the panel.
On the far right is an Aresti chart of one of Lars' aerobatic routines flown in the
Sportsman category with the Saab.
and stored that in Stockholm."
It sounds as if he was stocking
up on projects for his retirement,
doesn't it? He was.
"In 1976, I moved to the U.S., and
while I was working on the Moth,
a gentleman who was restoring a
Stieglitz read about the Klemm and
wanted to be a partner. He'd restore
it for part ownership. That sounded
like a good deal, but 12 years later,
when it still wasn't done, I bought

him out and finished it. I flew it to

Oshkosh, but then sold it to a gen
tleman in England, and it is now in
the Shuttleworth Collection."
Throughout all of his traveling
and adventurous aircraft projects,
one of Sweden's own products, the
Saab Model 91 Safir, had been flitting
around the edges of his conscious
ness. It was, as opposed to his other
airplanes, an eminently usable air
plane and combined cross-country

utility with aerobatic capabilities.

"At one point an old classmate
bought the last flying A model Safir
in Denmark. The airplane had been
damaged when the gear collapsed,
and he bought it sight unseen. I
had first rights to buy it, if he ever
sold it. But that didn't work out, so
I kept looking."
After Lars moved to California
he began to hear about a Safir that
might be located in the San Fran
cisco area, and after tracking down
leads he did, indeed, find a late
model Safir, a 91D disassembled in
storage. It was one of the last 20 pro
duced for a Dutch flying school. But
it wasn't for sale. Although the air
plane had been sitting for several
years, it was one of those "I'm going
to get it flying one of these days"
airplanes that owners just can't
bring themselves to part with. Lars,
however, is nothing if not persis
tent, as his restoration of the Klemm
indicated. That was 1986, and even
though he moved several times, he
never gave up, and the owner be
came accustomed to hearing from
him . Finally, in 2002, 16 years af
ter he made his first offer on the air
plane, the owner relented and sold
it to him. Of course, during those 16
years, the airplane, which was sit
ting outside, had deteriorated con
Siderably. He dismantled it and had
it trucked to his home outside Vero
Beach, Florida, in January of 2003.
"The engine only had 50 hours
on it," Lars says, "but the overhaul
had been done in 1983, just before
it was ferried to San Jose and put in
storage. So, I was still going to have
to at least have it opened up and
gone through. We did a complete
overhaul on it, just to be sure."
The airframe had the problems
you'd expect for an airplane that
had sat around in the weather for
that long. It wasn't pretty.
"The airframe is all aluminum,
but the wings are covered with fab
ric from the main spar back, and the
control surfaces are all fabric. All of
the fabric, naturally, was in tatters,
and we were almost afraid to look
inside for fear of how much corroVINTAGE AIRPLANE

The Saab Safire 91

In 1944, when it appeared the war was going to end favorably, Saab de
cided it was time to think past the conflict to its future in the postwar avia
tion world. It concentrated its efforts on a three-seat aircraft to be used for
training, touring, and liaison work.
If the outlines of the airplane remind you of something, think back to the
German Bucker Bestmann. It looks similar because it was designed by A.J.
Andersson, who was chief designer for Bucker and was responsible for the
design of the Bestmann.
. .
The prototype flew in November of 1945 with a 147-hp Gypsy Major In
the nose (Model 91 A). Several years later, Saab introduced the 91 Band 91 C
(four-place with the fuselage tank relocated into the wings) powered by the
six-cylinder 190-hp 0 -435 Lycoming. Production was also undertaken in the
Netherlands because Saab was overloaded with military contracts. Then
the final variant was the 91 D with a tried and true 180 Lycoming dragging
it around. The last one rolled off the line in 1962 with a total of 323 built and
sold to 23 countries. Approximately 75 are known to still be flying, with Lars'
airplane being the only airworthy version in the United States.

Througho

sian we'd find. However, it was all

good news, as we found no corro
sion of any significance.
"When it came to the fabric, I was
really fortunate in having William
Kaser as a next-door neighbor. Be
fore I even bought my house I talked
to him about helping me because he
had restored a number of Stearmans
and really knew how to do fabric.
He was a lifesaver on this project.
The same thing goes for Pattie Da
vis, who did the upholstery in the
same black leather as the original."
It doesn't take much imagination
to picture what nearly two decades
sitting out in the California sun
would do to those parts of the air
frame that are bound to take a beat
ing in that kind of situation.

all

f his trav ling

ld adv nturou
craft projects,
e of Swed n's

wn product,
Saab Model

Sdfir, hdd been

ttlng around

te

edg~s
SCI

of his

snesc;.

Right: The curtains aren't just for

decoration; they serve a practical
purpose in blocking out the sun so
one doesn't bake in the bubble
canopy. Many homebuilders have
adopted similar arrangements for
the RV series of airplanes.
10 SEPTEMBER 2009

e cowling
the 180-hp Lycoming has its outlets for the cooling air on the
side. The amount of deflection for the side vents can be adjusted on the ground.

Lars de Jounge and a few of the tools

needed for his Klemm 35, which he
flew to EAA Oshkosh 1993.

"The Plexiglas, especially the side

windows, was bad, so we had to re
place those. Surprisingly, some of the
formed pieces up front were usable,
but the interior, especially the back
seats, was seriously sun-damaged.
"We went through everyone of
the systems, making certain every
thing was in perfect shape, which
for the most part it was. The con

trol system, which uses ball bear

ings and roller bearings exclusively,
only required several bearings be re
placed, and even those were stan
dard bearings. The same thing was
true of the landing gear, which is
mechanical and spring-loaded like
an old Mooney: It took only clean
ing up and painting. We did, how
ever, replace the Goodyear brakes
with more modern Cleveland units,
which made them much more reli
able and easier to maintain."
The original bladder tanks did the
normal thing that happens when
they sit empty for a decade or two
and died.
"We removed the bladders and
sent them out to be duplicated, and
they fit and work perfectly. However,
even though they are supposed to
hold 22 gallons, I've never been able
to get more than 20 gallons in each.
"The paint was still doing a good
job of protecting the metal, but that
was about it. We stripped every bit of
it off and put it back into the scheme it
had when first delivered to the flying
school. Since I have a Dutch name, I
put that on as pilot. I felt as if it fit."
He got the airplane flying in April
of 2007, just in time to convince
himself that he'd made the right de

"It's a great flying airplane. All

of the controls are in ball bearings,
so they are smooth and wonder
fully effective. It's comfortable on
cross-countries, and I flight plan 107
knots, which is slower than it should
be. It should do 110 knots. It has
ground-adjustable cooling flaps in
the cowling, and I have them set to
the Wide-open, high-drag position.
I think, if I were to adjust those, I'd
pick up some speed.
"I love doing aerobatics in it.
It's approved for everything except
snap rolls and inverted spins. I fly
the Sportsman sequence in it all the
time, and it does it as well as any
other aerobatic airplane."
Think of the concept of a four
place touring airplane mixed in
with Extras and Pitts flying in a con
test. You just have to love it!
So, now that all of the airplane
projects that have followed him
home are finished, what's next for
Lars de lounge?
"What's next?" Lars says. "I'm
planning on flying both the Safir
and the Tiger Moth as much as I pos
Sibly can and enjoy my retirement."
The sounds like a worthwhile
project to us.
......
VINTAGE AIRPLANE

11

he sunny Lakeland sky and vintage

flightline provided a cheerful backdrop
for Pete and Jeanne Reed's Stearman,
splendidly poised in its quietly stated
elegance. Dressed in Moss Green and Sun
Valley Ivory, Lucky Lady is adorned with
accessories including a smooth engine cowl, pol
ished spinner, and wheelpants. Born in 1943 as a
Boeing Stearman N2S-5, this biplane eventually
found its way to Central America, before returning
to the United States in disrepair.

From the Ground Up

It took Pete Reed 3,000 hours to complete the
custom restoration- but it was work he knew well
from previous experience. He has restored 18 Stear
mans with partners and through his business,
Reed's Restorations, in Goshen, Ohio. Pete ac
quired his airframe and powerplant mechanic cer
tificate with inspection authorization and his pilot
certificates back when he was in college, and his
affinity for Stearmans developed when he started
flying them in 1975 .
Lucky Lady is the first project the Reeds have
owned without a partner; hence the restoration
was completed via the "pay as you go" method.
Perhaps that's why Pete derived a special satisfac
tion from completing this particular Stearman and
seeing it fly for the first time. The project endured
throughout five years until the biplane received its
standard airworthiness certificate.
"We started on it in 1990," recalls Pete. "The air
plane had been in Venezuela, and at the time was
flyable. Somebody decided they were going to try
and fly it out. It got to the end of the runway and
quit, so they put it in the jungle. A guy purchased
six or seven airplanes that were there and brought
them to Durham, North Carolina-that's where I
picked it up. It was very badly damaged, and the
fuselage was all wrinkled."
VINTAGE AIRPLANE

13


~
~

~
~

>

o
~
Q.

With Boeing Stearman drawings

in hand, Pete used 4130 steel tub
ing to repair the fuselage and tail
feathers, then sandblasted and ep
oxy primed them. New elevator
and rudder hinge bearings were in
stalled, and the wings were repaired
with Sitka spruce and plywood. He
coated the wood with polyurethane
and installed fabric on the airframe
using the Poly-Fiber process, with
an Aerothane topcoat. Selecting
the paint scheme was easy. "I had
picked out the green early in the
project, because there was a Waco
that had a paint scheme I really
liked. But I couldn't find a cream
color to match it, " shares Pete with
a smile, "so a friend of ours is an
interior designer, and I showed her
the color chart. She immediately se
lected the Sun Valley Ivory."

Horsepower

With one wing naint~d.

Pete continues work on
the remaining wings.
14 SEPTEMBER 2009

Pete and Jeanne carefully con

sidered whether they wanted to go
with a 450-hp Pratt & Whitney en
gine and decided instead to use a
300-hp R680-E3B Lycoming. "That
turned out to be the ideal engine for
the airplane," explains Pete. "It's ba
sically the same weight as the 225
hp Lycoming stock engine, so the
only additional weight is the con
stant-speed prop. It works out really
great, and has 75 more horsepower.
The 300-hp Lycoming is on the type
certificate data sheet and can be in
stalled (with a Form 337) using the
Mississippi Valley Aircraft Service
paperwork. The 300 uses the same
engine mount as the 225-you just
need to cut the steps off because it
has a rear exhaust. And obviously
we wanted an electrical system for
easy starting, so we added that."
With the engine installation un
derway, it was time to consider an
other modification. "I don't like the
300 hp with the regular sheet metal
on it," says Pete, "so I decided I'd
sure like to have a cowling for it. I
had built cowlings for a 450, so I fig
ured it would be real easy to build a
cowling on a 300. I launched into
that and found an old Beech AT-lO

cowling that I modified, and every

thing just worked great."
The cowling looked so nice that
Pete decided the Stearman needed
a set of wheel pants, too, so he pur
chased them from Wag-Aero. Even
tually, he also installed Redline disc
brakes. Pete didn't have trouble with
field approvals for the various mod
ifications, for a couple of reasons.
Jeanne explains, "We have a wonder
ful FSDO in Cincinnati that knows his
work well. Almost all the Stearmans
he restored went from restricted cate
gory to standard, so he would layout
all this paperwork on a white table
cloth in the hangar, and they'd come
in and everything was right there. So
it's a matter of being prepared and de
tailed-and that pays off."

