October1998 Vol. 26,No.

10
CONTENTS
EDITORIALSTAFF
Publisher
TomPoberezny
Editor-in-Chief
JackCox
Editor
HenryG.Frautschy
ManagingEditor
GoldaCox
ContributingEditor
JohnUnderwood
ComputerGraphicSpecialists
NancyHanson OliviaL. Phillip
PierreKotze
StaffPhotographers
JimKoepnick LeeAnnAbrams
KenUchtenberg MarkSchaible
Advertising/EditorialAssistant
IsabelleWiske
1 Straight& LeveIlEspie"Butch"Joyce
2 AlC News
3 Aeromail
4 WhatOurMembersAreRestoring!
H.G. Frautschy
6 TheRedBarnlWaltKessler
9 MTOLuscombeFly-In!
GeneHorseman
13 EAAAirVenture' 98
21 WorthingtonCollection!
JohnUnderwood
25 MysteryPlanelH. G. Frautschy
26 PassItToBuckIBuckHilbert
29 WelcomeNewMembers
30 MembershipInformation
31 ClassifiedAds/Calendar
Page26
EAAANTIQUE/CLASSICDIVISION,INC.
OFFICERS
President Vice-President
Espie"Butch"Joyce GeorgeDaubner
P.O.Box35584 2448LoughLane
Greensboro,NC27425 Hartford.WI 53027
910/393-0344 414/673-5885
Secretary Treasurer
SteveNesse CharlesHarris
2OD9 HighlandAve. 7215East46thSt.
AlbertLea. MN56007 Tulsa. OK 74145
507/373-1674 918/622-8400

..
DIRECTORS
JohnBerendt GeneMorris
7645EchoPointRd. 5936SteveCourt
CannonFalls. MN55009 Roanoke,lX76262
5071263-2414 817/491-9110
PhilCoulson RobertC."Bob"Brauer
28415SpringbrookDr. 9345S. Hoyne
Lawton.MI49065
616/624-<>490

JoeDickey
JohnS. Copeland
55OakeyAv.
1 ADeaconStreet
Lawrenceburg. IN 47025
Northborough,MA01532
812/537-9354
508/393-4775
DaleA.Gustafson
StanGomOll
7724ShadyHill Dr.
104290thLane. NE
Indianapolis.IN46278
MN55434
317/293-4430
612/784-1172
RobertUckteig JeannieHili
1708BayOaksDr. P.O. Box328
AlbertLea. MN56007 Harvard.IL60033
507/373-2922 815/943-7205
DeanRichardson RobertD."Bob"Lumley
6701 ColonyDr. 1265South 124thSt.
Madison,WI 53717 Brookfield. WI53005
608/833-1291 414/782-2633
S.H_"Wes'Schmid GeoffRobison
2359LefeberAvenue 1521 E. MacGregorDr.
Wauwatosa.WI 53213 NewHaven.IN 46774
414/771-1545 219/493-4724
FRONTCOVER...StevePitcairn. BrynAthyn. PAflies his newly restored Pitcairn
PA-8SuperMailwingin theforegroundwhileMikePoseyfliestherecentlycom-
pletedrestorationofthePitcairnPA-6SportMailwing. Bothairplaneswere
judgedReserveGrandChampionAntiquesatEAAAirVenture '98. EAAphoto
byJimKoepnick.shotwitha CanonEOSln equippedwithan80-200mmlens.
1/125sec.@ fllonFujiSensia 100ASAslidefilm.EAACessna210planeflown
byBruceMoore.
BACKCOVER..."EarlyMorningOps" is thetitleofthisJimDietzmasterworkdone
inoilonMasonite.Paintedin 1985.itdepictsa WW-I squadronofS.E.5sasthey
arereadiedfora missionlaunchedfroma Frenchcountryfarmaerodrome.
This paintingis oneof43DietzpaintingsondisplaythispastJunethroughSep-
temberintheEAAAirAdventureMuseum.Ourthankstoall theartworkowners
wholenttheirpaintingsforthisdisplay.
DIRECTORS EMERITUS
GeneChase E.E. "Buck"Hilbert
2159CarttonRd. P.O.8ox424
Oshkosh,WI 54904 Union.IL60180
9201231-5002 815/923-4591
Copyright 1998bytheEMAntique/ClassicDivisionInc.All rightsreserved.
VINTAGEAIRPLANE (ISSN 0091-6943) is published and owned exclusively by the EM Antique/Classic Division. Inc. of the Experimental
Aircraft Association and is publishedmonthlyat EMAviation Center. 3000 Poberezny Rd.,P.O. Box 3086, Oshkosh, Wisconsin 54903-3086.
PeriodicalsPostagepaidatOshkosh,Wisconsin54901 andatadditionalmailingoffices.The membershiprate forEMAntique/ClassicDivision,
Inc.is$27.00forcurrentEMmembersfor12monthperiodofwhich$18.00 isforthe publicationofVINTAGEAIRPLANE. Membershipisopen
toall whoareinterestedinaviation.
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to EM Antique/Classic Division, Inc.,P.O. Box 3086,Oshkosh,WI 54903-3086.FOREIGN AND APO
ADDRESSES- PleaseallowatleasttwomonthsfordeliveryofVINTAGEAIRPLANEtoforeignandAPOaddressesviasurfacemail.
ADVERTISING - Antique/Classic Division doesnotguarantee or endorse any productoffered through the advertising. We inviteconstructive
criticism andwelcomeanyreportofinferiormerchandiseoblainedthroughouradvertisingsothatcorrectivemeasurescanbetaken.
EDITORIAlPOUCY:Readersareencouraged tosubmitstoriesand photographs. Policyopinionsexpressed inarticlesaresolelythoseofIhe
authors. Responsibilityforaccuracyinreportingrestsentirelywiththecontributor.Norenumerationismade.
Materialshculdbesentto: Editor,VINTAGEAIRPLANE,P.O. Box3086, Oshkosh,WI54903-3086. Phone920/426-4800.
The wordsEM,ULTRAUGHT,FLYWITH THE FIRSTTEAM, SPORT AVIATION, FOR THE LOVE OF FLYING and the logosofEM,EM
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ADVISORS
SIeveKrog RogerGomoll
1002HeatherIn. 321-1/2S. Broadway
Hartford.WI 53027 Apt.3
414/966-7627 Rochester. MN55904
507288-2810
AlanShackleton DavidBenneH
P.O. Box656 403TannerCt.
SugarGrove.IL60554-0656 Roseville. CA95678
630-466-4931 91&-782-7025
STRAIGHT&LEVEL
by ESPIE "BUTCH" JOYCE
D
uring the Fall season, people get
to enjoy the wonderful local fly-
ins such as Brodhead, WI,
Camden, SC, and others. It has always
been one of my favorite times of the
year to go flying, with the crisp morn-
ing air and beautiful skies we often see
during this time of year. Why not wake
up extra early and get in a hour of flying
before heading off to the office?
This past weekend the North Car-
olina Department of Transportation
once again sponsored the North
Carolina Coastal Air Tour. Last year,
because of a hurricane headed for the
coast, the tour was canceled. It is very
enjoyable, and you get to see some ter-
ritory you don't see during the rest of
the year, since you get cleared to fly
through some restricted airspace that
you do not normally get to penetrate.
I have not been too smart these past
couple of years about timing personal
events so they would not interfere with
fun flying around the country during
the Fall.
Lets see, last year my right foot was
giving me a fit. I left one Friday after-
noon in the cabin Waco heading
towards the AlC Chapter 3 Spring fly-in
at Roanoke Rapids, NC. The wind was
really blowing and the ride was not
good. After about 15 min. of rudder
work I decided to return the Waco back
to the hanger and put my foot up to rest.
After this episode I decided to go talk to
the doctor about my problem. He told
me that I had an inflamed nerve. No
kidding! Since I was on the receiving
end of this nerve's signals, I was read-
ing it loud and clear! Now, ifI wanted
this nerve to be happy, the Doc told me
he would have to remove it and send it
somewhere else. "This only involves a
small operation," etc., but what is small
to the doctor and to me are apparently
two different things.
Okay, figuring out the best time to
do this took a good deal of thought. I'll
do it just after the EAA Oshkosh Con-
vention and I will be ready to enjoy the
great Fall flying weather.
What turned out to be two-week re-
covery period actually was more like a
six-month recovery! It was like the
annual inspection that never ends. I am
still recovering and almost back to nor-
mal today. It is unbelievable how much
punishment the lower area of your body
takes, somewhat like the tail wheel on
my Luscombe. This all took place in the
fall of 1997 and I made a promise to
myself that I would never let this hap-
pen agam.
Now here' s a story that, for many of
you, will have a familiar ring.
After Christmas 1997, Norma and I
started thinking about selling the Kern-
ersville, NC house that we lived in. We
were told that the spring of the year was
a good time to put your house on the
market, soooo, the first of April '98 we
did so. Guess what- the very first peo-
ple who looked at the house bought it.
Of course this all happened the week
we were to leave for Sun 'n Fun '98.
We returned from Sun 'n Fun after the
fly-in and started packing, not even
knowing where we would be going.
Luckily, in the past I had built an apart-
ment in one end of my airplane hanger,
so we stored most of the stuff at my
home place in Madison, NC which I
also had up for sale. Norma and I, with
our two dogs, moved into the hanger.
The Luscombe makes a nice towel rack
and when you are going to make a trip
in the airplane, you don't have to worry
what time you need to be at the hanger!
Nothing good on television? Just step
out into the hangar and go out and work
on the airplane.
For our next trick, I decided we could
just throw some fresh paint on the home
place and move in there until we de-
cided where we want our next home.
This is just like throwing some paint on
an airplane - You don't want it to look
bad, so I have to try and do it right. This
home project has turned into a total in-
terior restoration, with new plumbing,
wiring, kitchen, bathrooms, paint and
other things that I didn't know you
could replace . How many aircraft
restorations have just started out with,
"[ think I will replace the windshield."
Yep, been there, done that one too! In
fact, I am writing this S&L on my lap-
top computer while waiting for a coat of
paint to dry enough so I can apply a sec-
ond coat to the bathrooms. The exterior
work will be done after we have the in-
side completed and have moved in. I
hope to be moved in by October I, ' 98.
[ will let you know next month if! make
this deadline.
