Vintage Airplane - Apr 2006

8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Apr 2006

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2/44

PR I L

ANE

VOL

34 , No.4

2006

CONTENTS

1

Straight and Level

by Geoff Rob ison

2 VAA

News

S

Aeromail

6 Aging Aircraft

Finding new ways to

keep them airworthy

by H.G. Frautschy &

Earl Lawrence

8 One Little Indian.

The Gol

den

Eag le Chief

by Gilles Auliard

18 Swing

in

Swift Gear

The n uances of jacking swinging and inspecting Swift gear

by Sparky Barnes Sargent

2S

Restoration C

orn

er

by George York

3

Pass It To

Bu

ck

Drilling Deeper

by

Buck Hilbert

32

The Vi

nt

age In str

ucto

rCRM Part II

by Doug Stewart

3 4

Book and Movie Reviews

by H.G. Frautschy

STAFF

EAA Publisher Tom

Poberezny

EAA Editor·in·Chief Scott

Spangler


3/44

GEOFF

ROBISON

PRESIDENT, VINTAGE AIRC RAFT ASSOC IATIO N

Here I go again. It's

time

for an

other column, and again I am think

ing I have little to offer in the ways of

wisdom to our valued membership.

Somehow, someone always gives me

an idea to get me going, and before I

know it I have to edit for brevity.

It

has finally happened here

in

the

great cold and snowy Midwest. Spring

has finally poked its nose at us on a

couple of occasions. One sure sign of

spring for me is spring training for

the

B-

I7's

annual tour

of these United

States. As I am writing this month's

column, I

am

actually

en

route to

Oshkosh

for

this event.

It

was person

ally a grand moment for me to hear

that EAA's beloved luminum ver-

cast had finally returned to

the

skies

on

March ? Bear with me here,

and

always remember, a large portion

of

their stock machines fit into our age

category, including

the

mighty Boe

ing bomber I speak so reverently

of.

I

can clearly recall

the

day, now nearly

10 years ago, when I was in Oshkosh

for

a board meeting and I was asked if

I would like to take a hop on the B-17

for a systems check. I must admit that

VAA s

initiatives

FAA

was

still allowing people to fly the

left seat of

the

big bird with an appro

priate amount of dollars exchanging

hands, so when the B-1? tour visited

close to home, I parted company with

those bucks

and took another

ride

that included about 10 minutes

or

so

of "stick time./I

At

the

risk of making

this

sound any

more like a warbirds

commercial, you should consider tak

ing this ride someday when we are in

your neighborhood. I have had a won

derful experience each year spending

about four or five weeks

on

the

tour.

The smiles and looks

of

awe

of

the

participants always tells

the

story

of

their abundant gratitude of

having

had the unique opportunity

of

tak

ing a ride in such a historically signifi

cant artifact of World War I

I If

I have

sparked your interest, check out EAA's

B-1? website:

www b17 org

To

date,

the

responses

we

have gar

nered from

the

various vintage own

ers, restoration folks, and type clubs

in regard

to

the proposed aging air

craft initiatives developed by the EAA

and the Vintage Aircraft Association

have proven to be positive. This ini

initiative, as we all know how impor

tant it

is that

we see rules developed

that everyone can live within.

By the time you read this column

I

am

reasonably certain we will have

a clearer idea as to what

the

FAA's ini

tia l response may be to

the

proposed

modifications

to

the

FARs

that

hope

fully will prove to be positive in im

pacting this

important

issue at hand .

Again, please be sure to communicate

your ideas or concerns to

us

so we will

have the best chance possible

of

im

pacting this issue.

It's that

time of

year again

when

we encourage everyone to give con

sideration to supporting

the

Vintage

Aircraft Association's Friends

of

the

Red Barn. Last year's

program

was

by all

means

a grand success. Your

support was by all measures simply

amazing as well as impressive. I am

pleased to share with you

the

fact that

last year's

support

was sufficient

to

fund the construction of a brand-new

building to house

the

kitchen for our

Tall Pines Cafe. Construction will be

gin this month with our own Vintage

volunteer group being assisted by the

http:///reader/full/www.b17.orghttp:///reader/full/www.b17.org


4/44

It's

only

a few

short

months

away

from the

annual convention

for EAA/

VAA

members,

and

plenty of

planning

and

work is already underway.

Here are just a few

of

the items that

will be featured

on the

EAA grounds:

Kids

Plan Trip to

Oshkosh

in

Aeronca

They

Restored

George

Coon

and

Katelie

Cobain work

on new ribs during early days of the

Wa

th n

Foundation Aeronca Project.

Over

the

past

five years,

about

20

Young Eagles at Flabob Airport

in

South

ern California have helped restore a worn

and weathered Aeronca Super Chief.

Their goal: to bring it to EAA AirVenture

someday. This summer,

that

wish could

become reality,

as the

group prepares

the

aircraft for its first flight on May

1

The

Thomas Wathen Foundation,

headquartered

at

Flabob, purchased

the

airplane in 2000 after its owner's death.

Organizers

then

found space

on the

air

port where

the

kids could make

the

old

bird airworthy again.

The

kids

could earn

flying lessons

for

helping with the project-five

free

hours after the

first SO

hours of work

on

the

plane

and an

additional

hour

for

each

additional

five hours. The experi

ence allowed

many

of

them

to solo,

and

some even earned a private ticket while

working

on the

Aeronca.

If

the

Aeronca makes it

to

EAA

Air

Venture Oshkosh 2006, at least two of

the kids involved in the

restoration

will make

the

journey

to Oshkosh with

the

airplane, taking turns flying along

the way.

EAA AirVenture Welcomes

American

Barnstormers

Tour

The

American

Barnstormers Tour

will showcase

the

dazzling aircraft

and

the dashing men

and

women repre

senting liThe

Golden

Age of Aviation

at

EAA

AirVenture,

where

the tour

will

conclude

its

nine-city schedule. The

group plans

to display

as many as 20

meticulously restored aircraft from

the

1920s, '30s

and

'40s in EAA

AirVen

ture's Vintage Aircraft area. They'll also

EAA

Fights Ethanol Legislation

in Washington Idaho

If

you

use

an EAA auto

fuel STC

in

your airplane, even if you don't live in

either of

these

states,

you should pay

attention to

this story. Since fuel prices

have

risen so

dramatically

in the past

couple of years,

proponents

of domesti

cally produced

ethanol

have been push

ing legislation for the incorporation

of

ethanol

in

all gasoline

intended

for

consumpt

i

on

in

motor

vehicles.

Just as i t did successfully in Mon

tana

last year, EAA is working to modify

pending state legislation in Washing

ton

and

Idaho that would require etha

nol to

be

added to

all

gasoline

sold

in

those

states.

We're asking

our

members in these

states

to

contact their elected

repre

sentatives and urge them to not just

sweep a large number of

their

constit

uents-avia tors-under

the

rug

with

this legislation,

said

EAA

Vice Presi

dent

of Industry

and

Regulatory f-

fairs Earl Lawrence.