Reluctant Pilot
These days, Pete continues to re
store and maintain airplanes, while
Jeanne is the one who flies them.
It wasn't that she had a passion for
flying; no, not at all. Jeanne was a
very reluctant pilot-but she gath
ered her courage into a large bou
quet of determination, and felt each
bud slowly blossom into a collec
tive and resilient inner confidence.
Jeanne shares that she and Pete
"were into aviation from day one of
our marriage, and I really didn't like
it. I liked going to the airport and

being with the people, but I didn't

want to get in the airplane and fly.
I was really afraid because I didn't
understand the mechanics of it,
and I thought if you throttled back,
the engine was going to quit. Then
when Pete lost his medical, he was
so devastated that I thought, well,
maybe I can [learn to fly]."
So at age 46, she started taking les
sons from an instructor at Bowman
Field in Kentucky. It was a tedious
and arduous process for Jeanne. Yet
her primary motivation-love for
her aviator husband-compelled
her to embrace and grow beyond
her personal boundary of fear. "My
instructor was one of these who just
wore the airplane," says Jeanne,
smiling brightly. "And he knew I
was afraid. Every time we'd go up,
he'd push me just a little bit fur
ther. He'd call me in the morning
and say, 'We're going to go out fly
ing today because there are cross
winds,' and I'd say, 'I'm not going.'
He'd say, 'You have to; it'll be fine.'
He told me I'd have to land on one
wheel, and I said, 'I'm not going to!'
Finally when I soloed, I thought,
'Holy cow, I can do this!' But boy, I
had to talk to myself every day they
made me go up by myself at Bow
man Field. I had to convince myself
I could do that, and I was just a ner
vous wreck-but I did it!"
After 60 hours, Jeanne earned

her private. She took her checkride

in the Piper J-5 in which she'd been
taught and in the examiner's Cita
bria, as well. "The day I got my li
cense, I was so excited about it,"
shares Jeanne. "It was probably the
biggest accomplishment and the
best feeling that I've ever had about
any particular thing. It was so unbe
lievable to me that I was able to do
it and to do a good job. So I flew my
J-5 for about 350 hours before we
got the Stearman flying."

Cockpit Challenges
Now that Jeanne was a pilot, an
unforeseen challenge crept into the
cockpit. Pete describes it this way:
"The problem arose when we start
ed flying together, because I was go
ing to 'be the pilot' and [tell her how
to fly]. That made it more and more
difficult for her, and finally we got
past that to a certain extent. We'd
just have a little discussion after we
got back on the ground, and I'd have
to apologize, of course. It was tough,
and we still have occasional bouts."
Smiling, Jeanne reflects, "I was
being criticized for things that I
thought were right, but it wasn't his
way of doing it. I'm a 'by the book'
person, and if my instructor told
me it had to be done a certain way,
that's how I would do it. But a lot of
the time Pete was right. So we work
VINTAGE AIRPLANE

15

it out, and he has learned to listen

to me, because he finally realized I
do know what I'm doing."
More than likely, the Reeds aren't
the only couple who have experi
enced this type of situation. Fortu
nately, they've diligently worked
through their differences. IIShe's

such a good pilot," says Pete, with

a respectful nod to his wife, II and
she's proven that she can do it. I
don't need to criticize her at all."
When it first came time for
Jeanne to start flying Lucky Lady af
ter Pete had completed the restora
tion, Jeanne's original flight instruc

Close-up view of the panel.

The engine air intake
is flanked by a pair
of exhaust stacks
. . . . . . protruding from the
smooth cowl.

tor came to Ohio and checked her

out in it. She was sure he wouldn't
make her solo the Stearman the first
time they went up ... but that's exact
ly what he did. IIWe did several land
ings," recalls Jeanne. liThe runway
was only 1,800 feet at the time, and
our brakes were not Redline brakes.
So when he parked, and his seat belts
came off, I thought, 'Oh no.' Then I
thought, 'Okay, I can do this!' I did
two landings, and they worked out
fine. Even though I knew I could fly
it, I wanted Pete to go up with me for
a while-I just had to get comfort
able first. I didn't want to get cocky,
because that's very dangerous."
Jeanne finds that male pilots,
IIfor the most part, are so support
ive of my flying. There are some that
don't like to think that a woman can
fly a Stearman, but for the most part,
they're so happy for me. It helps
that I learned to fly in taildraggers.
Also, I play the piano and the organ,
so I have the hand-eye coordina
tion with my feet, and it was just a
natural thing. It clicked right away;
I could work the rudder pedals and
feel for the ground, and the landings
came easily to me. By now, I have
over 1,000 hours in taildraggers."

Flying Lucky Lady

LEFT: The baseball-stitched leather

covering on the fuselage handle adds
a nice custom touch.

RIGHT: The leather coaming for the

cockpit is expertly stitched in
place with leather lacing cord.
16 SEPTEMBER 2009

The majority of those hours are in

the Stearman, which, Jeanne says, is
lIalmost easier to fly than thej-S, be
cause it's bigger and heavier. It's not
as easy to land, because it's squirrel
Iy. When you take off, you just wait
for it to fly right off-you can take
off three-point, but I usually put the
stick forward to get the tail up."
She flies her down
wind around 8S mph
and the final at 70
mph. Jeanne was in
timidated at first by
the hilly strip at Love's
Landing in Weirsdale,
Florida (their second
home). But her fears
were soon assuaged
when she tried it and
discovered that lIit's
perfect. You just come

in on the glide slope, touch down at

the bottom of the hill, and you still
have 1,000 feet of runway left. Most
of the time I do three-point landings,
and of course Stearmans prefer grass
to hard surface, especially if there's
any wind. But if there is a wind on a
hard surface, I do either a tail-low at
titude or a wheel landing."
With her cowled 300-hp Lycom
ing and slick wheelpants, Lucky Lady
will cruise at 110 mph on 16 gph. She
has a fuel capacity of 46 gallons, and
the Reeds flight plan for two-hour
legs. They fly only in good weather,
and though they used to fly with just
a finger tracing their flight path on
a sectional as they peered over the
cockpit coaming to the earth passing
below their wings, they now have a
GPS/corum, transponder, encoder,
and a backup GPS in the front cock
pit. That's primarily because their
home strip in Ohio is just inside Cin
cinnati's 30-nautical-mile veil, and
the updated equipment gives them
more in-flight options.

Psst-Be Involved!

A Word to the Women

Jeanne volunteers at a hospital in

Cincinnati, where she and at least a
dozen ladies enjoy lunch together
when they work. Quite naturally, the
ladies heard about her flying the Stear
man and were intrigued. So Jeanne
invited them all over for lunch, with
the promise of showing them the air
plane and giving rid~ to those who
might want to go up. To her surprise
and delight, most of the ladies eagerly
stood in line for a ride. "I took eight of
them up for a ride, and they still talk
about that to this day," laughs Jeanne.
She has a heartfelt message, born
of personal experience, to convey
to women who may be afraid of
flying or reluctant to spend time
around an airport. "I would think
anybody that doesn't participate
in flying activities with their hus
band is missing a lot-the ladies
have as much fun as the men!"
she says. "We just have a wonder
ful time. Even if they don't want to
get their license, if they would take

Jeanne and Pete Reed really enjoy their custom Stearman. The registration
number has special significance to the Reeds; 5 is Jeanne's lucky number, and
the "P" and "R" are Pete's initials.
a pinch-hitter course, it could be so
beneficial. Don't be afraid of flying,
and don't be afraid to turn the di
als on the panel. Don't be afraid to
take the stick or the yoke-just do
it. Once you do it a few times, it be
comes a little more comfortable, and
then you're not totally unaware of
[how the airplane works]. You nev
er know what might happen-and
hopefully nothing will-but at least
if you can hold the stick while the
pilot turns the sectionals, or tunes
the radio, that helps. I was too afraid
to do that [in the beginning]. So I
would encourage the women to be
involved. Don't just send the hus
bands off to the fly-ins or to the air
ports by themselves. The men that
have their wives with them are re
ally appreciative of the fact they are
involved and want to be there."
Jeanne's lucky number is 5, hence
the registration number of N55PR.

The "PR" is for Pete Reed, and the

double 5s are, well, twice as lucky
for Jeanne. Hence the biplane'S nick
name, Lucky Lady. liThe name fits,
because she's brought us luck and
has been a good airplane for us," ex
plains Jeanne. Indeed, good fortune
has smiled upon the Stearman, its
restorer, and the reluctant pilot. The
threesome have enjoyed more than
800 hours of cross-country and local
flights to fly-ins and pancake break
fasts. Throughout those years, Lucky
Lady has garnered awards including
Grand Champion-1996 Biplane
Expo in Bartlesville, Oklahoma;
Grand Champion-1995 National
Stearman Fly-In in Galesburg, Illi
nois; and most recently, Outstand
ing Customized Aircraft-Antique,
at Sun 'n Fun 2009. So if you spot
this simply splendid Stearman on
the flightline, be sure to say hello to
its friendly caretakers.
........
VINTAGE AIRPLANE

17

IT DOES
TTER
The mission is simple

BY BRIAN KISSINGER

Step 1: Survive brain cancer.

Step 2: Restore a 1942 L-4
Cub, with the help of EAA Chap
ter 64, to fulfill the dream of fly
ing again.
Step 3: Fly the L-4 across the
country.
Step 4 : Continue to dream,
enjoy life, fly, and remember ...
there are no ordinary moments
in life, and what you do every
minute does matter.
The horrific thunderstorm has
passed and the smell in the air is
now fresh and clear. It's reminiscent
of copper and iron, like a handful of
pennies or blood flowing from a fresh
cut. In this war, however, too much
blood has already been spilled. Too
many lives were lost that could have
perhaps been saved ... if only.
But I can't think about that now.
The sky is clear, and I must focus on
the mission at hand. I finish the last
few sips of my coffee and head out to
the airplane.
Suddenly, my stomach is uneasy. Is
it the strong black coffee or the excite
ment over being back in the air after
such a delay? Or, is it that the mon
ster I know is out there waiting for
me? It's a monster I have been fight
ing for four years now.
More than likely it's a mixture of
all three.
I only know that today I have to
fly. I need to get back in the air ...
back to the one place where there are
no signs and no restraints on what
I can do. The sky is the one place
where I am free, if only for one more
18

SEPTEMBER 2009

flight, before it is all taken away from

me to end in death.
Today people are counting on me
to lead the way .. . not to victory, but
to hope. Together, we create one more
day of hope that someday soon, we
will be victorious.
There is no time to waste.
My 1942 L-4 Piper Cub is pulled
from her hangar. It's my pride and joy
dubbed Miss P, after my wife, Priscilla,
and for perseverance, two forces that
help me get through day after day.
After a quick preflight I straddle
the right-front tire, hold on firmly to
the inside of the cockpit, and reach
out to throw the propeller down with
one quick arm motion.
The finely tuned engine leaps to
life with a roar. Miss P seems as eager
as I am to get back in the air. With
the prop blast blowing on me I start
to hop in the front seat of the Cub. I
pause, look back, and smile at my ob
server who is already strapped in the
back seat. We are ready to go.