There is an AIC Chapter 3 fly-dur-
ing October. This past year in your
"Vintage Airplane" magazine we have
tried to make each issue more safety
oriented with different articles in the
magazine, as well as conducting semi-
nars during AirVenture Oshkosh and
by word-of-mouth. It seems that this
effort may be paying off as the "no
brainer" accidents seem to be tapering
off somewhat. We have not had a hand
propping accident for some time now,
so lets all just use good common sense
when using our aircraft. You'll be a
safer pilot for doing so. Should you
know someone out there who should
be a member, invite them to join up-
we would love to have them as a
member. Lets all pull in the same di-
rection for the good of aviation.
Remember we are better together, Join
Us and Have It All!
Butch
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 1
often include articles ofatechnical nature $1.00pergallonrebate for the fuel they
to help us all get smarteraboutrestoring usedduringtheirYoungEaglesflights.
A/CNEWS and maintaining ourolderaircraft. While The rebates, which are issued only
we are able to writemany ofthesearticles throughtheparentcompanyandnotthrough
compiled by H.G. Frautschy
TYPECLUBLISTING
Onceagain, we'llpublishourcompre-
hensivelistofTypeClubsin ourDecember
issueofVintageAirplane,enablingyou to
find yourparticularspecial interestgroup
withinthevintageairplanefamily.Ifyou run
aTypeClub,we'dappreciate it ifyou would
dropusanotedetailingthenameoftheclub,
mailing address for membership,phone
numbers, E-mail and websiteaddresses, and
the frequencyandtypeofpublicationyouof-
fer. Finally,please listyourdues, both U.S.
and foreign. We'llbe mailingoutthe update
postcardfor thoseclubsalready listed inour
December 1997editioninthe nextcoupleof
weeks,butifyou have somethingnew to tell
usabout,please dropusalineat:
VintageAirplane
P.O. Box3086
Oshkosh, WI 54904
TECHNICALARTICLES
As membersoftheDivision,you seewe
and pickup others from the TypeClub
newsletters,we are alwaysopen to submis-
sionsby members on technical subjectson
which they have found asolution,orper-
hapsjustadifferentway to accomplish a
particulartask.You needn'tbe concerned
ifyou don'tthinkyou have writingtalent
orcan illustrateyourarticle-wecan take
care ofthathere at EAA HQ- but we'd
like to includeas manysubjectsas possible
in ourmagazine.You can send yourarti-
clesto the address noted above, and ifyou
have any otherquestions,call the editorat
920-426-4825.
YOUNGEAGLES
REBATE PROGRAM
We'dlike to remind the membership
thatPhillips 66 hasgenerouslyofferedto
continue to sponsorthe Young EaglesPro-
gram though its rebate program. Thisyear,
the programcontinuesthrough the fall and
wintermonthsuntil April 14,1999.Eligible
pilotswho make theirPhillips66 100LL
aviationgas purchasesataPhillips66 FBO
ontheirPhillips66creditcardcanreceivea
the FBOs, canbe obtained by mailingthe
fuel receipts(orcopies)alongwith asigned
statementattestingto thefact the fuel was
used in theYoungEaglesprogramto:
Young EaglesRebateOffer
Phillips66Company
617 Adams Building
Bartlesville,OK74004
To getaPhillips66 creditcard,you can
callthecompanyat 1-800/362-7759(9a.m.-
5p.m., M-F) orby accessingthePhillips66
web siteatwww.aviation.phillips66.com.
AERONCASTRUTAD?
Atpress time, we were beginningto re-
ceive reports that the FAA, based on
informationgleanedfrom Service Diffi-
cultyReports, was looking into issuingan
Airworthiness Directivedealingwith rust-
ing liftstrutson Aeronca7and II series
aircraft. We understandthe investigation
into the struts,similarto what happened to
thePiperliftStrutAD someyears ago, is in
the preliminarystages, and we'll keep you
posted regardingthis developmentinfuture
issuesofVintage Airplane. ...
INTERNATIONALEAAANTIQUE/CLASSICHALLOFFAME
On thispage is the nominatingpetition
for the EAA Antique/ClassicDivision Hall
ofFame.Ifyouwishtonominateanindivid-
ual who youbelievehas madeasignificant
contributionto theadvancementofaviation
between 1950and the presentday,please
makeacopyofthis form, fill itout,addsup-
portingmaterialand send itto: CharlesW.
Harris,P.O. Box470350, Tulsa, OK74147-
0350. Please mark the envelope: EAA
Antique/Classic DivisionHall ofFame,
Attn: C. Harris.
Please be as thorough and objectiveas
possible.Attachcopiesofmaterialsyoudeem
appropriateand helpfulto thecommittee.
Theperson you nominate musthave ad-
vancedthe field ofaviationduringtheperiod
1950tothepresentday.Theycanbeacitizen
ofany country, andmay be livingordead.
Theircontributioncouldbe in the areas of
flying,design, mechanical oraerodynamic
developments,administration, writing, or
some othervital,relevantfield, orany com-
binationoffields thatsupportaviation.
To beconsideredforinductionintothe
EAAAntique/ClassicHallofFameduring
1999,petitionsmustbereceivedNov. 1,1998.
Person'snamesubmittingthis petition:__________________
Street __________________PhoneNumber______
City State Zip_________
Personnominatedfor inductionintheEAAAntique/ClassicDivisionHallofFame:
Name _____________________________
Street __________________PhoneNumber______
City State Zip_________
DateofBirth IfDeceased, DateofDeath _________
Areaofcontributionsto aviation ____________________
Dateortimespanofthenominee'scontributionstoaviation.Mustbebetween1950- tothepresentday.
Describetheeventornatureofactivitiesthenomineehasundertakeninaviationtobeworthyof
inductionintotheEAAAntique/ClassicHallofFame. _____________
Describeotherachievementsthe nomineehasmadeinotherrelatedfields in aviation. ___
Has thenomineealreadybeen honoredfor bis/herinvolvementin aviation,and/orthecontribu-
tionyou arestatingin thispetition? (Circleone) Yes No
If yes,pleaseexplainthenatureofthehonorand/orawardthenominee has received. ___
Pleaseattachany supportingmaterialwith
Otherinformation _________________________
your petitionfor thecommittee'sreview.
2 OCTOBER 1998
VINTAGE
AeroMail
EDITOR,VINTAGEAIRPLANE
I am writing in relation to a story in
the May issue 1998, "Puppy Love." On
seeing the pictures, I was disappointed
that the tail number was not that of my
first airplane, a Buhl "Bull Pup." My
airplane had Goodyear Airwheels in-
stead of the larger wheels of the airplane
pictured. Then when I read the rest of
the story, there it was NC377Y.
In 1938 I was a Private in the Army
Air Corps at Mitchell Field on Long Is-
land, New York flying in Martin B-1 Os
and later 8-18s as a radio operator. A
friend also doing the same work had a
pilot's license and bought the Pup and
after flying it awhile, decided to step up
to a Great Lakes Trainer so I bought the
Pup from him with the agreement that I
could use the Great Lakes to learn to fly
if I could find a rated instructor. I found
several at nearby Roosevelt Field and
started my training. We hangared both
planes at Fitzmaurice Field not far
away. It was a small grass field oper-
ated by Tom Murphy and had little traf-
fic most of the time. I think that "Wrong
Way Corrigan" had used this field at an
earlier date. On December 24, 1938 I
was at the field early and had the Pup
and the Great Lakes out of the hangar
waiting for my instructor to arrive. Af-
ter waiting about 45 minutes I
then found an Army pilot who had an
instructor rating and he kindly signed
me off as soloed.
It was only recently that an old pilot
friend told me that the Pup had a bad
reputation while spinning. I never had
any trouble with NC377Y. I had seen
the previous owner spin it safely so I
borrowed a parachute from my Army
squadron and did as the book said and I
learned to recover from a three-turn
spin. It was a very forgiving little air-
plane and I later tried other mild
aerobatics with it. It would snap roll
nicely but I had trouble with a simple
loop as it usually stalled out at the top
and then flip over and continue flying. I
am not trying to act like a hot aerobatic
pilot, but in those days anyone who
flew managed to do simple aerobatics. I
received a Solo Pilot License at Roo-
sevelt Field in March 1939. The inspector
watched me fly around the field and
make three landings and that was it. It
put a nice low number on my present
Commercial License. Later in 1939 af-
ter I had logged about a hundred hours
in the Pup I learned that the Army Air
Corps was accepting pilots for training
- Continued on page 28-
decided to start up the Pup and taxi
around for practice. Both planes had
no brakes and a tail skid. The Pup
was much easier to handle than the
Lakes and after several fast straight
taxi runs I gave it full throttle and I
could feel it wanted to fly, so we did.
I then practiced everything my in-
structors had taught me in ten hours
in the Lakes and felt quite confident
so when I saw Tom arrive at the field,
I made my first landing. That turned
out pretty good so I made several
more. I had paid my instructors $2.00
an hour, the going rate at the time,
and never saw any of them again. I
Chuck Adams' Buhl Pup in 1938 at
Fitzmaurice Field, Long Island, NY. The
spinner was made from a kitchen funnel,
and the nose cowling front was built
form an aluminum dish pan. He flew it all
winter, but it did run cold.
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 3
WHATOUR.MEMBERSARERESTORING
---------------------------byH.G.Frautschy
WACORNF
Warren Erickson (EAA 532276) of Edina, MN sent us these
sharp photos of his 1930 Waco RNF, SIN 3308, a couple ofyears
ago. Restored in 1990, it has a pair of very nice metal wheel
pants, and outstanding metal work surrounding the newly over-
FORMERL-4
Bert T. Okoniewski (EAA 79074, AlC 1913) of Shelby
Township, MI has enjoyed his J-3 Cub for a long time -
since 1962 to be exact! Acquired from a man who had to
sell it to finance his daughter's wedding, he flew it until
1967, when he began to restore it. A former military L-4,
the restoration was finished in 1969, and it now has over
3,800 hours on the airframe and Ceconite 101 fabric. Bert,
who calls his plane a "Customized Antique-Warbird," has
been flying for a while as well. He had his first dual flight
in a Kinner powered Bird biplane December 3, 1937 at
Hartung Airport in Roseville, MI.
hauled Warner 165 which turns a Falcon prop. Unfortunately, the
Falcon prop is no longer available in certified form, due to overly
restrictive FAA requirements regarding the source of the wood
used in the manufacture of the prop. Warren sits in the cockpit of
the red and silver RNF at the Faribault, MN airport.