Washington's

pending legislation

would reqUire all gasoline sold

to

con

sumers

for

use

in motor vehicles to

contain ethanol

by December

1

2008,

with

no

exceptions.

Many

aircraft can

not currently operate safely

with

fuel

blended with

alcohol. WaShington reg

istrations show more

than

600 airplanes

that have FAA-approved

auto

fuel sup

plemental type

certificates (STC), plus

numerous

ultra l

ight

vehicles

and

ama

teur-built aircraft that operate with en


5/44

available for aviation, vintage cars, and

recreational vehicles at

every

gas sta

tion

in

the state.

IYED

2006:

Make

Plans

to

Participate

The world's

most

successful youth

aviation program

holds

its biggest day

of the year

on

June 10, and you can

take part . On International Young Ea-

gles Day,

thousands

of EAA volunteers

in the air and on the ground bring the

thrill

and excitement of

flight

to thou

sands of kids aged 8-17.

EAA

Chapter

leaders, make sure you

let

EAA s Young Eagles headquarters

know about your flight rally plans,

and

then,

after it's over,

drop

an e-mail

to

youngeagles@eaa org to let them know

how it went.

Cessna

172

Is Golden

at

E

AirVenture

ee Joe Nelsen

s1956

Cessna

172, the

irst

one off the line, at EAA AirVenture

this year.

EAA

AirVenture 2006 will salute

the

50th

anniversary

of one of the

general

aviation fleet's mainstays, the Cessna

172 Skyhawk. About 42,500 have been

built

since its

introduction

in

1956,

making

the

172

the

most plentiful gen

eral aviation aircraft in history.

Museum Events

A sure sign of spring

is the annual opening

of

EAA

Pioneer Airport, tak

ing place this year the

weekend of April 29-30.

Reserve a flight in EAA s

1929 Ford Tri-Motor or other vintage aircraft. Kids aged 8-17 can make

their

EAA

Young Eagles flight and join the long list of Pioneer s Young Eagles . (More than 1 200

Young Eagles flew at Pioneer Airport last year alone.)

The

airport will

be

operational every weekend until mid-October,

and

daily from

Memo-

rial Day through Labor Day Visit www.pioneerairport.orgfor more information.

Nelsen of Gunter, Texas, who owns design engineer;

the

first Cessna 172 built.

EAA

is also • An evening event at the EAA AirVen

working with

Cessna

Aircraft, the ture Museum.

Cessna Pilots Association, and

other

Look for final details of the various

Cessna owner

and

pilot groups to rec- 172 celebrations as they are confirmed

ognize

the

aircraft

and their

owners at

www airventure

org.

during the

event.

Other

Cessna

172 activities

during

Coupes and

Cubs

Fly

-

In

EAA

AirVenture include: On May 13-14, EAA

holds

the an

• Cessna 172s arriving

and

parking to

nual

'Coupes

and Cubs Fly-In

at

Pio

gether in EAA

AirVenture's

"North

neer Airport.

Join

the Wisconsin wings

40" aircraft camping area; of

the

Ercoupe Owners and Piper

• A display

of

notable Cessna 172s

on

Cub clubs, along with

the

National

AeroSheli Square,

including the

first

Aeronca Association

for

two days of

and most recent models; classic low-and-slow aircraft flight.

• A schedule of forums on the Cess na 172;

Those flying in need to register; con

• A special

exhibit of the artwork of

tact

Syd

Cohen

via e-mail

at sydlois@

Richard Van Eyck, Cessna's consult ing

charter. net or call 715-842-7814.

nteresting Websites

Log

on

to www LiveATC net

and

you can stream live audio feeds from air

traffic control facilities all over

the

United States

and

Canada, as well as many

international feeds. It's fascinating listening if you enjoy the action from the

tower, center,

or even

UNICOM. The

audio

will open in your favorite audio

player program, such as Apple Computer's iTunes or Microsoft's Windows Me-

dia Player.

mailto:[email protected]://www.pioneerairport.orgfor/http:///reader/full/www.airventure.orghttp:///reader/full/www.airventure.orghttp:///reader/full/www.airventure.orghttp:///reader/full/www.LiveATC.netmailto:[email protected]://www.pioneerairport.orgfor/http:///reader/full/www.airventure.orghttp:///reader/full/www.LiveATC.net


6/44

Friends

of the

Red

Barn Campaign

Many

services are provided to vintage aircraft en-

thusiasts

at

EAA

AirVenture Oshkosh. From

parking

airplanes

to

feeding people at

the

Tall Pines Cafe

and

Red

Barn, more

than

400 volunteers do it all. Some

may ask, If volunteers are providing the services,

where is

the

expense?

Glad you asked. The scooters for the flightline crew

need repair and batteries, and

the

Red Barn needs

paint, new

windowsills, updated wiring,

and other

sundry

repairs, plus we love to care for

our

volunteers

with special recognition caps and a pizza party. The

list really

could

go

on and on, but no matter how

many

expenses we can

point

out,

the

need

remains

constant. The Friends of the Red Barn fund he lps pay

for

the VAA

expenses at

EAA

AirVenture,

and

is a cru

cial

part

of the Vintage Aircraft Association budget.

Please help the VAA and

our

400-plus dedicated

volunteers make

this

an

unforgettable experience for

our many

EAA AirVenture guests. We've made it even

more fun

to

give this year, with

more

giving levels

to

fit

each person's budget,

and more interesting

activi

ties for donors

to

be a part of.

Your

contribution now

really does make a differ

ence. There are six levels

of

gifts

and

gift recognition.

Thank

you for whatever you can do.

Here are some of

the

many activities

the

Friends of

the

Red Barn fund underwrites:

• Red Barn

nformation

Desk Supplies

• Participa

nt

Plaques a

nd

Supplies

• Toni's Red Carpet Express Repairs and Radios

• Caps

for VAA Volunteers

• Pizza Party for VAA V

olunt

eers

• Flightline Parking Sco

oter

s

and

Supplies

• Breakfast for Past Grand Champions

• Volunteer Booth Administrative Supplies

• Membership Booth Administrative Supplies

• Signs

Throughout

the V

intag

e Area

e Red Barn

and

Other Buildings' Maintenance

e And More

Thank·You Items

by Level

Name Listed:

Vintage, Web

&

Sign at

Red Barn

Donor

Appreciation

Certificate

Access to

Volunteer

Center

Special

FORB

Badge

Two Passes

to

VAA

Volunteer

Party

Special

FORB

Cap

Breakfast

at Tall Pines

Cafe

Tri-Motor

Ride

Certificate

Two Tickets

to VAA

Picnic

Close Auto

Parking

Diamond, $1,000

X

X

X X X

X

2 People/Full

Wk

2 Tickets

X

Full Week

Platinum,

$750 X X

X X X X

2

People

/

Full Wk

2 Tickets

X

2 Days

Gold,

$500

X X

X

X X

X

1

Person

/ Full Wk

1 Ticket

Silver, $250 X X

X X X X

Bronze

100 X X

X X

Loyal Supporter,

$99

& Under

X

X

~

VAA Friends of the Red Barn

Name

EAA #

VAA

# _

Address__________________________________________________________________________________ _


7/44

. tfa I e next morn

hOl

Jes

of reac JOg orlandlo by

nlll.sfted

oif the runway at

I Iightp anes

ing some SO-p uS the la

nd

of the sun.