Fifteen minutes later, as we circle

over a German castle, I can't believe
I'm actually fighting in a war. It's so
peaceful now, so serene. My observer
and I enjoy the view for a moment.
Then it hits me.
People are dying. Dying for no
good reason. Dying from a hideous
enemy that has no soul. An enemy
that doesn't care if its victim is a man,
woman, or child. It simply attacks ev
eryone in its path without regard.
As Gen . William Sherman first
said, "War is hell./I
I have to say I wholeheartedly
agree. Fighting brain tumors and can
cer is hell, yet this is the war I am
fighting. Cancer is a hideous, soulless
monster that kills randomly, without
regard to socio-economic status, sex,
age, or any other demographic.
The flight described above actu
ally occurred during my Brain's Flight
2007 tour on a stop in Burnet (pro
nounced BERN-it), Texas. While we
weren't fighting in the European the

Brian Kissinger's L-4 is named Miss P after his wife,

Priscilla, and for perseverance, the two forces that
helped him get through each day.

ater in World War II, we did fly my

freshly restored 1942 L-4 Cub over a
German castle built in the Texas hill
country near Burnet. The castle is
called Falkenstein.
Every day on my three-week tour
I knew I was flying and fighting for
others with brain tumors and cancer.
My mission was simple ... raise aware
ness and money for brain tumor and
cancer research. I was thankful every
day for the opportunity to have one
more flight, and for being cancer
free. I slept well each night and awoke
with a smile on my face every morn
ing, knowing I was headed to the air
port to do it all over again. It was the
best of times barnstorming against
cancer and brain tumors-an experi
ence both uplifting and life-growing.
I'd like to share my experience with
you. So please, jump in the plane and
join me, as I relive a little of the story
about how we restored Miss P for my
flight to fight the war against cancer.

Surprise, Surprise, Surprise!

-Gomer Pyle
You have brain cancer. Those are

four words no one wants to hear. I

heard them from my doctor in 2003.
At the time I was stationed at Scott Air
Force Base near St. Louis, but my fam
ily was still packing up our house near
Charleston, South Carolina. I had to
tell my wife, Priscilla, the grim news
over the phone. After undergoing

brain surgery to remove the primary

tumor, followed by 20 months of che
motherapy, it appears that the cancer
is now in remission.
While it was not easy getting
through the cancer, I fared better
than many other people fighting this
hideous disease. I survived the surgery
with no major complications and did
not need any post-surgery physical
or occupational therapy to regain my
strength or coordination like many
people do. I made a promise to my
self, and to the big guy upstairs, that
if I survived I would not waste the gift
of life and would do something to
help others dealing with cancer and
brain tumors. But what?
I knew I wanted to get back into
flying. To some people it might sound
crazy that a guy with brain cancer
wanted to fly again, but flying has
been a part of my life since I was a
young boy.
The first thing I ever wanted to be
was a pilot. When my neurosurgeon
pronounced my morbid diagnosis, I
immediately asked if I would be able
to fly again. He seemed shocked and
said that was the least of my worries,
but I never lost hope.
Instead, I gave my stage II oligoden
droglioma tumor a derogatory nick
name (one I can't publish in this fine
magazine) and decided it was either the
tumor or me. The tumor didn't stand
a chance. It simply chose the wrong

body to invade. I declared war, deter

mined to eliminate my foe's existence.
To put it plainly, the surgery
sucked. Chemotherapy was not much
better. My family, friends, and co
workers were incredibly supportive.
With their help I made it through
the pain, negative feelings, sleep
less nights, and other obstacles. I
also knew that somewhere, no mat
ter how terrible I felt, someone had it
worse. Someone was losing her battle
against this disease.
I tried to focus on hobbies other
than flying, since I was grounded un
til I fully recovered. Even in the midst
of chemo my body remained rela
tively strong, so I started training for
another marathon. In the past I had
been a runner. I decided to put my
physical strength to the test, at the
same time doing what I could to help
my cause. I raised a few thousand dol
lars for brain tumor and cancer re
search with the help of several friends
and family members.
Completing the marathon on
the one-year anniversary of my sur
gery was a rewarding experience,
but it wasn't flying. The brain sur
geon hadn't cut out the part of me
that held my strong love of aviation.
He couldn't because it resides deep
in my heart and in my soul. Keeping
my sights set on getting back into the
cockpit helped me make it through
my chemo. As soon as my treatments
were done I moved back into flying as
safely (and quickly) as possible.

"It's not what happens to

you, but how you react to it
that matters."
-Epictetus
I regained my currency and bought
a beautiful 1946 Luscombe from
a gentleman in California. I then
loosely put together my concept of
Brain's Flight, which would start with
either building or restoring an aircraft
I could fly across the country to raise
awareness and money for cancer and
brain tumor research. It was just crazy
enough to work.
The "brain" in Brain's Flight may
seem obvious, but the story goes
back to a time long before I heard the
words, "You have brain cancer." In
VINTAGE AIRPLANE

19

the 1990s I served over

seas in the Air Force as a
navigator and electronic
warfare officer with the
1st Special Operations
Squadron. During a stop
in Korea I ordered base
ball caps embroidered
with our names. Mine
was misspelled B-R-A-I-N
instead of Brian. Despite
my objections, which usu
ally make things worse when you're
around a bunch of crew dogs, the
name stuck. Little did I know how
prophetic the name would become.
Since I was flying for those with can
cer and brain tumors, I thought it
natural to use myoId crew moniker
Brain instead of Brian for the flight.
Shortly after I began formulat
ing my plan, I found an almost
abandoned 1942 L-4 Cub project at
my local airport. It was as if this air
craft had been waiting for me just as
much as I had been looking for her.
To non-fliers or restorers this may
seem strange, but I feel that aero
space vehicles are incredible ma
chines with special characteristics
unlike any land-based vehicle. Sim
ply put ... they fly! They take their
occupants into the atmosphere and
to places not everyone gets to see.
The L-4 project became my pas
sion, my obsession, over the next
seven months. With the help of sev
eral members of my EAA Chapter
64 and one person in particular, fel
low pilot and cancer survivor Todd
Drenkhahn, we finished the project
in efficient order, and I took off on
my charity flight on June 1, 2007.
The next three weeks flying across the
country were some of the best days
of my life. For me, an avid pilot since
my teenage years, to know that I was
going to wake up every day and go
to the airport to fly the airplane I re
stored was like living in a dream. And
to do it for such a wonderful cause
made it even better.

Restoration
The 1942 L-4 Cub I currently own,
though I prefer to think of myself as
the caretaker of a rare piece of history,
20

SEPTEMBER 2009

was produced by the Piper factory in

the summer of 1942 and delivered to
the U.S. Army in August 1942. It was
brought on the books after the fiscal
year (October 1) and given the se
rial number 43-570. The L-4 is a mili
tary version of a J-3 Cub that, with
few modifications, was painted ol
ive drab and sent off to war. My L-4
Cub served its war years at Fort Sill,
Oklahoma, helping to train Army
Air Corps pilots and observers to di
rect artillery. She later served with the
South Carolina Civil Air Patrol before
being sold to a private individual in
the 1950s. The old Army Cub even
tually made it to Marvin Campbell,
the fixed base operator owner at the
Sparta, Illinois, airport where it suf
fered severe damage from a bad go
around attempt that ended with the
Cub flipping over in a ditch.
I first saw the dust-covered, ol
ive drab Cub in the back of the large
maintenance hangar at the Sparta
airport. It was love at first sight. The
restoration had stalled years before,
and now cobwebs and dust were
her only friends. I was immediately
drawn to the L-4, and as I first looked
at her I imagined the stories the old
bird would tell if she could only talk.
The airframe had been repaired and
the fabric work was mostly complete.
However, there was no glass in the air
craft, no panel, and no engine ready
to fire up. Most of the parts to finish
the aircraft were there, somewhere, in
the large hangar scattered amongst
several other airplanes and parts.
Knowing that I intended to re
store this aircraft for charitable pur
poses, Marvin graciously allowed me
to first buy a partnership in the L-4
before buying the aircraft outright a

year later. As an airframe

and powerplant mechanic
with inspection authori
zation (A&P/IA), Marvin
also supervised most of
the work on the aircraft.
Together with Marvin ,
Todd, several members of
my local EAA Chapter 64,
and other generous folks,
we finished the restora
tion in seven months of
weekends and evenings.
As with any project one of the first
things you need to do is to put to
gether a plan and an inventory, which
I did. Then it's all about executing the
plan with dogged determination and
not letting the inevitable, albeit fig
urative, brick walls get in your way.
Brick walls are for people who don't
want something bad enough. People
who are determined will either climb
over or knock down the brick walls in
their lives.
One of the many brick walls we
faced during the restoration was when
we started to put the Lexan glass on
the greenhouse after we had cut and
fitted everything. The glass was in
place, but the paper would not come
off! Those of you who have worked
with Lexan before know that the pro
tective paper is supposed to peel off
easily. But after a couple of years of sit
ting around the hangar, "easy" did not
happen. We tried everything we knew
to remove the paper. Nothing worked.
Frustrated, I went home that evening
dreading the inevitable need to fit and
cut new Lexan for the entire aircraft.
Then someone threw me a rope from
the other side of the brick wall.
LP Aero Plastics responded to my
desperate e-mail and suggested soaking
the paper with mineral spirits or kero
sene and then to try pulling the paper
off. That worked okay for some of the
Lexan. Marvin threw over an even bet
ter rope when he asked if I had ever
tried 3M Adhesive Remover. Let me tell
you, that stuff was like a magical for
mula that helped to remove the pesky
remnants of paper. I was so relieved to
move on to the next task!
The Sparta airport continued to
buzz with activity during the winter

John Parish Sr.

Tullahoma, TN
Founder and chairman of the board
of Beechcraft Heritage Museum;
president for 20 years
Past board member fAA Aviation
Foundation and fAA Aviation
Assoc. for over 30 years

Commercial, instrument, multi

engine land and sea; 5,000+ hrs
Three sons also pilots and satisfied
clients of AUA

"AUA is responsive, professional, competent, competitive

and friendly. Plus it is nice to do business with good friends
who are also avid sport aviation enthusiasts a valued
long-term experience."

- John Parish, Sr.

AUA is Vintage Aircraft Association approved. To become a member of VAA call 80084336J2.