4 OCTOBER 1998
FRENCH-REGISTERED WACO UPF-7's
These two UPF-7's are of the only ones on the French reg-
ister, and are owned by Xavier Canu (EAA 576934, A/C
28607) and his father. The darker photo ofF-AZJC was pre-
viously registered in the USA as NC29998. Before it was
transported overseas, it was used as a sightseeing airplane in
the North Carolina Outer Banks region, flying tourists in
NEEDHAM'S NAVION
Navions have one of the most loyal followings in the
Vintage Airplane world, and Lloyd Needham (EAA
498508) and his wife are no exception. Purchased about 6
years ago, they've put in plenty of time doing the "Wax
on, wax off' drill to keep the 1949 model Ryan looking
good. They also had the 205 hp Continental overhauled,
and had some structural work performed too. Recently re-
tired, Lloyd is looking forward to attending fly-ins and
answering the many questions from the admiring fellow
pilots and spectators.
the vicinity of the
Wright Brother's
Memorial. It now
has 150 hours on it
since it was restored.
When it was bought
by Xavier, it had a
number of interest-
ing modifications ,
including a rear cockpit enclosure, a 300 hp Lycoming, and a
higher rear turtle deck to accommodate the cockpit mods .
Xavier added the EAA and U.S. flag decals to honor the air-
plane' s heritage.
The second airplane (left) is also a modified UPF-7, and is
flown in airshows in France. Registered as F-AZLC, it sports
a 450 hp Pratt & Whitney R-985 engine and a three-bladed
prop. A new engine mount, along with new flying wires and
ailerons were also installed at the time of its recent restoration
which included a snazzy airshow paint scheme. We'd bet it's
a real crowd pleaser!
"POOKY"
Thi s pretty J-3 is a Dave Henderson restoration, having
gone from "tired workhorse" to "pampered pet" according to
owner Martha Eney (EAA 580013, A /C 28864) of Lusby,
MD. Martha learned to fly and soloed in this same airplane in
1982-83, and bought it later after someone else bent it in a
landing accident. The Cub is now equipped with a Continental
C-85-12 including a starter, generator and full electrical sys-
tem to power the radio and Mode C transponder. Martha says
they've put over 54 hours on the Cub since bringing it home to
their houx/hangar on a rural Maryland residential airpark.
Have you got a restoration you just finished, or one ject? Avoid writing on the back ofthe photo please, and
you're still proud to call your own? Why not send us a slides are okay as well Here's the address:
sharp, well-exposed photo ofyour pride andjoy, along with Editor, Vintage Airplane
a note containing a few sentences telling us about your pro- P.O. Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54904-3086
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 5
THB'R BARN
A ficti onalstoryofdiscovery
It stood out there all by itself. Acres
of com and soybeans have since given
way to bulldozers, lumber, concrete,
paved roads and freshly built homes
that all look alike. The barn sat on a
crest and was the oldest building for
miles around. Its deep red and gray
hues were muted now, weathered by
the sun and the many seasons that
have passed.
A magnificent structure for its day, it
was built back around 1930. Built with
heavy timber, its roof was double
trussed and its floors were over an inch
thick. Upon completion, it was painted
bam red with white trim. Its foundation
of heavy stone and concrete would last
a lifetime.
Now, however, its days were num-
bered, or so most people thought. The
property had been owned by Moses
Ackeheimer and his family. Moses'
granddad homesteaded the lush farm-
land many years before.
The bam was said to have contained
an old biplane that was very rare. A
Travel Air 4-P, it was called. It was the
only one ever manufactured and came
from a long line of famous Travel Air air-
craft manufactured in Wichita, Kansas.
The Travel Air 4-P was built in 1929
and Moses bought it direct from the fac-
tory and flew it home himself. He
fought in the skies during WW -I, but
unfortunately not for long. He was shot
down in his Camel and sustained multi-
ple bums that left the right side of his
face discolored and scarred for life.
The injury also left him emotionally
distraught for years to come.
After flying his beloved Travel Air
for several years from his remote
airstrip, he finally put it up for sale. As
a one-of-a-kind aircraft and extremely
6 OCTOBER 1998
by WALT KESSLER, AI C 6989
rare, he had many offers but for some
reason refused them all. He just could-
n't part with it.
Storing it in the barn was his first
thought but his concern with fire, and
high winds during the tornado season
in Illinois was always a big worry.
Eventually Moses changed his mind
and decided to store the Travel Air in
the barn, but only after taking some
special precautions.
His business interests grew and after
several trips to California (he also loved
the ocean), he soon became a West
Coast landowner and developer.
Commuting back and forth from his
home near Woodstock, Illinois to Hunt-
ington Beach got to be a chore for him.
As the years passed he became quite
cantankerous and made enemies of
some of his neighbors near his farm .
He first bought several guard dogs and
that didn't work out. He finally put up
a barbed wire fence that surrounded his
farm, including his house and bam.
He married Anita Hall and she bore
him several sons and a daughter. Each
of his trips to the West Coast lasted
longer than the one before and as a re-
sult he saw less and less of his growing
family. The day of great decision fi-
nallyarrived. They divorced quietly.
His lawyers settled the community
property issue very generously in favor
of his family; however, one very im-
portant stipulation stood out. The bam
was to be maintained at all costs and
never entered, destroyed or tom down
by any family member as long as
Moses was alive.
Its contents were to be kept a family
secret or hence a portion of each of their
inheritance would be forfeited and
given to charity. As none of them
wanted to be poor, they heartily agreed
to his demands. This was the depres-
sion era and money was scarce.
Nothing was to happen to his beloved
Travel Air. Why he never took it with
him to California remained a mystery.
He built a small home near the ocean
in California, worked very hard and at
the ripe old age of 83, Moses passed
away. A very despondent and lonely
old man, he died leaving a vast fortune
to his family.
During his lifetime he had very few
close friends. From time to time when
he visited the Midwest, he would stop
by his old farm and after a brief visit
with his former wife, Anita, he would
wander out to the barn and stay there
for as long as three hours at a time.
The neighbors spread rumors, his
children often peeked, but the doors to
the bam were always sealed. No one
ever got in, to his knowledge anyway.
Anita had never remarried and she
and their only daughter, Priscilla, re-
mained living in the house. As they
grew older, the rest of the children all
moved away. Most of the land was sold
off except for an acre or so where the
ramshackle old house and barn re-
mained. Rumors also persisted that a
great deal of money was buried some-
where on the property.
Suburbia had enveloped the area
and young families with children in
buggies were everywhere. Each day
the sounds of heavy construction
equipment moved closer to their home
and the old bam. Eventually developers
had moved in to build on all sides of
the Ackeheimer's property. There was
no place else to go.
One Sunday evening a long black
vehicle arrived at the home and took
L
contents over to Moses' executors and a
close friend of Moses was called in to
shed some light on the trunk's contents.
They all surmised that Moses must
have worn the goggles, helmet and
leather flying coat while in France dur-
ing the war. Reading the diary, they
discovered a notation of a 1929 Travel
Air 4-P that was supposed to be stored
in Moses' bam back in Illinois. The en-
try was dated July 2, 1932.
Moses' friend was not an aviation
expert, so he took the trunk and its con-
tents to an acquaintance who was
knowledgeable on the subject. His
name was Ed Clark.
Clark had restored dozens of aircraft
over the past 35 years and had a restora-
tion shop located near the Hawthorne
Airport. He was an expert on deHavil-
land aircraft, primarily the Tiger Moth
and its predecessor, the Gypsy Moth.
He was currently restoring five Gypsy
Moths, all at the same time.
Moses' will had declared that the
IravelAir 4-P would be sold for a $1.00
fee to a qualified individual who was an
experienced airorafi restorer. Ed Oark
surely would fit the bill.
Ed paid $'100.00 for the trunk and
eyerything in it, then pushed it aside to
cornen ofbis shop. He thought-about
the n(!)tatioIbin the diary" but aftet 60
year t h ~ e is no . 31 . that1'he old bam
would bring forth such a treasure as a
Travel Air 4-P.
Several months passed by and one
day Clark got a call from Moses' law
firm. A few days later, after meeting
with the attorneys, he walked out of
their office a stunned man. He was now
the owner of a Travel Air 4-P.
Well, at least the bam shouldn't be
too hard to find, Ed thought to himself.
He decided to fly to Illinois to investi-
gate. After arriving at O'Hare Field, he
rented a car with and with the help of a
local rural map, headed northwest to-
ward the Woodstock area.
He was to meet a man who repre-
sented the Ackeheimer estate in Illinois
at the site of the old homestead. As he
neared the Woodstock area, he was
amazed at the large sprawling suburban
communities . The housing tracts
seemed to go on forever.
He tried to visualize what the area
was once like. Open rolling farm fields
for miles, rich black soil, uncluttered
and unspoiled. Vast open prairies, he
thought. Now it was suburbia, over-
crowded with roads that couldn't handle
the traffic. Grid lock they call it; almost
like the city, he thought to himself.
As he turned a bend in the road he
took his foot off the accelerator and
started to slow down. There standing
before him completely out of contrast to
the neat rows of small frame houses sur-
rounding it, was the barn and the
dilapidated old farm house. The home
the family had lived in for years looked
as though it would fall over at any mo-
ment. It was beyond gray in color and it
looked as ifit was leaning a bit. Vacant
for over a year, some of the windows
were already shattered and broken.
"What was in the bam?," he thought
to himself. "A truly rare aircraft? Most
likely nothing. After 60 years?" It
looked old but also quite sturdy. "Bet-
ter than the house," he mused. "Aren't
old airplanes supposed to be found in
barns? You hear stories like that from
everyone," he wondered. "Although I
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 7
never talked to anyone firsthand, any-
way, who found a plane in a bam. You
always hear about them, usually from
someone else."
He sat in his car thinking and waiting
for his acquaintance to arrive. Staring
at the bam he thought, only a handful of
people really know what might be in
that bam.
The young man finally drove up and
parked next to Clark's car. He was late.
After apologizing, he introduced himself.
His name was Mark. He reached back
into his car and withdrew a large brown
envelope and handed it to Clark. These
were the final legal papers that gave
Clark possession of the Travel Air 4-P.