Chattanooga headed for in

Va

ldosta, Georgia. Land

All

went we

ll

untIl reach the cold fro nt was now

ing at Valdosta, we

e a r n ~ d

II

of

north

Florida, with ce

li

a warm front that covere a00 feet with driZZle and fog

. g from zero to 2 '

ings varym t until the next day.

and no improvemen

I'

ll

answer

the other

ques

tion

in

January 2006-the

wallow

at

the

end of Nick

Rezich's last article. I t

seems

to

be

a Hisso-Swallow, c/n

1-R, [10283].

The

registra

tion comes from

the

photo

d h· ' h

an some searc

mg

m t

registr tions

of

Aerofiles

com to complete the

par

tially blanked-out 8,

and

the

c/n from

Aerofiles,

too-per

haps indicating some modifica

tions by

Big

Nick himself? The

aileron interconnect is

a

strut

here rather than the wire on

the

hotos in

Juptner

s

Vol.

1

(ATC

SO)

for the Hisso-powered

allow and

other Swallows.

~ ; ; . ; ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ s o the

headres t seems

to

" o . ~ " ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' '

_ : : : : £ : r : : : : S · ; : : : ~ : : . : ~ -

~ : : : ' ; I 1 : : ' : ~ ~ ~ : ? : : . ~ : : i ' : ' $

l ~ I ' > ? S

~

~ ~

JI

I

continu e

farther

back toward

th

e tail. I have re

ally

enjoyed your

reprinting

of

Big

Nick's articles; I learned

a

great

deal from them, espe

cially

about

the Howard

Air

craft days. Wonderful material.

Best regards,

Jack Erickson


8/44

... -

-+

G IN

\

I

•

, j

,

2 i 0

I

- \

,

.-{-=t

,

.

.

j

Like·

their

owners,

aItl.d

pilots,

A A

',

fI

general a\iatiqp aircraft today are

getting older,

and by

2020 the av

erage single-engine airplane will be

SO years old. With age come new

ailments,

the result

of

wear, care,

and necessary repairs. Pilots have it

better than

airplanes because

they

can

take

immediate advantage

of

the

latest tests, drugs, and replace

ment parts. Production airplanes,

on the other

hand, by regulation

must be maintained to their orig

inal

condition,

using

the

parts

and processes in place at

their

birth-even

i f

that

was a

half

century ago.

What makes maintaining an air

plane s health or res toring it) even

more challenging is acquiring the

necessary data-the engineering

drawings and specifications, main

tenance

procedures,

and

related

information-from the

manufac

turer, or

the

person or

company

that now owns the airplane s type

certificate. Over

the

past decade

the

critical need for this data has

grown, and it has been the subject

•

I

not have new parts

made

because

current

government

regulation S .

e-

quire them

to

be derived from the

aircraft s

original

TC data or hire

an engineer to re-create

the

data .

If

a

third

-party part,

FAA

approved

by a parts manufacturing authority

and supplementa

l

type

certificate,

does

not exist-the

airplane

owner

is stuck on

the

ground.

THE

SOLUTION

IS SIMPLE :

IF YOU CANNOT

ACQUIRE THE

INFORMATION NEEDED

TO MEET THE CURRENT

REQUIREMENTS FOR

MAINTAINING, REPAIRING,

AND RESTORING AGING

AIRCRAFT CHANGE

bution to

_safety lHd ~ n u e d air:

o r t h i n s s

is small compared to the

resources I}eeded_to qchieve them.

To earn a

type

certificate, man

ufacturers had to give the govern

ment much

of

the

data we

now

need. In the past

EAA and the FAA

have

attempted

collectively to cre

ate

an

avenue by

which the

agency

can release it. But recently DOT at

torneys have made it clear that

the

FAA

cannot

release

the

data,

which is intellectual property,

without

the

permission of

the

TC s

owner. They even

hold

to

that

rule even

if

the

TC

owner

cannot be tracked down, or if it

can be proven that

the company

has no

corporate

heirs

. Even if

the lawyers approved, there are

questions

about how much

data

actually resides in the

govern

ment s

archives.

Especially for

the

aircraft

born

during

avia

tion s golden age, it may not ex

ist in

any

form,

and

if it did the

data would only benefit

a small

number

of aircraft.

EAA

will

continue

to

investi


9/44

to meet

the

current requirements

for maintaining, repairing, and re

storing aging aircraft-change

the

requirements. The issue at

hand

is

simple: How do we make it possible

for an aircraft owner

and

his certifi

cated mechanic to safely

maintain

a vintage airplane,

which

includes

the

use of new technology for im

proved

safety, without current

roadblocks

that

now hinder

the

im

provement

and

continuing

airwor

thiness of vintage aircraft?

There are a

number

of ways to do

this

,

and the

first priority of

each

of

them is the same: safety. After

studying

the

pros

and

cons of each,

EAA derived an

option:

allow the

use of accepted data, without

the

requirement

that

it

be

accompa

nied by type-approved data .

Accepted

data represents the

body of

all aviation

knowledge.

It's

the

pool from

which

the type

approved

was

created. Today's

engineers are just as capable of cre

ating

a wing spar for an airplane

built in

the

1950s as

the

engineers

were in

that

era, maybe even more

so

because today's professiona

ls

are

working

with

greater knowl

edge

and

newer resources

and

ma

terials. And

any

A P

worth

his

or

her certificate knows how to

use

the

pragmatic form, fit, and func

tion tests

to

replace cable-actuated

expanding shoe

brakes with

new

hydraulic disks .

Implementing such

a

solution

creates

another

issue because using

modern parts

not

approved for

the

owner

makes

this

decision,

which

stays

with

the

airplane

no matter

who owns

it, there would

be

no

turning

back.

No

matter how

big

or how

small,

how

simple or

how

complex, the airplane can never

again be used

to

carry

persons

or

property for hire. Ever.

I f

an

owner

dec ides

to opt

out and maintain

his or

her

vin

tage

airplane

under the

proposed

solution, an

A P

must

maintain

and inspect the airplane in accor

dance with

Part 43 of the Federal

Aviation Regulations.

EAA

proposed this

solution

to th

e FAA

at their winter

recre

ational aviation summit in

Osh

kosh

this

past January, where

it

was received with words of en

couragement

and a request to con

tinue to

refine

the

proposal.

What

the

final solut ion will look

like depends

on many

variables, so

lutions

to

minute

details of such a

plan.

One

of them will be keeping

track of

and

identifying vintage air

craft that have traded commercial

operation for

the

new maintenance

opportunities (and an easy solution

would be to give

the

airplanes new

Vintage

category airworthiness

certificate).

Regardless

the

issues, however,

EAA will continue to work with the

FAA

to find solutions

that

will keep

vintage airplanes affordably airwor

thy-and flying safely.

approved.

-Would be a one-way recertification.

CABIH H £ A T E ~ / / '

L A H K E T ~

-Aircraft would still be maintained per Part 43.

