THE" RESTORER'S CORNER by J. R. NIELANDER, JR.

This being our convention coverage issue, we, the officers, directors,
advisors, convention chairmen and convention co-chairmen of your EAA
Antique/Classic Division, respectfully dedicate this issue to those of you
who volunteered your time and services to the Division to make this con-
vention the great success that it was. Without your help it would not have
been possible. This year 128 of you, the largest number of Division con-
vention vol unteers to date, stepped forth and helped with convention
duties so that your fellow members, their families and guests could enjoy
our convention. We are certain that those of you who volunteered got as
much satisfaction out of being "on the team" as we did. Some of you
worked 10 to 14 hours every day, and we are all especially indebted to
you for this great devotion to the cause. We know that many of you never
had the opportunity to see the rest of the convention. For this we sincerely
apologize. We hope that next year about 250 additional members will offer
to help with convention duties. If they will , then two 3-hour shifts some-
time during the week will be all that will be needed from any volunteers
in order to give us complete Division convention manpower, and thus
make our part of the convention operate even more efficiently and make
it even more enjoyable for all of us.
Your convention chairmen and co-chairmen met with your Division
officers, directors and advisors at EAA Headquarters on Saturday, Octo-
ber 16, 1976, for a combined convention debriefing and Board of Directors
meeting. Many fine suggestions for improvement of the convention and
its facilities came out of this meeting and have already been forwarded
to EAA. The convention chairmen and co-chairmen were particularly em-
phatic in their praise of the volunteers who had worked with them.
Al Kelch, your Editor of The Vintage Airplane, gave a long and detailed
report concerning the joys and sorrows of being a magazine editor. We
all owe Al and his wife, Lois, a deep debt of gratitude for the great personal
sacrifices which they have made to give us all this fine publication which
you are now reading. Al stressed that he would like to print more stories
on the history and restoration of classics, but not much has been forth-
coming from you, the members. He needs your help. If you have restored
a classic and if you can provide some interesting pictures of your restora-
tion in process and completed, please write a story about your experiences
and send the story to AI. If you are not sure as to how to write the story
or what an editor wants, please go back to your February, 1976, issue of
The Vintage Airplane and reread "The Restorer's Corner". There you will
find a complete short course in magazine writing which should make each
of you an expert writer.
Your officers, directors and advisors also discussed the status of our
Division membership campaign. You should receive four membership
blanks along with each copy of the October, November and December
issues of The Vintage Airplane. This is your organization, and your help
is greatly needed to make it grow. Please show your magazines to your
friends and acquaintences who are interested in aviation, and give each
a membership application. If you belong to a local EAA chapter, please
talk up the Division to the other chapter members. Certainly you are not
the only member of your chapter who is interested in older airplanes. And
don't miss the most important selling point of the season: A membership
in the EAA Antique/Classic Division, with its subscription to The Vintage
Airpl ane magazine, makes a wonderful Christmas gift which lasts all year.
EDITORIAL
STAFF
Publisher Editor Assistant Editor
Paul H. Poberezny AI Kelch Lois Kelch
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS
ANTIQUE/ CLASSIC DIVISION OFFICERS
H. N...Dusty" Rhod es
PRESIDENT VICE-PRESIDENT
Evander Britt
J. R. NIELANDER,JR. JACK WINTHROP
Jim Barton
P.O. BOX 2464 RT. 1, BOX 111
Claude Gray
FT. LAUDERDALE, FL 33303 ALLEN,TX 75002
Ed Escallon
Rod Spanier
SECRETARY TREASURER Dal e Gustafson
RI CHARD WAGNER E. E. '" BUCK" HILBERT Henry Wheeler
P.O. BOX 181 8102 LEECH RD.
Morton Lester
LYONS, WI 53148 UNION,IL 60180
Kelly Viets
Directors Bob Elliott
Jack Lanning
Claude L. Gray, Jr. AI Kelch Bil l Thumma
9635 Sylvia Avenue 7018 W, Bonniwell Road
Glenn Buff ington
Northridge. CA 91324 Mequon,WI 53092
ADVI SORS
James B. Horne
3840 Coronation Road
Eagan. MN 55122
Evander M. Britt
Box 1525
Lumberton, NC 28358
W, Brad Thomas,Jr.
301 Dodson Mill Road
Pilot Mountain, NC 27041
Dale A. Gustafson
7724 Shady Hill Drive
Indianapolis, IN 46274
George E. Stubbs
Box 113
Brownsburg, IN 46112
M. C. "Kelly'" Viets
RR 1. Box 151
Stilwell , KS 66085
Robert A. White
1207 Falcon Drive
Orlando, FL 32803
RogerJ. Sher ron
446-C Las CaSitas
Santa Rosa, CA 95401
William J. Ehlen
Route 8, Box 506
Tampa, FL 33618
Morton Lester
P. O. Box 3747
Martinsville, VA 24112
Maurice "Sonny" Clavel
Box 98
Wauchula, FL33875
Stan Gomoll
1042 90th Lane, N.E,
Minneapolis, MN 55434
THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE is owned exclusively by Antique Classic Aircraft, Inc. and is published monthly
at Hales Corners, Wisconsin 53130. Second class Postage paid at Hales Corners Post Office, Hales Cor-
ners,Wisconsin 53130 and Random Lake Post Office, Random Lake, Wisconsin 53075, Membershiprates
for Ant ique Class aircraft, Inc. at $14.00 per 12 month period of which $10.00 is for the publicat ion of
THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE. Membership is open to all who are interested in aviat ion.
Postmaster: Send Form 3579 to Antique Classic Aircraft, Inc., Box 229,
HalesCorners,Wisconsin53130
OFFICIAL MAGAZINE
ANTIQUE / CLASSIC
DIVISION
of
THE EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION
NOVEMBER 1976 VOLUME 4 NUMBER 11
6fjwcia1 cft:J6UC r9:J1t/w:;h ,76' Off/mnejC{J
We have dedicated this issue to the winners and have attempted to have
one article for each airplane. The following are winners whose article
was not available at press time. Contemporary Age Outstanding Closed
Cockpit Monoplane, Sparton Executive, #NC17615, Dr. J. T. Paterson -
International Award, Tiger Moth ZK-BFX, Ian Bennie - Oil Burner
Award, Porterfield, #NC17029, John Innes - Outstanding Workman-
ship, Piper J4, #N30340, Al Anderson - Best Aeronca Champion,
#N83633, Melvin Hill - Best Cessna 170 #3543C, George Mock - Best
Luscombe, #21268B, Marc Balzao - Best Stinson, #N97654, Geoffrey
Bartoldo - Best Swift, #N13SW, Steve Wilson - Best Taylorcraft,
#NC96818, Kni ght/Disch/Joranlien
EAA ANTIQUE/CLASSIC DIVISION MEMBERSHIP
o NON-EAA MEMBER - $34.00. Includes one year membership in the EAA Ant ique/Classic Division, 12
monthly i ssues of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE; one year membership in the Experimental Aircraft Associa-
tion,12 monthlyissuesofSPORT AVIATION and separate membership cards,
o NON-EAA MEMBER - $20.00. Includes one year membershi p in the EAA Ant ique/Classic Division, 12
mont hly issues of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE; one year membership in the Experimental Aircraft Associa-
tion and separate membership cards,SPORT AVIATION notincluded,
o EAA MEMBER - $14.00. Includes one year membership in the EAA Antique/Classic Division, 12 monthly
issues of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE and membership card. (Applicant must be current EAA member and
must give EAA membership number.
PICTURE BOX
(Back Cover) OnThe Cover
Grand Champion Antique, owned by Grand Champion Classic, owned
" Bob" Gro ff and Claude Gray from W. M. Amundson from Wisconsin.
California.
Copyri ght0 1976 Ant ique ClassicAi r craft, Inc. All Right s Reserve:L 2
Grand Champion
American Eagle #3738
By M. R. "Bob" Groff& Claude Gray
9635 Sylvia Avenue
Northridge, CA 91324
The restoration of the Eagle goes back a number of
years to 1964. This is when Bob Groff and I found the
airplane at Pine City, Minn. It was purchased at this
time and shipped to California. Restoration was start-
ed, and the job was completed 51/2 years later. The
airplane was all there when purchased, including a
runable OX5, propeller, complete set of WWI surplus
instruments and all hardware such as the original
stranded cable flying, landing, interplane and cabane
wires, which we might add are still on the aircraft.
In this first restoration, we say first, because it
has just gone through the second, we did a complete
disassemble, down to sandblasting, and started
over from there. The original top wings were in good
condition and are still in use on the plane. New bot-
tom panels were built up at this time. New wood
stringers etc. were put on the fuselage, all new bur-
nished cowling was made, the engine was given a
major overhaul and all other parts brought up to new
condition. During this period we had found a pair of,
never been used, 1928 20" aircraft wire wheels with
mechanical brakes. These were installed along with a
Fairchild PT19 tail wheel assembly . Due to lack of
nice grass landing strips in our part of the country,
these two items are almost a must. As might have
been observed at Oshkosh, we went back to the old
tail skid also. The skid and tail wheel are interchange-
able in about 15 minutes.
When the plane was completed the first time, it
had the trade mark of American Eagle with the bur-
nished cowling. The fuselage was done in interna-
tional orange along with the fin and rudder. The
wings were silver. This was the color scheme when
it was shown on the cover of SPORT AVIATION in
March of 1970. The plane was flown to many West
Coast Fly-Ins from spring of 1969 to June of 1970.
At this time it and me, Claude, and three different
sets of power lines got in each other's way in one of
our many mountain passes we have to fly through to
get from A to B. It might be added that the power
line incident was brought on by the fact that the power
companies find it cheaper to replace lines once in a
while, than it is to put markers on them so we can
see them. The start of my troubles was a set of wires
from one mountain to another at about 400 feet. The
third set I hit, breaking the landing gear, and upon
landing I finally flipped over due to a wheel dragging
on the wing. This is past history now, and the plane
was not too badly damaged.
This misfortune was turned into a good fortune
as it gave us a chance to make a few desired changes
and to do the plane back to its original and authentic
factory new condition. This was desired because
in the Antique and Classic Division of EAA, we had
formed up our currently used point system of judging
aircraft. This has been used the past 2 years at Osh-
kosh. The past few months has had articles in both
SPORT AVIATION and The Vintage Aircraft maga-
zines explaining this system. It has been well re-
ceived and some of the other divisions are now using
it. It was our desire to restore the Eagle this time as
near to the letter of the new judging rules as possible.
Restoring an aircraft to factory authentic condition
means not using elastic step nuts on an airplane that
was built before this type of locknut was invented,
along with AN type hoses and fittings, shielded har-
ness, etc. The Eagle was put together at the factory
in 1927 with hardware store round head stove bolts
and round head wood screws, castle nuts and many
cotter pins and clevis pins . Cowling pins and piano
wire pins were used to hold cowling on, and cotton
fabric and dope was the standard finish. Chrome was
not in use in the 20s but nickel plate had come out,
and the Eagles left the factory with choice of cad.
plate or nickel plate struts. This Eagle left the factory
with the nickel plate as was used in the restoration.
For the trip to Oshkosh this year, we trucked the
plane to AI Kelch's beautiful grass strip outside of
Milwaukee, and assembled it there. After a short
test flight it was flown on to the Fly-In. It will be re-
loaded in the truck this fall for the trip back to Cali-
fornia .
On this second restoration we did make all new
cowling again, as we found a much better burnishing
process. After some gear repair, new cabanes, some
rib repair, top overhaul on the engine, new prop
and a new cover job, it was back flying. Without the
help of many good friends we would not have made
it this year. We were still spraying dope on some
wing panels on a Wednesday morning and that
night at 11:30 p.m. we were at the road with the plane
in the truck. Bob Groff and I want to give credit and
thanks to our good friends and "crewmen" Obie
Tollman, Don Birlew, Bob Conover and Allen Logsden
for all the effort it took to get the job done, and get
the plane flying again.
A little history on the Eagle. It is a 1927 Model
101, serial #82. It was completed in Dec. of 1927. In Feb.
of 1928 it was delivered to the dealer in Minneapolis,
Minn. He used it two weeks for flight training and
demonstration flights, and sold it to a Mr . Freeman
in Pine City. Mr. Freeman flew off of his farm until
1941 when WWII grounded all private aircraft. It
sat in a small hangar from then until 1964. The old
CAA records show a recover job in 1935 and back fly-
ing after that. A set of large wooden snow skis came
with the airplane, but due to climatic conditions in
Southern Calif. we have found little use for them so
far. The OX5 engine was built in Sept. of 1918 by the
Willys Motor Co. There are a few 1928 and 1929 model
Eagles flying, but as far as we know, this is the only
1927. This was the first year of production. There are
a number of differences between the two models .
The 27 has ailerons on the top wings only. A larger
balanced rudder is used, it has a narrower gear,
no door to the front cockpit and does not have an
elevator trim in the pilot's cockpit. Washer adjust-
ment only on the leading edge of the stab. The lead-
ing edge of the wings have false ribs instead of solid
panel leading edge. This gives the plane a vintage
look that has long since passed. It was, and still is,
a very basic flying machine.
3
Grand Champ 3738 when new in December 1927.
Picture taken at the place of discovery 1956.
It was a bare bones start 1964.
Reserve Grand
Champion (Tie)
AmericanEaglet#548Y1931
By Gene Morris
1028 Van Tassel Dr.
Dundee, IL 60118
"But when Mr . Szekely built that engine, brand
new, it wasn't worth a damn", agrued Ernie Seiler.
We were discussing flying our newly purchased
"American Eaglet" from Marshfield, Missouri to
the Chicago area, four hundred slow miles away.
Even though Ernie was the selier, he thought that
we should dismantle the little bird and truck it home.
"No way", I insisted, "I wouldn't have an airplane
that wouldn't fly that far." Especially since the air-
plane and engine had been completely rebuilt five
years before, and had flown less than five hours since.
Next, was the thirty minute ground school on
Szekely maintenance and operating t echniques,
with heavy emphasis on keeping the rpm down.
Another two minutes, or perhaps I just missed them,
covering oiling the push rod ends, would have pre-
" We've grown very fond of old 'Zeke'."
Mary and Gene Morris sort of take you back to the early
thirties standing there beside old "Zeke" . The whole
scene is too free of grease and oil to be true.
Gene Morris pushed the Eaglet all the way up here so
Ted Koston could capture this proof. 4
vented two forced landings on the trip home; one for
myself, and one for son Ken. Ken had come along in
the Bonanza with my wife Mary, as a relief pilot. (I
didn't really need a relief pilot, just a relief butt) Guess
who did the most flying? (Well he needs the time
more than I do) The ensuing trip home was ably re-
corded and written by Ken, which was published
in Vintage magazine February 1976.
At that time, Oshkosh '75 was only a week away.
A frantic effort to re-do some cowling ended in a
terrible mismatch of colors, the cowling being at least
three shades lighter than the fabric.
After really participating in the Oshkosh Con-
vention for the first time, and meeting so many of
the wonderful people there, especially antiquers,
and learning what "like new" condition means, it
was decided to go all through the Eaglet that winter.
The remainder of the summer was spent painting
and rematching the cowling many times, always
photographing each 'new fix' as if it was a baby pic-
ture. I also installed the original 7.00 x 4 wheels and
tires. The wheels are 1931 style, which have bronze
bushings instead of roller bearings.
Forty hours were added to the log books through-
out the summer and fall. The season ended November
15th when we made the last flight to restoration.
One of my neighbors has a farm close by, and he
kindly consented to our storing the Eaglet in his
huge barn. After sneaking in a landing on a little ser-
vice road behind the barn, the Eaglet was dismantled
and stored there until our garage could be readied
for the fuselage or a wing, but only one at a time.
While in the barn, the engine was removed and finally
I was able to send those darned Bosch mags off for
overhaul. Al Lowe should be glad to hear that! The
only other engine work done was having the exhaust
valves stellited, and new rings were installed. I also
made new gaskets for the front and rear cases, and
then re-saftied everything with brass safety wire,
just like 1931. With all new paint and sand blasted
heads, the old "Zeke" was pretty as a jewel.
Some time later, the fuselage was brought to our
unheated garage for the ensuing winter's work.
As I began to remove parts and pieces from the
fuselage, I had no idea just how far I was going, but
as the pieces disappeared, it seemed so easy to take
off more. Finally, only the floorboards were left, and
since they were wired in from beneath, and I was
not going to remove the fabric, they would remain.
I did, however, veneer a sixteenth inch mahogany
piece over the old ones, and no one will ever know -
'til now.