Upon examining the contents, a key
fell out. It was the key to the bam door
and Clark, picking it up, nervously turned
it over and over in his hand as he and
Mark walked over to the bam. "It sure is
weather beaten," Clark exclaimed.
It was built with eight inch by eight
inch wooden timber and was as sturdy
as the day it was constructed. Hesitat-
ing and a little nervous, Ed put the key
in the rusty old lock. After a few turns,
he heard it click and the lock sprung
open. He slowly opened the door and
walked inside. He could feel the floor
beneath him give way a little. His knees
were shaking a bit too. The floor
creaked and groaned under the weight
of each step that he took. Mark stood
outside, near the doorway.
Once inside, Clark slowly looked
around the building. It was empty.
Cussing to himself about this wild goose
chase, his eyes, opened wide now,
looked around for some tell-tale clue as
to what to do next. He thought to him-
self, I traveled all this distance! For
what? I knew it! He was quite dis-
gusted with himself.
The young man he had just met stood
in the doorway, his dark silhouette sur-
rounded by brilliant sunlight that filtered
through the doorway. As Clark slowly
and disgustingly retraced his footsteps
leading back to the open door, some-
thing shiny on the floor caught his eye.
The building was full of years of accu-
mulated fine dust and debris that had
filtered in through the tiny cracks and
crevices of the barn's wooden walls.
The object shined like a large glass mar-
ble. It looked clear in color. He bent
over to pick it up but it wouldn't budge.
Clearing the fine dirt and rubble
from around the object, he noticed how
8 OCTOBER 1998
warped the boards were that made up
the floor. He got on his knees and with
his head bent down really close, he
scanned the floor to see how level it
was. His eyes followed the floor line all
the way to the far wall. The floorboards
were so warped and bent that at its cen-
ter, the floor sank almost a foot,
particularly around the clear glass object
where the wood had started to rot away.
Picking up a small piece of discarded
wood he had found, Ed began to tap
gently on the floorboards. It sounds hol-
low under there, he thought. It suddenly
occurred to him, there was probably an-
other room beneath the bam!
He began to scratch away the debris,
not really knowing what he was looking
for. After about ten minutes or so he fi-
nally found something. A rusted metal
ring attached firmly to the floor. At
first he thought the ring was for tying
down farm equipment. After clearing
more dirt and debris away, rusty hinges
appeared a few feet from the metal ring.
He couldn't believe it! He had discov-
ered what looked like a trapdoor.
Mark brought him a flashlight from
his car and it took the strength of both
men to pull back the aging wooden
trapdoor. Shining the flashlight below,
he saw an old wooden ladder perched
on the floor below him extending up-
ward to the entrance of the trapdoor.
After carefully checking the strength
of the ladder with one foot, Clark slowly
started to lower himself to the room be-
low. The flashlight, dangling from its
wrist strap around his arm, was swing-
ing beams of light back and forth into
the dark depths beneath him.
Upon reaching the floor, his light
picked up the cleanliness of the room.
It was spotless and the floor was cov-
ered with metal. Like standing inside a
pristine fuselage of an old airliner, he
thought to himself. He brought up the
flashlight to waist level and slowly
swung the beam around the large room.
It looked as it if was on a revolving
theatrical stage. First his light caught
the upper wing tip, then the lower wing
came into view. The flying wires and
landing wires were next. He was ner-
vous. The flashlight shook in his hand.
Then, the full impact of it hit him. This
mouth, dry from the dust above, opened
in shocked amazement.
His Travel Air 4-P sat there before
his very own eyes. Ed started to shake
with excitement. Its bright yellow
wings and red-orange fuselage stood
out brilliantly in the beam of his flash-
light. The aircraft sat on its axles, resting
on wooden blocks. The bright yellow
tail section was hoisted up high on the
sturdy metal jack.
He walked around to examine the
engine. It was an A.C.E. La I, which
was a development of the earlier Jacobs
and Fisher radial air-cooled engine.
Eventually it would become the Jacobs
engine which was very popular during
the 1930s and later years.
He had done a little research on the
Travel Air 4-P prior to his departing for
O'Hare Field. This engine looks brand
new, he thought. He was overjoyed!
He couldn't take his eyes off his mag-
nificent beauty.
Finally he forced himself to look
away, but just for a moment, to be sure
he wasn't imagining this incredible ex-
perience. He shined the beam of light
once again on his rare beauty.
The light from his flashlight stared at
one wall and its bright beam quickly re-
turned, as if shining into a mirror. He
walked to the wall and feeling it with
his hands, discovered it was made of
aluminum sheeting. He looked at the
floor. It, too, was made of aluminum.
He looked up to the ceiling as his bright
beam caught sight of more gleaming
metal, except for one area. It looked
like the ceiling had not been completed.
The ceiling was not very high. The
metal ceiling had to have been con-
structed after the Travel Air was lowered
into the room. Whoever built the room
had not completed it, or maybe it was
built this way purposely. He also noticed
that the room was very cool and dry, like
an old-fashioned root cellar of years ago.
Where the ceiling was not covered
with the aluminum sheeting it had
started to sag. The rotted boards had
warped and their weight had reached
down to the vertical tail of the Travel
Air. The clear navigational light ,
mounted on the top of the tail, had pen-
etrated and protruded upward through
the old rotted boards of the ceiling.
This was a tomb, he thought. His
prized Travel Air 4-P had been mummi-
fied these past 60 years in a tomb.
"What did you find?" his young
friend from above yelled down to him.
"A piece of history," Clark yelled
back. "A piece of history! "
-Continued on page 29-
TheSecondAnnuai
MTOLuscombeFly-In
by GENE HORSEMAN, photos by JERRY COX
The second annual MTO Luscombe
Fly-In at Mattoon, IL began on Friday,
June 12 with a bang. Thunder, that is!
The weather had been nice for most of
the day, particularly from the west. The
weather word east of Indianapolis was
socked in.
By 4:00 p.m., 12 Luscombes had ar-
rived but so had a line of thunderstorms
passing overhead. The Coles County
Airport had set aside their large hangar
just for the fly-in and the decision was
made to get the airplanes under cover as
quickly as possible. Five empty " T"
hangars were filled and two airplanes
put in the smaller FBO hangar, with five
more put in the larger hangar. Some of
the pilots had gone to the motel to check
in, but remaining willing hands swiftly
moved airplanes into the hangars.
As the weather worsened, two more
Luscombes landed and were hustled
into the big hangar with the occupants
still in them, as it was beginning to rain.
As the hangar door touched down, the
MTO Unicorn announced that another
Luscombe was in the pattern. Radio
contact was maintained, as as soon as
the last Luscombe's prop stopped just
outside the hangar, the plane was moved
inside so Mr. Robert Gustafson of
Auburn Hills, MI could step out, crisp
and dry! After the storm passed over,
the sun came out and we were treated to
a beautiful double rainbow.
How many fly-ins have you attended
Tuck safely away in the Central Illinois Air hangar and out of the wind, rain and hail, these eight Luscombes wait for the thunderstorms to pass.
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 9
This beautiful Staggerwing Beech, registered to Lester M. Grotpeter of St. Louis, MO, gets a good going-over by these two youngsters.
Bob Kellogg of Louisville, KY was last year's Members Choice and Luscombe Enthusiasts Newsletter
where all the aircraft were put inside to award winning airplane.
allow bad weather to pass? All pi-
lots expressed their appreciation,
particularly the ones who came back
from the motel as quickly as possi-
ble to find their Luscombe had
already been placed inside the wann
and dry hangars.
By noon on Saturday we had 25
Luscombes on the field and by mid-
afternoon there were 29. There were
2 T-8Fs, 3 ragwings one 8C and and
the rest were made up of 8E and 8F
models. The weather was sunny and
breezy, but a perfect day for a fly-in.
A judging panel went to work to pick
out the best.
An unusual treat for those who
were aware of it was the appearance
of a 92-year-old gentleman who had
driven 50 miles just to see the Lus-
combes after reading about the fly-in
in the local paper. Fly-in host Jerry
Cox took him for a ride in his Lus-
combe and he was so enthused that he
10 OCTOBER 1998
The Luscombe of Phil Kruger, Indianapolis, IN is inspected by the spectators at the MTO Luscombe fly-In.
Carl Solze, 92 years old, is all buckled in and ready for takeoff in Jerry Cox's Luscombe came back on Sunday, but most of the
November 1947 Bravo. aircraft had left for home. His name was
Carl Solze, and he assured us that he
will be at MTO '99 Luscombe Fly-in!
We were also visited by a Beech Stag-
gerwing, Beech T -34, an Ercoupe, a
Cessna 195 and a Blackhawk helicopter.
After lunch, Jack Norris, a member of
the EAA C.A.F.E. team and a member
of the Voyager" 'round the world" team
spoke to the group. His theme was how
much progress science had made over
our history. He touched on the Apollo
space program and the Voyager and then
covered power and drag on Luscombes
and what was the most efficient speed
and power. Jack has been a Luscombe
owner for may years and knows of what
he speaks. His talk was very interesting.
Jack was followed by Rick Duck-
worth conducting the Luscombe forum.
Many topics pertaining to Luscombe
maintenance, parts and problems were
discussed. Rick complimented the vol-
unteers and their work. Jerry Cox
informed the group that the new Re-
naissance Luscombe was to be shown at
the fly-in but it could not make it out of
Maryland due to the weather.
By this time the judges had finished
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 11
their work and it was trophy time. The
beautiful trophies were presented to:
Outstanding SA went to N 116SK,
owned by Mark and Yvonne May of
Chapmansboro, TN. Outstanding SE was
N11 76 owned by Chip Kepp oflndianapo-
li s, fN. Outstanding SF was NS32 owned
by Robert Gustafson of Pontiac, ML Out-
standing T -SF was IS27B owned by Irwin
Reeb of Belleville, IL. The members
choice was SF N 1947B owned by Jerry
Cox and Scott Rose. The Reserve Grand
Champion was won by an SF, N1994B,
owned by Jerry and Delores Adkisson of
Tuscola, fl. Earl Prater of Hutchinson, KS
garnered the Grand Champion award with
T-SF-L N IS2SB. Earl also won a $50
check from Rick Reed of Central Illinoi s
Air, the local FBO, for the longest di s-
tance flown to the fly-In.