Aviation insurance with the fAA Vintage Program oHers:

Lower premiums with payment options - Additional coverages - Flexibility on the use of your aircraft - Experienced agents
On-line quote request available - AUA is licensed in all states

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and spring of 2006-2007.

approaching. On June
Every Saturday and Sun
1 we gathered near the
day after church I was
Mississippi River and the
there, along with sev
St. Louis Gateway Arch
eral others who would
at the St. Louis Down
town Airport in Cahokia,
show up as often as they
could. I was never sure
Illinois. I said my good
who would come along,
byes to everyone, espe
but when they arrived
cially my wife and kids,
I had a task for them;
and after a few passes by
there was always some
the Arch I turned east for
thing to do. One person Brian Kissinger and fellow cancer survivor Todd Drenkhahn
my first stop. The next
was there nearly every rebuilt Brian's L-4 over seven months during 2006-2007.
three weeks were simply
day with me. Todd was
amazing, flying across
my partner in the Luscombe. He is an done anything like this before, her the country in my Cub on a mission
A&P who works for Boeing (formerly help was very welcome and valuable. to raise research money and aware
McDonnell-Douglas) in St. Louis. His I could stay focused on finishing the ness. I saw some old friends and made
contribution to the project cannot be airplane project, test-flying it, and my many new friends. People amazed me
understated. Without Todd I would flight planning.
with their generoSity and willingness
not have completed the restoration in
On May 26 Todd gave me a hand to help.
time to depart on the first of June.
prop prior to the first flight myoid
Despite being an Air Force-trained
I am sure there are people out there Cub had seen in many years. I taxied navigator and an instrument-rated
who say they have completed their out at the Sparta airport, and after my certificated flight instructor, I go back
airplane project all by themselves, pre-takeoff checklist, I said a prayer, to the basics when flying my Cub.
without any help or advice from looked up at the St. Christopher's First of all, I never underestimate the
someone else, but I have never met medal I had placed on the instrument power of IFR in these old airplanes. Of
such a person. There were so many panel, and laughed as I prepared for course IFR stands for I Follow Roads
other people, too many to mention takeoff. The epoxy compound I used or Railroads navigation and not In
in this brief article, that contributed to attach the medal to the dash had strument Flight Rules. Another help
to the success of my project. As a sign set up hard and strong. However, ful navigation tool is the "water
of my sincere appreciation, when overnight the medal had shifted and tower" navigation technique. For ex
we finished fabricating the new bag was now at an almost 90-degree angle ample, if you are not sure where you
gage compartment panel, I had every to the right. St. Christopher looked are, simply observe the name on the
one who worked on the project sign like he was falling over. Oh well, any city's water tower, reference it to your
the panel. Now during my preflight, one could put a medal on straight, I sectional, and you can probably fig
when I flip up the panel to pull out thought. "Let's slip the surly bond of ure out where you are.
my fuel strainer and flashlight, I al earth, Chris!"
Remember, you are never in a
When the wheels left the ground hurry when flying a Cub, or at least
ways look at those names and smile.
I thank them again in my mind for and I was in the air, a feeling came you shouldn't be. You aren't getting
their selfless dedication and time over me like no other. It was a complex anywhere fast in a Cub anyway. Sim
given for a good cause.
mixture of astonishment, pride, and a ply fly slow and low and enjoy the
As the project started to come more sense of accomplishment. I was on an view. Also, enjoy life and whomever
and more together and the weather endorphin high that is hard to explain. you have the good fortune to be fly
started to warm, I also had to focus on
Though I had been flying my Lus ing with on any given day. These
where my trip would take me. How combe and a Smith Miniplane, this were all useful tips for me on my
would I coordinate all the activities felt completely different. The craft flight, which amazingly raised ap
and get the word out? That is where was in perfect rig and flew hands-off. proximately $50,000 for research.
the National Brain Tumor Founda I was a proud airplane restorer. It felt
I wiIlleave you with a final thought
tion and Jennifer Neale, who runs so incredible, and I didn't want to about life and flying. There is no
their Racing Ahead program, came come down from that first flight. The someday and there are no ordinary
in. They were the organization that grin across my face was as wide as the moments. If you want to learn how
I raised research money for, and they wingspan of my airplane. We did it! to fly, build, or restore an airplane, or
were absolutely wonderful to work We actually did it. The old girl was accomplish some other goal in your
with. Jennifer, also a survivor, han back in the air after so many years.
life, then start doing something about
Over the coming days I flew sev it today. Do anything that takes you
dled a lot of the coordination at vari
ous stops and helped to get the word eral more flights to check everything closer to your goal. There is no start
out with the media. Having never out, but my departure date was fast ing or stopping, only doing.
.......
22 SEPTEMBER 2009

Light Plane Heritage

PUBLISHED IN

EAA Sport Aviation

APRIL 1961

The Driggs Dart at the 1926 National Air Races in Philadelphia.

THE DRIGGS DART

BY J ACK M c R AE

The Driggs Dart I was one of the

best-known and most practical of
th e early lightplanes produced in
this country. In addition to com
peting successfully in closed-course
races, the Dart was one of the few
lightplanes of its time that was ca
pable of long cross-country trips.
The first airplane of the se
ries, known as the Driggs Johnson
OJ-I , was d esigned by the experi
enced aeronautical engineer Ivan
H. Driggs and built by the Johnson
Airplane & Supply Co. for competi
tion in the 1924 National Air Races
at Dayton, Ohio. The OJ-I, flown by
Jimmie Johnson, was the winner of
th e 2S-mile Dayton News Trophy
Race with an average speed of 64
mph. In the SO-mile Speed and Ef-

ficiency Race the OJ-I was second in

spite of two forced landings due to
fuel stoppage. This race was won by
Harvey Mummert in his Harley Da
vidson-powered Sport Plane. He was
more fortunate in having only one
forced landing. The third lightplane
event was for the Rickenbacker Tro
phy and was flown over a 140-mile
course. Johnson had another forced
landing due to fuel trouble but took
off again, and the DJ-l placed sec
ond to the Dormoy Bathtub.
The Driggs Johnson DJ-l was a
very clean, high aspect ratio canti
lever monoplane powered with a
converted Henderson four-cylinder
motorcycle engine, which devel
oped 28 hp at 3400 rpm. Construc
tion of the airplane was similar to

Fokker practice at that time with a

steel tube wire braced fuselage and a
plywood-covered, tapered-cantilever
wing. A metal propeller and a
streamlined cowling with pressure
cooling were installed.
The DJ-l was also one of the few
airplanes of that time to have an
enclosed cabin. Most pilots then
believed that to fly an airplane
properly the pilot had to be in an
open cockpit. The pilot of the DJ-l
was seated under the wing with a
streamlined transparent fairing
completely around his head, giv
ing a range of vision similar to the
modern liaison airplanes. The fuse
lage structure aft of the cabin was
triangular in cross section with a
single longeron at the top. The tail

Editor's Note: The Light Plane Heritage series in EAA's Experimenter magazine often touched on aircraft and concepts
related to vintage aircraft and their history. Since many of our members have not had the opportunity to read this se
ries, we plan on publishing those LPH articles that would be of interest to VAA members. Enjoy!-HGF
V I NTAGE AIRPLANE

23

surfaces were also of steel tubing,

fabric-covered, with external wire
bracing. The single-piece cantilever
wing of about 75 square feet area
was of wood construction and used
the USA 45 airfoil. The two spars
were built up of laminated 1/8-inch
thick spruce planks with 12 lamina
tions at the root, tapering to four at
the tip. Ribs were of plywood, and
the wing was covered with 3/64
inch plywood aft to the rear spar.
The careful design work that went
into the OJ-I is shown by the empty
weight of only 330 pounds includ
ing 127 pounds of engine. The span
was 27 feet. The top speed was 84
mph , and the rate of climb was 320
feet/minute. The ceiling was 12,000
feet. Gross weight was 511 pounds
with a ISO-pound pilot.
The DJ-l was also flown in the
1925 National Air Races at Mitch
ell Field, New York. It had been
rebuilt after a crackup, with cowl
ing modifications and with the
windows removed from the cabin.
Flown by Clyde Emrick, it placed
second to the Powell Racer in two
SO-mile races, its best average speed
being 67.5 mph. During 1926 the
OJ -1 was advertised for sale for
$1,000. Some time later it appeared
mounted on top of a gasoline sta
tion near Dayton airport.
THE MILITARY DRIGGS DART

There was much interest in light

planes in this country in 1924 as a
result of the successful English light
plane meets at Lympne in 1923 and
24

SEPTEMBER 2009

1924, which received considerable

publicity. After the performance of
the OJ-1 at the Dayton Air Races,
where it was closely observed by
such prominent aviation people as
Gen. William Mitchell, Lt. Jimmie
Doolittle, and Capt. Eddie Ricken
backer, arrangements were made
for the U.S. Army Air Corps to pur
chase a refined model known as the
Driggs Dart I. It was given Serial No.
A.S. 26-205 and had the McCook
Field Number P-443. It was also
felt that small-engine development
needed stimulation, so an order was
placed by the Air Corps for six of
the new Wright-Morehouse 28-hp
engines, which appeared to be the

most promising lightplane power

plant. Driggs set up a small shop
in Dayton and started construction
on two Driggs Dart airplanes, the
first of which was delivered to the
Air Corps. The military Driggs Dart
was used for flight-test work sup
plementing wind tunnel research
on high-lift devices and eventu
ally for static tests to determine the
structural properties of wood and
metal cantilever wings. After deliv
ery to the Air Corps the airplane
was modified by the installation of
wing flaps and leading edge slats,
which extended from the wing root
to the inboard end of the aileron.
The slats and flaps were intercon
nected, and the maximum flap
angle was 26-1/2 degrees. This mod
ification increased the wing weight
by about 48 pounds but greatly im
proved the landing and takeoff per
formance . The gross weight of the
airplane due to this and other mil
itary changes increased from 532
pounds to 639 pounds.
Maximum speed with high-lift
devices extended was 65 mph, and
with them closed it was 79 mph.
The relatively poor top speed with
slats closed may have been due to
the poor fit of the slat leading edge.
Landing speed with slats and flaps

extended was 42 mph compared

with 55 mph for the plain wing.
These tests were made in March 1928
at the maximum gross weight of 639
pounds. The test pilot complained of
the excessive vibration of the engine.
The Air Corps Material Division
built an experimental all-metal wing
intended to be used on the Dart, but
the airplane was ordered to be sal
vaged before this could be done.
However, both the metal wing and
the original wood wing were static
tested in 1931 with the following
results. The wood wing weighed
94.5 pounds in original form with
out high-lift devices and failed at
a load corresponding to 6g, while
the metal wing weighed 104 pounds
and failed at about 9.2g based on a
639-pound gross weight. The metal
wing was built of dural with 0.032
inch spar webs and 0.014-inch ribs
and skins. The upper skin between
the spars was reinforced with

0.020-inch and 0.030-inch corru

gations. Spar flanges varied from
0.040 inch to 0.064 inch. Many
details of the metal wing and static
test are given in Air Corps Techni
cal Report No. 3415.
THE COMMERCIAL DART

The third airplane of the Driggs

Dart I series was also built in 1926
with the specific intention of en
tering the National Air Races and
the Ford-sponsored Airplane Reli
ability Tour. Its first cross-country
flight was from Dayton to De
troit for the start of the Reliability
Tour and covered 220 miles in two
hours and 40 minutes with a fuel
consumption of about 7 gallons.
While at Dearborn before the start
of the tour, Mr. Ford requested
an impromptu race between the
Dart and the Ford low-wing light
plane. The Ford airplane, with its
relatively more powerful Anzani

engine, was off the ground con

Siderably quicker than the Dart. In
the air, however, the speed of the
two ships was about equal.
The Airplane Reliability Tour
started from Detroit on August 7,
1926. The Dart, with Racing No. 24
and flown by Jack Laass, suffered
a forced landing due to fog on the
fourth lap of the tour, near St. Paul,
Minnesota . The following day,
shortly after takeoff, a crankshaft
failure forced the withdrawal of the
Dart from the competition. The en
gine was repaired, and about a week
later Laass and the Dart joined the
tour again at Indianapolis. The next
day valve trouble caused the Dart
to be withdrawn again. In spite of
the bad luck with the engine, an
average speed of 77 mph had been
maintained by the Dart for the 580
miles completed, which favorably
compared with speeds of some of
the standard-size airplanes.
The 1926 National Air Races
were held in September 1926 in
conjunction with the SesqUicen
tennial Exposition. The Dart, again
piloted by Jack Laass , was flown
from Dayton over the Allegheny
Mountains in weather so bad that
many of the larger airplanes were
grounded. This flight is described
in detail by Laass in the October
1926 Aero Digest.