-Documentation

of

all repairs

and/or

alterations

would

-still be accomplis

-Aerobatics

would be

prohibited. ~ / 6 4 ;; 2:'

.....

•

S T R E A M ~ P£

Rf

-The

carriage

0

people

a n d / o r P l < O ~

would be nm

1

it " •

3 I-AtR Itf - ~ . < J '

5

6

f t

-Changes

to type

of

pow

e

rplant OJ airfqils would

16;1;

r -

~ - . I - ~

,- c6u d

allow

the

i n s t a l l a t i

arts or componeq;

pmpli

ed ,

.

with

ii,

TC,

PMA, or other airera standard

even if not approved

for

that

' -'

aircraft model. x m p l e s

r t e l S , batteries,

alternators, fuel

pumps.

r

-Could,allow for cha nge of ~ - m g e J i i l l p r - p

t o p e l i e r s

as long as

the

compo

nents

met

TC

and' or,accepted aircraft industry standards and

were

within

T f

T\

l

+/-10 percent of the

original

h o r s e ~ w e r and +10/-30

percent

of

the

weight.


10/44

Current Editor s Note: This issue o

Vintage Airplane

contains the first in

a

series

o nine articles pertaining to

the restoration o antique and classic

airplanes. They were originally written

in

the mid-1980s by directors

o

the

then-named Antique/Classic Division

o

EAA, but they

are

still relevant

for

today's vintage aircraft enthusiasts.

The late George York, a longtime

vol-

unteer jud

ge

and chairman o classic

aircraft

judgin

g

for

many

years,

wrote

our first article. Our members have

years

o

experience and a tremendous

amount o talent; however, it's likely

eve ryone will learn something new

from each article. Please let us hear

from you; write

to

H.G. Frautschy, Edi-

tor, Vintage Airplane,

P.O.

Box 3086,

Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086,

or

e-mail

[email protected]

Original Editor'S Note (abridged):

The officers and directors of the

n-

tique/Classic Division have accepted

the responsibility for many

of

the arti

cles, but contributions will be provided

by

others as well.

The

subject matter

will range from selecting a project to

test flying the finished product.

s

the series progresses, if read

ers wish

to

share their ideas, tech

niques, etc., they are encouraged to

do so. Just because a subject has

been presented

doesn t

mean

the

BY

GEORGE YORK

E

11310,

Ale 1085

ircraft Se

ec

t on

After

a

potential restorer/re

builder

has determined

that he

or

she is going to

do

an airplane, the

most important consideration

is

the

blessing of

the

family or

at

least

its tolerance of the situation.

The

next

most important item

will be

the

selection of

the aircraft

make

and model.

There

are

many, many consid

erations, nearly

as many as there

are prospective rebuilders. Do

you

want an

aircraft for utility

one that

you

will use for

transportation,

or

do you already

own

such an aircraft

and want

to restore an

antique

that

you will consider a showpiece?

There are two classes of restorable

aircraft-one

is

the

classic

(post

World War II), which

is

a service

able airplane

that

can

be used as a

modern

means of

transportation

and

still

attend

fly-ins

and

compete

in show competitions. A few an

tiques also

meet

this qualification,

but

most of

the

antiques were built

up

to

the end of 1945 prewar and

wartime) and are

more show than

transportation aircraft.

There are, of course,

exceptions

to every rule. In

the

antique cate

gory are such aircraft

as the

wartime

Stinsons, Fairchild 24s, Staggerwing

Beeches,

Howard

DGAs,

and the

choose. Nostalgia, for

the

first-time

restorer/rebuilder, can playa

big

part

in that

first selection.

Often

times individuals

want

the airplane

they

soloed

or pOSSibly

had a first

ride in. In

some

cases,

they

figure

they can

buy a rebuildable airplane

of the kind

they ve

always

wanted

or couldn t afford. Thus, by doing

their

own

work,

the

lower purchase

price will afford

the opportunity to

meet this lifetime longing.

One selection for restorers/re

builders

is

further controlled

by

what is

available

and how

much

money can be afforded initially.

You

have

to

consider not

only the

initial cost,

but

also if

the

available

airplane

is

fairly well complete and,

if

not,

whether the

parts are avail

able. One

has to take

a

good look

in

the

mirror

and

evaluate

his

or

her

ability,

talent, previous

resto

ration

experience, the difficulty of

the

project decided

upon,

and,

of

course,

the

nagging

question-will

this satisfy

the

family?

All

of this

is

further complicated

by

where you are

going to do

this

project.

Is

the

airplane too

big for

that one-, two-, or three-car garage?

Do you have

the weather

environ

ment that will allow you

to

work

in

that big building

behind

the house

if

there is such

a

structure)

,

or is


11/44

ing,

riveting, and working with

metal, or if yours

is

a background

of tube and cloth. Do you have suf

ficient

equipment,

or

do

you have

to buy equipment (tools)? What

friends can be of assistance, even

if

only

to offer a slap on the back

when

you find the going is a little

tougher than anticipated?

Further

to

all of the above, do

you

have

the blessing of

your

lo

cal

airframe and powerplant me

chanic (A P)?

Hopefully

, he also

has an

inspection autho

rization.

I f

you re going

the antique route, does he

lean

toward

cloth-covered

machines? If he is going

to

assist

you in

working with

your airplane, this

is

an

important consideration,

particularly if

you re

going

to get into one of the

more

complicated airplanes.

In

the selection of

the

aircraft, hopefully

you

have

considered

the area

where

you are

l iving

My

reason

for

rebuilding

lla

Y \V, Lt.

C O ~ P ~ T .

and will be

building, as this particular plane was be

thought should be

given

cause

I learned to fly and

to climatic

conditions

for soloed one

in

the

WWII

doping

and

painting.

Civilian Pilot Training Pro

Money was mentioned gram for naval VS avia

above. This is always

an

tion cadets in

the

spring of

important consideration; 1943. Am I

ever glad

that

however,

the writer

looks

upon the restoration of aircraft as

a hobby. For me, it

is not

meant

as

a livelihood, and as

most

restorers

know

(o

ther

than the professional

rebuilders who very well know

cloth

onto the airplane faster than

one

knot

every three minutes. This

computes out to be 20 rib stitches

per hour,

and

figuring labor

at

$20

per hour

(1986

dollarsf-HGF),

i t

does

not

take a

mathematical

ge

nius

to figure out

that each rib

stitch is costing $1. This means

that just sewing

the

cloth to the air

frame costs $6,OOO

Hence, it

is

my

suggestion that first-time restorers

choose a

much

simpler aircraft for

their first project.

In selecting a first-time proj

ect, it

is

recommended (not just a

thought)

that you start

with

some

thing like an Aeronca, Piper Cub,

Taylorcraft, Porterfield, Luscombe,

i1y

support,

available monies, and

financial

condition,

to say noth

ing

of your

ability to handle (fly)

the

aircraft once you have finished

your showpiece.

I f you are not honest, then you

are

in

a position

where you

prob

ably will never get the project

done.