By now the weather was beginning to
look a little bad, and some folks decided
to head home ahead of it. Sunday morn-
ing it was raining and delayed some folks
from heading home, while the Grand
Champion T -SF was held up by weather
until Wednesday morning.
This was a great fly-in, with good
meals served by a local catering service
and local Lions Club. The hospitality and
hard work of host Jerry Cox, airport man-
ager Shannon Youakim, the FBO and
Rick Reed made this a very pleasurabl e
event. We owe them a great big "Thank
You! and we are all looking forward to
next year's MTO Luscombe Fly-In at
Coles County Airport, Mattoon, IL. The
date is June 11-1 3, 1999. ....
Jack Norris talks about Zero Thrust Glide
Testing on his Luscombe SF. Jack's presenta-
tion was very well attended by the fly-in pilots.
12 OCTOBER 1998
.---""""1IIr:-:-:--:-----_In:lI.....-:;:;:---= _ --=_--, The Luscombe SF, NS32B
of Robert Gustafson of
Auburn Hills, MI was cho-
sen as the Outstanding SF
at the Second annual
MTO Luscombe fly-in.
The first one in this row
of Luscombes is the
winner of the People's
Choice Award. It belongs
to Jerry Cox, and often
has a crowd around it
at each fly-in.
The 1995 Grand Champion Luscombe T-SF-L belonging to Earl Prater of Hutchinson, KS.
Jerry and Delores Adkisson's Luscombe SF was the MTO Luscombe fly-in Reserve Grand Champion.
VI EXCITEMENT AT
OSHKOSH-1998
f f ~
by H.G. FRAUTSCHY
(Right) Bill Rose's Fairchild 22C7D, flown here by Charles Spencer of
Brookfield, cr, was picked as the Antique Bronze Age (1933-1941)
Outstanding Open Cockpit Monoplane. Jim Koepnick
(Below) Bob Lumley's shirt made it easy for
others to find the way to the annual fly-out to
Shawano, WI.
Jack McCarthy
(Below) Max Hartley of Ukia, CA went to school at the Curtiss-Wright Technical Institute at
Grand Central Air Terminal in Glendale, CA. While he was there, Max was able to work on
what would become one of the most famous racers of its day, the Crosby CR-4 racer. He wit-
nessed its first flight, including the gear collapse at the end! Now part of the EAA Air
Adventure Museum' s collection, thanks to the generosity of Morton Lester, the Crosby
(behind Max) is undergoing a cosmetic restoration for eventual display.
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 13
Curtis Morris, age 6, is determinedtogethis
rubber-poweredP-51 intheair.
Success! Curtis' mom and dad, Lorraine and
Ken Morris, hail f rom Marengo, IL. They all
flewupinmom' sBeech Bonanza.
(Left and above) JeffWhitesell (third from left, front row) and his Airliners OfAmerica
crew are thrilled to be at center stage just south ofthe announcer' sstand at EAA
AirVenture'98withtheirbeautifulMartinFour-O-Four.
14 OCTOBER 1998
Bob and Harold Armstrong (inset) brought and
flewtheir 1946 Schweizer SGU-1-19 glider at
EAA AirVenture. Presented a Bronze Lindy, the
flight ofthe SGU-1-19 was the first time a vin-
tagegliderhasflownduringtheConvention.
KenUcht enberg
(Above) Charlie Harris, Antique/classic
Treasurer, also spends much of his t ime
doing on-camera interviews of selected
members about their projects. Here,
Charlie spends a few moments with Mike
Posey and Steve Pitcairn.
Jack McCarthy
Finished in the very nice looking Air-Tech system, this is Chuck Andreas' 1943 N2S-2 Boeing
Stearman, winner of the WW-II Era Outstanding Open Cockpit Biplane award.
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15
(Above) Dedicated pilots enjoy the peace and
quiet of the south end of the flight line, which
has its own showers and shuttle bus service to the
end of the Tram line. While it's not all the way
to FDL, the sheer size of the Vintage aircraft
parking area at the Convention highlights the
popularity of our favorite type of airplane.
This very pretty Twin Navion is registered as a Temco D-16, SIN TN-9. Powered with a pair
of Lycoming 0-320s, it's one of the Classic era's more rare airplanes. This one belongs to
Jerry Yeister's Perf-A-Lawn company in Owensboro, KY.
Ken Uchtenberg
(Left) The "Texaco Robin" is a 1929 edition
of the airplane. A C-1 model, 82H was built
to support record attempts and was spon-
sored by Texaco. Equipped with special
equipment for aerial refueling, 82H and its
sister ship, NR-81 H refueled the Buhl Air
Sedan "Spokane Sun God" which set an
endurance record for a non-stop flight from
Spokane, WA to Long Island, NY and back,
a round trip of over 7,200 record setting
miles. John Bowden acquired the airplane
in 1968.
An extensive five-year restoration returned
the Robin to service in 1974. He recently re-
restored the airplane, and accepted EAA's
invitation to be one of the airplane's fea-
tured in the EAAlNBAA west ramp display
of "the History of Corporate Aviation."
Jim Koepnick
Trish Dorlac briefs the new Flight Line Safety
corps on the ins and outs of operating a Honda
motor scooter.
(Above) The Contemporary Grand Champion, this is Doug Armstrong's
Beech 18S, a 1959 model of the venerable twin. Doug' s from Charlotte, NC.
Jim Koepnick
(Below) The Antique/Classic Red barn is sur-
rounded by all sorts of activity, including the
Past Grand Champions which face the main
north-south road, and the forum/workshop
and Type Club tents to the south.
Jim Koepnick
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17
Twelve-year-old Eric Hawkins of Riverside, MI
was visiting with his dad, Terry, and became
fascinated with the metal shaping demon-
strations in the tent next to the AlC Red Barn.
Eric spent the better part of a day watching,
learning and listening to the masters at the
various processes available for creating com-
pound curves in metal, and he reveled in try-
ing it out with his own two hands. Many oth-
ers, both young and old alike, tried it as well.
Be sure and stop by the tent next year!
(Right) This year's Classic judges were :
(Back row, L-R) Steve Bender, Stan York,
Carol Womack, Frank Bass, Larry Keitel, Carol
Santone, John Swander, Nancy Gippner, Dan
Knutson, Jerry Gippner, Joan Steinberger,
Frank Moynahan. (Front Row, L-R) Clyde
Bowgesis, Shy Smith, John Womack, Dean
Richardson and Kevin Pratt.
Jack McCarthy
(Below) Our Antique Judges were: (Back row,
L-R) Gene Morris, Dave Morrow, Dave Clark,
Dale Gustafson, Phil Coulson, Xen Motsinger.
(Front row, L-R) John Ripkin, Bob Kitslaar,
Steve Dawson, Don Coleman, Mike Shaver.
Jack McCarthy
The Luscombe T-SF was one of the Classic era's best utility airplanes, and this attractive exam-
ple was flown to the Convention by Brice Newberry and his partner in the airplane, Randy
Briscoe. Based in Kingfisher, OK, Brice and Randy are working on what they describe " as an even
better restoration of another T-SF."
Ken Uchtenberg
18 OCTOBER 1998
DelmarBenjaminandhisGee Bee replica havebecomea"must-have"actontheairshowci r-
cuit,as heshowsus whataR-1/R-2can reallydointhehandsofacapablepilot .
Ken Uchtenberg
Relaxing in his hammockafterabusy morning,
Bill Ricketts ofWestminster, MO naps a little
and takes in some ofthe afternoon airshow
near the Theater in the Woods. Bill's voice is
familiar to many ofyou- he's the yodeler
who,overtheP.A. system,wakesthelaterisers
at7a.m.each morningoftheConvention.
(Above) Restored by George Pappas in the
early 1980s, this Grumman G-44 Widgeon is
one ofthe rare ones, still powered by apair
of Ranger engines. It is now owned and
cared for in White Salmon, WA by Lane W.
Smith, his wife Betsy and theirthreedaugh-
ters,Lacy,Amberand Kelly.
JimKoepnick
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19
(Above) This bright, original color scheme
on an Aeronca 65-TL highlights the fact
it was picked as the Bronze Age (1933-
1941) Champion in the Antique category.
This beauty was restored and is flown by
Ron Englund of Springfield, OR.
Jim Koepnick
(Right) The Vette Seaplane Base located
on Lake Winnebago is fast becoming one
of the most popular sites for relaxing and
watching seaplanes come and go. Their
corn roast exceeds all expectations every
year, and sells out quickly!
Team Husar
(Above) Lon Dienst of DeKalb, IL was
pleased t o receive the Antique
Outstanding Closed Cockpit monoplane
award for his Fairchild 24W-40.
Ken Uchtenberg
Continued Next Month...
20 OCTOBER 1998
TheWorthington Collection
by JOHN UNDERWOOD (EAA 1989, AC 1653)
Capt. Oliver C. " Boots" Le Boutillier with the Essex Terraplane and
Buhl Bull Pup at Van Nuys airport in August of 1931. The remaining
shots show the two takeoffs made by "Boots" with the Pup from the
wooden platform mounted on the Essex Terraplane.
The Buhl Pup pictures on these pages
illustrate a chapter in Southern Califor-
nia's aviation history. Here's the story:
The Angelus Aero Corporation was
undoubtedly looking for ways to generate
some publicity and, since this so rt of
thing had been tried before with unsatis-
factory results (Dick Rankin was nearly
killed doing the same thing with an
Aeronca C-2 in the vicinity of Portland,
OR) they decided to give it a try. Their
Buhl Bull Pup demonstrator, NC352Y,
was the choice, with Capt. Oliver C. Le
Boutillier at the controls.
"Boots" Le Boutilier is best remem-
bered for having had a ringside seat in a
209 Squadron Sopwith Camel during one
of the most historic dogfights of all time;
namely, the downing of Baron Manfred
Von Richthofen on 21 April 1918. Indeed,
"Boots" himself took part in the engage-
ment, the only American in the melee.
He'd volunteered for service with the
British in 1916, scored six confirmed vic-
tories and logged 600 hours of wartime
flying. For that he was awarded the Dis-
tinguished Flying Cross by none other
than Winston Churchill.