In the three lightplane events

at the National Air Races, the Dart
placed second in one race and fourth
in the other two, being beaten by the
Heath Tomboy Racer and the Kre
ider-Reisner Midget. The best average
speed attained by the Dart over the
5-mile course was 85 .6 mph, which
would correspond to a level-flight
top speed of about 95 mph.
The 1931 edition of the Flying
and Glider Manual contained a how
to-build article on the Dart by Ivan
Driggs. As a result of the success of
the Dart I, Driggs was able to orga
nize the Driggs Aircraft Corporation
in 1927 in LanSing, Michigan. This
company built a number of com
mercial airplanes, including the
Driggs Dart II biplane, the Driggs
Coupe, and the Driggs Skylark. .......
VINTAGE AIRPLANE

25

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VINTAGE AIRPLANE

27

BY ROBERT G. LOCK

Breaking in aradial engine

n this issue we discuss radial engine break-in pro
cedures. Keep in mind that these are my opinions,
but they should be consistent with other mechan
ics maintaining radial engines in the industry.
First, when the old engine is removed, there is a
great opportunity to clean and inspect the remaining
components of the engine compartment. You might
want to remove, blast, inspect, and paint the engine
mount. Remove and flush the oil tank and oil cooler,
and clean the inside of all oil lines. In other words start
the new engine with a clean firewall-forward instal
lation. Replace all rubber shock mounts; inspect and
cadmium-plate the bolts. These bolts are usually quite
long and expensive to replace. There is nothing wrong
with having these bolts cad-plated as long as they are
baked after plating. A competent plating shop knows
how to handle the plating. Replace the nuts and AN
washers when installing the engine.

When the newly overhauled engine arrives, inspect

for any shipping damage. Hopefully the engine has
at least five hours of test-stand time so the break-in
process has started. If there is no test-cell time on the
engine, I don't recommend running it for five hours
on the ground before flying. Install it in the airplane,
assure everything is airworthy, and go flying .
Hoist and install the engine in the mount, torque
the mounting bolts/nuts, and safety them with cot
ter pins. Then go about installing all that other stuff
that was removed with the old engine. Again, this is
a great opportunity to inspect/repair/paint (if needed)
all those components. I always either flush the oil
tank with solvent or steam clean it. The oil cooler
(if installed) should be sent out for overhaul or at
least be flushed to assure there are no metallic frag
ments in the cooler. I heard of an owner replacing a
newly overhauled engine because he found metal in
the screen. Seems it came from the
oil cooler because the previous en
gine had an internal failure. This is
also a good time to closely inspect
all components of the exhaust and
carburetor heat systems and make
necessary repairs.
With the engine newly installed,
the prop on, and the prop nut
torqued, it should be about ready
to run. But first the engine should
be pre-oiled. The overhaul man
ual should show a pre-oiling port
somewhere on the case. If one isn't
available, remove all spark plugs
and turn the engine over with the
Left: The New Stand ard D-25 ready
for eng ine installation.

28 SEPTEMBER 2009

sumps are full, bring the level back

up to 4 gallons. After pre-oiling, we
are ready to start the engine.
Prime and start the engine.
Watch the oil pressure gauge; the
pressure should show almost im
mediately. If there's no pressure in
dication within 30 seconds, shut
the engine down and troubleshoot.
Safety is a prime issue on the first
start, so have a second person
standing by with a fire extinguisher.
If a fire starts in the intake system,
continue cranking the engine with
the starter to suck any flames into
the engine.
Assuming everything went well
on the start and no problems were
encountered, run the engine from
idle to about 1000 rpm to warm
A newly installed Wright R-760 engine in the New Standard.
it up. Shut down and inspect for
oil and fuel leaks. Let the engine
cool until you can touch the cyl
inder heads with your hand. Re
start the engine, allow it to run
near idle, then run it up and do a
quick check of the magneto and
carb heat operations. Reduce the
power to idle for cooling, and then
shut the engine down. Inspect the
engine compartment at each shut
down. Don't run the engine for
long periods on the ground. The
supervising mechanic will dictate
the number of ground runs. Long
ground runs will cause overheating
and can glaze cylinder walls, and
the rings will never seat properly.
When the mechanic is sure ev
erything is airworthy it's time for
the test flight. Don't run the en
Ready for the first flight after an engine overhaul.
gine on the ground for extended
periods. Get it started, taxi to the
runway, do a quick run-up, and
starter until oil pressure registers on the pressure gauge. get it into the air. Use full power for takeoff. Reduce
Once oil pressure is indicated on the gauge by turning power slightly and keep the airspeed up to cool the
the engine with the starter, crack the oil line-to-gauge engine. Remember, tolerances are close on a newly
nut at the gauge and release any trapped air. Some overhauled engine, and that generates a lot of heat.
times there may be an air bubble at the inlet to the oil Keep the engine cool!
When I broke in the Wright R-760, I ran the engine
pump, causing a no-pressure situation. You must crack
the inlet oil line to the pump by loosening the hose at 1800 rpm until the rings seated, which took about
to allow air to escape, and then retighten the clamps. 10 hours. It is important to keep the rings loaded; don't
"baby" the engine or you'll pay for it later! Run it hard!
That should solve the problem.
After an hour of in-air operation, check the oil level
I like to use straight mineral oil for the first 35 to 50
hours of operation. Fill the oil tank to whatever the and record it on a notepad. Remove the main and
operating level should be. If it's 4 gallons, put 4 gal sump screens, inspect them, and then reinstall them.
lons in. Then after the first start and the oil system and Check the torque on the prop and retorque it if necesVINTAGE AIRPLANE

29

sary. Now, go flying for 10 hours.

I recall breaking in a Ranger in
Run the engine hard! Continue to
line engine installed in son Rob's
note the time and amount of oil When I broke in the
Fairchild PT-26 several years ago
added on your notepad.
(see the accompanying photo).
Wright R-760,

Then drain the oil and check the

The Ranger engine is very tightly
oil screens again. Check the cylin
cowled, and the rear cylinder al
I ran the engine at
ways runs hot. I called the overhaul
der compression/leakage. Check
your notepad for how much oil
shop before running the engine
1800 rpm until the
and
you have added. Oil consumption
asked for its advice regarding
should show a decline. When oil
the engine's break-in procedure. I
rings seated,

consumption stabilizes at the 10-15

was informed to prepare the en
hour mark, the rings have seated. If
gine
for first start by pre-warming
which took about

there is still oil consumption, con

the oil to 40C to 50C. Put 4 gal
tinue the high-power flight until oil
lons of preheated oil into the tank,
10 hours.

consumption lowers and stabilizes.

start the engine, and run it for no
It is important

If the oil consumption does not de

more than five minutes at 1000
crease, then the cylinder walls have
rpm. Shut down and check for oil
to keep the

glazed and the rings will never seat.

and fuel leaks. Allow the engine to
It will be necessary to remove all
cool until you can touch the cyl
rings loaded;

the cylinders, hone the walls, rein

inders with your hand. Restart the
stall the cylinders, and go through
engine, give it one minute to warm
don't "baby" the
up, then change the rpm to 1000
the break-in procedure again . Run
ning the engine hard during initial
engine or you'll
for five minutes, and shut it down.
flights will lessen the possibility of
Check the engine compartment
cylinder wall glazing. The Wright
again, but don't let the oil cool.
pay for it later!

R-760 in the New Standard stabi

Start the engine and taxi to the
lized in about 13 hours. Oil con
Run it hard!

runway. Begin the takeoff roll, and

sumption went from more than a
check the magnetos at 1300 rpm;
quart per hour to a quart every four
if they are okay, go to full power,
hours. When the engine rings and other components climb at 100 mph, and keep the airspeed at 100 mph
"seat in," the oil and cylinder head temperature re or greater. Keep monitoring the engine instruments
duces, along with oil consumption. That's how you for any abnormalities. After 20 minutes, throttle back
know that things have seated in. I change oil every 25 to 2250 rpm, fly for up to one hour, land, and check
hours of operation (no filter is installed), and I check the engine compartment again. Now, go flying using
cylinder condition by conducting a leakage check at a high power setting until oil consumption stops. Ini
least every 100 hours of operation. As the engine con tially the engine was burning 3 quarts of oil per hour.
tinues to wear, I start checking cylinder leakage every Oil consumption stayed near this rate until 15 hours
50 hours.
of operation. Then, all of a sudden, the consumption

Ranger engine.
30

SEPTEMBER 2009

dropped to 1 quart every three hours. Not too bad for a

Ranger. The engine had no run-in time from the over
haul shop. If it had five hours, then the break-in would
have happened after only 10 hours of flight. That's
how you break in engines.

Troubleshooting
Static rpm is very important because it determines
whether the maximum rpm will or will not be ex
ceeded in level flight. I don't check static rpm on a
new engine; I take a quick look at full-throttle rpm on
takeoff when there is air flowing around the cylinders.
If the overhaul is done correctly, then the maximum
rpm the engine can turn is governed by the prop pitch.
Many engines use a ground-adjustable prop. Climb or
cruise performance can be set by adjusting the pitch of
the prop.
Cylinder leakage tests can give an indication of cyl
inder condition. I always conduct the leakage test with
the engine warm when the rings seal the best. Leakage
checks are usually conducted at 80 psi; the tester puts
80 psi into the combustion chamber of the cylinder
when at top dead center (TDC) on compression stroke,
and the amount of leakage is measured by reading how
much pressure the cylinder will hold. If you hear air
flowing around the rings, you can hear it in the crank
case breather system. Air flowing around an exhaust
valve can be heard in the exhaust collector system, and
air flowing around an intake valve can be heard in the
intake system, specifically the carburetor. Normally I
look at the spread of leakage between the cylinders.
A common question is: "How much leakage before
you have to do something?" I say when 2S percent of
the 80 psi leaks out, then it is time to do something.
However, since the engines I maintain are "for hire,"
if the cylinder leakage gets into the upper 60s, I do
something. I've found that on the Wright R-760s, 80
psi into the cylinder will show normal readings of 72
78 psi. Even at the 1,100 hours since major overhaul
pOint, at 80 psi the cylinders are still holding 70-74
psi! So the power output is still there at the 1,100-hour
mark. However, at around 1,000 hours the leakage on
the number five cylinder went from 80/72 to 80/10,
with leakage around the rings. Preliminary diagno
sis: broken rings, ring groves aligned, broken piston,
etc. I removed the cylinder and found nothing visu
ally wrong, except the walls were glazed. I inspected
the piston, rings, and ring grooves. So I roughed the
walls by cross-hatching, reinstalled everything with
new gaskets and seals, and flew the airplane. Now, 120
hours later, the cylinder shows 80/74 leakage. Why did
the wall~ glaze? Maybe the cylinder got hot during a
heavy climb; who knows!
Another problem I inherited was a seep of oil com
ing from the threads where the cylinder head screws
on to the barrel. Not knowing if this is a crack or a

stress failure, I changed the cylinder. That cylinder had

only 30 hours since the overhaul. Don't mess with this
problem; change the cylinder immediately!
Another problem I inherited was a sticking exhaust
valve in the number four cylinder. It was hard to locate
because the problem was intermittent, but I could hear
the sound of exhaust, and there was definitely a "miss"
during the firing of the engine; it would happen when
the engine was under a heavy load. I finally figured out
where the problem was and started to remove the ex
haust valve cover. When I tapped the cover with a mal
let to loosen it, I heard the valve close with a "bang."
I attempted (with success) a repair without removing
the cylinder. Here's how to do it.
Move the piston to TDC and then back off a little.
Remove both spark plugs and force a 1/4-inch diame
ter nylon rope into the combustion chamber. Carefully
move the piston toward TDC until the rope com
presses against the va lves. You can then remove the
valve springs; now back off the piston position and re
move the rope. I mixed up some engine oil with valve
lapping compound, squirted it in the valve guide, put
a short length of rubber hose on the valve stem, and
rotated the valve, working it up and down as I rotated
it. When the valve had loosened (valve clearance in
the Wright is 0.002 inch to 0.008 inch) and there was
a small bit of side movement between the va lve and
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VINTAGE AIRPLANE

31

Here's a close-up of the mixture lever.