The original instruments were taken to WSM of bailing out while rolling toward some immovable
Instruments in DeKalb for refinishing. They in turn object, or not flying at all.
sent the faces into Chicago for the actual art work. As Spring approached, I was ready for doping,
I was later informed that the Chicago company had and my hopes climbed. Who hasn't tried doping in
called back and said that the tachometer alone would early Spring, and seen insignia blue dope turn snow
cost fifteen dollars, and that maybe I would not wish white? Yes I used retarder - lots. The wings were
to spend that much. WSM did the right thing, and doped at the barn, and in spite of the crude set-up,
they are beautiful. turned out pretty good. The original cover was Grade
Anyone that has ever used "krinkle" paint, can A with butyrate. I redoped with b ~ t y r t e after wash-
appreciate how I smelled up the house cooking the ing each piece with thinner. (So far so good)
instrument panel in the oven. I must have painted Our crude transportation system from the barn,
and stripped that thing six times before getting a almost did-in one of the wings. Mary helped me take
finish that I could live with. The mag switch alone each wing to the airport on top of the car. It was
took about a week, with several strippings and re- very windy, and the first wing acted just as it should,
paintings. I wanted it to have a nice glass black lac- and almost took off, cracking a rib and damaging
quer, with the embossed lettering white. Just put in the trailing edge in the aileron area. It could have
the white and wipe off the excess, I thought, but it been worse I guess, but I wasn't very happy.
always smeared the black finish. After thinking on Final assembly was made May 26th in plenty of
it for several days, I finally hit upon the right com- time for Oshkosh '76. As a matter of fact, before go-
bination; latex white paint was used next, and it worked ing to Oshkosh, I had to redo some cowling and re-
perfectly. Finally to really put the finising touch on paint the landing gear, because of flying it so much.
the panel, with Al Kelch's help, I was able to obtain Mary flew the Eaglet to Oshkosh this year, and
a brand new nameplate to mount on my now all new the "big week" was good to us, sending us home
instrument panel. with a very handsome "Reserve Grand Champion"
My wife was going to school through the winter, trophy.
so I spent many hours alone on my days off, work- Three short weeks later, I pointed the Szekely
ing alone, just me, the Eaglet and my television and toward Blakesburg, Iowa and added some more long
radio. hours to the log. While at Blakesburg, Mary and I
All new wiring was installed - all three of them. really abused the little bird, flying it about three hours
New cables were also installed for the rudder and each day, hopping passengers and taking pictures.
the elevators . I had intended to do the five-point While there, Gar Williams made the classic statement
navy splice to the ends, but had to succumb to ig- of the week asking "Are you saving enough time on
norance and butter fingers, so swedges were used. that engine to get home?" We did, and old "Zeke"
A week after final assembly, I met Warren Cronce, is still popping along. It looks as though he will just
who could have done it for me blindfolded. rest this winter, but what will I do? Anyone know
I had been having trouble with the windshield of a Buhl Pup or a Curtiss Junior? We've grown very
cracking, so decided to put a curved set in it, by heat- fond of old "Zeke".
ing. Can you imagine what would happen if you forgot
about plexiglass being in an oven? Mary's no dummy
you know, and she warned me that that would hap-
pen sometime . (Fortunately it did not stick to the
Editor's Note: Gene Morris' Eaglet has become a
oven, but what a mess)!
fixture at most fly-ins in the two years that it has
The only reason I repainted the entire airplane,
been flying. He has obviously gotten more service
was so that I could put the NC back on it. When Ernie
out of the Szekely engine than was the practice
rebuilt it in 1970, only the N was legal. Authenticity
in the day that it was new. I have accompanied
was to be the uppermost throughout the project.
Gene to fly-ins with my 85 hp J3 Cub, and found
As the NC was put back on, the brakes were left off,
it to be a spritely little machine for its horse-
and the tails kid remained, which is a very flimsy
power. His whole family flies and enjoys this ma-
design - but original.
chine. It is a pleasure to see him in the air.
, We were amazed at how it taxies without brakes,
- AI Kelch
very nearly like a steerable tailwheel, unless there
is a wind, then it gets very exciting up to the point
5
Reserve Grand Champion
Ryan PT-22 (Tie)
"OUR RYAN"
By Tom Macario
410 Conestoga Rd.
Malvern, PA 19355
This article about a delightful, antique airplane,
starts back in March of 1973. I received a call, one
evening, from John Eney, an antique buff, who is
dedicated to restoring a Waco UPF-7. He called to
let me know that he planned to sell his Ryan ST3-KR
(PT-22) wh,ich he had purchased two months earlier
in upper New York State. At that time, John dis-
assembled the plane and trailered it down to Van
Sant's Airport in Erwinna, Pa ., where he put t he
Ryan in a sectioned off area in the back of the hangar,
with little space to work. When an opportunity to
buy a house with a large shop behind it came along,
and he needed money for a down payment, he de-
cided to sell the Ryan, and phoned me to see if I was
interested. I gave the offer much thought and asked
my wife, Kate (pilot for 33 yrs ., mother of 4 pilots
and 3 girls , bookkeeper and purchasing agent for
our "Macario Enterprises"), and three of our sons,
their OpInIOnS, as it had been only six months since
we completed our Pitcairn Mailwing restoration
(centerfold of SPORT AVIATION, June 1973) if they
were ready to undertake another antique restora-
tion. I told them how back in 1950, I recovered the
wings on a Ryan PT-22 belonging to a friend of mine,
and how well the airplane flew, reminding Kate of
the aerobatics we did in it when she was pregnant
with #1 son, Michael. My memories of that Ryan
were strong, so the die was cast! I called John Eney
and told him we would buy the Ryan. The following
week the Ryan was in our two-car garage, and the
work began.
The aircraft was in excellent condition with no
corrosion, whatsoever. The spars were well varnished
and looked like a new piano. We completely dis-
assembled every nut and bolt, gutted the fuselage,
removing everything that was bolted or screwed on,
leaving the bare shell. The interior skin was then
zinc chromated from tailpost to firewall by M9tthew
and Mark, our twins. The fuselage was put ~ c k to-
gether with all new control cables, new pulleys, new
ball bearings in controls, new bolts, and all . the ori-
ginal instruments were bench-tested and reinstaHed,
new placards and decals appli ed, just as the aircraft
rolled off Ryan's production line in 1942. The outer
skin had two red stripes down the side, which were
removed, and the beautiful, natural finish was hand-
polished to a mirror-like surface. The wings and tail
group were recovered with Ceconite, and finished
with 24 coats of Butyrate dope, wet-sanded and hand-
rubbed many times.
The engine had abou t 55 hrs. since overhaul and
looked to be in good shape. However, we checked
the compression and found that good, removed and
retimed both magnetos, removed all rocker arms
and checked their bearings, reset all valves, cleaned
all screens, removed oil tank and cleaned interior
and polished exterior. New landing gear shock struts
and brakes were purchased from Lou Leibee of Cal.,
new tires and tail wheel assembly installed, the air-
craft reassembled with all new bolts, new clevis pins
in all landing and flying wires, and rigged, using
the PT-22 Maintenance Manual. The ship was finished
as it was delivered to the U.S. Army Air Corps in
May 1942. The test flight on Nov. 14th, 1973 was per-
fect; the ship trimmed out and flew hands off! The
only adjustment made, was to increase the tension
on the right front landing wire, which tended to vi:
brate in cruise. The spinner prop, which Ole Fahlin
made for us, was very smooth, and the ship indicated
110 mph at 1600 rpm.
Kate and Tom.
Kate working on the PT-22.
Mark and Tom starting to reassemble the Ryan.
6
After reacquainting myself with the Ryan's aero-
batic capabilities: delightful loops, snap, slow and
barrel rolls, and spins, I thought I had better land
and start checking out the three boys, who for the
past eight months, had worked hard and long hours
for thi s moment. Michael, the oldest and who had
prenatal Ryan time, was first. With very few tail-
dragger solo hours in the Pitcairn Mailwing, I turned
him loose in the Ryan after three and a half hours of
stalls, spins, take-off and landings. The twins, Mat-
thew and Mark, who had no tail-dragger time, and
less than 100 hours in our Cessna 150, checked out
in five hours. This, to me, shows what a great, little
airplane and trainer, Claude Ryan built for our coun-
try. Our boys take great pleasure flying the thirty-
four year old Ryan to Air Shows and bringing home
awards and trophies, eight, so far. We were all thrilled
to receive the bust of Lindbergh trophy from the EAA
Fly-In at Oshkosh this year, for the Reserve Grand
Champion Vintage A ward.
Golden Age Champion
Swallow Mail Plane
By Buck Hilbert
8102 Leech Rd.
Union Grove, IL 60180
The Flight of the Swallow, The re-enact ment of
that first CAM flight April 6th, 1926 had a personal
motive other than United Airlines 50th birthday.
Not only was it the realization of a boyhood dream,
but it was a chance to show the heroes of my boy-
It would take the Spirit of St. Louis to rival the Swallow for lines of print.
hood that I did grow up and I could do the things
that they did. It placed me at an acceptable level where
I could now look them right in the eye.
When Lindberg flew over Rockford, Illinois in
1927, on tour with The "Spirit" after his epic flight ,
I was a goner. I caught the Airplane disease and was
lost forever. The Burlington R.R., where my Dad was
a Signal Engineer, lost forever their number one fan.
And from that time on, every other sentence I spoke
began or ended with AEROPLANE!
I rode my bicycle thrity to forty miles a day tour-
ing the airports around Chicago. I watched the planes
and the pilots who fl ew them until I could stand it
no longer, then I tried to get near enough to touch
them, to talk to the pilots, the mechanics, to the fel-
low watchers who also were lined up agai nst the
fence. That ski nny buck-toothed kid became the pest
at every airport, shop and hangar he could peddle
his bike to. I was chased away many times, encouraged
at other times, but mostly I was treated like what I
was, a nosey, pesky kid. There were times when I'd
be invited in and then made the butt of the left handed
monkey wrench joke, or maybe I'd be sent out for
a bucket of prop-wash. There were sweet moments
though, when I'd actually get to wash an aeroplane,
or get to sit in the cockpit of a derilect and actually
feel like a pilot. That made it all worthwhile.
Now forty-five or more years down life's road,
United Airlines has me flying the Swallow on tour
throughout the Midwest and Eastern parts of the
United States through the cities on United Airlines
System. At every United city along the way, the "Old
Timers" came out to see the airplane and to talk about
the old days. It's like having the shoe on the other
foot. Its ME who is now the one to be envied. The
PILOT they look UP to.
In a way, I feel real sad. At many of these places
I meet people who are legend to the modern aviators.
I am honored that they have come to see the Swallow
and that they now treat me as tho I were their equal.
I am one of them at last. I am allowed to share the
secrets because there are no secrets anymore. I know,
now, what they knew. But they are outside that fence
that I so longed to jump when I was that kid.
But I am not vegance bent, and at each stop I answer
each question. I take part in the jokes and my joy knows
no bounds because I can now talk with these people
with no status gap between us. I am accepted now
and I am grateful. I reciprocate in the only way I could.
I laud them in the presence of others, I laugh with
them over our often told old jokes, and best of all
I can go them one better, I give THEM rides in the
Swallow. I have my revenge. Sweeter better revenge
then I could hope for. I give them back a moment
of their youth. I see old men revive and become again
the idols of my youth. That is sweeter than any revenge,
and it brings a tear to my eye that can only be the re-
sult of happiness so great that I want to cry.
7
Majestic andbeautifulare the onlytwoadjectives I can thinkofto describe thismachine.
Silver Age Champion
Hamilton Metalplane H47
NC879H (current)
SPCLM
Serial number65
(22 of29 AircraftofThe Type Built)
Type Certificate #94
Owner:Jack Lysdale
Lysdale Flying Service
Fleming Field
South St. Paul, MN
Originally sold to the Canadian Forestry Service,
later owned by Joe Crosson of Northwest Air Service
based at Boeing Field, Washington, then owned by
John Milton Cross who operated out of Deering,
Alaska. Plane originally delivered on floats, but later
fitted with land wheels and used interchangeably
thereafter. During its service with Joe Crosson,
aircraft probably got its American registration of
N875H. Plane was last flown on July 10, 1947. Last
logbook entry by John Cross indicated 5183.3 hours
tolal time on the airframe.
The aircraft was removed from service, so the
story goes, because someone inadvertantly taxied,it
into the side of the hangar and bent the prop, broke
up an engine cylinder and some longerons. The plane
lay outside near Lake Hood close to Anchorage,
Alaska, until it was given to Northwest Airlines Captain
Harry McKee, who had it trucked to the Minneapolisl
St. Paul area. He had convinced the Northwest Air-
lines 20-year Club (old-timers at NW) that the plane
could be restored. The 20-year Club commenced
work on it in January of 1954, with their work con-
tinuing through April of 1955.
A move from st. Paul to Minneapolis in the offing,
work on the Hamilton project stopped. The parts were
moved to a farm south of St. Paul, owned by NW Cap-
tain Chuck Doyle. A little over a year later the parts
were moved by Jack Lysdale to Fleming Field, south
of St. Paul where they sat from the early sixties until
Jack finally acquired the parts from McKee and started
the real rebuilding in the fall of 1971.
Engine
PrattandWhitney HornetR-1690
Horsepower: 525 at1900rpm
The engine on the Lysdale Hamilton restoration
last ran in 1937, when it hung on one of Northwest
Airlines fleet Hamiltons. It was rebuilt in the North-
west engine shop by the shop foreman, Chet "Tiny"
Larson in the e.IJrly 1950's when they attempted to
restore the plane the first time. In the years following
that overhaul, the engine never ran, but somehow
acquired a cracked rocker box and some corroded
cylinders. In 1971 Tiny Larson again overhauled the
engine for Jack Lysdale and replaced the two bad
cylinders and the rocker box. A special rocker arm
installation tool had to be built.
In flight, the Hornet engine consumes approxi-
mately 25 gallons of gas per hour and one quart of
oil. At 50% power, the engine will propell the air-
plane at 105 miles per hour.
Airframe
Access Stands - To begin with, a large stand was
welded up to hold the fuselage. The stand was pro-
vided with wheels so the large structure could be
easily rolled from one part of the shop, where it was
being stripped and cleaned, to another where the
sheet metal could be worked on or the interior could
be dealt with. The wheels could be jacked up so that
the entire stand was immobilized for stability. A large
wind stand was made to hold one wing at a time. A
clever lazy susan was engineered to hold the cowling
nose cap. This was necessary for the burnishing of
circles in concentric lines and perfectly aligned rows.
The nose cap was .sanded, then the burnished
circles were put on witD a steel brush shortened and
wrapped tight. Itwas inserted in an electric drill which
rode on an arm over the lazy susan. Each row 'of circles
took 45 minutes to burnish. The total cowling group
had 19 separate pieces, of which 15 were made over
and carefully burnished. The nose cap was welded
and patched before burnishing. All new piano hinges
8
were made by Lysdale and they consumed 40 hours
of work alone. The louvres in the right and left hil nd
side pa nels were s til mped fr om a set of la mina ted
hardwood dies that required il single week to make.
The fir ewall was made new. The original, used
as a pattern only, had been weakened by dozens of
extra holes cut in the course of time. The new fir e-
wall was made from stainl ess steel.
The fuel tanks were mil de new using the old ones
ilS pa tt erns. Two 70 gil il on tanks requi red the use
oHurnpl ilte material, as that hild been used in the ori-
ginals. 11 would have been very eilsy and handy to
make them from aluminum, but Jack decided to sti ck
to th e ori ginal. Turn plate s teel had a lea d coa ting
to prevent rust. The old tank baffl es and fill er necks
were used. Compl etely new access covers fo r the
wings were fabri ca ted as were all of the stra ps, cush-
ion strips and turnbuckl es .
The sa me procedure was necessary for the ten
gallon oil tank that sits in the ri ght leading edge.
The fuselage itself, made of riveted open secti on
alcl ad, was di sassembl ed . The wings, semi ca ntil ever
with ri veted dural tubing spare were disa sse mbl ed
and clea ned . 2/ 3 of the corrugated skin was re placed
on fu sel age and wings. Alcoa aluminum had ori ginall y
rolled some 1500 feet of new skin for North west in
the ea rl y fifti es, and Jack acquired that from McKee.
The skin had been roll ed on special wooden di es to
the exact ori ginal pattern. An ori ginal 1929 corrugated
aluminum crimping tool was loca ted and thus Jack
was abl e to reproduce the precise edge crimp on the
new alcl ad panels.
As a matter of interes t, the window frame stamp-
ings were originall y done in 1929 from the 1927 Nas h
passenger sedan aut o window di es . Mr. Nas h had
a financial interes t in the Hamilton Company at that
time.
All 29 Hamilt ons of thi s type were indi viduals,
everyone being sli ghtl y di ffe rent from the next. Some
had piano-hinged leading edges, some had P-K screws
holding th e panels on . Jack Lysdale decided to use
the method that Northwest Airlines found mos t ef-
fici ent on their fl eet ships. Jack used screws and pl ate
nuts for these panels. Each wing needed 680 screws
and pl ate nuts, a nd each pl ate nut was secured by
two ri vets. As if thi s was not a big enough operati on,
all new lea ding edge ribs were built as the ori ginals
were weak from the mil ny hol es of larger and larger
sizes drilled in them over the course of time. To make
the small ribs, a specia l jig was built. They are alumi -
num ribs.
Shock strut s were di sassembl ed and rebuilt a nd
repl ated, ilJ1d magnilfl uxed. The origina l leil ther chev-
ron gil ske ts were repl.1Ccd wit h O- ring" fo r the sake
of safety and longer life.