I guess Earl C. Anthony, the pioneer
Los Angeles automobile distributor (and
later, T.V. station owner) thought it was a
good idea too, so he contributed the Essex
Terraplane car. The stage was the AAC's
home base, Los Angeles Metropolitan
Airport, now known as Van Nuys Airport
or VNY. In those days it was a fairly quiet
place, well suited to filming stunt flying
by movie makers, which was an ongoing
activity. "Boots" himself flew in eighteen
movies, including "Hell's Angels."
VNY's surroundings were largely un-
der cultivation and would remain so for
the next decade or more. There was still
plenty of wide open space into the ' 50s,
when it was fast becoming the busiest
general aviation airport on the planet
Earth. Hey, thi s was all before the EAA
and developments at aSH. Anyway, I got
some dual there in 1949 in a J-3 on tricy-
cle gear. Yes, a J-3 trike. At that time the
tower was not yet in use.
VNY had quite a number of celebrated
tenants in the early '30s, among then Wal-
lace Beery, Howard
Hughes and Pancho
Barnes. I' ve scruti-
nized the pictures
and don't see a sin-
gle familiar face ,
except Le Boutil-
lier' s. Anyway, Le
Boutillier made two
takeoffs in late
August 1931. News
stories appearing in
"Popular Mechanix"
and elsewhere made
no mention of any
attempted landings
and it was probably
not until Mike Mur-
phy developed hi s
act five or six years
later, using a J-2
Cub and a Plymouth
coupe, that it became
an air show routine.
In addition to his
having participated
in the undoing of von
Richtofen, "Boots"
was a pIOneer
sky-writer with the
Skywriting Corp. of
America, which
served clients na-
tionwide with a fleet of SE-5a's. He was
Charlie Le Vine's pilot for awhile, in
1927-28, and chief pilot for Aeromarine-
Klemm's west coast distributor when the
Angelus Aero Corporation acquired the
company. The AAC also distributed the
Inland Sport in the Western States, but the
effects of the Great Depression were such
that there was a demand for but a single
unit and the business went under in 1933.
Le Boutillier became chief test pilot for
the Lockheed brothers, who were devel-
oping a twin-engined executive aircraft,
and continued to fly for movie-makers. In
1937, he entered the employ of the De-
partment of Commerce, Bureau of
Aeronautics, antecedent of the FAA,
where he was supervising inspector for
Colorado and Wyoming during the war.
After the war he qualified military pilots
~ ~ r ~ r ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
for commercial ratings on B-25s. He re-
tired in 1948 to found and run Las Vegas
pharmaceutical company.
NC352Y is still around. It belonged to
the late Jerry Coigny (EAA 115709, NC
3459) in the late '30s, when Jerry was ap-
pointed western sales rep by Don
Luscombe, who was just getting into pro-
duction with the 50 hp Luscombe 8. Jerry
got #4 and headed west with Lucy Rago,
leaving Don without a secretary. The Pup
also had a cameo role in the movie
"Women of the Wind" (Warner Brothers,
1939). It is currently the property of Mel
Evers, Elmira, OR who says he's warming
to the idea of getting the Pup back on ac-
tive status. All it needs is a full measure of
TLC.
All in all, it must have been quite a day
at VNY when these shots were taken!
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21
---
no. 123
(Left) Of course, this shot was heavily doc-
tored up for publicly use, including the Essex
Terraplane logo on the door. None of the
other pictures have been "doctored."
EAA/Worthinglon no. 131

22 OCTOBER 1998

BuhlllBull Pup" and
Terra plane automobile
atVan Nuys, CA., 1931
EAA I Worthington no. 130
EAA / Worthington no. 126
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23
AmeliaEarhart in
LosAngeles -1932
Two days before the 1932 Olympics were held in Los An-
geles, and fresh from her late spring solo crossing of the
Atlantic, Amelia Earhart was presented with the Distin-
guished Flying Cross by Charles Curtis, the Vice-President of
the United States. Curtis is the man with the mustache stand-
ing next to A.E. as something is pinned to his chest, while
Amelia looks away with a slightly bemused look on her face.
In his speech, Curtiss quoted the citation issued by the 72nd
Congress: " . . . displaying heroic courage and skill as a navi-
California, Jim Rolph, is present as well , wearing the black
gator at the risk of her life" and continuing with "by which
top hat. The Governor was a big fan of flying, and tried to get
she became the first and only woman to cross the Atlantic
the state to buy an airplane, which his son, Jim, Jr. could fly.
ocean in a plane in solo flight."
When that fell through, the elder Rolph hired Roscoe Turner
Taking place on the steps of LA City Hall, the Governor of
and others to fly him around on his statewide junkets.
The Packards were used in the huge parade attended
EAA/ Worthinglonno. 111 by thousands, which apparently feted both Earhart and
the Olympics - big as A.E. was in those days, it appears
her medal presentation was only part of the much larger
pre-Olympic celebration.
EAA / Worthinglon no. 108
24 OCTOBER 1998
Plenty of members sent in responses to
the July Mystery Plane, a well known light
plane whose heritage we still see today. Our
thanks to Brian Becker of Farmington, NM
for the photo.
We're fortunate that out of the 22 an-
swers we received, a number of them were
from people actively involved in Luscombe
aircraft today, and one was there when the
airplane was built. Let's hear from him fITSt:
"SomeonedidagreatpaintjobonaLuscombe
NinetytomakeitlooklikeaMonocoupe!
"[ wasfortunatetobepartofLuscombe's
workforcewhen theprototypeModel 4 was
built. We in thesheetmetalshopmadesome
NinetypartswhiledoingPhantomparts."
MartyEisenmann
EAA 395204, AIC19474
AltaLoma, CA
From Pennsylvania we have this note:
"July'sMystelYis theLuscombe '90'or
Model4. While nottheoldestLuscombe, itis
therarest, asitis thesolesurvivorofthejive
builtin 1937138. Fittedwith aWarner90it
was intendedto beasimplifiedPhantom
which wasacomplex, expensiveairplanethat
simplydidn'thaveamarketduringthe '30s.
"Thereason sofew were builtwas that
theModel '50'was beingbuiltconcurrently
anditsobviousqualitiesofpriceandperfor-
OctoberMysteryPlane
Dr. Dennis Agin was kind
enough to supply us with this
month's Mystery Plane. We'll
even give you a hint-it's from
"over there."
To be included in the January
1999 issue of Vintage Airplane,
your answer needs to in to the
Vintage Airplane office no later
than November 25,1998.
Send your Mystery Plane
correspondence to:
Vintage Mystery Plane, EAA
P.O. Box 3086
Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086
tetyPlane
by H.G. Frautschy
mancecausedLuscombeto drop theModel
4.TheModel '50'becametheModel8A with
the Continental 65 andthe restis history.
Manydesignfeatures ofthe '90' wereincor-
poratedinthe '50'. Mostnotablythefuselage
was verysimilar. This lovelyantiqueis now
ownedbyRonPriceofMenlo Park,CA and
is currentlyundergoingrestoration.
"[ havetheoldestModel8 stillflying. SIN
5turns60onAugust10, and1plantostarton
therestorationafterajinalflightonthatday."
Yours truly,
Chas. C. Forrester
EAA 304493, AIC12707
Fairjield, PA
And from the other coast we here:
"TheMysteryAirplaneshown in theJuly
1998issueofVintageAirplaneis the Lus-
combe4 (Model90), ATC687 (6-25-38).
"The Model90 (or Model 4) is alight,
allmetalJorstrengthanddurability,high-
wingcabin monoplane with side-by-side
seatingfortwo, poweredbya5-cylinder
Warner 'ScarabJunior'radialenginerated
at90hpat2025rpm atsealevel. Maxspeed
waspublishedat 136 mphatsea leveland
cruiseat 120atsea level.
"Basically, itwas acombination of its
predecessor'swings, thefamous Phantom,
anditsmuch morefamous offspring'sfuse-
lage, theSilvaire.The Model4 's fuselage
wasanewdesignfrom which theModel8 's
fuselage wasdeveloped.
"ParaphrasingJos. Juptnerin u.s. Civil
Aircrafi...'Normally, themodel90wasmuch
jimtofly,butyouhadbetterlisten to what
shewassaying, orendupembarrassed. She
scamperedabout with eagerness, andits
- Continuedonpage30-
Luscombe 4 "Ninety" SIN 402, manufactured in
1938. At the time the photo was taken the col-
ors were orange with white trim and numbers,
and the engine is listed as a Kinner R., probably
a Warner 90. The shot was taken at San Mateo
County airport on Sept. 2, 1956.
Brian Baker Collection.
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25
LuscombeNinety
(Below) It floats! It f lies! What could be more beautiful
than a biplane on fl oats?
by E.E. "Buck" Hilbert
EM #21 Ale #5
P.O. Box 424, Union, IL 60180
01' Bucky came out of the shell ear-
lier this summer and attended two of his
favorite fly-ins . The first was the Sea
Plane Splash in at Gaylord, Michigan's
Ostego Lake. Randy and Nancy Rhodes,
you know Randy if you get down to the
Vette Seaplane Base in Oshkosh during
AirVenture (otherwise known as
Oshkosh) where he does a lot of work.
Randy and his wife put in a tremen-
dous amount of effort organizing this
Splash-In every year. Ostego Lake is a
great place for it too. The local airport is
just a mile of so north of the lake and
those who don't have "floaters" land
there and car it over.
Bob Richardson, the executive Direc-
tor of the Seaplane Pilots Association
couldn't make it this year, so he sent the
new coordinator for the association, Sue
Sanders. Sue had never been on the water
(Below) Brain Van Wagnen and Sue Sanders
in the Fleet for Sue's first Seaplane ride get a
bit of help from Randy Rhodes, the big
cheese of the Ostego Splash-In.
26 OCTOBER 1998
PaSSitto
Buel{
before, and we took care of
that with a ride in the Fleet
10. Not only did she get a
seaplane ride, but she got it
in a biplane on floats.
Guess I should have started
this with the word that the
Fleet is on floats . Thanks to
Sandy Brown, Edo, and Brian
Van Wagnen and a few other
pushers and shovers, we got it
going in time for the Splash-
In,l and it was in Oshkosh as
well, thanks to Brian's flying!
Trials and tribulations was
the name of the game. There
seemed to be no end to the ex-
asperating chain of negatives.
The newly overhauled engine
is just fine, but getting a pro-
peller to work was a chore.