Moving the lever to the right leans
the mixture, wh ile moving it to the
left richens the idle mixture.

of the gasket, tightened the nuts,

and replaced the safety wire. Appar
ently there is a harmonic vibration
that caused some shaking between
the carb and its mounting point on
the engine power case. Shaking the
carb air box is now an item on the
preflight inspection for us.
Idle rpm can be set on the throt
tle arm of the carburetor. Make sure
the engine has warmed up and then
adjust
the screw until the desired
A typical Bendix Stromberg float carburetor. Idle mixtu re adjustment can be
rpm
is
set. The Wright idles nicely
seen in the middle of the illustration, next to the economizer boot.
at SOO rpm.
Idle mixture can easily be set by
adjusting the lever on the carbure
guide, I flushed out the oil/lapping compound mix
ture, slid the valve closed, put the rope back in the tor to either side of center to set mixture either rich or
combustion chamber, used the piston/rope combina lean . Make sure the engine has warmed up, set the rpm
tion to clamp the valves closed, reinstalled the valve at around 600, then move the mixture control to full
springs, put the cylinder back together, and ran the "lean" and note whether the rpm increases slightly or
immediately decreases. Adjust the idle mixture so there
engine. That valve never stuck again!
Another problem I've found on the Wright is the will be a slight rise in rpm before the engine quits. As
carburetor-to-adapter mounting point. After a period soon as the engine quits, move the mixture to full rich
of operation, the carburetor becomes loose. My son, and the engine will regain power, eliminating the need
Rob, found this on a preflight inspection when we to restart the engine each time. It's an old trick.
I hope this is enlightening for you radial-engine folks.
had the New Standard at an air show in Mansfield,
Ohio. He shook the carb air box and found the prob I can say in complete honesty that if you stay on top of
lem. I removed the safety wire, checked the condition engine operation, that engine will last a long time . .......

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SEPTEMBER 2009

AIRVENTURE

2009

CONTINUED FROM PAGE

AWARDS

Class I Single Engine (0-160 hpj- Bronze Lindy

Gold Lindy

Robert Hartigan, Napa, California

1956 Cessna 172, N5638A

Tom Murphy, Norborne, Missouri

Safari, N757G

Class 11 Single Engine (161-230 hpj-Bronze Lindy

SEAPLANE AWARDS

Rod Demlang, Pewaukee, Wisconsin

1959 Piper PA-18, N626DC

Outstanding Homebuilt-Plaque
Not Awarded

Class 111 Single Engine (231 + hpj-Bronze Lindy

John Schutes, Brimfield, Massachusetts
1960 Beech M35, N9802R

Outstanding Amphibian-Plaque
Kathy Anton, Webberville, Michigan
1959 DHC-2 Beaver, Nl01CB

Custom Multiengine-Bronze Lindy

Herb Harney, Grandville, Michigan
1968 Cessna 337C, N712JF

Outstanding Metal Seaplane-Plaque

Dennis Gartner, Nisswa, Minnesota
1979 Cessna 182Q, N567DG

Outstanding Customized-Bronze Lindy

Tom & Tina Leatherwood, Paso Robles, California
1958 Beech D50A, N925DJ

Outstanding Fabric Seaplane-Plaque

Jon Gottschalk, Stuart, Florida
1947 PA-14, N7089W

Reserve Grand Champion-Silver Lindy

Jon Brausch, Huron, Ohio
1966 Piper PA-30, N7954Y

Judges Choice-Plaque
John Thomason, Sonoma, California
1936 Waco YKS-6, NC16522

Grand Champion-Gold Lindy

Roger Florkiewicz, Schererville, Indiana
1968 Piper PA-28R-180, N65KF

Bronze Lindy
Francis Butler, Grenville, South Dakota
PA-18X Super 18, N722BM

ROTORCRAFT AWARDS
Silver Lindy
Innovation
AI Behuncik, Red Deer Alberta, Canada
RotorWay 162, C-FVPP

Bronze Lindy
Hap Miller, Kenwood, California
Helicycle, N28HM

Steve Taylor, Riverdale, Michigan

1959 Grumman Widgeon, N540GW

Gold Lindy
Doug Palmer, San Francisco, California
2007 Spencer Aircar, N351 DP

Silver Lindy
AI Behuncik, Red Deer Alberta, Canada
RotorWay 162, C-FVPP

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VINTAGE AIRPLANE

33

BY DOUG STEWART

Whose Rules

recently received the following

e-mail, forwarded to me from a
friend who is a retired ATC (air
traffic control) TRACON (termi
nal radar approach control) super
visor. The e-mail was sent to him in
response to a posting he sent to an
online aviators digest, in which he
brought some clarity to a query about
controller/pilot communications.
Here's what the e-mail said: "I
read your posting and noticed that
you are a controller of several years.
A question came to mind when I
thought of your position. I am a fair
weather flyer. If it's not nice out, I
have no desire to go anywhere. But
once in awhile I find myself com
ing back into the L.A. basin with
flight following and see the area is
socked in with a ceiling. Central
sometimes hands me off to a local
tower, and I descend maybe 2,000
feet through the clouds. I'm com
fortable with that, have some train
ing and the instruments to handle
it. Someone once told me that if
the FAA found out, I could lose my
VFR license, but who would tell
them? How would they find out?
Just wondered, thanks."
My friend was dumbfounded
that someone would be brazen
enough to make such an admission,
but even more astonished that the
respondent apparently had no clue
as to the danger he presented not
only to himself, but also to every
one else with whom he shared the
skies. My friend sought my input as
to how to respond.
This is what I suggested: "Yes, if

34

SEPTEMBER 2009

the FAA found out, you might suf

fer a suspension or even revoca
tion of your certificate. Even if they
don't find out, you put yourself at
the top of the list of folks scheduled
to receive the Darwin Award. The
sad thing to think is that although
your loss might not be mourned,
the loss of any innocent folks you
might take with you would be!
When and if you ever realize that
the vast majority of the FARs are
'written in blood,' you might be
convinced to correct your hazard
ous operations!"
I know that for many of us, my
self included, the hazardous atti
tude of anti-authority is a mentality
that must be dealt with. The FAA
suggests that the "antidote" for this
attitude is the admonition that lithe
rules are written for everyone." But
I must admit that at least for me,
that suggestion is a little weak.
If I were tempted to descend
through what I perceived as a shal
low layer of clouds while in Class
E airspace, chanting lithe rules are
written for everyone" probably
wouldn't stop me from reducing
power and pitching the airplane
down. After all, I wouldn't expect
to find a traffic cop waiting at the
other side of the clouds to write
me up with a ticket. My experience
even tells me that it is very difficult
for the FAA to prosecute known
cases of IMC (instrument meteo
rological conditions) flight in con
trolled airspace without a clearance.
I recall once when I was at a non
towered airport getting ready to de

part into a 300-foot ceiling. I had

already received my clearance over
the telephone, with a void time,
and was just finishing my before
takeoff checks when a twin Cessna
taxied in front of me onto the run
way and departed into the clouds
with nary a radio call. I couldn't be
lieve what I had just witnessed.
I managed to get the offending
airplane's N number as he taxied
past me, so the next day I con
tacted my safety program manager
at the local flight standards district
office to file a report. As part of the
ensuing investigation it was found
that the pilot of the twin Cessna
had a history of violations, and
even had a certificate suspension
in his records. However, in this in
stance I was informed that the FAA
would be hard-pressed to conduct
an enforcement action. In essence
it would be my word against the
Cessna pilot's word.
So if I know how difficult it is for
the FAA to enforce its own rules,
what is there to keep me from ig
noring them? If one is truly of a
strong anti-authority mentality, the
caution that the ru les are written
for everyone probably won't stop
one from violating those rules.
There needs to be an antidote that
is a little stronger if it is to work,
and here is the one that I use for
myself: "Those rules are written
for just one person, Stewart ... you!
They were written in blood, and
they are there to keep you alive!"
Suddenly the importance of the
regulations takes on a whole new

dimension. When I gain the un

derstanding that many of the rules
came about as a result of fatal ac
cidents, I now start to pay greater
attention to them. As an example,
the rules relative to visibilities and
distance from clouds came about as
a result of airplanes crashing into
each other, and lives being lost.
These regulations are predicated
upon providing pilots with the abil
ity to "see and avoid" other aircraft
as well as ATe's ability to provide
separation for those aircraft under
their control. Obviously the type of
airspace we are flying in affects that
ability. Further, understanding the
implicit meaning of a "clearance"
has bearing on this.
When one receives a clearance
from ATC it means that air traffic
control now bears the burden of
providing separation from other air
craft (notwithstanding that it is the
pilot in command's responsibility
to use "see and avoid" techniques
whenever in visual conditions). As
an example we all know that in or
der to enter Class Bravo airspace
we must have not only a radio ca
pable of two-way communication
and a Mode C transponder, but
also a clearance. It is this clearance,
along with its unspoken provision
of separation, that allows us to fly
just "clear of clouds" and not worry
about getting T-boned by a 747 as it
comes out of the cloud we are flying
just clear of.
Sometimes it is ignorance of the
regulations, and more importantly
the reason for the rule, rather than
blatant disregard, that could put us
in jeopardy. I am surprised at the
number of pilots coming to me for
flight reviews who are unaware of
the requirement to have a Mode
C transponder turned on not only
while flying within the limits of
Class C airspace, but also above it. If
we understand that ATC must pro
vide separation to all FAR Part 121
(airline) flights, which by regulation
fly under instrument flight rules
(lFR) even when it is severe clear, we
might then gain greater understand
ing of this transponder rule.

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If a controller sees a primary
target (one without a transponder
code, or altitude readout) within
the lateral limits of the "shelf area"
(the outer ring) of Class C airspace,
the assumption is that the airplane
is flying below the base of that shelf

I know that for

many of us,

myself included,

the hazardous attitude

of anti-authority

is a mentality

that must be

dealt with.

area. Thus they might descend an

IFR flight to an altitude that would
compromise vertical separation
limits, if the primary target is fly
ing above the Class C airspace, and
worse yet might cause an accident.
How many pilots are aware that
FAR 91.215 (c) actually states that if
a Mode C transponder is installed
in the aircraft it should be turned
on? Probably not many of us, but
consider the following. I know I
used to ignore turning on my tran
sponder, especially when I was fly
ing low, slow, and locally in my
Super Cruiser.
But as I spend more and more
time with clients in technically ad

vanced aircraft, with large multi

function displays that depict
traffic on those displays, I find that
many of those pilots, rather than
using the most important piece
of equipment in their airplane
their own two eyes looking out the
window-instead spend most of
their visual time looking at those
screens inside the airplane. Regard
less of the type of traffic avoidance
equipment installed (ADS-B being
the exception), they all work on
transponder replies. Thus if you
want to protect yourself from this

type of pilot who relies on electri

cal equipment for collision avoid
ance, rather than his or her own
two eyes, it would behoove you to
turn on that transponder.
I could go on and on with ex
amples of how and why the regula
tions are written, for the most part,
to protect each and everyone of us
from ourselves. Suffice it to say that
they are there for a very good rea
son. I know that many of us have
some form of "anti-authOrity" ten
dency residing within our beings.
After all, the vast majority of pi
lots are Type A personalities, and
we like to be in command. It comes
with the turf. That being said, it
truly behooves us to abide by the
regulations. Keep that in mind as
you are beckoned aloft by .. . blue
skies and tail winds.
Doug Stewart is the 2004 National
CFI of the Year, a Master certificated
flight instructor, and a designated pi
lot examiner. He operates DSFI Inc.
(www.DSFlight.com) based at the
Columbia County Airport (lBl). ~
VINTAGE AIRPLANE

35

BY H.G . FRAUTSCHY

THIS MONTH'S MYSTERY PLANE COMES TO US FROM THE

EAA

ARCHIVES.