Jack instil ll ed hydrauli c brakes. Though the pl'1ne
had not ori ginall y comc with them, since it was de-
li ve red o n fl oats, a nd the land-p la ne ve rs ion had
mecha ni ca l brakes, North wes t Ai rlines did put hy-
d rauli c bra kes on their Hamiltons in the ea rl y thi rti es.
Jac k used Goodyea r units, a nd had to milchine a
wrench fo r il djus tin g th e multipl e di scs. Jack also
had to machine mos t of the bra ke cylinder parts and
couplings .
Wheel and tire sizes were opti onal in 1930. When
he ilcquired it, the Hamilton had a pair of 36 x 8 Good-
year ti res a nd wheels, whi ch were simil ar to ori ginals.
Unfortunately the tires were unusabl e and new ones
could not be purchased or s pecial ord ered th rough
Goodyear. As a modifi ca tion, Northwes t's fl eet had
been given the larger 35 x 15 Goodyear air wheels for
soft fi elds. A pair of these tires was loca ted by attor-
ney Jim Schumacher. Stor y ha s it tha t these tires
were surplus to the Goodyea r Blimp program. With
such airwheels, it was necessary to modify the axles
of the pl ane to allow for a tread of 13' 7". New axle
exte nsions were shrunk ont o th e old axles with a
heliarc and magnalfuxed. The rear drag stru t had to
be sli ghtl y shortened to prevent a toe- in s ituati on.
Landing lights were a headache. Very few of the
ori ginal pi eces rema ined usabl e. New lenses were
molded from pl exi glas. Bulb holders, rims and re-
fl ectors were remade, as well as all the brackets and
fittings necessa ry to hold them. The lights were given
an o utward angle of illuminiltion beca use that' s the
way the ori ginal s were. The reason is that when land-
ing on the unimproved fi elds of its day, the Hamil-
ton pilot needed the peripheral view of the fi eld. His
foreward visability was fa irl y res tricted .
The pitot sys tem was made to dupli ca te the original.
The ri ser above the wing on the ori ginal was broken.
After the parts were made, they were cad pl ated to
duplica te the ori ginal. A brass venturi was very hard
to find , but one was eventuall y found and ins tall ed
to drive th e turn and ba nk indica tor.
Two fu el g uages are mount ed behind th e pil ot
a nd co-pil o t o n th e cockpit bulkhead . They are
simply glass tubes in which the fu el level is visibl e.
The compass, originally mounted on the same bulk-
head behind the pil ot and vi ewed through a mirror
system on the cont rol panel, was changed by North-
wes t Airl ines when they bega n ni g ht mail fl ights,
for the sake of better visibility.
Mounted benea th the pil ot' s sea t is a Pfi ster fi re
extingui sher, hard to get at in the event of an emer-
gency in the tiny cockpit, but nevertheless per original.
All ins trument s th at ca me with the pl a ne when
Lys dale got it were rebu ilt a nd re luminesced . The
ori ginal ins trument pa nel had several incorrect holes
cut into it through the years, and Lysda le made up
a new pa nel to d upli cil te the ori ginal. To supplement
the instruments he had, Lysdale had to find va ri ous
items he didn' t get.
The electrical sys tem hil d to be compl etely remanu-
factured as nothing of the original remained . The bat-
tery is under the co-pilot' s sea t where it was in the
ori ginal.
The plane had push-rod cont rols. Since some of
the original rods had rusted and bent, and some were
mi ssing altogether, a complete set of new ones were
built. The rudder, elevator and eleva tor trim control
rods pass through tubes that run across the length
of th e cabin ceiling.
The passenger cabin door was compl etely rebuilt.
It was first di sassembl ed, its frame rebuilt, the wooden
innards cut from hardwood , th e la tch mecha ni s m
replil ced . The windup mechani sm originally used was
probabl y purchased from the Ford comapny, beca use
upon exa minati on a Ford windup was found to be
identi cal, so " new" old Ford Model A window roll -
ups were put into the door, and the cabin window
on the right hand side as well. Once the door was
reskinned with corruga ted materi al and the glass re-
pl aced, the wooden fra me was rebuilt, stained, and
va rni shed as were all the other cabin wi ndows and
frames. Finall y a bra nd-new handl e was machined
from a solid pi ece of aluminum bl ock to the speci fica-
ti ons of the ori ginal a nd ins tall ed . The bacin entry
step was sca led from photos by Art Mills, welded up
and install ed, then safety- wired .
The baggage door was redone and the appro priate
placards painted on the inside.
Finall y, the inside was redone. To begin with, the
six passenger seil ts were remade. The originals, long
si nce having their ar mres ts cut off, had suffered the
slings and arrows of outra geous fo rtune, but could
be used as patterns.
A chair jig was meti cul ously assembled and the
proper sized tubing was cut, bent a nd welded. Thus
six new sea ts ca me into being.
Enter into the pi cture, Mr. Pa ul Vance, nati ve of
South St. Paul , retired, and a chair caning speciali st
by hobby. Paul did a mas terful job on the caning,
a precise du pli cate of th e originafs, whi ch coul d be
seen in pho togra p hs. When a loca l wood working
shop sugges ted a preservative for the caning, it be-
9
came disast er, with the caning turning color and
cracking. Paul Vance took the seats apart and caned
them a second time.
Atop the caning job came the seat cushions. They
and the interior panels that Lysdale had cut were
carefully upholstered in the original style and colors
by American Auto Trim of St. Paul. Since one of the
optional interiors of the Hamilton from the factory
had been a leatherette (the other was real leather),
naughahyde was used. New passenger grip pom-poms
were sought and how to replace them was a problem,
until one of the antique car buffs discovered that a
company in Edinburgh, Scotland, was making a
very similar item for the restoration of old Rolls-
Royces. They were ordered, and put in.
Floorboards of the original were terribly bent
and wrinkled, thus it was decided that in remaking
the m, a sli ghtly heavier guage material would be
used. Thus an .055 steel instead of the original .040
took their place. On top of them a carpet matching
the original was added. Finally seat belts of appro-
priate vintage are just now bei ng installed. Though
the Hamilton did not come from the factory with
seat belts, Northwest did add them later.
l:he fuselage was painted in silver Alumagrip
paint. Jack decided on thi s permanent finish instead
of leaving the ship bare metal. This concession, and
only a few others like the ELT and the strobes were
added in the interest of safety and durability in the
preservation of thi s rarest monplane in North Ameri-
ca. Jack did not put in a radio for purposes of keep-
ing as close to original as he could.
The logotype on the aircraft side was one of the
few things not touched by the Lysdale restoration.
It had been done at the time of the Northwest attempt
at restoration in the early fifties by Frank Toll. Frank,
who had passed away si nce then, was the ori ginal
painter for Northwest. It was he who had painted all
the logos on the Hamiltons and the Ford Trimotors
in the thirties. As Frank had done a fine job, the logos
were carefully masked and painted around, thus
preserving thi s fine tribute to the man, and adding a
real bit of authenticity to the bird.
The NC number NC879H was procurred to match
a Northwest fleet ship of the thirties. All of the mark-
ings on the Lysdale plane are exact duplicates of
Northwest's fleet number 27 aircraft. In order to get
this N-number, Jack found the owner of a Cherokee
to whom it had been re-issued and after paying for
the FAA transfer of numbers, the procurement of a
new number and the repainting of the Cherokee,
Jack was abl e to complete hi s plans.
A special towbar was manufactured to fit the ori-
ginal towing eyes on the Hamilton tailwheel. An early
post-war Ford tractor was painstakingly restored to
pull the towbar and haul the airplane in and out of
its Fleming Field hangar.
Finally, the ship was issued a permanent air-
worthiness certificate on July 28, 1975, and certified
in the Standard Normal category.
How does the airplane fly? One or two that have
flown it claim it handles with all the charm of a DC-3.
Jack thinks it is very similar to one of the big Travel
Airs of the thirties . Jack also reports that it gets off the
ground in less than 500 feet and that the engine doesn't
even get up to full power before the ship is airborne.
Economy cruise is around 105 mph. The plane is very
stable, in fact Jack smiles when he tells of his fears
that it wouldn't be a good flying airplane, and that he
would have a hangar queen on his hands after the
restoration. It is a pleasure to fly, he reports.
The rudder is slightly heavy and the ailerons are
very light. It is, however, easy to overcontrol and the
power technique must be mastered. In the cockpit
bulkhead a normal conversation can be carried on.
It is tight and fairly warm up front also. The passenger
cabin is roomy and the seats are marvelously com-
fortable.
Northwest Airlines hired Jack to fly and feature
the Hamilton in a promotional film geared for their
travel agents. Jack spent a week during the summer
of 1975 fl ying in and out of a small grass field for the
cameras.
In August of 1975 the ship flew to the AAA na-
tional convention at Blakesburg and won the Grand
Championship, along with four o ~ h r trophies . That
trip was certainly the highlight of the Hamilton career
and of Jack Lysdale's as well.
In July of 1976 the ship was flown to the Oshkosh
EAA convention and won the Silver Age Champion,
trophy (1928-1932) .
Editor' s Note: Jack Lysdale is to be commended
for his fortitude in tackling such a project as the
Hamilton. It is unfortunate this article could not
contain the biographies and the credits to the
men who helpedin this restoration, butspace did
not allow it. The article was written by Noel Al-
lard, who followed the projectfrom its instigation,
to completion. It is truly awe inspiring to realize
how much work ofperfectionist quality has gone
in to the makingofthis historicbigmotherbird.
- AI Kelch
Silver Age Runner Up
Waco QCF-2 - N11427
ByLee Parsons
5043 Kensington RoadN.E.
Carrollton, OH 44615
I purchased my Waco QCF-2 from Bill Gieb of
Strongsville, Ohio on September 1, 1962, thus end-
ing a long and frustrating search for an open biplane
in good, flying condition.
At the time of purchase, I didn't fully realize what
a fine aircraft I had happened onto. After a few hours
of flying I knew that all the fine things that I had
heard about the F-2 were true and then some.
The sensations of flying it were exactly what I
had always felt flying should be like, but until I flew
the F-2 I had begun to think that an airplane of such
performance was just a left over boyhood dream of
what flying an airplane would be like.
Such an attachment, brought about the realiza-
ti on that later it would have to be restored. I began
10
to collect both parts and knowledge to be prepared
for the coming day of reckoning.
At the fly-ins I would pick out the airplanes that
impressed me most, and try to determine if any of
the ideas used on their restoration could be adapted
to my aircraft. I felt it prudent to stick with ideas
proven by usage on someone elses aircraft. Over the
years, my "WACO INFO" notebook was filled to
overflowing.
Hundreds of hours of operation of my own air-
plane made it evident that there were numerous modi-
fications which were desirable.
The question of what type of fabric and finish to
use was slowly answered by Vince Mariani and the
beautiful restoration of his VKS-7F. Each year, it
defied the predictions of those who claimed that its
fantastic 30 coat finish would crack and peel. Vince
was most helpful in patiently answering my ques-
tions. Few people are willing to go to the extremes
of pointing out the mistakes that they made on their
airplane as Vince did.
Cliff DuCharme provided much of my 220 Con-
tinental engine education, and eventually agreed to
build up a custom engine from new surplus parts to
my specifications. Unfortunately, this was to be one
of the last engines Cliff would build up prior to his
untimely death.
As the time for starting the restoration approached,
I asked my friend, Jim Shannon who is an AI and a
natural born mechanic, if he would assist me with
the restoration. Not realizing what he was getting
into, Jim agreed and during the month of October
1970 we di sassembled the aircraft and prepared to
start the restoration. It had given me 8 years and ap-
proximately 650 hours of pleasure and ample time to
prepare for its restoration.
The fuselage needed the most work, so that is
where we began. The fuselage was stripped, sand-
blasted and every weld dye checked, and the same
for the landing gear and tail surfaces . The brakes
and landing gear were completely rebuilt, including
replacing the shock strut packing riut with a newly
designed nut utilizing "0" rings. All tubing was
primed and painted in the original Waco gray. Two
applications of hot tube oil were injected into all
tubular structures.
At about this point in the project (Spring of '71),
I was fortunate enough to purchase a property with
a 2500' licensed landing strip. This necessitated sell-
ing my house and moving, building a hangar, pre-
paring the long-neglected landing strip for use, etc.
One of my new neighbors, Raymond Guess, was
found to have a very well-equipped sheet metal shop.
Raymond's assistance with the new stainless firewall
and other sheet metal work filled a need that I had
been unable to fulfill prior to moving. Work was again
underway.
With the exception of the turtle deck aft of the
rear cockpit, all new wood was used. The luggage
compartment door and the headrest fairing were the
only sheet metal parts to be reused.
Waco's method of anchoring metal cowlings and
fairings with wood screws, screwed into wood fair-
ing blocks taped to the longerons, was replaced by
extruded aluminum angle strips fastened to the long-
erons.
The landing gear was reinstalled, along with the
old engine and center section. Now all new fuel and
oil lines were made up and installed and all engine
controls and instruments were hooked up.
I decided to go first class and install a Mott in-
terior. Waco had failed to provide access to the space
between the interior liner and the outside fabric, you
had to cut through the interior material or cut through
the outside fabric cover. Having faced this option on
several occasions, I installed the new interior on thin
2024-T3 panels that could be removed to provide ac-
cess for ip.spection and maintenance. These panels,
along with the rear bucket seat, the old front seat
installation and various other patterns were then
Color scheme is exactly the same as AI Williams' Gulfhawk. "Well he copied it from a Waco."
flown to Fort Wayne, Indiana so that Ned could work
his "Mott Magic" on them.
With the fuselage nearing completion, I had still
not found a way to punch satisfactory louvers in the
forward fuselage cowl panels . Through regular cor-
respondence with Dick Jackson of Rochester, New
Hampshire, who owns a whole squadron of Wacos,
one of which is an F-2 under restoration, it became
evident that I had the prints and an old section of
original Waco louvers plus some firewall forward
parts excess to my needs, which Dick needed for his
F-2. At the same time, he knew of someone who could
make up the badly needed louver punch. The obvious
trade was negotiated and my blank panels were sent
to Dick to have the louvers pressed in them.
When my panels came back, they had some of the
most perfectly formed louvers of exact original dimen-
sions that you could ever hope to see. It made fitting
the panels one of those "extra care" jobs, as I certainly
didn' t want to goof up. After much trimming and
forming, these beauties were fastened in place with
quick release type fasteners. Progress now hit a tem-
porary snag, as Jim and I took time to admire what
was beginning to look like a Waco s h O l ~ l d
However, our head scratching sessions weren't
over, as we still hadn't thought of any satisfactory
method of making the tail wheel steerable and at the
same time retaining the capability of free swiveling
11
for easy ground handling of the aircraft.
With much head scratching, ingenious engineer-
ing and patience, we designed a full swivel conver-
sion for the existing tail wheel assembly.
With this success, the fuselage was set aside to
allow the start of work on the wings and center sec-
tion. The wings were uncovered and inspected. With
the exception of beefing up the wing walk, very little
was required other than the routine sanding and a
couple of coats of polyurethane varnish. My oldest
son, Doug, was a big help, as he did much of the sand-
ing and varnishing, while I proceeded with other
things.
With the wings ready for cover, my wife, Donna,
got into the act by sewing up the Ceconite slip covers,
which were carefully shrunk to the proper tautness
and the doping sequence was begun. Three coats of
nitrate for adhesion, followed by seven more coats
of clear butyrate non-tautening build up, and ten
coats of silver, sanded by Donna and I until our fin-
gers bled. (Those silver coats are where you get the
base for a fine finish.) This was followed by ten coats
of color butyrate.
I chose not to use the original color scheme, as
there are so many other Wacos with this same ver-
million color scheme. With the help of the staff of
the EAA Museum, I copied the AI Williams Gulfhawk
color scheme exactly. After all, as the story goes, he
copied the color scheme from a Waco Taperwing!
I intended to rub the finish out to a high gloss.
At least ten coats of color would lead to an unaccept-
ably thick dope film in places along with a very pro-
nounced ridge at the edge of each color change.
Therefore, Jim and I decided to mask off the de-
sign and spray the ten coats of orange, pull the tapes
off, mask over the orange and where the blue would
go and spray the ten coats of white, then remask and
finally spray the blue in the channel remaining be-
tween the orange and white. This resulted in each
color being applied directly to the underlying silver
coats, giving an even dope film and after being rubbed
out, with no noticeable ridge between colors. Now I
know why you don't often see a three-color dope fin-
ish.
The wings were completed during November of
1974. It was a real morale booster to see the wings
safely stored in my own barn.
The fuselage was now prepared for cover. The fuse-
lage was replaced on the homemade jig, which al-
lowed it to be rolled 360
0
for easy access to all sur-
faces.
It was then covered in the same manner as the
wings. The tail surfaces and gear legs were covered
and finished at the same time.
With the doping completed, the rubbing out of
the finish began. Three cuts of rubbing compound
were used with a power polisher, using a lambs wool
bonnet, followed by a good buffing, with just good
clean water. A final coat of polishing compound was
applied by hand to eliminate any swirl marks left by
the polisher. All this was topped off by two heavy
coats of Blue Coral Wax. The polishing wore out one
power polisher and most of my family.