We finally got all the shakes
and rattles out of the Hamilton
Standard ground adjustable
prop, and got the blade pitch
to where it turns just short of
the red line on takeoff.
Brian Van Wagnen, the
head pusher and shover,
fought the float installation,
test flew it and then ferried it
to the lake.
Leather jacket and a swimming suit-such is the uniform
of the well dressed biplane-on-floats pilot!
10F on 1930 Edo 1835 floats, thanks to the efforts of Brain Van Wagnen
Isn't she pretty?
Iplayedthepartofthe richplay-
boy, andarrivedatthe lake inFrank
Marzich'sWidgeon.Frankdelivered
meto the Splash-Inin style! Now
(Above and Left) Here's Jerry Heykoop of
White Lake, MI and his nice Aeronca Sedan
THAT is thewayto travel. Right
on floats. I like his plane, but I didn't like his
acrossLakeMichiganat500feet ,
tee-shirt until ...
and splashdownrightonsitewith
(Right) .. . he turned around!
onlyaboutahundredfeetofwaterto
wadethroughto getto thebeach.
Iwon'tgo intoanyfurtherdiatribe
exceptto say it flew great. Ifulfilled a
longtimedesireto seeaFleetonfloats,
anditwaswonderful!
Oh, the second fly-in this past
spring? You'll haveto waituntil next
monthto hearaboutthat! If ::e3t(ck '"
Frank Marzich and his Grumman Widgeon
on Lake Otsego in Michigan.
The "seaplane way" off the shoreline has all sorts
of water birds, from Lakes to Cessnas, with even a
Volmer Amphibian or two added to the mix.
WATCH OUT, SNOOPY!
WhataluckygirlIwasonJune
12,whenIwas invitedto takemy
fLTst seaplaneride in aBuckHilbert's 1938Fleetbiplane.Whatanexhilarating
experience-notonetoeverbeforgotten.
IwasbusysettingupmyinsigniaitemsintheSPAtent,whenIheardthemost
fantasticengineroarthatstartedoutfromthesouthasalowrumble,butwhenthis
"Baron"diditsfly-by, IinstantlyroaredouttoRandyRhodes,"That'sit! That's
it! That'smyfLTSt ride,Randy"(In otherwords,"FixitRandy,Iwould
verymuchlikemyfirstseaplaneridein thatfantasticflyingma-
chine!").Randy'sresponsewasappropriate: "You'vegotitSue!"
EarlythatafternoonRandyintroducedmetoBrainVanWagnen,
whowouldbemypilot. As wetaxiedoutontoLakeOtsego,Ithought
to myself"thisissocool,Ifeel likeaseagull!"Althoughitfeltalittle
bouncyup intheair,Iwastoo intoxicatedwithexcitementto feel the
leastbitnervous"asIlookedoutatthelayofthelandandhowbeauti-
ful everythinglooksfrom above. Whydo thingslookbetterfrom
aloft?Is ittheperspectivewegainof howthispartof theworldlooks?
Perhaps. Whateverthereason,Iholdanewperspectivetowardrecre-
ationandwork; inrecreationoneshouldrecreateinplanesmore
often; inwork,perhapstherewillbemorerewardssuchasthis!
AlthoughIdidnotlookforward to theFleetlandingandending
thisnewexperienceforme,Istillcouldnotwaitforthisnewsensa-
tionto landingaplaneONWATER! Brainbroughthedowneasily
andawaywe glidedin towardshore. Sothis ishowaseagullfeels
whenherwebbedfeetglideontothewater...
NotonlywasIsofortunateto makemyfirstseaplaneridein
Buck'sFleet,butIwasactuallyLUCKYenoughto beinvitedto fly
intwomoreplanes.LaterthateveningIgottoseeaprettysunset
overthelakeinaCessna 185(thankyou, Steve),andonSundayIgot
aridewithTomPletcherinhisLakeamphibian,withjazzonthe
stereoflowingthroughmyhead(phones).In addition,wewonthe
spot-landingcontestthatmorning.
As theSPArepresentative, itwasmypleasuretoparticipateand
meetso manySPAmembers. Averyspecialthankyouto Bobbie
ScribnerandNancyandRandyRhodesfortheirhelpandassistance,
andtoBuck,Brian,SteveandTomwhomadethisweekendsospe-
cialforme.EverytimeIlookatmyframedSeagullCertificateI'llbe
thinkingofyou.-Sue Sanders, SPA Coordinator
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27
AeroMail
- Continued from page 3-
who were not college trained ,but could
pass a written test. I decided to study for
this and sold the Pup through an ad in
Trade-A-Plane to a man from Florida,
but I do not have his name. I hated to part
with it but knew I could not concentrate
on my studies with the airplane available.
[ sold it for $350, just what I had paid
for it and the only maintenance I had to
do was to put in a set of valve guides
in the three-cylinder Szekely engine.
I did pass the Exam for Flying Cadet
and started flight training at Love Field,
Dallas in March 1940 flying in a PT-3
and graduated from Kelly Field in No-
vember of the same year. The Air Corps
was growing very fast at that time and
about 75 percent of our class of 40G
were assigned to Randolph or Kelly
Field as instructors. I was very happy to
be assigned to Kelly and flying AT -6s
and BC-I s instead of Basic trainers. Of
course we all wanted to be fighter pi-
lots. After several years of instructing in
AT-6s I was transferred to Sebring,
Florida for B-17 training with the hope
of going off to fight the war. Instead I
was sent to Tennessee to train pilots in
B-17 and later B-24 bombers . Eventu-
ally I was promoted and had an easy job
as Commanding Officer of a school
Squadron at Maxwell Field. Finally
when the B-29 project started, Tleft the
Training Command to go to the 20th
Air Force where high-time, four-engine
pilots were needed. After training,
mostly in B-17s, we had enough B-29s
to fight the war. I was with the first
group of B-29s to fly missions from
Saipan to Japan . Our crew was very
lucky in surviving 30 missions with a
few easy ones and many uneasy trips
over the target. My airplane was Z47
and one of the gunners named it
"Adam ' s Eve" with the approval of the
rest of the crew. We had a sexy gal
painted on the nose holding out an ap-
ple to tempt some Japanese pilot closer
for a better shot. Our first plane failed to
return from a night mission. Luckily our
crew was in Hawaii at the time. We fin-
28 OCTOBER 1998
ished our 30 missions just before it was
changed to 35 and we were all home on
leave when the war ended. I remained
in the Air Force until late 1946 and left
when I had a desk with my name on it
instead of an airplane.
After becoming a civilian I have
owned and flown about 18 different
airplanes and now have a Tri-Pacer that
has been converted to a traildragger
and an RV-4 that is ajoy to fly. I did
not build it.
You have my pern1ission to use any
or all of this story but I would like to
have the address of John W. Willmott
who wrote "Puppy Love."
Sincerely,
Charles "Chuck" Adams
EAA 243872, AlC 25555
Pine Plains, NY
FROMJOHNUNDERWOOD:
To answer Vic Smith's question,
what did the Waltz King fly? Clarence
"Slim" Freitag introduced me to Wayne
King when they were on tour in the '60s.
Slim taught King to fly in the prototype
Stinson Model 0 , which was a tandem
2-seater intended for COIN operations.
Slim played trombone for King and
sold Stinsons, later becoming regional
sales manager. He then went with Benny
Howard in a similar capacity and was
named a Howard vice-president in 1941.
Slim sold International F-17s as the
agent for the Chicago area in 1929-30,
and had one or two for a while after In-
ternational folded. It is possible that
King chartered an F-17 on occasion,
before learning to fly.
SIin1 sold King a Stinson SR, NC 13445,
in 1933 and an SR5E, NC14591, in 1935.
Possibly others as well .
Re: Robert Goodrich's picture
(above): That is definitely the San Fran-
cisco World's Fair grounds, officially
the Panama-Pacific International Expo-
sition of 1914 - 15.1t is almost certainly
Beachey' s Little Looper, with all that
smoke pouring from the Gnome. Runups
were routinely done with the nose wheel
in a hole.
Art Smith fulfilled Beachey's com-
mitments after he was killed [on Sunday,
March 14, 1915 in his Taube monoplane]
using a similar Curtiss type but not Cur-
tiss-built. If a radiator is visible, then
it's Smith. Both had interplane ailerons,
which in this picture may be blurred by
motion or possibly they had not yet
been installed. Another clue is the white
doughnut nose wheel , a characteristic of
the Little Looper.
Cheers,
John Underwood
EAA 1989, AlC 1653
Glendale, CA
THE RED BARN
-Continuedfrom page 8-
THE TRAVEL AIR 4-P
James Christiansen
.. Creston, British Columbia, Canada
Patricia C. Jones-Bowman
.. .. . .. Orangeville, Ontario, Canada
David C. Rayner
.. . . ... . ... . Scotland, Great Britain
Ray Hindle ...... Lancashire, England
R. G. Ward .. Ashburton, New Zealand
Daniel Carroll .... .... San Diego, CA
Thomas M. Leaver, Sr.
..... .. ... .... ... Walnut Creek, CA
Brian Lloyd ...... Cameron Park, CA
Lawrence Oka .. .... ..... Sunol, CA
Vernon C. Watters ... . San Rafael, CA
John G. Cooper
.. . .. ... .. ... Melbourne Beach, FL
Tracy L. Dart ......... Marathon, FL
James A. Renfrow ... Mary Esther, FL
Andrew 1. Salter ... .. .. Polk City, FL
Charles Schooley III
. . ... .. ...... West Palm Beach, FL
Joseph Vasile .. .. . .... . ... Pace, FL
A. Duane Roberts .... Woodstock, GA
Bolling C. Stanley .. . ... Roswell, GA
Elmo A. Miller . . . .. . . . ... Boise, ill
Gillis Barton ........ Pleasant Hill , IL
Michael 1. Billeter. . . .. ... . Byron, IL
Steven K. Boots .... . .. St. Charles, IL
Gerry E. Flaugher .. .. ... . Decatur, IL
Robert F. Kweiser . .. . .... . Joliet, IL
Chip Long ...... . . . .. Woodstock, IL
Edward Marcoski
... . ..... .. .... Downers Grove, IL
David B. Piper ........ St. Charles, IL
Robert Truty ... .. . . ...... Morris, IL
Mitch Wohl . .. ....... Barrington, IL
Keith D. Bittle ...... . South Bend, IN
Ricky L. Gay ... . . . .. Clearwater, KS
Richard Martin ..... ... Lawrence, KS
Darrel May ........ West Liberty, KY
Charles F. Schultz.. ... Louisville, KY
Benjamin H. Stevens, Jr.