Then

you

should be willing

to

humble yourself

or

find some

kind of

alibi

as

to

why the

proj

ect

isn t

finished

and

then

sell it.

There are many people out

there

who

have

bitten off

more

than

they

can

chew,

and

their projects lie dormant,

rusting

or rotting

away be

cause

they are

too proud

to admit the truth.

The restoring of an

air

craft is a self-rewarding ac

complishment

and

can

become

as

complex and

as

complicated as

the

aircraft

you select

to

rebuild.

The first aircraft I rebuilt

was a 1941 Aeronca Chief.

my

nostalgia

didn t

de

mand a Howard DGA or Stagger

wing Beech.

After years of working on vintage

airplanes as a hobby, I have gradu

ated

and

soon will be finishing a


12/44

weight

variety

that

literally

have

been brought back from basket case

starter kits to become grand cham

pions at Oshkosh.

If

memory serves

me correctly, two Aeronca Champs,

a

Cessna

140, and a

Piper

Vaga

bond

have received this

top

award,

so it's

not

necessary

that

you have

the biggest, most complex airplane

with which to compete.

Good luck on your selection.

Locating Restorable

Rebuildable Airplane

Once

a

person

has selected

the

make

and model

for a project,

he

or she can begin

the

search. Locat

ing a rebuildable airplane often de

pends

on your

selection and your

flexibility as to

what

you are willing

to

accept for a project. Unless you

have positively

,

absolutely

deter

mined

that

you have to have a par

ticular make and model (oftentimes

impossible

to locate), your selec

tion will vary according to

the

loca

tion

of

the

airplane.

An example would be

the

selec

tion of a rare version of an Aeronca

Chief and

the

only aircraft

you

could find of

this particular

make

and

model is located in

a

remote

section

of Alaska.

On the

other

hand, only 50 miles from you

is

an

equivalent

airplane, another side

by-side

aircraft-a

Taylorcraft. The

cost and problems of securing one

over

the

other

can be sufficient rea

son to change

your

selection. That

is

why a certain amount of flexibil

ity

is

desirable

in

selecting a proj

I would like to

describe

a few

methods I have used

in

locating air

craft from 1959 through the pres

ent. No

one

particular

method

will

apply to everyone,

but

certain vari

ations may be

the

answer.

In 1959 I decided I wanted a 1940

Aeronca Chief. First I told

my

bud

dies. In

those

days

there

were sev

eral Chiefs around. However, I also

contacted

the

AOPA

and

talked to a

cooperative gentleman by

the name

of

Col. Little. Little

advised that

the AOPA had

a service whereby

it could provide a computer

print

out of

all

aircraft registered

with

the FAA

of

a

particular make

and

model. The

AOPA computer print

out

contained an aircraft I later

found

to

be listed

in the

FAA

Civil

Aircraft Register book. The aircraft

was identified by

the

code

number

0190902. This was the

FAA s num

ber for

an

Aeronca Chief.

(Nowadays

you can obtain that

information

using

a personal com

puter

and access to the Internet.

You can search

the

FAA

database

within the

FAA s own

website,

or

use the

database

search engine

available at

www.landings.com .

Scroll to

the

bottom

of that site s

home page,

and

click on Databases.

There you ll find a variety of ways

you can search the aircraft

and

air

men

records.-HGF)

At

that time, there were 1,030 of

those units registered .

On

receipt of

this information, I enthusiastically

started checking each

one

of

them.

Each aircraft listing

included

serial

in

a

particular town

county or

area.

By checking

with

the

police

or sheriff's department or the city

hall, I usually

found

a

person who

was cooperative. In some cases I

checked with

the

local Chamber

of Commerce.

In

any event

I

can honestly

say

that barring a

death

with no sur

vivors, I usually ended up locating

the

person I was looking

for.

Often

times

the

airplanes were stored,

and

I

obtained

some

ridiculous prices,

as in

1959 and 1960

there

was not

the

demand for old planes

there

presently

is.

I f a

person is trying

to

locate

a

rare airplane,

more

effort must be

expended. I always purchased a

copy of

the

FAA s

U.S.

Civil Aircraft

Register. I

obtained

copies consec

utively from 1959 until the FAA

quit

making

them

available.

The

volumes came out twice a year

and

were

about

3 inches thick. The in

formation

is

no longer available

in

book form,

but

it is obtainable. See

our note above regarding searching the

database.-HGF)

The listings

are

available by N

number

make and

model, or owner's name.

Another

searching technique

is

going to the FAA headquarters

in Oklahoma

City

and

personally

searching

through

the records. An

alternative

is

hiring one

of

the

in

dependent title searching businesses

in Oklahoma

City.

Many inactive

airplanes are

no

longer

in the

active

files in

Oklahoma

City, but the in

formation

is

stored in other sections

http:///reader/full/www.landings.comhttp:///reader/full/www.landings.com


13/44

traces back

to the

city

to try to

lo

cate the individual

or

family. It's

almost

like

looking

for a lost per

son in some cases.

Here's

another method

I used for

years

when

I learned of a plane I'd

like to have: I

would

trace

it

down

through

the FAA,

AOPA, and the

U.S.

Civil Air-

craft Register

book.

When

I found it had

been

out

of

service for a while

but

was

last

located in

Pin

Hook

,

USA,

I would use my am

ateur

radio

operator

facili

ties. With call letters

K8MFZ

I would get

on

the radio and

talk to my friends. I would

work with

those who

were

in or around Pin Hook,

USA,

and would bring up the sub

ject

of old

airplanes

and

people who were interested

in

them. Then

I would ask

if

anyone

knew a Joe Do

akes

who

had died 10 years

ago or knew of his family.

Ninety-five

percent of the

time I would get an answer,

and many

times I would be

given a phone patch to some

relation or heir. It wasn't unusual to

hear, My gosh, cousin Charlie's got

Uncle Eddie's airplane in his barn.

It

's

not

always that simple, but

at

times the radio did help.

I'm only sorry

that

I

do

not

have

my amateur

radio working today.

I have since devoted

more time

to

other

things

and

allowed

my li

cense to

lapse,

but

this

did work

very helpful. Besides,

they

will en

joy talking

with

you, and you will

feel better for having visited them,

especially

if

you do

not

go

there

with

the 100

percent ulterior

mo

tive of finding

an

airplane.

F I ~ ,VAY

OF L O C A ~ ( f

1lI M,-n.lOD OF

ut>IN t

12.AD --A-PLAN,

onJ -R.

PU&UCATlOM6. 1.6 TO

A fine way of locating airplanes,

other than the easy method of us

ing Trade-A-Plane

and

watching for

ads

in other

publications, is

to

be

come

involved

in aviation

in your

area. Join

the

local aviation group,

then give

of

your time and be

of

assistance

to

other

people.

Some

day someone will come

to

you

and

say, I

know of

an

old airplane,

and

ways to locate people on the Net, in-

cluding using Netscape s White ages

at

http:

w

p.netscape.com/netcenter/

whitepages.html.

HG

As a working member of the Stag

gerwing

Club,

people contact

me

wanting

to know

the pres

ent

location of the same air

plane they once owned. The

more you become involved,

the

more people

will con-

tact you . I have noticed

that

those who have

are those

who have been

willing to

help. Communication

is

of

ten the secret to success.