Send your answer to EAA, Vintage

Airplane, P. O. Box 3086, Oshkosh,
WI 54903-3086. Your an swer n eeds
to be in n o lat er t ha n October 15
for inclusion in the December 2009
issue of Vintage Airplane.
You can also send your response
via e-mail. Send your an swer to
mysteryplane@eaa.org. Be sure to
include your name plus your city
and state in the body of your note
and put "(Mon th ) Mystery Plane"
in the subj ect line.

J UN E' S MYS TE RY ANSWER

We were not surprised that many

of you recognized the distinctive
profile of the June Mystery Plane.
Here's our first letter:

The J u ne Mystery Pl ane is a

(Fairchild Air-plane Mfg. Corp.)
American Air-plane and Engine
Corp. Pilgrim Model 100-B, pre-

The June Mystery Plane, the American

Pilgri m Model l OO-B.

36

SEPTEM B ER 2009

sumably an American Airways ship,

and possibly NC 740N. You don't
see many photos of the 100-B taken
from the starboard side. Usually, it's
a 100-A. The 100-A and 100-B are
fully described in Volume 5 of Jupt
ner's U.S. Civil Aircraft (pp 125-128
and 202-204, respectively). Funny
thing, I just helped a guy track
down a decent three-view of the
100-B. An original is currently be
ing restored in Alaska. There was
at least one 100-A that was con
verted to a Model 100-B by replac
ing the Hornet B with a Cyclone
(R-1820-E) . The longer exhaust is
about the only way to tell the two
apart. Of course, the design evolved
from the earlier Fairchild Model
100 (ATC #390). The Pilgrims were

Don Carr of Anchorage, Alaska, sent us these unusual photos from the fall
of 1939 showing the use of the Pilgrim to deliver a cow 250 miles away to
McGrath, Alaska.
built at the Farmingdale, Long Is
land, New York, plant that had pre
viously been used by Fairchild.
Wesley R. Smith, Springfield,
Illinois
And a bit more from another reg
ular correspondent:
The June 2009 Mystery Plane is,
by my best guess of the vertical fin
area, an American Pilgrim Model
100-B . This was one of a family
of aircraft originally designed and
flown as the Fairchild Model 100
prototype (Type Certificate #390 on
1/14/31). The production aircraft
were built by a division of Avia

tion Corp. (also known as AVCO),

the American Airplane and Engine
Corp., which was formed from
Fairchild Airplane Mfg. Corp. dur
ing April 1931 in the same Fairch
ild factory at Farmingdale, Long
Island, New York.
My information is from Juptner,
Vols. 4 and 5, and from Aerofiles.com.
The Fairchild Model 100 proto
type was powered by a nine-cylinder
radial Pratt & Whitney R-1860 Hor
net B engine of 575 hp.
The American Pilgrim Model
100-A (Type Certificate #443 on
8/21/31) was powered by the
same Hornet B and differed from

the Model 100 mainly by the ad

ditional fuselage volume in the
belly, which carried mail and air
express packages. Sixteen were
built. Both production models were
built to American Airways require
ments and carried a single pilot and
nine passengers. The aircraft were
utilized by AA, which itself was also
part of AVCO, for about three years,
after which time they were sent to
Alaska for continuing airline work
and later bush flying.
The American Pilgrim Model
100-B (Type Certificate #470 on
3/25/32) was powered by the nine
cylinder radial Wright Aeronautical
R-1820 Cyclone, also of 575 hp. The
main other difference was the addi
tional 2 square feet of vertical fin area
mentioned above. Six were built.
When it came time to re
place engines requiring over
haul, besides having the engine
replaced with the original en
gine manufacturer's engine, some
100-A aircraft received Wright en
gines and some 100-B aircraft re
ceived Pratt & Whitney engines.
Therefore, my best guess above is
just based on my estimate of the
area, but they may have changed
fins that way, too.
The U.S. Army Air Corps also re
ceived four American Y1C-24 ver
sions of the Model 100-B with the
Wright engine and the deletion of
the additional lower fuselage vol
ume, so that it looked similar to the
original Model 100.
Jack Erickson, State College,
Pennsylvania
Other correct answers were re
ceived from Frank Pavliga, Randolph,
Ohio; Wayne Muxlow, Minneapo
lis, Minnesota; William J. Nelson,
El Paso, Texas; Bill Truax, Loveland,
Colorado; Sam. V. Smith, Arling
ton, Virginia; Jerry Paterson, Doug
Rounds, Nick Warner, and Brian Pat
terson, Trinity, Texas; Wayne Van
Valkenburgh, Jasper, Georgia; Paul
Smoker, Intercourse, Pennsylva
nia; Clarence Hesser, St. Augustine,
Florida; Neil Petersen, Waterville,
Washington; and Tom Lymburn,
Princeton, Minnesota.
......
VINTAGE AIRPLANE

37

EAA calendar of Aviation [vents Is Now Online

EM's online Calendar of Events is the "go-to'
spot on the Web to list and find aviation events
in your area. The userfriendly, searchable format
makes it the perfect welrbased tool for planning
your local trips to aflyin.
In EM's online Calendar of Events, you can
search for events at any given time within acertain
radius of any airport by entering the identifier or a
ZIP code, and you can further define your search to
look for just the types of events you'd like to attend.
We invite you to access the EM online Calendar
of Events at http://www.eaa.orgjcalendar/

Upcoming Major Fly-Ins

Mid-Eastern Regional Fly-In
Grimes Field Airport (174), Urbana, OH
September 12-13,2009
www.MERFI.info

Copperstate Regional Fly-In

Casa Grande Municipal Airport (CGZ), Casa Grande, AZ
October 22-24,2009
www.Coppersta te.org
Southeast Regional Fly-In
Middleton Field Airport (GZH), Evergreen, Al
October 23-25, 2009
www.5ERFI.org

U.S. Sport Aviation Expo

Sebring Regional Airport (SEF), Sebring, Fl

January 21-24, 2010

www.Sport-Aviation-Expo.com

AERO Friedrichshafen
Messe Friedrichshafen, Friedrichshafen, Germany
April 8- 11 , 2010
www.Aero-Friedrichshafen.comlhtmllen
Sun 'n Fun Fly-In
lakeland Linder Regional Airport (lAl),
lakeland, Fl
April 13-18,2010
www.5un-N-Fun.org

Virginia Regional Festival of Flight

Suffolk Executive Airport (SFQ), Suffolk, VA
May 22-23, 2010
www.VirginiaFlyin.org
Arlington Fly-In
Arlington Municipal Airport (AWO), Arlington,
WA
July 7- n, 2010
www.NWEAA.org
EAA AirVenture Oshkosh
Wittman Regional Airport (OSH), Oshkosh, WI
July 26-August 1, 2010
www.AirVenture.org
For details on hundreds of upcoming
aviation happenings, including EAA chapter
fly-ins, Young Eagles rallies, and other local
aviation events, visit the EAA Calendar of
Events located at www.EAA.orgicalendar.

38

SEPTEMBER 2009

continued from IFe

cipients of the Art Morgan Memo

rial Volunteers of the Year awards.
There are actually two separate and
distinct awards announced each
year at the annual VAA member
ship meeting at the end of the EAA
convention. The first is the Behind
the Scenes award. It's my pleasure
to announce that this year's Behind
the Scenes Volunteer of the Year is
actually a tag-team affair, namely
Chairman Michael Blombach and
his Co-Chairman Archie James from
Fort Wayne, Indiana, who are a big
part of our volunteer maintenance
committee. These two gentlemen
are responsible for organizing the
annual work parties that occur ev
ery month beginning in April and
ending just before the convention
begins. Michael and Archie did an
absolutely outstanding job of or
ganizing a work party each month
that allowed us to complete the new
Vintage Hangar project on time
and under budget. Congratulations,
guys, for a job extremely well done.
Our Flightline Volunteer of the
Year is an outstanding volunteer

who has proven himself to be in

valuable to the Flightline Opera
tions Committee. Jim Swol is from
Harpwell , Maine, and his total
commitment and energy to this
committee is absolutely awesome
to witness. Jim is a "can-do" kind
of guy, with a great attitude. All you
really need to do with Jim is point
him in the right direction and pull
the trigger!
Congratulations to you all, and
we hope you can join us in Oshkosh
for the fall VAA board meetings to
receive your much-deserved awards!
As always, please do us all the fa
vor of inviting a friend to join the
VAA, and help keep us the strong
association we have all enjoyed for
so many years.
EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2010,
The World's Greatest Aviation Cel
ebration, is July 26 through August
1,2010.
VAA is about participation: Be a
member! Be a volunteer! Be there!

TAiLW~66LS

Your One STOP

Quality Shop

Something to buy,
sell, or trade?
Classified Word Ads: $5.50 per 10 words, 180 words maximum,
with boldface lead-in on first line.
Classified Display Ads: One column wide (2.167 inches) by 1,

2, or 3 inches high at $20 per inch. Black and white only, and no
frequency discounts.
Advertising Closing Dates: 10th of second month prior to desired
issue date (i.e., January 10 is the closing date for the March
issue). VAA reserves the right to reject any 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 (920-426-6845) or e-mail (classads@
eaa.orm using credit card payment (all cards accepted) . Include
name on card, complete address, type of card, card number, and

expiration date. Make checks payable to EAA. Address advertising

correspondence to EAA Publications Classified Ad Manager, P.O.
Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086.

MEDIA

Aeronca
Air Tractor
Ayres
Beechcraft
Boeing
Canadair
Cessna
Culver
Dehavilland
Douglas
Fairchild
Fleet
Grumman
Howard
Norseman
North American
PZL
Ryan
Stinson
Taylorcraft
Thrush
Waco

For Sale: 19 Year continuous collection of Vintage Airplane Magazine

1989 through 2007; in addition March and November 1986, January,
February, March 1987, and February, August thru December 1988.
Contact Bob at bobleoboa@ronan.net

AERO CLASSIC

MISCELLANEOUS

"COLLECTOR SERIES"

Vintage Tires

Flying wires available. 1994 pricing. Visit www.flyingwires.com or

caIiSOO-S17-927S.
www.AeroList.org - Like Craigslist for the aviation community.