The fuselage was now reassembled for a final time
and transported to my newly completed hangar. The
center section was mounted and rigged along with
the tail group. Friends Raymond Guess and John Mc-
Lain assisted Jim and me in the hanging of the wings.
Several days of the usual last minute preparations
readied the plane for the engine run-in, and none too
soon. It was now late May, 1976 and the '76 Waco F1y-
In was coming up fast. This was the goal, to be ready
for this Memorial Day weekend get together of the
Waco clan. The time finally came when we couldn't
think of anything else to do prior to running all in the
engine.
It was a real thrill to hear the 220 Continental come
to life amid a cloud of preservative oil smoke. How-
ever, as the rpm increased, it became evident that
the oil pressure wasn't coming up as it should.
It was decided the engine had to be pulled and I
hauled it to Bernie Hogan, one of the most respected
radial engine mechanics that I know of. I wanted the
opinion of the very best. Once we had the rear case
off, we found there was a plug missing from one of
the internal oil passages.
Flying the F-2 to the Waco Fly-In, our original goal,
was now out of the question.
I returned home with the engine and Jim and I re-
installed it and I resumed the run-in program. I was
now ready for that long-awaited first flight. This
came June 23, 1976.
I cannot properly describe the thrill of returning
this fine aircraft to the sky. The flight was letter per-
fect and the only adjustment required was a slight
realignment to the top left tail wire, to eliminate a
tendency to vibrate at cruise speed.
51/2 long years of devoting every spare moment to
the complete restoration of a fine aircraft had passed.
It was difficult to believe that it was now over. No
more driving two hours each day that I wanted to
work on the plane. I had reached the goal of having
my own restored F-2 awaiting me in my own hangar,
on my own airstrip.
Fuselage prior to being disassembled for application
ofcover.
Fuselage during rigging ofcenter section and tail sur-
faces.
It was a long hard grind with a good many sacri-
fices along the way. Any form of a normal family life
was impossible to maintain. About the only time that
I saw my wife and kids was when they helped me on
the plane. A special recognition of their understand-
ing and assistance must be made.
The same recognition must be given to Jim Shan-
non whose patient guidance and experi.enced assis-
tance made it possible for me to see the job through.
Without his assistance, I would not have been able to
undertake such a task, let alone achieve the results
that we were able to by working together.
Beyond these two special recognitions, I can only
say a humble thanks to the many friends who assisted
me along the way.
The rest is history, having won bushels of trophies
inc\uding Runner Up Silver Age at Oshkosh, Grand
Champion at Blakesburg, Grand Champion at Marion,
Ohio and Grand Champion at Tulsa.
Silver Age - Outstanding
Open Cockpit Biplane
1928 Waco ASO #N6930
Dale and Dean Crites (Twins)
By Dale Crites
Waukesha, WI 53186
In the Fall of 1969, I acquired the remains of what
was to turn out to be a J5 Waco Whirlwind A.S.O.
ThisWacocameoutofthefactoryasaWacolOWA.T.O.
(Taperwing), powered with a Wright J4 Whirlwind in
June 1928, Serial #A-14. As years wentby, and hours
accumulated, modifications came about. The landing
gear was changed to a bulldog gear, with the air over
oil shock struts, the J-4 was removed for the better
model J5. The taperwings disappeared and straight-
wings were bolted on (the taperwings and straight-
wings areidentical otherthan wingstructure).
The airplane came with 3 beat up wings, no cen-
ter section and a lot of parts missing, which had to
be manufactured from drawings obtained from EAA
and the Smithsonian. The fuselage tubing was re-
Dale andDean Crites Waco Straightwing.
placed from the.rear cockpit aft, including tail posts-
there were no cowlings, gas tank, struts or flying
wires available. With the help of many friends like
Royal Woodchrik, of Texas, with some J5 parts, and
thepartsthatDeanandIhadsavedfrom thetwoiden-
tical Wacos that we flew barnstorming in 1935 and
1936, we came up with a beautiful running engine.
Dean did all the work of the rebuilding of the J5 and
builta newcentersection in his basement.
With Dean and I, and some dedicated help on
weekends, we were able to do the rebuilding and
modification of the wings, and recover job with Grade
A fabric. We used butyrate dope and repainted the
airplane in exactly the same color scheme as our 1936
barnstorming planes. These were still in their original
colors from the factory, and we had adequate pictures
to go by.
With all this work done, we cranked up the J5,
and it flew like a bird, getting offas fast as a Cub and
climbing out even faster. It operated just like it used
to when we flew out of little pastures carrying pas-
sengers. The admiration of people who come to see
it and take a ride in a 1928 biplane is a great satisfac-
tion to us. We have barnstormed this airplane and
already have 300 hours time on it. We have won a
trophy for each time it has been shown. Almost every
Sundayin the summer when the weather is nice, you
willfind usatAeroParkhaulingpassengersfrom dawn
to dusk, just like the good old days . We've even de-
veloped a lot of regular customers. The whole pro-
ject has been a great satisfaction and the old Waco
straightwing is still the best flying barnstormer air-
plane that was ever made.
..
From leftareshown the crewthathelpedin therestora-
tion from a severe basketcase to a winner. Dean Crites,
Robert Felzing, Woodrow Lund, Dale Crites, Harry
Peterson andJohn Higgins.
Below Dale and Dean come home with the bacon the
first time out. Burlington Fly-In 1975.
13
Silver Age . Outstanding
ClosedCockpitMonoplane
Star Cavalier N14860
By GaryHanson
4352 NicolletAve. So.
Minneapolis, MN55409
I'd like to thank the AntiquelClassic Division for
the award given to my Star Cavalier. I' m sure you
know the thrill of getting a trophy after all the work
that is required to get to the fl y-ins.
The early history of my Cavalier is mi ssing, and
I' m now in the process of tryi ng to fill it in. After much
res earch, including visits with Billy Parker, former
president and co-designer of the Star Aircraft Co. ,
it's been determined that my Cavalier was built late
in 1928. The plane was destroyed by fire in the Okla-
homa City area in 1932. At that time, all of the rec-
ords, including the N number disappeared. The paper-
work I have begins in 1936 when the ship was totally
rebuilt by the Fanta-Reed Air Service of La Crosse,
Wisconsin. The ship has been in the Minneapolis
area, and flying fairly regularly si nce the late 1930's.
My father, Wally Hanson, who never held a pri-
The appropriatesign behindthestrutreads "Flown in the MemoryofWally Hanson" .
The Star Cavalier held its own at Oshkosh, attract-
ing its share ofattention. Its rarity made a guessing
game of" whatis it?".
vate license due to a long history of heart trouble,
bought the Cavalier in 1951, because he felt sorry for
it. He saw it sitting outside at the airport, suffering
from negligence, bought it, and brought it home. After
the usual delays and tinkering, he had it flying again
in 1957. It was recovered to its present appearance in
1970. Wally died in March of 1971 and I have been
flying it in his memory since. It's the only known fly-
ing Star Cavalier out of 38 built. The Star Aircraft
A Star Cavalier has neverbeen hard to identify- the
unusualtail ,squatgearandparallelstrutsgiveitaway.
Company was based at Phillips Airfield at Bartles-
ville, Oklahoma>. Even though the company was fi-
nanced by the Phillips Petroleum Company, the Cava-
lier could not compete with the ever popular Mono-
coupe, and halted production in 1932.
I would be very interested in hearing from any-
one concerning a Star Cavalier being destroyed by
fire in Oklahoma in 1932 - filling in the missing his-
tory from 1928 to 1932 would make quite a story.
14
Contemporary Age
1933-1946
Rearwin Sportster N20723
By AlfredNagel
Rt. 3, Box41
Montello, WI 53949
h i ~ story began with an ad in a Chicago news-
paper listing "a basket case" Rearwin Sportster for
sale. Two years had gone by since my friend, Ken
Gatzke, and I finished the. construction of a "Corben
Jr. Ace" homebuilt. Ken and I have both been interest-
ed in antique airplanes for some time, so when Ken
ran across the ad for the Rearwin, he called me to see
if I might be interested in working on another air-
craft project. He also informed me that he wouldn't
have time to work very much on this aircraft, but if
I wanted to restore it, he would buy the project and
pay all expenses for the restoration. How could I go
wrong on a deal like that? I do the work and own half
interest in the completed aircraft.
Well, when we unloaded all the parts of a com-
pletely disassembled Rearwin Sportster, I was be-
ginning to wonder if this craft would ever fly again.
The workmanship ofAINagelwassuperb.Atpresstime we hadnotlocateda picture. The final resto-
ration results were beautiful.
It was even worse than I expected a 1938 airplane
would be, after last flying in 1959. It had been stored
in Florida since 1959, and as a result, all the wood
was rotten, and several metal parts on the wings were
badly rusted. The fuselage tubing didn't look too bad,
but I found some rusted out tubes after sandblasting.
I started the restoration in the fall of 1970, and
since I was going to do all the work at home in my
limited space basement, I decided to rebuild the wings
first. Completed wings Can be hung up to the base-
ment ceiling to allow room to work on the fuselage
and tail group later. The 5 cylinder 85 hp LeBlond en-
gine was also torn down and came in a large wood
box. Since" I am not an A&P mechanic, I turned the
engine rebuild job over to Mr. Kenneth Long, who
worked at the Waupun, Wisconsin airport. He was
my instructor when I took flight instructions. Mr.
Long is also an A&P mechanic. He rebuilt the engine
at his home. 'The engine required new rings, valves,
valve springs, cylinders honed, new oil pump gears,
new timing gear, master rod bearings rebuilt, new
valve guides. Ken Williams also helped on several
occasions with the engine rebuild.
Going back to the aircraft rebuild, the wings were
the first items worked on. They were not much more
than patterns for building new wings. The right wing
was built completely new, and the left wing was re-
built using the existing spars and all new ribs. Some
metal wing fittings had to be made new from 4130
sheet steel. It was two years of spare time work be-
fore both wings were ready for cover.
Since I do not know of any p.lans or manuals availa-
ble for the Rearwin Sportster, the fuselage proved to
be the most difficult part to rebuild. All the wood
fairings were missing, so some research was required
to get the right shape. After sandblasting the fuse-
15
lagc, it was necessary to replace the lower rusted
longerons from the tailpost forward for about 5 ft.
Some other cross tubes on the bottom truss were also
replaced. Parts of the control sys tem linkage were
missing, so new parts were built up. The cabin door
was so badly rusted, it had to be built new. It is all
steel tubing so didn't prove to be too difficult.
Other items requiring rebuild on the fuselage in-
cluded repair of the landing gear fittings to take care
of elongated bolt holes, new instrument panel and
instruments, new floor boards, repaired broken steel
tube on front seat frame, repaired window frames,
building new windshield frames using fiber-glass,
since the old frames were compound curves .
The tail group requi red very little work. After
sandblasting, I replaced the tail brace wire lugs and
some tubing on the bottom of the rudder traili ng edge.
The tail wheel spring was missing so I made up a set
of springs from a 108 Stinson. Just had to cut the leaf
springs to different lengths.
The fuselage required one year of spare time work,
so we now have 3 years time spent so far.
The wing lift struts required very little repair, so
it was now time to assemble the bones and see if it
will pass pre-cover inspection. The inspection was
done after new fuel lines from the wing tanks were
installed and checked for leaks. No changes were
required on the inspection, so the old Rearwin was
now ready for cover.
The aircraft was covered with Grade A cotton and
nitrate dope up through silver. A total of 10 coats of
dope seemed to be enough to give the amount of fab-
ric fill I wanted. The aircraft was then painted Napa
yellow, with dark blue trim.
Next, the engine was ins talled, and parts of the
cowling had to be made new, due to cracks in the old
pi eces. The propeller is original and I refinished it
as best I could. By now it was April 1974, 4 years since
I started this project, and getting close . to completion.
The first moment of truth was when we first tried to
run the engine. It started up easily, but would not
take throttl e above 1000 rpm. It seemed to run too
lean at higher speeds. After going through the Hol-
ley carbo 4 times, I finally found the mixture jet closed
off with a small piece of lint. I even wrote to Holley
Carbo Co., and received from them copies of every-
thing they still had on file on the model 419 and 429
carbs. Their detail explanation of how the carbo works
put me on the right track of what to look for. After
getting the carbo working right, and using different
timing settings, the engine now runs very good. I
found that 26 B.T.C. is just right for the 85 hp Le-
BeautifulnewwingsforAINagel to fly on.
Blond. It seems to run very easy at that setting, and
fuel consumption is 5 gph at 2025 cruise rpm.
Ground running the engine for 5 hours at short
time intervals and different speeds was completed
before the first flight. Mr. Ken Williams of Portage,
Wisconsin, was selected to be the test pilot, since he
also owns and flies a Rearwin Sportster. The test
flight was conducted and the only problem was slight
right wing heaviness, which was quickly remedied
with wing strut adjustment. The aircraft now flies
very well and is a real pleasure to fly. I would highly
recommend a Rearwin Sportster as an antique pro-
ject to anyone. There is not very much cost, and a
real joy to own and fly . The aircraft was completed
in 1974 and flown to the EAA meet at Oshkosh. The
antique judges must have liked it, since it was award-
ed " Reserve Grand Champion" in 1974. The same
award again in 1975, and Contemporary Age Champi-
on in 1976, which is best in class for aircraft in 1933
to 1946 age group.
I also was awarded the Rearwin Family Trophy at
Blakesburg, Iowa. in 1974. When I tell people that this
is a $2500 airplane, they don't believe it. The "basket
case" cost $1000, and $1000 was required to rebuild
and recover it, $500 was spent to rebuild the engine.
Of course, thi s cos t has no labor costs involved -
no work was farmed out.
I operate the Rearwin from a 1900 ft. grass strip,
with obstructions on both ends. I have never used
more than half the runway length. The Rearwin will
carry two 200 pound people with full fuel tanks, with
no noticeable loss in performance. It has a fuel capa-
city of 24 gallons in two 12 gallon wing tanks. Cruise
is 95 mph with a full load. Climb seems to be about
600 ft. per minute at full load.
I am very pleased with the aircraft, and haven't
found any other antique I would rather own for the
amount invested.
ContemporaryAge
Runner-Up
Piper Cub Coupe14
#NC26716
ByDan Kulman
166 RosemontDr.
Coraopolis, PA 15108
To my friend, Dave Coller, and I, who have been
looking at and admiring airplanes practically all our
lives, the trip to Oshkosh is a really great experience.
We had gone to Oshkosh '71 and came back with the
desire to build somethi ng or rebuild something. We
were impressed with what we saw and determined to
see if we could measure up to it all.
A few months later we located a basket case Piper
J4A 1940 model with a Continental 65. This airplane
was a real challenge because it needed every kind
of rebuilding that can be done. From replacing tub-
ing that had filled with water, frozen and burst, to
sending the cylinders away to be ground oversize, it
all had to be done.
16
We decided to go for authenticity as much as prac-
ticable and kept the airplane as we thought it must
have been when it came off the assembly line in 1940.
The maroon color is the same as we found under sev-
eral coats of paint, and the stripe on the sides of the
fuselage and wheel pants were copied from pictures.
New cowling doors were made using the old hinges.
Many hours were consumed ironing the dings in the
nose bowl and other cowling parts. New baffles were
fabricated for the A65. The cabin doors are lucky to
be saved because they were really shook up. They
are good now, thanks to welding and riveting and
fabricating new sliding windows. Strut fairings were
hammered out of soft 032 aluminum.
On arrival at Oshkosh '76 we were pleased to com-
plete the journey from Herron Airport near Pitts-
burgh with no problems. It was nice to talk to admir-
ing people who stopped by to look at our Cub Coupe
and take pictures of it. Some commented that it was
just as they remembered it 35 years ago. This was re-
ward enough. We couldn't stay the whole Convention
through to the end so we took off Thursday morning
for our return to Pennsylvania.
Ten days later a letter and a trophy came in the
mail. We were surprised and elated.
We will recommend this fun to anybody who is
hanging in the balance. Get started. Or if you have
already started, press on, and if you have a friend in
the project with you, you will be doubly rewarded.
This Cub Coupe was a real challenge because
it needed every kind of rebui lding that can be
done!
The comments that Cub Coupe NC26716 was just as they remembered i t 35 yews ago were reward
enough for the effort.
ContemporaryAge
OutstandingOpen Cockpit
Biplane --:- Stearman N44JP
OWNER: Charlotte W. Pari sh, Tullahoma, TN
October, 1972, my husband made a business trip
to Jamaica. During a layover in Kingston he was look-
ing around on the f1jght line when he came across a
Stearman needing a lot of TLC. The prop was bent,
engine corroded, wood in wings rotten and fabric
hanging. After quite a bit of negotiation, the plane
was purchased and transported by air freight and
truck to Tullahoma, TN as a Christmas gift to me. Ha!
The project began by completely disassembling it.
Every nut, bolt, and screw came off. The metal was
s"lndblasted, cleaned and primed with epoxy and all
the wood was replaced and finished with spar varnish.