A sure way

to have

peo

ple t ighten up

and

not

be helpful

is

to be

more

knowledgeable

than

they

are

in

discussions. Take ad

vantage of being a good lis

tener. And never violate the

unwritten

rule of

not

buy

ing a plane

out

from under

neath

a confidante. Believe

me, you will no longer have

help

from

this

person or

any of his or her friends on

future projects. Many peo

ple will sacrifice to help a

friend locate an airplane.

I f I know of an aircraft

that

I

feel I

cannot afford

nor

see my

way clear

to

purchase

in the near

future, I will pass

the information

on to

a person

who

is qualified

to

restore

i t and who wants

that

particular model. Resurrecting old

airplanes is a

necessary

function

of keeping this hobby of ours

go

http://wp.netscape.com/netcenterhttp://wp.netscape.com/netcenterhttp://wp.netscape.com/netcenterhttp://wp.netscape.com/netcenterhttp://wp.netscape.com/netcenter


14/44


15/44


16/44

Bill

Rasmussen

poses in front

of the

nearly

completed

Golden

Eag1e

fuselage.

In

the

back

stands

Mike Vaughan s

Howard.

the Chief

was used

to

run

liquor and Chinese

Below: The attractive, authentic paint

scheme was

applied

by

Mike

Vaughan.

Left: Here s

the

Ken-Royce seven-cylin

der engine

of the

Chief. Noteworthy

is

the

absence

of

an engine

cowling.

Mr. R.O. Bone, who was build

ing

t he first

Go

lden Eagle, came

over

to

Burdett's Fuller Airport

and

offered

me

a job

demonstrating

his

new plane. t

had

been designed by

Mark Campbell

and

did get

me my

first

two

world endurance records.

The plane was

an

experimental job,

so, Mr. Bone had

designers

come

from Douglas

to

redesign

the

plane

so

that

it would get licensed. Among

the

designers was

d

Heinemann

the great designer for Douglas dur

ing WW-II.

d

was about 20 years

old at

the time

when I

dropped in

the factory one night

to

see

what

was going on . Of course,

we

wanted

to be able to sell a lot of those cute,

wonderful planes.

Only of footnote

in

aviation his

tory, the Gol

den

Eagle Chief was a

parasol-type

open -

cockpit

mono

plan e that sea t

ed

two in tandem

and was powered by a seven-cylin

der LeBlond 7-D radial engi

ne

of 90

hp. This well-rou

nded machine had


17/44

The Chief

was awarded

the

Grand Champion

trophy and People's Choice award at the 2004 AAA Fly-In.

It can

be seen

here

in the natural element of the grass field of Antique Airfield, Blakesburg,

Iowa.

Above: The very

fancy data plate reads: Golden

Eagle Monoplane

N68N, Ser. 803,

Date:

1929,

T.C.2-102,

Make: Golden

Eagle,

Model: Chief, Engine:

Ken-Royce


18/44


19/44

plenty of performance, and most of

its flight characteristics were

quite

normal, except for a bad

spinning

habit

that

was later overcome by

a redesign of

the

tail surfaces. Ed

die Martin, a veteran airmail pilot

who performed many of

the

early

test flights in the Chief, had

to

bail

out

once

and take to his chute, be

cause he

ended

up

in

a

tight spot

and

could

not recover to normal

flight attitude.

Mark

M.

Campbell,

a

talented

man who had been, at some point of

his life, a wing-walker, parachutist,

airplane mechanic, pilot,

and

plane

designer, conceived the Golden Ea-

gle

Chief

in its original form.

The

first three Golden Eagles were sin

gle-seat sport monoplanes powered,

respectively, by a three-cylinder An

zani engine, a six-cylinder Anzani,

and a LeBlond 60. A two-seater de

Bill

Rasmussen

is

seen

here pushing the Chief out of his Coles County Memorial

Airport hangar

The

airport

serves

the Mattoon

Illinois

area

to

the

flying public. Shortly after

approval was issued

on

August 12,


20/44

created his famous Linco Flying moly steel tubing at stress

points.

of later examples, with very little

change

to

the cabane structure.

The split-axle

landing gear was

built of

chrome-moly

steel tubing

and used rubber bungee cords

to

ab

sorb

the

bumps

with

24-by-6 wheels

with an

optional

brake system. The

90-hp

LeBlond engine was identical

to

the

5-D of 65 hp, except for the

addition of two cylinders

and

a dif

ferent crankcase.

Ninety percent

of

the

parts were interchangeable.

There are two known survivors

of the

type:

one

in flying

condition

(NC68N,

ln

803), owned

by

Bill

Rasmussen of Mattoon, Illinois; and

one in the process of

being

restored

(NC10057, ln 810, last Chief built

in 1931) by Larry Case

of

Green


21/44

Gardner salvaged

the

Chief in 1954, as he recounts

in the September 1967 issue of

Sport Aviation

The Eagle was sort of notorious during the early

'30s

in

the Puget

Sound

country.

It

was brought

to

Spokane from Seattle by Francis

M.

Short,

who

had

owned it from 1934

to

1947; then it

changed

hands

quite rapidly until I became

owner

in 1954. I acqUired

the Golden Eagle from

Rex

Yates, who never flew

the

bird and owned it only a short time.

I first saw

the

plane

in the summer of 1940 in

a

hangar

at Felts Field,

in

Spokane,

Washington

.

The

owner

very

seldom

flew it. About a year later, he of

fered

it

for sale for $750. Well, that was about $725

more

than

I

had

at

the

time.

Over the years the plane

condition

worsened,

until

Ed McCoy,

with the

help of

the

locally famous collec

tor Skeeter Carlson, got the little machine back in

the

air. Warren describes

the machine

from

the time

he acquired it:

The wings were in the worst of shape, so I began

rebuilding

them.

I replaced

the

wood

on the

fuselage

next

and

re-covered the ship. The LeBlond

engine

was

in fair shape

and

did not

require much

work. In the

last

months

of 1955, she was successfully test flown. I

flew it

with the

LeBlond for

about

five years

and had

very little trouble.

I had been aware of a Ken-Royce

engine

for sale

in New

York and

decided

to

try

it.

The

Ken-Royce is

an

updated

version

of

the

LeBlond,

with

pressure lu

brication

to

the rocker boxes and

better

main bear

ings. Once the CAA had given its approval, I began the

installation of the

Ken-Royce.

Although the engines

weigh the same

and

fit

the

same

mount, the

original

cowl would not fit. Instead I used a Cessna Airmas

ter

cowl. After flying

with this engine

for a

year or

so, I learned

of

a completely factory-overhauled Ken

Royce

7G,

120-hp

plant

with

chrome

cylinders

and the

works. I t was the same engine as I was running, but

it was

better than new

. I paid

the

late

Red

Pigman

of

American Flyers all the money I had at

the

time,

and

all the

money

I was going

to

earn for a long

time to

come, for

that

engine.