SERVICES
Always Flying Aircraft Restoration, LLC: Annual Inspections,
Airframe recovering, fabric repairs and complete
restorations. Wayne A. Forshey A&P & I.A. 740-472-1481. Ohio
and bordering states

WHAT OUR MEMBERS ARE RESTORING

Are you nearing completion of a restoration? Or is it done
and you're busy flying and showing it off? If so, we'd like to
hear from you. Send us a 4-by-6-inch print from a commercial
source (no home printers, please-those prints just don't
scan well) or a 4-by-6-inch, 300-dpi digital photo. A JPG from
your 2.5-megapixel (or higher) digital camera is fine. You can
burn photos to a CD, or if you're on a high-speed Internet
connection, you can e-mail them along with a text-only or
Word document describing your airplane. (If your e-mail
program asks if you'd like to make the photos smaller, say
no.) For more tips on creating photos we can publish, visit
VAA's website at www.vintageaircraft.org. Check the News
page for a hyperlink to Want To Send Us A Photograph?
For more Information, you can also email us at vintageaircraft@

New USA Production

Show off your pride and joy with a
fresh set of Vintage Rubber. These
newly minted tires are FAA-TSO'd
and speed rated to 120 MPH. Some
things are better left the way they
were, and in the 40's and 50's, these tires were perfectly in
tune to the exciting times in aviation.
Not only do these tires set your vintage plane apart from
the rest, but also look exceptional on all General Aviation
aircraft. Deep 8/32nd tread depth offers above average
tread life and UV treated rubber resists aging.
First impressions last a lifetime, so put these jewels on and
bring back the good times .....
New General Aviation Sizes AvaiJable:

500 x 5, 600 x 6, 700 x 8

Desser has the largest stock and

selection of Vintage and Warbird
tires in the world. Contact us
with

eaa.org or cail us at 9204264825.

VINTAGE AIRPLANE

39

Membershi~ Services Directory

VINTAGE

ENJOY THE MANY BENEFITS OF EAA AND

AIRCRAFT
EAA's
~\l.~.lI~
VINTAGE AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION
ASSOCIATION
EAA Aviation Center, PO Box 3086, Oshkosh WI 54903-3086

~ TM

OFFICERS
Presiden t

Geoff Hobison
1521 E. MacGregor Dr.

Vice- President

George Daubner

New Haven, IN 4677 4

260-493-4724

2448 Lough Lane

Hartford, WI 53027
262673-5885

chie(702S(t]'aul.com

gdallbrler@eaa.org

Secretary
Steve Nesse
2009 Highland Ave.

Treasurer
Cha rles W. Harris

Albert Lea, MN 56007

507-373- 1674
st" t's2009@iivt'.com

7215 East 46th 51.

Tulsa, OK 74147
918-622-8400
cwh@hvsu.com

DIRECTORS
Steve Bender

85 Brush Hill Road

Sherborn, MA01770

508-6537557

sst IO@Comcast.tlet

Jeann ie Hill

P.O. Box 328

Harvard, IL 60033-0328

815-9437205

375 Killdeer Ct
Lincoln, CA 95648
916645-8370

Espie "Butch" Joyce

704 N. Regional Rd.

Greensboro, NC 27409

336668-3650

antiquer@inreacll .com

willdsock@aoi.com

David Benn ett

Jerry Brown

4605 Hickory Wood Row

Greenwood, IN 46 143
317-422-9366
Ibrowl,4906@ao/.com
Dave Clark

635 Vestal Lane

Plainfield, IN 46 168
317-839-4500

Da n Knutson

106 Tena Marie Ci rcle

Lodi, WI 53555
608-5927224

/odicub@r-/lOrter. lIet
Steve Krog

1002 Heather Ln.

Hartford, WI 53027
262-966-7627

Phone (920)426-4800

Fax (920) 426-4873

Web Sites: www.vintageaircra(t.org, www.ailVentllre.org, www.eaa.org/memberbene{its E-Mail: vintageaircraf/@eaa.org

EAA and Division Membership Services (8:00 AM-7:00 PM
Monday-Friday CST)
800-564-6322
FAX 920-426-4873
www.eaa.orgjmemberbenefits
membership@eaa.org
New/ renewmemberships ' Address changes Merchandise sales ' Gift membe rships
EM AirVenture Oshkosh
888-3224636
www.airventure.orl1
Sport Pilot/ Lil(htSport Aircraft Hotline 877-35g.1232
www.sportpilot.orl1
Programs and Activities
Auto Fuel STCs
920-4264843
Educatio n/ Aeroscholars
920-426-6570
EM Ai r Academy
920-426-6880
www.airacademy.orl1
EM Scholarships
920-426-6823
Flight Instructor information
www.eaa.orgjnafi
920-426-6801
Library Services/Research
920-4264848
Benefits
AU AVintage Insurance Pl an
800-727-3823
www,auaonline.com
EM Aircraft Insurance Plan
866-6474322
www,eaa,orgjmemberbenefits
EM VISA Card
800-853-5576 ext 8884
EM Hertz RentA-Car Program
800-654 2200
www,eaa.orgjhertz
EM Enterprise Rent-A-Car Program
877421-3722
www.eaa.orgjenterprise
Editorial
920-4264825
www. vintageaircraft.org
VAA Office
FAX 920-426-6579

.'

airventure@eaa.orl1
sportpilot@eaa.orl1
ciwalker@eaa.or
mrobbins@eaa.orl1
airacademY@eaa.orli
scholarships@eaa.orl1
tdeimer@eaa,orl(
slurvey@eaa,org

membership@eaa.org
membership@eaa.org
membership@eaa.org
vintage@eaa.org
tbooks@eaa,org

EAA Members Information Une

888-EAA-INFO (3224636)

Use this toll-free number for: information about AirVenture Oshkosh; aeromedical and technical aviation questions;

chapters; and Young Eagles. Please have your membership number ready when calling,

Office hours are 8:15 a,m. - 5:00 p,m, (Monday - Friday, CST)

davecpd@att.l1et

sskrog@aoi .com

John S, Copeland
Northborough, MA 01532
508-393-4775

Robe rt D. "Bob" Lum ley

1265 South 124th st.
Brookfield, WI 53005
262-782-2633

copeland 1@jlmo.co11l

ilJ mper@execpc.co11l

EAA

lAC

Ph il Coulson

S, H. "Wes" Schmid

Membership in t he Experim ental Aircraft

ASSOCia tio n , Inc. is $40 fo r o n e yea r, inel ud
ing 12 issu es o f SPORT AVIATION. Fam ily
m e mbe rship is an additi ona l $10 a nnua lly,
J u nio r Me mbersh ip (u nde r 19 yea rs of age)
is ava ilable at $23 ann ually, All ma jo r cred it
cards accepted for membership. (Add $16 for

C u rre n t EAA members m ay joi n th e

Inte rn a tio n a l Aerob a ti c C lub, Inc . D ivi
sion a nd receive SPORT AEROBATICS
m aga zine for a n a ddi t io n a l $45 per year.
EAA Memb e rs hip, SPORT AEROBA T
I CS m agaZin e a nd o n e yea r m e mbe rs hi p
in th e l AC D ivis io n i s ava il able fo r $55
p e r yea r (SPORT AVIATION m agazin e
n ot includ e d ). (Add $18 for Fore ig n

1A Deaco n Street

28415 Springbrook Dr.

Lawton, MI 49065
269-624-6490

2359 Lefeber Aven ue

Wauwa tosa, W I 532 13

r(01lIS0115 16@cs .com

shscllm id@gma il.com

41477 11545

Dale A. Gu stafson

7724 Shady Hills Dr,

Indianapolis, IN 46278
3172934430

Foreign Postage.)

dale{aye@msll.col11

DIRECTORS

EMERITUS

9345 5. Hoyne
Chicago, IL 60643
805-78297 13

Robe rt C. Brauer

E.E. "Buck" Hilbert

8102 Leech Rd,
Union, IL60180
815-923-459 1

photopilot@aoJ.coll1

bu(k7oc@gma il.colII

Gene C hase

Gene MorriS

2159 Carlton Rd,

Oshkosh, WI 54904
920-23 1-5002

5936 Steve Court

Roanoke, TX 76262
817-491-9 110

GRCHA@Charler.l1et

gel1emorris@Clwrler. llet

Rona ld C. Fritz

MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION

John Turgyan

1540 I Sparta Ave.

Kent City, MI 49330
616-678-5012

PO Box 219
New Egypt, NJ 08533
609-758-29 10

rFritz@patll way" et.(om

jrturgY(l ll4@aoi.coI1l

EAA SPORT PILOT

C urre nt EAA m em b ers may a dd EAA
SPORT PILOT magazin e for a n a d d itio n a l
$20 pe r year.
EAA M e mb e r s h ip a n d EAA SPORT
PILOT m agaZine is ava il ab le fo r $40 pe r
year (SPORT AVIATION m agazine n o t inel uded). (Add $16 for Foreign Postage.)

VINTAGE AIRCRAFf ASSOCIATION

C urr e nt EAA m e mb e rs may joi n th e
Vintage Airc raft Association a nd receive
VINTA GE AIRPLANE m agaZine for a n ad
d it io n al $36 p er year.
EAA Membe rshi p, VINTAGE AIRPLANE
magazine and one year membership in the EAA
Vin tage Aircraft Association is available for $46
per year (SPORT AVIATION maga zine not ineluded) , (Add $7 for Foreign Postage.)

Postage,)

WARBIRDS
Current EAA m embers m ay jo in the EAA
Wa rbi rd s of Am e rica D ivision and receive
WARBIRDS magaZine fo r an additio n al $45
p er year.
EAA Member ship , WA RBIRDS maga
z in e and o n e yea r membe r s hi p in th e
Wa rbirds D iv is io n is ava ilable fo r $55 p e r
year (SPORT AVIATION m agazine n ot inelu ded ). (A dd $7 for Foreign Postage,)

FOREIGN MEMBERSHIPS
Please sub m it yo u r re mitt a n ce with a
c h ec k or d raft d rawn o n a U nite d St ates
b a nk p ayable in United States d o llars. Add
required Fore ign Post age a m o unt fo r each
m embership.

Membership dues to EAA and its divisions are not tax deductible as charitable contributions

Copyright 2009 by the EAA Vintage Aircraft Association, All rights reserved,
VINTAGEAIRPlANE (USPS 062-750; ISSN0091-6943) is published and owned exclusively by the EAA Vintage Aircraft Association of the ExperimentalAircraft Association and is published monthly at EAA
Aviation Cent..., 3000 Poberezny Rd" PO Box 3086, Oshkosh,Wisconsin54903-3086, e-mail: vintageaircraft@eaa.org, Membership to Vintage Aircraft Association, which includes 12 issues of Vintage Airplane
magazine, is $36 per year for EAA member.; and 546 for non-EAA member.;, Periodicals Postage paid at Oshkosh, Wisconsin 54901and at additional mailing off.,ces, POSTMASTER:Send address changes
to Vintage Airplane, PO Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI54903-3086. PM40063731 Relum undeliverable Canadian addresses 10 Pitney Bowes IMS, Station A, PO Box54, Windsor, ON N9A6J5. FOREIGN ANDAPO
ADDRESSES - Please ailow at least two months for delivery of VINTAGEAIRPlANE to foreignandAPO 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: Member.; are encouraged to sub m ~ stories and photographs. Policy opinions expressed in articles are solely those of tlte authors. Responsibility for accuracy in reporting rests entirely
with the contributor. No remuneration is made, Material should be sent to: Editor,VINTAGE AIRPLANE, PO Box3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086, Phone 920-426-4800.
EAAand EAA SPORT AVIATION, the EAA Logo and Aeronautica' " are registered trademarks, trademari<s, and seMce marks of tlte Experimental Aircraft Association, Inc. The use of these trademar1<s
and service marks without the permission of the Experimental Aircraft Association, Inc. is strictly prohibited.

40

SEPTEMBER 2009

Drive one.