New wings and center section were purchased from
Bob Yankin of Fayetteville, Arkansas. The entire air-
craft was covered with grade A cotton fabric and fin-
ished with Butyrate dope. One hundred sixty-five gal-
lons of dope, enamel and thinner were used. The
paint scheme was taken from a November 1943 copy
17
of National Geographic Magazi ne, page 544.
The aircraft was finished and test flown on my birth-
day - July 19, 1974, by Capt. W. C. "Dub" Yar-
brough, U.S.N. Ret. His report was a good one. It
flew hands off with no rigging adjustments neces-
sary.
Paperwork and inspection was completed on July
29, 1974, by the Nashville FAA office. (This was neces-
sary because the airworthiness certificate was can-
celled when the aircraft was taken to Jamaica.) The
next morning Bob Graves and I took it on the first
long cross-country - Oshkosh!
At last a two year project was completed. Hours
and hours were spent by many of the "Tull ahoma
Bunch" who made it possible for this plane to fly
again . All the credi t goes to them.
To date it has made three trips to Oshkosh and
averages being flown a little over 100 hours each year.
ContemporaryAge
Outstanding
Closed Cockpit Biplane
1933-1946
1941WacoVKS-7F#N31653
By Vince Mariani
500 W. Sandusky St.
Findlay, Ohio 45840
For a better view of N31653 see the cover of VINTAGE February 1976.
1941 Waco UKS N31653 taken at Oshkosh 1976.
The aircraft was built in 1941 was a VSK-7 and
later converted to a VKS-7F by Waco in 1944 (F in-
dicat es a standard cabin with flaps) . This airplane
was used by Waco as their executive airplane until
1949. I purchased the Waco in 1963 and took 3 years
to rebuild it. (approx. 3,000 hours of labor). New top
wings were built, cowling, wheel pants were hammered
out from almost nothing. Also, I put in new interiors.
The aircraft was covered with Ceconite, plus 30 coats
of CAB, hand rubbed out. I did most all of the work
myself, with the exception of welding. It was my
first aircraft restoration.
I test flew the Waco in July 1966, and it trimmed
out perfect. Since then, I have flown it approx. 1000
.hours, attending most all of the fly-ins the past 10
years. It has been almost trouble free, with the
exception of an engine overhaul, at which time I in-
stalled roller bearings in the 220 Continental, coupled
with a balance crank assembly. This makes for one fine
smooth engine. It uses 1 pint of oil per hour, and
about 111/2 gallons of fuel per hour. This gives it a
cruise of 120 mph.
To me, this is one of the finest cabin biplanes ever
built. Like all antiques, you have to pay attention to
cross winds.
18
OutstandingContemporary
Age Open Cockpit
Monoplane
Ryan PT-22 #N47210
By Kent McMakin
425 Center St.
Rockton, IL 61072
It was one evening about two years ago when my
father, Don, mentioned to me, "Hey, I drove by the
Stoughton, Wisconsin airport today and saw a PT-22
sitting out there. Did you know it was there?"
"Yes," I replied. "It's been there a couple of years
slowly going downhill. It's supposedly for sale."
"Why didn't you tell me it was there?"
"I didn't think you would be interested in a Ryan."
Well, about two weeks later it was sitting in our
backyard. We really didn't need another airplane. My
dad and a partner had a Bonanza at the local airport,
and a Minicab homebuilt project progressing steadily
in the basement that he'd been working on for a few
years. And I have a Waco 10 restoration that was
progressing very slowly at the time. But now dad
had a 1941 Ryan PT-22, N47210, needing a complete
restoration. The Minicab's completion date was still
One of the most interesting times of the fly-in was sitting beside the plane and talking to the people
who came to admire it!
a couple of years off and the Waco would not be done
for another decade or two. So we decided to devote
our full attention to the Ryan. We figured it would
take about eight or nine months of steady work, but
it actually took a year and nine months. Oh well.
We agreed from the start that the PT should be
restored to its stock configuration with military paint.
We started out with the fabric work covering all
the surfaces with Ceconite. The only real headache
during the recovering process was wearing out three
for four small Phillips screwdrivers on the zillions of
little screws that hold the fabric down. It is good
wrist therapy though.
Next came the Kinner R-56 engine. The logs showed
560 hours SMOH but with a couple of weak jugs and
a couple of years of inactivity, a complete major over-
haul was in order. The old Kinner proved to be an
easy engine to overhaul at home. The only tool we
had to make was a thrust nut wrench and the only
one we had to buy was a valve spring depresser tool.
We obtained all of our engine parts from the Carl F.
Baker Co. They provide fast service and reasonable
prices.
After the engine came the part that was no fun
at all, the fuselage. As with most war-time Ryans,
the green chromate prime inside the fuselage was
chipped and worn. In order to reprime it and do it
right, everything had to come out. Anything that
wasn't rivited down was eventually laying on the
basement floor. The stub wings, main gear and tail
wheel were also removed.
The inside of the fuselage was sanded and reprimed
with the aid of a good spray gun. If you are planning
on doing this to your Ryan, be sure to wear a painters
face mask and use a small fan for ventilation., especially
when you crawl down towards the tail end of that big
aluminum tube. If you don't, you'll come bailing out
spittin' and gaggin' just like dad did.
The landing gear and tail wheel assembly were
cleaned and rebuilt, then painted with DuPont silver
Don McMakin, owner, running up the engine for i
first time.
19
acrylic enamel. This paint will provide a beautiful
finish and will not chip off from landing on fields
with tall grass.
The brakes, if you want to call them that, were
rebuilt new all the way through with new linings,
brake cylinders and master cylinder inerds. Brake
parts, and also decals for fuselage interior, can be
obtained from Lou Leibee of Selma, Calif.
As with most lengthy restorations, if it weren't
for a little help from your friends, your pride and joy
would probably still be in your garage instead of in
your hangar. One such person that helped us immensely
is Dick Varnell of Beloit, Wis. Dick is a retired machinist
and could devote a lot of time towards the PT, which is
exactly what he did. He completely rebuilt the steer-
able tailwheel, that was a full swivel one when he got
hold of it. Dick also refurbished the rusted out trim
actuating assembly, the brake system, and refinished
the flying wires, along with a million other things.
Whenever there was something' to be done on the
Ryan, he was right there chomping at the bit.
And while I'm on the subject of good friends,
promise them anything when it comes time to polish that
fuselage. But long before we could do any polishing,
we had to strip the coat of clear lacquer that some
unkind person had sprayed on years before. What a
mess. Next came the Aluminum Jelly to clean the metal
and eat up any corrosion. Then we polished it with
Met-All and elbow grease.
Finally the time came to put everything back to-
gether. The plane soon was back on its feet with the
fresh Kinner hanging on its nose. Starting the engine
for the first time was a real ego boost due the fact
that it caught on the first hot pull.
According to the Ryan erection manual, the wings
should be rigged on a level surface. The only such
surface nearby was the driveway. So why not put
it together in the front yard in the middle of town
and let people wonder how we were going to get it
out to the airport. It sat out front for a couple of weeks
while we put the finishihg touches on it and to get it
licensed. During that time there sure were a lot of
sight-seers and rubber neckers eyeing over that old
airplane. Some people would drive around the block
a few times, just to get another look. One lady stopped
by and asked if we were fixing it up to put in the Bicen-
tennial 4th of July parade. It was tough trying to keep
a straight face.
The local police said they would help us when it
came time to move the plane out to the Wagon Wheel
Airport on the south edge of town. So it was before
daylight on Saturday morning when several bleary-
eyed friends rolled in for the big move. It turned out
it wasn't as big a move as we figured. We only held
up two cars and we were there in fifteen minutes.
The next week or so was spent putting some run-in
time on the engine and bleeding the brakes a few dozen
times.
Soon the big day came. It was a beautiful July
evening when Ron Rippon dropped in with his Cessna
140. Dad and I elected to let Ron make the first flight.
I had very little taildragger time and my dad hadn't
flown one for years. Ron is an excellent pilot and at one
time owned a couple Ryans, so he was the right man
for the job. Incidentally, Ron will soon be finishing
a restoration job on his Howard DGA and it. will
undoubtably be one of the best Howards in thecoun-
try.
Ron blasted off with the PT for the first time on a
flight to last about fifteen minutes or so. After a per-
fect landing, Ron reported that everything was just
fine and it flew hands off. Ego boost No.2. He then
proceeded to make five or six' take-offs and landings
to reaquaint himself with the Ryan. After that we kept
him busy giving rides until dark.
We were hoping for a completion date before the
EAA Convention at Oshkosh and we made it with a
couple weeks to spare. i ~ n d Elif Alseth and I flew
the Ryan to Oshkosh the Thursday evening before the
start of the fly-in, without a hitch.
One of the most interesting times of the fly-in
was sitting by the plane and talking to the people
who came to admire it. We learned a lot of things
about the PT and maintaining it that we never would
have known about if we hadn't been there. If the educa-
tion we received at the Convention wasn't enough of a
reward, the judges decided to award us with the
"Outstanding Open Cockpit Monoplane" Award.
It was a fantastic end to a fantastic week.
After many hours of flying the Ryan, we have
found it an absolute delight to fly. During the resto-
ration, we heard quite a few war stories discrediting
the PT-22. Many pilots have gotten themselves into
situations they couldn't get out of, not because they
weren't good pilots, but because they weren't versed
in the flying characteristics of the Ryan before they
flew it. It's like most any airplane. You have to fly
them like they are meant to be flown . As Ron Rippon
told us from the start, it's an airplane not to be hurried.
Don't rush into things with it but just take your time
and fly it right. It's an airplane to respect but not be
scared of. We have found it to be a lot of fun, and I
think you would to.
i -
_ ~ ~ El' .... ...
,
..:t' _.1"... , t-..
I I.-I !
. jl '
>.,
( .
,:1,. I ",
Champion Vintage
Reproduction
1908 Curtiss June Bug
Owner: MercuryAircraft
Hammondsport, NewYork
Joseph Meade, Jr., President of Mercury Aircraft,
Inc. in Hammondsport, New York, supervised the pro-
gress on the construction of the replica Glenn H. Curtiss'
June Bug. Mr. Meade has been instrumental in the
development of the replica, which was flown June
23 to June 27 in Hammondsport, then disassembled
and trucked to Oshkosh for the EAA Convention,
where several hundred thousand people viewed it.
Glenn Curtiss flew the original June Bug on July
4, 1908, capturing the Scientific American Trophy.
The replica, as the original, won the Champion
Vintage Reproduction, and received a Lucky Lindy
trophy. For the complete story, see September 1976
issue Vintage Airplane.
20
Judges' Choice
Bellanca Skyrocket NX237
By Preston Snyder
R.R. 1, Box270
Ringtown, PA 17967
This plane was bought by Alaska Star Airlines in
November 1928. They flew it for about ten years,
then sold it to Jack Peck and Wyman Rice, who flew
it for several years. Then they sold it to Nicholsen
Air Service, and they flew it until 1948, then sold
it to Bristol Bay Airlines. They then sold it to two
jokers, and I mean two jokers, who were going to
rebuilt it. It was parked on the shore on Lake Spenard
at Anchorage, and it was slowly deteriorating faster
than they could repair or whatever they were trying
to do, and the reason I say jokers is because they were
trying to do it outside!
Well , in 1962 when I worked in Fairbanks for Alaska
Airlines, I flew down to Anchorage. I had heard about
the Bellanca, so I \ ~ e n t out to the Lake to look it over.
It looked almos t impossibl e - the fabric was rotted
off, hanging down between the ribs, lower longerons
rusted out etc.
I inquired around and found an old bush pil ot
named Howard Gill am, who knew the man who ran
the seaplane base on the Lake. Gillam hasseled the
base operator to get after these two owners to ei ther
get the BeliJnca out of the Lake, or he would cut it
up and junk it. I told the operator I would buy it for
$600.00, so he told the owners "either take the $600. 00
or else I'll cut it up". They accepted my $600, so I built
a trailer and hauled it from Alaska to Seattl e, then
on home.
The restorati on has been done over a long time,
and 1976 saw its compl etion. The trip to Oshkos h
foll owed , and la ter t o Bridgeport where Clarence
Chamberlin got to see it. Next year is the 50th anni-
versary of the flight to Germany.
Editor's Note: On November 1, 1976, Col . Cham-
berlin passedawayattheageof85. Preston Sny-
der 's Bellanca Skyrocket has won the Judges '
Choice Trophy and it is an exact reproduction of
the Bellanca that Col . Chamberlain flew to Berlin
in 1927, a few days after Lindberg's historic flight.
Preston'sinterestin theairplanewas wellfounded,
as he was an employee of Chamberlin at that
time.
Next year was to have been the 50th anniversary
of Chamberlin's flight , and it is a sad turn of
events that he could not have lived to receive
the honors. - AI Kelch
Preston Snyder and his replica of the Bellanca which Chamberlin flew New York to Berlin, Ger-
manyimmediatelyafterLindbergh's historic flight .
Col. Chamberlin
The circumstances surrounding the Bellanca Sky-
rocket, of which Preston Snyder has made a repro-
ducti on, are recorded in history. The Columbia fl ew
into New York for las t minute adjustments, pri or to
shoving off across the Atl anti c, and was parked only
a few hundred feet away from the Spirit of St. Loui s,
which was also waiting for cl earing weather at that
time. The failure of all of the heavier tr imotor air-
planes is a matter of record, and onl y the hi gh wing
single engi nes remained to become victorious. Had
the Bell anca camp not turned into a heated argument,
the Bellanca mi ght well have taken off ahead of Lind-
berg. The Wright Bellanca had just previously, with
Clarence Chamberlin at the controls, set an endurance
record for the entire world to see - 51 hours in the air,
which was far more time than would be needed to
span the Atl anti c. His tory smil ed on th e Spirit and
Lindberg, leaving the Columbia to make the second
successful flight across the Atlantic, flown by Clarence
Chamberlin, wi th Charl es Levine as a passenger .
The Bellanca chose to pass up Paris, and go directl y
on t o Eisleben, Germany, a durat ion of ten hours
longer than Lindberg, - still it was second.
Soon after that fl ight, Lavine and Bellanca parted
company, and Bellanca started his own airplane com-
pany on Staten Island. Later wi th the backing of the
DuPont fa m;il y, it went on to great feats that woul d
fill entire books to li st them all. Besides the Atl antic,
it conquered the Pacific and set records for both en-
furance and luxury transportation that kept Bellanca
ahead of the pack for many years . From 1932 until
the start of World War II they produced for the army,
navy and department of commerce, to become a great
and reputabl e name in aviati on. All of this fa thered
by the genius Giuseppe Mario Bellanca and hi s fa bul ous
air foil. Clarence Chamberlin, having been the first
to gain world publicity in the piloting of a Bellanca ,
was in for his share of glory, and hi s name will always
be linked with that of Bellanca.
21
An obviously happy Clarence Chamberlin - possibly he is reminisc-
ing while looking over Preston Snyder's reproduction of his ocean
girdling Bellanca.
Clarence Chamberlin and Preston Snyder (on left) in a recent photo
Clarence Chamberlin in the original Bellanca at the time of his ocean
with the Bellanca Skyrocket NX237 in background.
flight.
22
Grand Champion Classic
Piper PA-15
By W. M. Amundson
201 S. Fifth
Stoughton, WI 53589
Grand Champion Classic Oshkosh '76, a month later
and we still can't believe it. A week before the big
event we were not even sure we were going to bring
4402H up to the big show. Neither of us planned to
be there for more than a couple of days and we live
so close we drive home at night.
We have quite a group of EAA'ers in our small town
and about a dozen did plan to stay for the whole nine
days. We asked a friend to fly it to Oshkosh the first
Saturday, and the rest of the guys said they would
keep an eye on it. Well, the rest is kind of history, so
let that be a lesson to some of you. If you think you
have a cream puff, bring it to Oshkosh and maybe
lightning will strike you like it did us.
4402H has quite a story, most of it funny and some
of it sad, but all of it interesting. Here is how we got
a hold of our yellow bird and what it was like then.
We first saw 4402H in 1968 on a farm field in southern
Bill Amundson and Dick Peterson look just a lit-
tle pleased!
Wisconsin. The wing bows were broken, no cowling,
no exhaust stacks, no carb heat, and the fabric was
patched with insurance bumper stickers. There was a
big hole in the top of the right wing tip that was patched
with blue denim held on with roofing tar. To make it
waterproof, bread wrappers were taped over the denim
with scotch tape. One lift strut was badly bent and the
repair was made with two broom handles taped on
each side with black friction tape. One horizontal
stabilizer was covered with oil cloth (like you used
to have on the kitchen table), and the enamel was
poured on out of the can for the finish. Dick Wagner
of Wag-Aero, has this one on display at his place. He
traded us another stabilizer for it to keep this work
of art in tact.
We asked the owner if he would sell us the plane,
his answer was "No! It flies so well, I'll never find
another to replace it." Believe it or not he was flying
it in this condition. We knew that sooner or later he
would hit something else and the old Vag would be
done for.
Vagabond King after it licked them all.