... .... ... ..... . ... Maynard, MA
Chris Anderson .. . . . ... . . Albion, MI
William D. Barnes . . . .. .. Rodney, MI
George W. Pyke ........... Troy, MI
Mike Murray ..... .. .. Stillwater, MN
Gary L. Paulson ..... Alexandria, MN
Robert H. Powell III . ... Wayzata, MN
Paul C. Crnic . .... . . .. St. Louis, MO
James Robert Schdrowitz
. ... .... . ..... .. Ocean Springs, MS
Douglas H. Parrott ..... Roundup, MT
Lewis Brown .... .. . . . Linwood, NC
Charles R. Finch ...... . Archdale, NC
Albert Mankoff. .. HendersonvilIe, NC
James Brennan .... West Ossipee, NH
Allen G. Mayville ... . Chichester, NH
Rafael A. Rosario, Jr .. Eastampton, NJ
Richard F. So liner . .. . Flemington, NJ
Patrick Flanagan .. ... . . . .. Reno, NY
Sondra D. Brooks .. Narrowsburg, NY
Stephen Case .. ...... New York, NY
Anthony T. Mancuso
. . ......... . . . ..... Mt. Morris, NY
Robert Chase .. . New Washington, OH
James E. Huber, Sr. . .. Cincinnati, OH
Charles C. Jurack .... .. Chardon, OH
Kenneth K. Moir .... . . . ... Kent, OH
Willard W. Adams .. Fort Towson, OK
David H. Laughrey ... .. ... Tulsa, OK
Brice Newberry ...... Kingfisher, OK
Eli Stutsman ...... . . . .. Portland, OR
Richard E. Canada . Willow Street, PA
Hank Menge\. . .. ....... Mohton, P A
Timothy R. Reinhard .. Bethlehem, P A
Terry 1. Robinson ... West Chester, PA
Rodney Anderson .. . Lake Preston, SD
Doug Woods . ... ..... Memphis, TN
Calvin A. Coffey . .... Lewisville, TX
John W. Goodloe ...... Watauga, TX
George C. Jones ... . .. ... Rhome, TX
William F. Meyer ..... . ... Alice, TX
Frank Molsberry ..... ... Leander, TX
Carroll Thomas . . ... . Midlothian, TX
Bruce Boyes .... .. Salt Lake City, UT
Ms. Walley Hedlesky . ... Dublin, VA
Lynn Cornelius .. .... . La Center, W A
Salvador Sahagun ... . . .. Bothell, WA
Cindy Ward .. . ... Ocean Shores, WA
Phillip F. Duffy .. . Whitefish Bay, WI
Ernest A. Minecke .... Green Bay, WI
Kevin J. Mittelstadt . ... . Oakfield, WI
Tim A. Robertson . .... . Appleton, WI
Alan E. Schmidt. .... . . . . Oregon, WI
Herbert Thatcher ..... Brookfield, WI
Robert Zerull .. . .. Genesee Depot, WI
Greg Graves . . . ..... . .. Kenova, WV
The model4-P was the last version of
the standard three place open cockpit bi-
plane built the Travel Air Company. It was
powered with the brand new seven cylinder
A.C.E. model La. 1 engine that developed
140 hp. The engine incorporated a speed-
ring cowling that was a modified form of
the N.A.C.A. low-drag engine fairing.
Not too much is known about its flying
characteristics so we must assume it was
pretty much the same as the rest of the
Travel Air line of fine biplanes. The fuel
capacity was 42 gallons maximum and
they also used a lighter landing gear, pre-
sumably to keep the weight down and to
give the 4-P a little better performance.
The 4-P's engine was the A.C.E. model
La.l , a development of the earlier Jacobs
and Fisher engine which was a radial and
air-cooled.
The Travel Air 4-P was a beautiful
aircraft but probably introduced at the
wrong time.
A type certificate was issued on De-
cember 12, 1929 and only one was built
by the Travel Air Co. The only known ex-
ample of the Travel Air4-P was NC419N.
Where is it today?
Listed below are the specifications and
perfOimance data.
ENGINE 140 hp A.C.E. La. l
LENGTH 24' 6"
HEIGHT 8' 11"
WINGSPAN -
UPPER 33' 0"
LOWER 28' 10"
WING CORD-
UPPER 66"
LOWER 56"
WING AREA -
UPPER 171 sq. ft.
LOWER 118 sq. ft.
TOTAL WING AREA 289 sq. ft.
AIRFOIL "TRAVELAIR"
WEIGHT EMPTY 1531 1bs.
USEFUL LOAD 8671bs.
PAYLOAD Wj41 GAL FUEL 3921bs.
GROSS WEIGHT 2,388lbs.
MAX SPEED 115 mph
CRUISE SPEED 97 mph
LANDING SPEED 45 mph
CUMB 700 ft.
CEIUNG 12,000 ft.
FUEL CAPACITY 42 Gal.
OIL CAPACITY 6 Gal.
CRUISE RANGE @7.5 gph 485 miles
BAGGAGE ALLOWANCE 501bs.
PRICE $6,200.00
....
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 29
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30 OCTOBER 1998
MysteryPlane
- Continued/rompage30-
overallperformancewas aboutthebestavail-
ableforanairplaneofthistype.'
"TheLuscombeAirplaneDevelopment Cor-
poration, atthat time, was locatedin Trenton,
NJ with Don A.Luscombeas President, and
Sales Manager;Fred G. Knack as v.P. and
Chief Engineer; RogerJohnson, Sec.!Treasurer
andBenMelcherwastheplantmanager.
fortheabove: us.CivilAircraft,
Vol. 7, Jos. P. Juptner; Vintage Flyers, Eric
Preston;The LuscombeStory, John C. Swick."
Sincerely,
Kaz Grevera, EAA 529114, AIC26536
Sunnyvale, CA
From North Carolina, we read:
" . .. This airplane,ownedtodaybyRon and
Donna Price ofSonoma, CA wasbuiltonJune
24, 1938 bytheLuscombeAirplaneCorpora-
tion in West Trenton,NJ. Thepowerplantwasa
Warner90 'ScarabJunior,'SIN31311; blade
model25V2-0, SIN's 73462 and73485.
ThejirsttestjlightwasmadeonJuly30,
1938. IgnatiusSargentwasthepilot. Ofhistori-
calnote,atthetimeofthistest flight,thecompany
was waitinganxiouslyfortheApprovedType
CertificatetotheModel4's successor,thesoon-
to-beimmenselypopularModel8.
Accordingto therecordsoftheday,NC1337
hadan empty weightof1023 lbs., agross
weightof 1,650Ibs.,andausefulloadof256
lbs., with 31 gallonsoffuel.Baggageallowed
was 751bs.with apassengerand90lbs. with-
outapassenger.
Maximum speedwas listedas 136 mph,
cruiSingspeedwas 120mph andlandingspeed
withflaps was 40mph. Theserviceceilingwas
15,000feet, therateofclimbwas 850fpm, and
thecruisingrangewas600miles.ThebasicLus-
combeModel4pricein 1938 was$4,000FAF.
Thisairplanewassoldto theFalconAircraft
Corporationof Inglewood, CA on August 6,
1938. Amoredetailedlistingofsubsequentown-
ersis providedill mybook, VisionsofLuscombe,
TheEarly Years."
WarmestRegards,
JimZazas
EAA150698, AIC5416
Carthage, NC
Other correct answers were received from:
Bob Nelson, Bismark, ND; Jonathan Baron,
Charlottesville, VA; John McMurray, Wichita
Falls, TX; Frank Goebel, Joliet, IL; David W.
Jackson, Toulon, IL; Homer R. McPherson, Her-
mosa Beach, CA; James T. Rogers, Lynchburg,
VA; Arnol Sellars, Tulsa, OK; David Tyndall,
Mechanicsvi lle, V A; Vic Smith, Uxbridge, Great
Britain; Les Everett, Jr. , Crawfordsville, IN;
Frank Abar, Livonia, MI; James Funk, Pl ano,
TX; Dale Wolters, Grandville, MI; l E. Carlyle,
Withrop, ME; Joseph G. Handelman, Annapolis,
MD and John Clark, Eagan, MN. ...
VINTAGETRADER
Somethingtobuy,
sellortrade?
An inexpensiveadin the VintageTradermaybejust
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word, $8.00minimumcharge. Sendyouradandpay-
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youradandyourcreditcardnumberto 920/ 426-
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forinsertionin theissuethesecondmonthfollowing
(e.g., October20thfortheDecemberissue.)
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CASTINGS: Stock and custom manufactured,
exhaust manifolds, heads, water pumps, pulleys,
air intakes, brackets, cylinder sleeves, blocks.
Wax investment, plaster and dry sand molding.
Complete tooling and machining. MOTOR
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Fly-In Calendar
Thefollowinglistof coming eventsisfur-
nished to our readers as a matter of
information onlyanddoes notconstituteap-
proval, sponsorship,involvement, controlor
direction ofanyevent(fly-in.seminars,fly
market , etc.) li st ed. Please send the
information to EAA,Att: Golda Cox, P.O.
Backlightstays on untilyou turn it
PAYS FOR ITSELF AS YOU USE IT
Pick up ATIS and getclearance
beforethe Hobbs stortsrunning!
NEW! BUILT-IN SIDE TONE
Includesheadsetinterface& PIT jock
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priortotheeventdate.
OCT. 17- ADA, OK- 2ndAnnualPlaneFly
Fly-In,sponsoredbyEAA Chapter 1005.
Freefoodforfly-inpilots. Allaircraftwel-
come.Info: TerryHall,580/436-8190.
OCT. 25 - ALAMOGORDO, NM- Alam-
ogordo-WhiteSands RegionalAirport
(KALM) AirportAppreciationDay. Hosted
byEAA Chapter251 andAlamogordoAvi-
ationAssociation. Spotlandingandflour
bombing, RICmodeldemos, breakfastand
lunchavailable. Info: Chapter251: Ray
Backstrom,505/437-8962.AAA: Maurice
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VINTAGE AIRPLANE 31
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interestedmembers
withyouadherein
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