T

hese are the irst tools you need

to buy

when

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22/44

Earl Adkisson and I negotiated a

price from Victor Gendron,

and

Earl

went out with

his trailer

to

retrieve

it

the

next spring, says Rasm us

sen.

When

he got it

home

he went

on working on the engine, but was

sidelined by health problems. By

1999,

the engine

was almost fin

ished. In November, we hauled the

project from Atwood to

Mattoon

and brought

it to

my garage.

We

removed all

the

fabric

and

disas

sembled the ship. The fuselage was

sandblasted,

and Earl

inspected

it

and

repaired

the

cracked welds.

Next, I

sprayed

it with epoxy

primer and urethane paint, reglued

all

the wood

formers

and

stringers

and reinstalled them. ll the throt

tle

and

aileron controls are rods,

and

we

carefully removed

them,

wire-wheel cleaned them, painted

and reinstalled them. Then we re

covered the

fuselage.

t

was

then

original and rare combination clus

ter was restored

and

certified.

Most of the

fuselage

work

was

finished by the fall of 2000, and in

the

winter, we covered

the control

surfaces. In

the

spring we started

on

the wings, replacing all

the

hard

ware,

and

rep rimed

and

revarnished

all the wing components. Cover

ing and finishing of the wings was

accomplished

in late fall 2001. In

2002, we

tackled the ailerons and

worked on making new metal fair

ings.

s

2003

came,

Earl brought

in the engine down

and

we started

installing

it, and

put everything

together. The

plane was ready for

static

display at

the

50th anniver

sary of Mattoon's airport, in July.

We hoped to have

the

plane flying

for

the

2003 Fly-In,

but

did

not quite make it. Earl signed the

Chief off late 2003.

The first

postrestoration

flight

port for

half

an

hour.

During

that

time a few

planes joined

up. I

did

a few

turns,

slow

flight, and

even

tried a stall. In

the end we made

a

nice landing

on

the grass and

came to a stop. None of the bad

things I

envisioned

happened. I

wish Bobbi Trout

would have been

able

to see

that. She had passed

away on January 24, 2003.

The

Chief was presented for

the

first time at the 2004 edition of the

S Fly-In in Champaign, Illinois,

before making it to the Fly-In,

where it won Grand Champion

and

People's Choice awards.

The plane

flies

much

like my

Cub,

except

that it is two times

heavier, Rasmussen says. Com

pared to the Cub, it likes a little ex

tra speed on

final,

giving

a

rather

steep descent

and

good visibility

above

the

nose.

The airplane

likes

to lift

off at

60

mph, climb at

75,


23/44


24/44

The nuances o jacking swinging

and inspecting Swift gear

RTICLE ND PHOTOS BY SP RKY B RNES S RG ENT


25/44

t

Q/nroAf

Ihlltg to

tJtJHf

and ly 011

;

hplfJlfe

tJh11t

tlttJt nrucIr

ltiiolty to

t


26/44

.f,perifirolly ;.wift

f

you re an owner/caretaker of

one

of these stream

lined

flying

machines and need to check

its gear re

traction

system, no doubt

you'll

want to locate and

consult

the

appropriate

and

available resources

to

help

you accomplish these procedures

without

inflicting in

jury

upon

your airplane (or yourself). These resources

include

any

relevant manufacturer s literature, infor

mal (and invaluable) tips

and

suggestions from

your

aircraft

type club

(whether

it

be

individuals, docu

ments, or websites),

and

the FAA s Advisory Circular

(AC) 43.13-1B. (Change One

is the

current version.)

While

there

is a considerable

amount

of

informa

tion available about maintaining Swift gear,

the

opera

tor s

handbook

doesn t provide

thorough

information

about

jacking the airplane or swinging the gear.

The

Operator s andbook and Maintenance Manual for the

Swift 125 Airplane briefly mentions the jacking

pro

cedure

on page 28 under

the

ground handling sec

tion:

Jacking-The

airplane

may

be jacked by placing

jacks under the tie

down

fittings

which

also serve as

jack points. Chocks or other

precautionary

measures

should

be

taken to insure

that

the airplane

is

secure

while jacking. Always secure

the

tail

when

raising

the

airplane at jack pOints .

I

That

sounds easy enough, until you begin to

think

about

it. For example,

what

type of jacks

do

you use

for

the

low-wing Swift,

and

just

how

should

the

tail be

secured? And

then, when you've

succeeded

in

safely

jacking

the

gear off

the

ground,

how do

you properly

inspect

the

electrically driven, hydraulically operated

gear retraction system? The

handbook

just doesn t ad

dress

any

of this in detail,

and

your local mechanic or

repair

station may

not

have

the

answers, either,

un

less it

is

intimately familiar with

the

Swift airplane. For

example, some folks

may

not

know

that the Swift

can

have either of two

brands

of

main landing

gear-Adel

which

have subtle differences.

Tying

the

Swift

s light

tail securely

to a ground anchor is

an

important

part of preparing this

nose heavy

airplane

to

be

raised

on ts jack

points.


27/44

You

might

find it helpful

to consult AC

43.13-1B,

which does provide some generic information in

Chapter

9, Section 1,

Inspection

and Maintenance

of Landing Gear,

including retraction

tests.

While

informative, it doesn't provide model-specific details,

and

the

Swift, like

other

airplane types, has its

own

nuances and intricacies that need to be considered.

This

is

the perfect

opportunity

to take advantage of

the

wealth of knowledge available

through the

Inter

national Swift Association,

and

according

to

member

Ken

Coughlin, They'll be happy to talk with you

and

try to help you find somebody

who

is

maintenance

savvy about

this particular

airplane, and

would

be

willing to assist you.

Since it's best to have two qualified people on

hand

for

the

tasks,

Les

Sargent, a Swift

owner and an

air

frame

and

powerplant mechanic with an inspec

tion authorization

(A P-IA), recently requested Ken

Coughlin, a fellow

A P-IA

and longtime Swift owner,

to assist him with

the

delicate jacking and gear swing

ing procedures for Sargent's 1946 Globe Swift, which

is

equipped

with

the more common

Adel landing

gear. Both

men

agreed to share the highlights of

the

procedures they used,

along

with a few suggestions

and tips from their own experiences.

ar/ti 9

1

and T e r h n i q J J e ~

A set of short, low-wing jacks and a length of rope

are

the

basic tools required for jacking the Swift. In

this case,

Coughlin

used his own homemade jacks,

since typicallow-wing-style jacks are too tall to fit be

low

the

Swift's wing. Sargent used

the

rope to tie

the

tail securely to a

ground anchor

in

the hangar

floor,

thus

preventing

the nose-heavy Swift from tipping

over during

the

jacking process.

Working

together

on a level surface inside a closed

hangar,

where

wind gusts wouldn't pose a

hazard,

they

manually raised each wing just enough to po

sition

the jacks below the jack pOints. According

to

Coughlin, Jack

points are

behind

the

Swift

gear

and close to the center

of gravity

(CG), and

when

you

raise

the

gear off the ground, the balance of the

Both main landing gear are fully

extended

now and above

the floor

.