It happened in the winter of 1971. The airplane was
on skis, and frozen down in the hangar. The owner
couldn't push it out alone, so he started it up, gave it
full power to taxi it out. Up went the tail, bang into
the hangar roof breaking the vertical stabilizer and
bending the rudder. The skis broke loose and out she
went and up in the air. His flight as usual was once
around the farm. The landing was about what you
might expect after all that had happened to the poor
old girl. The gear broke, the prop bent, and she set-
tled in the snow, a real wounded duck. Now the plane
was for sale.
Stan Gerlach, of Palmyra, Wisconsin, beat us to it,
but he knew how badly we wanted it, so he sold it to
us.
4402H started her comeback in the basement of
Badger Bowl (known in Stoughton as Badger Boeing),
waiting her turn for a face lifting behind another Vaga-
bond 4469H, a Taylorcraft 43538, and a Starduster Too
12DP. By 1975 we finally turned our full attention to
4402H. Her skeleton was stripped to the bare metal,
a new tail section was welded in, the rudder rebuilt,
the gear replaced, and every piece was stripped and
reprimed or beyond repair.
About this time we couldn't agree on a color, so a
decision was reached to do her like Mr. Piper did her
the first time, and we had all of the original instru-
ments. Once this was decided, every effort was made
to keep her original.
The big job was finished on July 17, 1976. 4402H
was so pleased how pretty she looked, that she flew
like a new airplane, and why not? She only had 375
total hours, and a 28 year old should have lots of spunk
left.
Nobody goes to Oshkosh and expects to win the
big one, and let us tell you it's a real thrill. Now we
can't wait to finish up our Waco UPF 7, and we hope
to see you all at Oshkosh '77.
23
Stinson N8074K. The colors are original Stinson blue and
Reserve Grand Champion
Stinson 108-2 - 1947 N8074K
By Ron Kramer
R. R. 1
Pella, Iowa 50219
Thank you for your interest in my Stinson, which
is a 1947 108-2 Station Wagon #N 8074K, with a 165
hp Franklin engine.
I purchased this plane from its second owner at
Pella, Iowa in 1969. He had owned the plane since
near new. It was in good overall condition, as it had
always been hangared, and had only 695 hours total
time. It still had the original linen fabric, and still
tested fair. The interior also was in fair condition with
leather seats, original carpet and headliner. The worst
problem was the bad smell, due to having had mice
in it some years prior.
I flew the plane about 100 hours, then the engine,
which had about 300 hours since major and heavy
case, started showing the effect of too many idle years,
so I topped the engine. I also added a Maule pneumatic
tail wheel and an Escort 110 radio.
The plane was flown regularly until the fall of
1973, and I felt the fabric was getting marginal , so I
felt I either had to sell it or recover it By this time, I
was becoming attached to the old bird, so I decided to
keep it, and have it recovered. Not having the time or
place to do the job myself (I would have liked to try
it) I was fortunate to find a place nearby - Mois Air-
craft Repair at Boone, Iowa, owned and operated by
LeLand McGorthl en and his wife Rose. After looking
it over, they decided to do the job.
My intentions at the time were to just cover it and
repaint the metal , but as things progressed, I decided
to go all the way and major the engine, redo the in-
terior, and pretty much totally rebuild it. The plane
was stripped down to the bare frame, cl eaned and re-
painted. The airframe was in excellent condition. Mac
found a problem in the wings. The mice residue had
started a surface corrosion, but it was not deep, so
the wings were cleaned with a special solution and
zi nc chroma ted.
The fabric used was Ceconite, with butyrate dope
process, and Randolf paint on the metal, and they
did a very nice job of it. The interior was redone, using
original cloth headliner made by Mrs. McGothlen and
naugahide on the seats and side panels, which I did
myself. I also installed new nylon carpet, new tinted
windscreen and side glass. Dual whelen strobes were
installed, and ELT, new Cleveland brakes and wheels,
and the engine was pulled, and sent out to be majored
by a Franklin overhaul shop (a big mistake) .
'{ ... ... Ji:'
Ron Kramer in his favorite seat, the "left seat" !
About July 1974 the plane was almost finished, and
we thought it looked pretty good. I planned to take
it to Oshkosh, but the engine overhaul job was not
good, I had some serious problems with it. The next
engine did not get back in time to make the '74 Oshkosh
meet. This engine was not much better, so in the win-
ter of 1974, I pulled it out, and under A.I. supervision,
I rebuilt it myself.
I was pleasantly surprised to receive the Reserve
Grand Champion Classic Award this year.
The colors are original Stinson blue and white.
It now has 1150 hours and I fly it every week an
hour or two. It is a fun, solid airplane to fly, cruises
about 120 mph.
24
Best Class I Classic
(Under100 HP)
1946Luscombe8A#N72087
By Alan LaForge
958 Washington St.
Upland, CA 91786
On January 20, 1973 I bought a 1946 Luscombe 8,
#N72087. It had to be hauled to our home, as it was
in several stages of being repaired, and hadn't flown
for 3 years.
I took it apartas far as possible to check it for rust,
and discovered only one wing had to be replaced. I
wasabletogettwowingtanksoutofa wreck, andwas
ready to startassembling.
We took off 5 to 6 coats ofpaint, strippingit to the
skin, reskinned a section ofthe tail, made one cowling
out of two, and a door to fit, redid the instrument
panel complete with shock mountings, and made all
newtail, wingfairings.
In October 1973 we moved the airplane to Cable
Airport for assembling, and on November 1, it made
its first flight.
Since then, I've added'paint, new upholstery, a
wind driven alternator, and many little handmade
pieces. The upholstery was finished just before the
Oshkosh meet (July 28), which- only left me four days
to reach the Oshkosh Fly-In.
Fromtherecordswehave, thisplanehasbeenbased
in California since 1946, and has never been out of
thestate.
N72087is hangaredatCableAirport,Upland, Calif.
Garage residence of N72087 from January to
October1973.
Best Class II Classic
(101 - 164 HP)
StinsonVoyager- #N4082M
By RobertNuckles
618 N. Sergeant
Joplin, MO 64801
In December 1974, my wife, Colleen, and I de-
cided to buy a 4-place airplane that we could re-
build or restore for family use. We found this 1948
Stinson Voyager, 108-3, at a small airport near our
home in Joplin, Missouri. The plane had not been
flown for over a year because the fabric was bad and
it couldn'tbe relicensed.
The bird was pretty shabby looking, the tires flat,
battery dead and covered with dust and grime. The
heavy-case Franklin turned over freely, so I primed
it good and pulled it through about six times . With
mags on, I pulled hard on the prop. It coughed one
time. I pulled it t.hrough again and it immediately
settled into a fast smooth idle. A thorough inspec-
tion convinced me it was ferryable, so being a li-
censed A & P, I applied for a ferry permit to fly it to
25
my home airport. My first experience flyi ng a Stin-
son was the 30 minute flight home. When I got to
the Joplin Airport, we disassembled the plane and
trucked and towed it to our basement garage for a
recover job.
This was the beginning of a 21/2 year project that
snowballed from a quickie recover job to a major
reconstruction job. It seemed a shame to put that
newly doped cotton fabric next to faded, peeling
paint. So we stripped and repainted all metal parts
with alkyd enamel. This made the interior look bad,
so my wife made a new headliner, seat covers, car-
pet and side panels. One thing led to another until
this six month project stretched into 21/2 years.
We installed a used King KX150 B Nav-Com to
replace the coffee-grinder, new tires, overhauled
the oleos, master cylinders, wheel cylinders and
mufflers . I never dreamed that only one airplane
could fill so many coffee cans, boxes, shelves, saw
horses and every available inch of space in our mod-
erately sized basement.
That grand day finally arrived when all these parts
could again be trucked to the airport for reassembly.
Believe me, it took longer to reassemble than to disas-
semble. Slowly, my long list of final assembly details
diminished until all had been taken care of. Late
one summer evening it was ready to fly.
Once again the Franklin barked to life. The new
radio crackled the necessary communications wi th
the tower and the Stinson proudly taxied to Runway
17. A last minute mag check and we were rolling down
that macadam strip.
Gently she lifted into the air, beginning a relation-
ship between man and machine that only those privi-
leged to be borne on wings can know. The old girl
flew straight and true, no trim changes required.
Our first trip was to Oshkosh '76. The Stinson
Voyager proved to be more than I expected. She is
stable, quickly responsive to the controls and lands
like a mother hen settling on her nes t.
She has added a new dimension to our lives and
we are looking forward to more happy trips to come.
This, in a nut shell, is the story of our Stinson.
We are a modest, middle income family of four.
Our two boys, Mike, 21, and Kevin, 16, helped restore
the bird. It was a good family project. The rewards
outweigh the toil and frustration that sometimes oc-
cur on such a project.
Though we had dreamed of being selec ted an
award winner at Oshkosh, still it came as a very plea-
sant surprise. We didn't even know we had won the
Category II Classic Award until two weeks after the
judging when the trophy was mailed to us.
Best Class III Classic
(165 HP and Up)
Cessna 195 N3045B
By Stan Smokovitz
19340 Edinborough
Detroit, MI 48219
It came as a very pleasant surprise. We didn' t
even know we had won the Category II Classic
Award until two weeks after the judging when
the trophy was mailed to us. Stinson # N4082M.
How I became a proud Cessna 195 owner.
I began first flying in a 3 place Super Cruiser. Then
an addition to the family made it necessary to purchase
a 4 place Stinson Station Wagon. Yes - another ad-
dition made it necessary to buy a 5 place airplane -
a Cessna 195. I acquired this airplane April 16, 1959.
It came with its original factory paint scheme - silver,
yellow and black. Also had original upholstery. It had
362 hours total time. The first engine gave me 1847
faithful hours, with one top overhaul. On the second
engine, there is 380 hours. The airplane to this day
has all of its original interior upholstery, with a new
paint job three years ago.
These past 17 years of flying my Cessna 195 have
given me a lot of pleasure in family and business fly-
ing. It is a most comfortable cross-country airplane,
and also an excellent stable instrument airplane.
My personal feelings about my 195 performance
are explained below - true story:
One evening while we were having dinner, our
son, Greg, asked me if Mom was going to have another
baby. We looked at each other and I asked him "Why?"
He replied, "I sure would like a twin engine airplane."
I said, "No, Greg, I just don't think the 195 can be
beat. "
26
ABOVE: From left to right, the Piper Clipper, Phil
Cashmer and me.
Best Class III Classic Cessna 195 N3045B owned
by Stan Smokowitz, 19340 Edinborough, Detroit,
Michigan 48219.
Best Workmanship
PA-16 Clipper #N5335H
By R. A. Krekel
420 Elmwood Ave.
Joliet, IL 60433
ABOVE: "You want td buy a what?" A Piper Clip-
per PA-16 I answered (N5335H).
Editor's Note: The above struck a sympathetic
note. It has been said many times in our house!
- AI Kelch
"You want to buy a what?" asked my wife, Jan.
"A Piper Clipper PA-16," I answered as if it were
a pound of bologna. I explained how much money we
could save because it was the cheapest way for me to
get my private pilot's certificate. When we got the
aforementioned we would have the plane for fun, tra-
vel, and romance. It would need just a little work.
27
(Li ttle work! . . . several feet of tubing, disc brakes,
new fabric, new radio, new upholstery, top O.H. on
the engi ne and only three years of manual labor.) No
matter what the future consequences, I was bound and
determined to be part owner in that airplane. I was
hooked.
Jan's first look at the beauty brought out this price-
less remark, "We spent $1,100.00 on that?" Trying to
explain how beautiful the plane would be after the
recovery job and how much personality a Piper Clip-
per had, fell on deaf ears. She just shook her head.
Phil Cashmer, my partner, had the background and
technical knowledge to do the work that needed to be
done. Marian, Phil's wife, and I were in charge of the
less technical jobs. In everyday vernacular, we were
Phil's flunkies. Jan was still shaking her head.
We dismantled the plane in 1971, a year after pur-
chase. With a concerted effort, we hoped to have her
flying in a month or so. Realization of our goal did not
occur until the summer of 1974, about a week before
the start of Oshkosh. We pulled the plane out very
early Monday morning after a marathon weekend,
tied it to the flagpole, fired her up, and were set to
go to the airport for the final assembly.
At the airport, we had two more all night sessions.
Then Kenny Hanson, our A&I, gave his OK and once
again Piper Clipper N-5335H would be airborne. Rod
Slotten was to have the dubious honor of the maiden
voyage. And fly she did: no trim tabs or bad habits.
She was better than new. Now all the work, agony and
frustrations were forgotten . In the air was where the
Clipper belonged.
Oshkosh here we come! But the elements were not
cooperating. A cold front set in on the Chicago area
bringing marginal VFR. The biggest setback came on
Saturday, when Phil arrived in Oshkosh at 12:30 P.M.,
a half hour too late to be judged in the Classic com-
petition.
In .1975 and 1976, our work finally achieved recog-
nition at Oshkosh. In 1975, we received the award for
Outstanding Workmanship, Best Razorback, and Best
of Type. Again in 1976, we received the Workmanship
Award and Best Razorback. Everything had turned
out right.
People who deserve a special note of thanks are
Harold, Chris and Swend Jensen who were kind enough
to lend .us their facilities for work on the plane, Phil
Cashmer, for although we were partners, did most
of the meticulous detail work, Marian Cashmer for
putting up with both of us and last but not least, the
woman in the corner shaking her head, my wife, Jan
Krekel.
Best Custom Restoration
1951 Ryan Navion
By Mike Turner
253 Franconi an Ave.
Frankenmaith, MI 48734
Our 1951 Ryan Navion, which won the Best Cus-
tom Restored Classic at Oshkosh '76, is powered wi th
a Lycoming 260 hp engi ne, and has a 3 bladed Hart-
zell prop up front.
The modified nose cowl accommodates the prop
pitch control. The extended exhaus t stacks, landing
gear and wheel fairings, are chrome plated.
The outside finish is white Imron with maroon and
red trim. All combine to give the aircraft a very racy
and modern appearance.
The inside of our old bird is still another story. We
recently installed dual collins coms. and navs . with
dual glideslopes. At the same time, we put in a Narco
Dme 195 and.. Edo-Aire ADF. Also added were a Col-
lins transponder and new D.G. The removal of the
obsolete radio equipment gave us 46 more pounds of
useful load.
The most outstanding flight characteristic of all
Navions, including ours, is T. S.F. - the solid feel.
It is so stable that we hardly notice turbulent weather
anymore. I think it is much quieter than our previous
V35B Bonanza. In all fai rness, I must add that it is
also much slower.
If you wonder why you missed us at Oshkosh, it
was because we almost drowned . The first night we
awoke with about 2 inches of water in our tent. It was
quite a storm, and as usual, we had our screen door
pointed in the wrong directi on. A couple of days later
we came down with colds, and left for home.
See you next year (God willing) at Oshkosh .
ABOVE: Mi ke and Dody Turner pose for a family
portrait wi th their super260 Navion, N5312K.
BELOW: 1951 Ryan Navion. " It is so stable that
we hardly noti ce turbulent weE.ther any more!"
28
Best Limited Production
Johnson Rocket #N90204
By O. R. Fairbairn
236 Acalanes 1
Sunnyvale, CA 94086
My Johnson Rocket carries SIN 11, but is really a
collection of parts obtained from the defunct factory.
The wings came from the prototype, SIN 102, as ap-
parently did the forward cabin and the doors, because
the door hinges and side windows are different from
other Rockets, as are the landing gear down locks.
When I was cleaning tl1e firewall, I was able to make
out a faced serial number, which looked like "#-02",
which I believe to be "#102", but could not make out
the first number. I do not really know what happened
to the original #11. It was featured on the cover of the
July 1947 Flying, and in some of the spec sheets. I do
know that 1949 was the last year it was flown.
I purchased my aircraft in 1963 for $800, less en-
gine, in Los Angeles. I was laid off, and got a new job
in Huntsville, Alabama, and took the aircraft with me.
I needed fairings, hydraulic valves and cylinders, cowl-
ing, some woodwork, an engine, propeller, seats, in-
strument panel, etc. Basically, all I had was a John-
son Rocket structure.
When I got to HSV, I ran into Slim Johnson, a
former resident antiquer there who said, "I know where
there are the remains of four of them". They were at
Twin Pine Airport in Pennington, New Jersey. I con-
tacted Bill Wedsner there, who sold me the parts I
needed to complete the airplane. I soon discovered
that no two Rockets were alike - the fairings off #18
won't fit #17, etc. Consequently, a reconditioning job
was in order. I had to build a wooden mockup of the
engine in order to get the proper location of the cowl-
ing, so that I could make and fit new sheet metal. In
all, it took me 8 years to get N90204 to fly, albeit not
yet in show condition. I didn't really start working
on prettying it up until I moved to California, and
joined the North California Antiquers, and went to
a few fly-ins unrewarded. I redid the door seals, cleaned
up the engine compartment, did some repainting,
cleaned up the wheel wells, and thanks to John Parish,
put a new red leather interior in tbe bird.
I really enjoy the way the Rocket flies - the early
"ground lover" reputation was apparently due to the
Aeromatic propeller, which would automatically go
into cruise pitch just about the time you would ro-
tate and get the gear in the wells. I have a Hartzell
AC 12 x 20 on mine, which really allows it to climb
out nicely. The stick is nice and light, but not twitchy
- I'm told it feels a lot like a P-51 or P-39. The 3-axis
trim allows hands and feet off in still air for mile after
mile. The airplane stalls dead ahead with little tend-
ing to drop a wing. I have never spun it and don't in-
tend to. Dave Fox (who was one of Pop Johnson's test
pilots and now flies the Curtiss June Bug) said they
never spun it without spin chutes, and that it tended
to really fall. I can see why - with 18#/sq. ft. wing
loading and 1900# empty, it comes down like a brick.
Standard approach is at 85 lAS. With prop full in
and 45
0
of split flap, and gear down, it falls about 3000
ft.lmin. - consequently a tight pattern is recommended.
Even when it is clean, the quickest way to lose air
speed is to retard power and do a steep turn.
The airplane is one of the stoutest light aircraft
ever built. I've calculated the stress level for the wings,
engine mount and forward fuselage at 10 C's. The
main spars are composed of a 3/s" plywood center web
to which 15/s" spruce is laminated on either side. The
spar is solid out to the gear, then an I-section from
there outboard. It measures 41/4" wide and 9%" deep
at the root, tapering to a knife edge tip - really very
pretty (see photo).
The gear and flaps are hydraulically activated with
no up locks on the gear - the engine driven pump
maintains continuous pressure, hence the 21/2 gallon
hydraulic reservoir. I believe the entire landing gear
setup was an afterthought, because the legs protrude
90
0
to the airstream and stick out about 4" tapering
to nothing at the trunion. .
The nose gear also protrudes a good ways . I'm sure
that a proper design on the retractable landing gear
would have saved weight and been a lot cleaner -
perhaps even enough to give the 185 mph cruise ad-
vertised.
For all its shortcomings, I really don't know that
I would want another airplane over the Rocket. It has
a respectable cruise, good looks, excellent flying quali-
ties, rarity, and relative economy of operation over
many of the other aircraft of its era. It is fun to drop
into a strange airport and get quizzed as to what it is,
how fast, etc., etc. Hopefully soon there will be two
more on the west coast, as soon as two being restored
in Los Angeles fly. We will blacken the skies with
Rockets!
ABOVE: "For all its shortcomings I really don't
know that I would want another airplane over the
Rocket."
BELOW: The grills are a Pop Johnson trademark.
29
Best Aeronca Champion
#N83633
By Melvin B. Hill
102 Ash St.
Danville, IL 61832
Aeronca N83633 has been a typical Aeronca, from
trainer to sprayer. The aircraft was completely re-
built in 1973 by Don Freitag and his son. It was re-
covered with Stits process throughout, with Stits
Aerothane paint.
Four hours after rebuild, the aircraft was over-
turned in a tornado at Burlington, Wisconsin in April
1973.
Tom Johnson acquired the plane in mid-1973, and
rebuilt the wings and cabin damage. I bought the plane
at that point, and with the help of my friend, Vic An-
drews, finished the cowl, wheel pants and assembled
and repainted it in time for Oshkosh 1974. We are
quite proud of the way it has been received .. The air-
craft has won 3 straight in class at Oshkosh, and once
at Ottumwa. It has won 4 Grand Champions, and so
far has 30 trophies out of 19 air shows.
The Champ has won 4 Grand Champions and 30
trophiesattending 19 airshows.
Best Beech Bonanza
#N32440
By Waldy Malouf
700 DelawareAve.
Palm Harbor, FL 33563
I am pleased to write about my 1947 Beech 35
(straight) Bonanza. The Serial No. is 689. She was
placed in service in August 1947 and delivered to
General Shoe Corp. of Ohio.
The plane has the 205 hp engine, wi th the Hart-
nell prop. It has the Jourdan-Flanigan spar modifica-
tion. Climbs 23 x 23 at 1100 ft.lmin. with 2 passengers
at 101 mph indicated. At 9000 ft. it will true out at
162-164 mph, at 2000 rpm and 19.5" Hg, using 8.1
gal. per hour with four passengers. I painted her as
closely as possible as the original. She is polished
aluminum with flaming red stripes. I removed the
dingy black trim. The bare outline of the numbers on
the wings are still discernable. I reskinned the aileron
with aluminum, also the one ruddervator. I still have
one ruddervator to reskin.
When I purchased the plane last May, the old mag-
nesium skins were quite far gone. The Bonanza looked
almost black. My son, Matt, and I used Turco 1000 to
brighten it, then the whole family polished and pol-
ished. We used Never-Dull wadding, Met-All glass
wax, turtle wax and Acro Sheen. It all added up to
work.
For excessive oxidation, one can carefully use a
1% solution of HFL (hydroflouric acid). Note I under-
line 1% (10cc HFL to 1 liter of H20).
The plane is very docile and lands at 55-60. The
Bonanza is the best flying aircraft I have ever flown.
I have friends who have newer ones who say that mine
outperforms theirs.
I first soloed a UPF-7 in 1943.
Mr. Colvin of Beechcraft Co. was very helpful in
giving me hints and history at Oshkosh this year. He
knew the plane.
Again, you can't imagine how I enjoy the Bonanza.
One of the best classic planes for transportation
andgoodlooks!
30
Best Bellanca
#N512A
By Richard L. Burns
4640 Hyland Dr.
Louisville, OH 44641

, .
'8-
. .

r
'
__ t ' :.
/
. '" '!
III ,.
[il
_.-.
-.J. ". ...... . '".
,..,.. i ""'''' - "': - '.-.
..
._I
.t .' "- ,. " --
.. - '.,. .::-
-;


.. ...
.
G
.
.:....1.
A full house - IFR panel with every inch of space
neatly filled.
If a 17year old new pilot can master it, there just
can't be dishonesty in this airplane.
I purchased the aircraft, used, in 1962, 716 hours
since new. L.recovered the fuselage and controls with
Ceconite in 1964 and completely overhauled the en-
gine in1966.
The propellerwasoverhauledatthefactory in1974.
I just recently reworked the IFR panel, installing a
Narco Con II, Nav 11 and Edo Aire Xpander, plus the
King 150 andLear ADF.
My son, Daryl, began flying the Bellanca at the
age of 17 years, as soon as he received his private li-
cense, which proves it is a very honestairplane to fly.
We all enjoyit.
Best Cessna 120/140
140 - #N76688
By Ronald Degnan
462 Fairview Ave.
Canfield, OH 44406
Cessna N76688 was a permanent fixture at Martin
Field, Canton, Ohio for over four years. It was used
as a bird house and a source of spare parts for other
140 owners. It has beensortofspecial to me, probably
becauseI took my traininginone, andalso ownedone
several years ago. Feeling this way, I could not let
76688 die the way it was, soonOctober6, 1973 it was
mine, including five birds'nestsand three dead birds.
I did not want this restoration to be like so many
I have seen - "cosmetic" - just a paint job with
fancy upholstery, so the entire airplane was com-
pletely disassembled. At the time, I had a single gar-
age, which meant parts were stored in the attic, cel-
lar and the neighbor's garage. The inside of the fuse-
lage was cleaned, etched, alodined and chromated.
All parts then were overhauled and assembled. New
wiring, cables and bearings were used. The stabilizers
and all control surfaces were etched, alodined and
chromated. Wings were epoxy chromated and cov-
eredwithRazorback.
For basic simplicity and neat arrangement, you
can't beat this panel.
31
The engi ne had onl y 246 hours since factory re-
manufacturing, however, since being out of service
so long, it was disassembl ed for inspection and rings,
bearings and valves repl aced .
As the work progressed, the ga rage got small er,
so an additi on, 19 x 29, was added to the rear, one-
half for me and the other half for my wife's porch.
This gave me a shop 14' x 41'.
Not all was easy going. There were parts lost and
damaged due to shipping, wrong parts shipped, no
parts ava il abl e, not to menti on the phone bills. It
was finished this year in June, and assembled at Salem
Air Park. Everything went pe rfectl y, except for a
yell ow taged prop that was very much out of balance
and too flat.
In all, it was a very rewarding experience to give
a 30 year old bird 30 more years of life.
I am deeply indebted to Ted McCreary, who helped
with all the di rty cl eaning jobs. Most of all to my wife,
Diane, who put up with the smell of dope, paint, sol-
vent and airpl ane parts, all over her house for 21/2
years.
In all, it was a rewarding experience to give a 30
yearoldairplane 30 years more life!
Here is some informati on that may be helpful in
your efforts on "Vintage Airplane" magazine.
I bought my Cessna 195 in 1971. I am the third
owner. It has a total of 1500 hours.
It was res tored in 1974 - Du Pont Imron paint
was used. I received 2 awa rds at Oshkosh '75 and
'76 - plus 6 local awa rds.
The first owner was the well known Arl ene Davi s.
Encl osed is a news paper account . This aircraft was
well known in the Detroit Cleveland area.
The hi ghl ights of her remarkabl e career are: 1931
received pil ot' s license and 1934 won her firs t race.
1937 flew in the fi rst Miami -Havana Internati onal Air
Race; became fi rst woman in the world to receive a
rating to fly the largest land and water planes of the
day; became first pil ot, man or woman, to qualify for
fl ying blind.
She was the only woman in the MacFadden Race
fr om New York to Miami in 1938 and the only woman
in 1939 to fini sh in the money in the Bendi x Race from
Los Angeles to New York. Two years later she re-
ceived a veteran's pilot award.
Cessna 190/195 N9344A. The first owner was the
famous Arlene Davis, a flyer of the early thirties.
----:::

Best Cessna190/195
N9344A
By Joe Kikel
R. D.3
Geneva, OH 44041
32
Best E reoupe
N3968H
By Rich Andersen
1235 Granite Rd.
San Marcos, CA
Ercoupe N3968H became a member of the Ander-
sen household following the Memorial Day e e k ~
end in Tonopah, Nevada in 1975. She was to replace
a coupe that was loved but needed much work. After
seeing the 1947 coupe at other fly-ins, I was kidding
with its then owner and restorer, Wayne Olson of
Cerritos, CA. Wayne is Regiqnal Director for the Er-
coupe Owners Club. "When are you going to sell
that beauty, Wayne?" I asked on the last day at Tono-
pah.
"She's for sale right now," he answered and be-
fore we left the field that day I was the owner of two
Ercoupes.
Wayne had restored the little craft anC: completed
her in 1972. From then on, she won the West Coast
prizes without fail.
Since I flew the gold and white bird home in
1975, she has taken me to Miami for a family visit; to
Tahlequah, Oklahoma for the National Ercoupe Fly-
In and brought home two trophies and then this Au-
gust to Oshkosh for a Best of Type trophy.
Lake Wolford Airport East of Escondido, CA is
where she resides when not in the air. The field that
many pilots avoid in this area for it lies atop of a pla-
teau with 1500 feet of runway. And now my baby and
I are looking forward to many more adventures and
trophies together. For me, it's "Keep Coupes Flying!"
Ercoupe N3968H, a national traveler having tra-
versed the continent several times in its short life
since restoration. "Keep the Coupes Flying"
Navion N5117K. This is definitely a STOL aircraft
and is flown easily out of a 1200' strip and from
grass or gravel.
33
Best Navion
N5117K
By L. AI/an Carlsmith
43 Elm St., Apt. #6
Milford, NH 03055
This is the second Navion I have owned. The first
was a partnership venture with three other pilots in-
cluding Jim Tamposi, owner of Nashua Aviation at
Boire Field in Nashua, N.H. We rebuilt N4557K ex-
tensively under Jim's guidance and during this pro-
ject and some six years of flying, I got a liberal educa-
tion in Navion technology from Jim and Art Powell,
then Chief Mechanic at Nashua Aviation, both of
whom have been Navion enthusiasts since the air-
craft was first brought on the market in 1946.
17K is a 1950 model, about the 27th aircraft pro-
duced by Ryan after a model change in 1949 which
included a large number of minor but significant im-
provements as reflected in the parts catalogues from
that period. This aircraft had been located at Boire
Field for nearly ten years, hangared and maintained
airworthy, but rarely flown by a succession of owners,
such that it had only 950 hours on the engine and air-
frame when I acquired it in 1971! The original factory
upholstery was faded and threadbare, the paint was
dusty and flaking, but the airframe, gear and con-
trols were excellent. A perfect candidate for the do-
it-yourself restorer!
This has been a one-section-at-a-time rebuild, as
I have limited time from my job as Chief Engineer at
IMPCO in Nashua (we build pulp mill machinery) and
from my family, also I like to keep the plane flying
as much as possible. In the summer of 1973 I stripped
the paint from the aircraft, then scribbled some num-
bers on the bright aluminum with a spray can and flew
it to Twin Mountain, New Hampshire where Don
Bicknell put on the metallic blue paint scheme you
see in the photos. We used Randolph acrylic lacquer,
as I like the color depth and sheen obtained with this
finish. This was Don's first aircraft paint job, as he
had just moved into this work from automotive re-
finishing. We made up with dedication and care what
we lacked in experience.
During the summer of 1974 I did the cockpit in-
terior and installed new plexiglass all around with
new rubber mounting extrusion strips, stripping and
repainting the canopy hardware, the instrume(lt panel,
and all the hundreds of special pieces which make
the Navion famous as "being built like a military air-
craft". The upholstery panels were from Airtex, who
obligingly made up everything in black vinyl, yield-
ing a nice custom appearance.
In the fall of 1975 we removed the engine and took
it to my mini-machine shop at home, where it could
be overhauled leisurely over the winter. The aircraft
is not hangared because the $95/month rent is well
beyond my flying budget, and the snow covered air-
port is no place to work during a New Hampshire
winter. This is a Continental E-185-9 (205 hp take-
off rating) and had never been torn down. The crank-
shaft and other major parts were within factory new
tolerances, so we sent the cylinders to Chromeplate,
replaced a few small parts that showed some wear,
and succeeded in producing the equivalent of a "re-
manufactured" engine. All of this work was closely
supervised by Art Powell, who insists on doing the
final assembly himself, with all parts having been
magnafluxed, zyglowed and cleaned to look new, laid
out on tables under "clean room" conditions.
By May, 1976, I could work at the field again, so
pulled off the engine mount and stripped everything
back to the firewall, then painted the entire engine
compartment a bright yellow gloss enamel so that a
single drop of oil leaking will show at a glance, and
then reinstalled the engine with all new hoses, tub-
ing lines and hardware.
This is still about the most original, stock factory
Navion I have seen in recent years. Most of the own-
ers go in for the extensive series of mods available,
from speed fairings and nosewheel doors to flush
windshields and 285 hp engines. N5117K by contrast
is almost exactly as Ryan built her in 1950, except for
the radios and the paint and upholstery.
One little-discussed aspect of Navion modifica-
tion is the Palo Alto tail, which is a kit to increase the
angle of incidence of the fixed stabilizer so that the
elevator will trim in line with the stab at cruise speed.
Most Navions have this mod, as the drag reduction
is worth 3-5 mph. I find, however, that the slbw-
flight handling of the unmodified Navion is much
nicer, without the heavy feel of the faster ships. Ob-
viously the aircraft flares more easily, and the con-
trol feel in tight turns and semi-aerobatic maneuvers
is lighter.
This is definitely a STOL aircraft and is flown easily
out of 1200' fields and from grass or gravel. At the
same time it is still a capable cross-country machine.
Before Oshkosh this year, I took an extra week of va-
cation and flew to California to visit the relatives,
making the trip out in just two days, VFR. After vis-
its in Palo Alto, Monterey, Santa Rosa & Oakland, I
flew back to Oshkosh with one overnight stop. I did
leave Oshkosh mid-day Wednesday, to go east ahead
of the weather system, and made Nashua, N.H. with
only one fuel stop, riding a slight tailwind.
From the first of spring until very late fall, the Cub
is a sport airplane that can't be bettered. Best
Postwar 33 N70745.
34
Best Post WarJ-3
J3 Cub #N70745
By Artfads
Rt. 2, Box93
Pt. Pleasant, WV 25550
I am certainly most honored and just plain happy
about receiving the award for the Post War ]3. I would
like to express my appreciation for the judge's ef-
forts , as I know they have a long, tough row to hoe.
I've owned the 1946 J3 Cub since June 1970. In the
fall of 1973 I completely rebuilt it, beginning with
sandblasting the fuselage and restoring everything
to as near original factory condition as possible. I
have flown it over 300 hours since the restoration and
certainly enjoyed every minute of it. "Just another
Cub?" You bet! " Flies like a Cub?" You bet! And after
some 40 years, the J3 Cub is still tops in pure fun fly-
ing. We could use another C. G. Taylor or a William
T. Piper, Jr. these days.
Best Piper Clipper
Piper Clipper N5834H
By BillSchmidt
4647Krueger
Wichi ta, KA 67220
I bought the PA-16 Clipper in 1964 from a farmer
in Fall River, Kansas, and shortly thereafter started
a complete restoration.
After stripping off the old fabric, the first task was
to scrape off an incredible number of Mud Dabber
nests. It was hard to believe the volume and weight
of these nests - an object lesson for some of us who
have a plane that has not been recovered in some time.
The Clipper, in its original form, had some faults
that were corrected in the later Pacer series. The worst
of these was the fuel tank arrangement. The under
the panel Clipper tank was a carryover from the Vaga-
bond series, plus one 18 gallon tank in the left wing.
The plane, of course, would fly wing heavy till the
wing tank was used up. The panel tank was too close
to allow larger gyro instruments or panel radios. Re-
moval of the panel tank and installation of a second
wing tank in the right wing, was the answer. A new
heavier leading edge was made, all new sheet metal
work, a new instrument panel with modern instru-
ments, and a Mark V radio. The original head liner
was retained, but all new seat upholstery was in-
stalled.
The entire airframe was sandblasted and covered
with Grade A and a super smooth yellow finish. The
Lycoming 0-235 was given a chrome major in which
everything but the case was replaced or overhauled.
A new nose bowl and a button spinner were purchased
from Piper. The whole thing was finally assembled
and flown to Oshkosh in 1973 for the first time.
35
U.S.Fighters(1925-19805)
oReuben Fleet
oFortressIn The Sky r-:: - 10
by Lloyd S.Jones
FORTRESS
by William Wagner
by Peter M: Bowers I
Story of Consolidated Air
Comprehensive history of
THEdefinillveFortressbook., . . SKY -.
the development of the
craftandthegeniusofFleet.
In-depthpictorialandhistori- i '-- I
American fighter plane from
Wagnerfollowshisgreatbio
calaccountoltheincubation,I >.- I
ofRyanwiththismagnificent
the Curtiss P-l Hawkto the
accountofthe Fleettrainers birth maturity the __ double-sonicNorthropF-18. and of
B-17. Every1hing is here,
andflyingboats,suchasthe Technicalandhistoricaldata
side views, three views, se-
Cata"na. Conti nues through describeeveryplaneinclud-
rials , interiors , nose art ,I
the B24 and Convair B36. ing informalion previously
postwar use, color, and . .
380 photos .. .$16.95
classified as " secret. " 250
nearly a thousand photos.
photos & 3 views for each
NEW18.95 .. -... ---_.
plane. ............14.95
/i .
o U.S. Bombers (1928- 1980s)
by Lloyd S.Jones
Here.inonevolumeisadetaileddescriptionof
American bomers from B-1 to the B-70,and
Christmas Check List . 1 , e i
from HISTORIC
r: Mr. Piper & HisCubS 8.50
o TheStlnsons.Photos.3 Views.Revised 5.95
'- 1The PiperCub Story 3.95
[ J Single-Engine Piper. ..NEW3.95
, 1 Si ngle Engine Beechcrafts 3.95
Single Engi ne Cessnas 3.95
Of & Men. Underwood 4.95
:,ThelightplaneSince1909 ReVised5.95
o Ryan Broughams& TheirBuilders.111 .his-
tory.1927-32A/ C. 160photos ........ 7.50
oTheFordAirTours19251931 .Lesloe Forden
Completestoryofall sevencroSS' COunlry Re
Ilablll ly Tours profusel y rllustrated 9.00
Revolution In The Sky. ClaSSIC Lockheed
Veqas & the pilots who flew them 12.95
IJ BabyBullet,1928HeathRacer NEW2.00
LJ Howard Hughes H-4. SpruceGoose' 4.95
AirMail Emergency1934.The 78tragi cdays
when the air corp flew the mall ' 5.95
oRyan, the Aviator, by William Wagner 1.9.95
oWingsOverTheWorld. P&Wengines 4.95
o TheAirForceMuseum,450ill . . NEW6.95
[J Av. & SpaceMuseumsofAm. .NEW6.95
o GlenCurti..Pioneerof t-tlgm......12.50
o A1aalul Buah Pliota ..8.95
oTheyCall MrMr. Airshow, Bill Sweet .9.95
IJ Vintage Veteran AI C Gui de,
400 pre '45 arrcrall NEW 4.95
oThe Greal Planes. James G,lber1 '-4.95
[ IFirst Across, NC-4 Atlantic flight NEW 10.00
o The Phlne..Plnkhllm Sc,.pbook. 9 hilari-
ous full length feature air stories of WWI re-
printed from 1930' s Flying Aces magazine.
Complete with alloriginal illustrations ..3.95
Crackup. Photos non-fatalcrashes....2.95
Restoration of Anl. Classic Plane'. 3.95
Flyingthe Old Planes, bv Tallman 14.95
Stinson Plane Talk. Reprint on 1938 " Re-
liant". 8 pgs. 11x17. 29 photos ..NEW 1.00
The BestofWYLAM. 64 pgNC Plan Books
detailedconstr plans from factory drawings
lJ Vol . 2, WWI .Golden Age WWII . etc.3.95
lJ Vol. 4, The Stinsonsand CurtissFamily 3.95
U J-3CubService Manual .....Reprint 5.00
o 7AC Aeronca Champ Service Manual 5.00
o 11AC AaroncaChiefService Manual 5.00
o BC-12DT-Craft Service Manual 5.00
o JaneaAllTheWorldAlC1919Reprints25.00
o JaneaAllTheWorldAlC1938Reprints35.00
o JaneaAllTheWorld AlC1945-46 " 29.95
Hlatorlcal Aviation Album.by Paul Matt
Wrthoutadoubtthefinestpublicationsaroundfor
in-depthhistoricalreference.Eachillustratedwrth
highquality photos,impeccablethree-views,and
packed wrth meatytext .Eachissue becomesan
immediatecollector's item.
L. Vol .8 - Larrd Super SOlullon.Waco UPF7.T,mm
Colleglale.Vought XF5U.XB-70 II .......... 5.00
I. Vol .9- Aeromarine39B.P2Y-2Fly.BoalS.RyanST.
SC.Sperry Tllpe Amphib" Chas.Walsh blo.I .5.00
Lr Vol. 10- CurtissPW8.AeroncaC-2.3. Larrd-Turner
Racer.Chas.Walsh blo.II . .. . . ... .5.00
L. Vol . 11 - LWF Model L. Douglas 0-2. 0-25.
Curtiss-Wllght Jr.. CICero Freid bio.I. ..5.00
L. Vol. 12 - Douglas 0-32. 038. Howard "Pele".
Anderson-GreenwoodAG-14. CICeroField bi o.II 5.95
L. Vol.13- Howard"Mike"and"Ike."WacoUMF.YMF.
Clark GA-43.NA 0- 47.North Amer.bro.. .6.50
L. Vol. 14 - Mr.Mulhgan.Sikorsky 5-39.DouglasM2.
Billy Mitchell Tllal .BennyHowardIII . .. . 6.95
U.S. Civil Aircral1 by JOSeph Juplner
the new Rockwell B-1 now inthe test stages.
Each story incl udes specs.. performance,
AVIATION .,
armament, etc. 200 exc. photos. 74 three
views. 10_95
FifthAirForce.Rust ... .. ........ . .. 5.95
oSkyShip
byThom Hook
Story of the U.S. Navy's
w airship Akron and her tragic
Z loss in 1933from fin fail ure.
By the authorofcompanion
book, Shenandoah Saga,
hereisexciting
bined with neve
publishedpixinlarge
o Cessna Guidebook. St ory early Cessna's
through150's.Photos,specs.3-views 7.95
o Ryan Guidebook. 50 years Ryan AlG.
Photos&specsof70types .. 7.95
o Grumman Guidebook. Covers 84 types.
Photos,specsand3-views .......... 7.95
o TheStearmanGuidebook160photos 7_95
o TheGrummanStory,Thruelsen .... 14.95
o Lindberg.ABiography ....... NEW12.95
SPECIAL: FOR ANTIQUE AI C HUNTERS
o Antique Aircraft Directory. Computer
printoutof6.000pre- '42AlCaslistedon
FAAregistration.Lisledbymake&model
with owner'sname& address.Also cross
L...:=-:i,..n.,;;d..;,e,..;xe,;.d;;...;.b.:,.y,... "__ "_ um e ....,,;; __0;,. .9;,5::....J N_ n.,;;__b:,.;;,.r...:..:,.;..;, .. ,.;N,,;.E;;,W,;,,;.,.1
o The Saga ofthe Tin Goose,
by David Ansel Weiss.
The story of the famous Ford
Trimotor from its design by
William Stout , and the years
when it brought the fledgling ". , i
airlinesthroughthedepression. i-- 0 USArmyAlrforceFlghtera16-61 .... 14.95
Depicted here is the human I Ji0 USNavy'MarfneFlghtera18-62 ... 14.95
" side of the story. the people,
the successes and the incredi- . -_.
ble saga that is still continui ng today. 5.95
o TinGoose,Douglaslngells . ......... 3.95
o FordTrlmotor.AIC &Pilotmanual .. 4.00
o PlaneThatChangedWorld,DC-3history01
desi gn, development,airlineuse .. ... 8.95
o TheDouglasDC-3,LenMorgan. 2.95
o 747BoeingSuperJet,Ingells ....... 12_95
o Ll0llTrf-Star.LockheedStory ... 12.95
o ThlsWa.AlrTravel Palmer 695
, ..........
o TheFlyingWlngsofNorthrup ....... 4.50
o Northrop Flying WlngaEdward Maloney
Excellentcoverageofthe 16
different flying wing designs r::- =_:'-. _.-..--
dating from 1928 to the
supersecret jet powered
/ 1
YRB-49 and the X-4. Con-
tains Wing Evolution Chart .
Specifications, Flight Con-
trolOperations,70excellent
photosanddrawingsinclud-
ing 3twopagefold outs.55
pages, 81fi'xl" ......4.95
o Amphibian, GroverLoening.Historyofthe
" flyinQshoehorns" ................ 14.95
o Sea Wings. Jablonski . Flying boat story
fromBlenottoPanAmClippers ..... 9.95
o TheSeaplanes,Palmer .. . . ........ . 2.95
o AmericanFlyingBoatl .......... 11.95
o WorldFlyingBoats ..... ......... 11.95
. AIR RACERS r!l
Racing Planeland AirRaces,
o 1909-1968 Hardbound .. 16.95 ' .
o 1969-1972 Hardbound .. 16.95
o 1974Annual(1973) .......4.95 .
o TheMightyElgth,Freeman 15.95
o The91hAlrlorceInWWII .Rust ... ... 11.95
o TwelfthAirForceInWWII ,Rust ...... 6.50
o FifteenthAirForceStory,Rust .. NEW6.95
o EmpireExprels,Navy'soperation Aleutian
IslandsWWII .Rust ............ NEW6.50
o PacificSweep.5th&13thFi ghter . ... 9.95
DoubleStrike.Jablonsk ...:..:.. ... 7.95
TheCurti..Hawks.Shamburger&Christy.
completehistoryP-ltoKittyhawks 24.95
UnlledStateIPurauIlAlC, 1918-36 .' 11.95
o FlyingCombatAircraft ............. 7.95
o American Combat Planel. Wagner. com-
pletehistory. Over1,000photos .... 14.95
o TheP-51 Mustang,LenMo rgan ...... 2.95
MUltang, SlOry01P-51 Fighter.Revised 19.95
CJ MustangatWar,200photos ........ 10.
o FlyingFortress,Jablonski .. ........ 14.95
o B- 17FlyingFortre..,Birdsall ........ 2.95
o Forlre.. lnTheSky,Bowers " . NEW1B.95
oLog OfThe L1beretors. Heavily illus.
historyoftheB-24's,Birdsall ... . ... 12.95
0 B-24Liberator,Birdsall ....... ...... 2.95
0 TheAT-6Harvard ... . ..... ......... 2.95
0 TheP-38Lightning,Gurney .. . ...... 2.95
0 P-40Klltyhawk.Mc Dowell ... . ... . .. 2.95
0 P-47Thunderboll,Morgan .......... 2.95
0 FighterAlC1914-18War ........... 14.95
GrummanF8F"Bearcat",Aero ...... 3.00
0 BoeingP-12/F4BFighter,Aero ...... 3.00
0 BoeingP-26" Peashooter",Aero . . ... 3.95
0 BoeingB-52Stratofortress ..... NEW6.95
0 GrummanF-14"Tomcat" ...... NEW6.95
0 GeneralDynamicsF-16 ........ NEW6.95
0 Forgollen Fighters'ExperimentalAlCof
theUSArmy:1918-41 .Bowers ....... 3.95
0 Forgollen Fighters'Experfmental AlC of
theUSNavy:1918- 41 .Bowers ....... 3.95
0 Spltflre,Robertson. Harleyfordbook 14.95
0 LuftwaffeAircraft.Acel.Maloney .. 5.95
0 LuftwaffeColora,1935- 40 . . ........ 16.95
0 MesserschmlltAircraftDesigner ... 14.95
0 German CombatPlanel,Wagner,1941-45.
overl.oo0photos ................. 14_95
0 TheFockeWulf190,Nowarra ...... 14.95
0 TheMelserschmllll09.Nowarra ... 14.95
0 TheMesserachmlllBflO9 ........... 2.95
o AugsburgEagle(Bfl 09) ............ 9.95
o AcesFull,WWllfighterspilots&Planes . 10.95
o KnlghtsoftheBlackCro.., Mizrahi .. 12.95
PILOT MANUALS
o LockheedP-38 .............. 4.00
o BellP-39Alracoba .......... 3.50
o Curll.. P-40Warhawk .............. 3.50
o RepublicP-47Thunderboll 3.50
o NorthropP-61BlackWidow ......... 4.50
o BellP-63KingCobra .......... NEW4_50
o No.Amer.P-51Mustang Handbook. . 7.95
o F-82TwinMustang ............ NEW4.95
0 Chance-VoughtF-4UCor..lr ....... 4.50
0 GrummanF6FHellcat .............. 3.95
0 StoryofTheTexanAT-6 ............ 3.95
0 Boelng-B-17FlyingForlre...... NEW5.95
0 LockheedF-BOShoollnaStar ....... 4.50
0 SupermarineSpitfire . ... .. ... ... . ... 3.00
0 HawkerHurricane .................. 3.00
0 deHav111and 110 .............. 3.00
I

..
The antiquersbible.Encyclopedia of ATCplanes o 1975Annual(1974) .......4:95 ... r- - - --- - - -
giVi ngacompletedescription.history.production o 1976Annua1(1975) .. NEW4.95 IENC.$ Minn.res add 40/0 tax
data, performance. specifications with excellent
o SpeedSeekers,WWI -Schndr.Cup . 45.001 Name
photo coverage. Colorful narratives are woven
o Jimmy Doollllle, Gilnes. The stunt "Ylng.
throughoul tel ling of successes, failures and
airracingtohistoricTokyoairraid ... 5.95 I'Address
little-known anecdotes.Eachvolume covers 100
o EarlyAirRacersIn3-vlews1909-29 ... 4.95 .
ATCs. 300+ photos&300pages.
o NallonalAirRaceraInJ-vlewl '29- '49 . 4.95" Clt
y
---------------
o Vol. I.ATC #1 thru #100. 1927-29 11.95
o ModemAlrRaceraln3-vlewl' 4975. 4.95 .Slate ______ Zip _______
o Vol. II.ATC #101 thru #200:1929 11.95
o Sky Ship. The Akron Era, Hook New5.95 ; Postpaid 14 day Money back Guarantee
o Vol. III.ATC #201 Ihru #300.1929-30 11.95
o Vol. IV.ATC #301 thru #400. 1930-31 11.95
LZ 129 " Hindenburg" . Robl1son 2.95 l ' Add $1.00 handli fee fororders under$15.00
o Vol. V.ATC #401 thru #500.1931-33 11.95 ..' Shenandoah' Saga, Thom 5.95.......,..-----;;;",.-----------
o Vol. VI. ATC #501thru #600.1933-35 11.95
The AI,.hIDlAkron'M-.:.,n
- -
Vintage

. . , ...",
,;0- - "
(' ' -- Men and Thei

Claude Ryan, Lois Kelch and Dave Jameson attend-
ing the presentation of The Hamilton Metalplane at
" The Interview Circle" .
(Photo by Ted Kaston)
Below: The view from our little corner of the world.
Looking north, Ollies Woods is on the right.
(Photo by Dick Stouffer)
Above: " By George he did fly under the wires!" at
least it looks like he did. The star Cavalier and J5
Waco are in the foreground.

_.' ,..v' -...,-- _- - . . .
. '- .
(Photo by Dick Stouffer)
It is hard to believe that the years have been so kind
to the ornithopter engine. It only needed a clean-up
to run.
In its original form, feathers covered the wi ngs.
(Photo by Dick Stouffer)
Above: For those who missed the flying of the June
Bug, we are sorry. It took a week of effort, by many
people, to finally get the June Bug in the air. Due to
preparation time and need of calm air, it almost
missed flying.
(Photo by Ted Koston)
Below: A plucked ornithopter will never fly! Gene
Morris thought he would give it a try anyhow. Built
by James Clark in 1900, it is a 100% original ma-
chine. R. J. Boudeman is to be thanked for bringing
it to Oshkosh where many thousands could enjoy it.