Close-up

view

of the

emergency landing

gear

pull-down

sys

tem,

which

is

located

between the pilot and

passenger

seats.


28/44

Note the ample clearance between the

wing jacks and main landing gear as they

swing upward.

lose up view of the jack point resting on

the wing jacks as the main landing gear

are retracting.

Both

of these Swift owners

prefer jacking

the airplane

just

high enough for the

tires

to

clear

the ground.

Sargent elab

orates, I like

to have the

tires

about

an

inch

off

the

floor,

and I

make sure that

the strut

is

fully

extended

and

not hung

up

.

Sometimes that means

thumping

the

tire

a little bit,

since the weight

is

off

of

it,

just

to

make

sure the

strut is

fu lly extended

against its

in

terna

l stops.

1winging nd In.dpel ting

s

soon

as the

Swift was safely

perched

on its jacks, Sargent

carefully entered the

cockpit

and

turned the master

switch

on,

pushed

the gear safety

but

ton, and turned the handle to

the

up

position,

thereby ener

gizing

the

electrically

driven,

hydraulically

operated

main

gear, while

Coughlin remained

on

the

floor

and

watched

the

Swift

begin to

pick up its feet.

After one complete cycle of the

retraction/extension system

to

check for normal operation, an

other

cycle was started.

While the gear was still in its

partial

up-travel

position, Sar

gent turned the circuit breaker

off to stop its motion, providing

Coughlin the

opportunity

to try

to gently shake and

twist the gear,

thereby

checking the fore and

aft play of the gear

trunnion

and

struts.

gear will wear.

Satisfied

the

gear legs were in

good

operating condition,

Sar

gent re-energized the system

and allowed the gear

to cycle

all

the

way

up

before

turning

the

circuit breaker

off

again.

With

the system

deactivated,

he placed

the

gear

handle

in

the

down position, listening

care

fully to

what happened

next.

According

to

Coughlin,

Many times you will be able to

hear the

system relax. You

can

hear the fluid

begin

to

move,

but

the

gear will stay up.

Then

you can grab

the

tire

to see

if

you can pull it

out

of

the

wheel

well.

f the hydraulic

system is

still doing its job,

and the

bush

ings are not t worn,

the

gear

will stay up because

the

retract

arms are designed

to

go slightly

over center.

f you can

pull the

gear

down or out of

the

well,

then

you know you've got a

problem

. Due

to

bushing slop,

the

gear

may

not be traveling all

the way up

and

locking into its

over-center position.

While the gear remained in

the well, Coughlin also checked

to

see if all of the bushings

and

linkages were still

sufficiently

tight

enough to hold the gear

against the micro-switch to pre

vent the motor

from energiz

ing. I detected some looseness

in my SWift's Adel gear several

years ago,

he

recalls

. Even

though the gear stayed in the

well, it

would

move about 1/4


29/44

clearances

and

security

of

the

gear

inside the

wheel well

Below: Coughlin keeps

watchful eye on

the

gear

leg

to

come

on,

indicating that

both

gear were down and locked. t this

point,

Coughlin

visually confirmed


30/44

on the main

actuator assem

bly; 51-11-04 describes

how to

check for wear

on the trunnion

bushings, just before

the

wheel

enters the wheel

well on

the

upside

and

just before it locks

down

on

the

downside; and

the

third one, 58-10-03, says

to

check for failure of

the

internal

Adel

strut extension stop

ring

at every 100

hours

of opera

tion

by checking for clearance

at the external stop

mounted

on

the torque

knee.

Coughlin

says

he

checks

this clearance

by slipping

a piece

of

paper

between

the

torque

knee

stop

and

the

landing gear

strut.

f

the

internal

stop rings

have

failed,

then there's nothing

to hold the

gear in the

strut

except

the torque

knee stop,

and

it's

not

designed to be

that

strong

.

(Coughlin

also

notes

here

that

the LI

gear uses

no

internal

stop, and

the torque

knee stops

are

meant to

con

tact

the

gear struts.)

ntehgenry

GeOh

xt

en dion

You never know

just

when

you may need to rely upon

your

emergency gear exten

sion system,

so

it must

also

be

inspected.

To

accomplish

this, Sargent re-energized

the

sys

tem

and

raised

the

gear all

the

way

back up.

Then

he

turned the

cir

cuit breaker off

and

placed

the

gear

handle

in the down

position. Next

he removed

the

safety

pin

from

the

emergency pull-down crank, raised

Close-up

view the torque

knee

joint

and external

st

r

ut extension stop

which must

be checked

for proper

clearance as part of a recurring air-

worthiness directive.

gency pull-down cable can become

so

taut that

it can actually pull

the

cable pulley bracket off

the

spar web,

and the

only way to

fix

that

is

to

re-

move

the

wing

and the

fuel

tank-a

costly and preventable repair.

While Sargent

continued

crank

ing,

Coughlin observed

the

first

gear

leg

begin to

fall

out of the

wheel

well.

t dropped

freely

un

til it was 3/4 of

the

way down,

and

then

continued to the down

lock

position

via

the manual crank

ing. Sargent says, You'll feel extra

pressure

against that crank when

it gets ready

to

lock down, because

the locking mechanism

has

to

go

over center for each gear,

one

after

the

other.

Then,

if

the

emergency

system has worked properly, you'll

have a green gear-

down

indication

on the

panel after you

turn the

cir


31/44

Rankin Whittington

noir

NC

_ 1972

SA 300

Starduster

Too

_ 1973 kyhawk

My partner, im George, and I like AUA for the

insurance on our 1972 SA-300 Starduster Too because

they understand our style

of

aviation and they give

us

quick, economical service.

Rankin

Whittington


32/44

We're still on drilling, this

time

because I

had

questions on

how to

handle

windows

and

windshields.

Modern

acrylics are a

wonder.

Modern plastics

are a

great

im

provement over

the

acetate ma

terial

used

back

in

the

days

of

yore.

They

are not as

susceptible

to

crazing

,

the embrittlement of

the plastic as it's subjected

to

sun

light

and as

it ages. The new Plexi

glas is

not immune to

i t i t

just

seems

to

last longer

than

the older

stuff. There's even a MIL-Spec for

the

newer

I

craze-resistant" acrylic

plastic: MIL-P-8184. Acrylic plas

tic

has been

with us since WWIC

and

there's been lots of progress

on

plastics since

then.

These new

polycarbonates are

great,

but one word of warning:

They are very susceptible

to

petro

leum

erosion.

Whatever you

do,

don't

wipe

them

down

with

gaso

line.

You'd be

very

disappointed

in

the

results

To

begin, there are

a

whole

E.E. BUCK HIL ERT

Drilling

Deeper

to

protect the

plastic gets really

hard

to

remove

if

it's

been

ex

posed

to sunlight

for

even

a

little

while, and/or

long-term

storage in

an

area

that's warmer

than

room

temperat

u

re (for

instance,

the

shelf of

your

steel T-hangar) for

an

I'd suggest

taking a surplus

piece

of

material,

or preferably

an old window,

and practice

working on

the plastic.

preferably an old window, and

practice

working on the

plastic.

t

will

be

brittle

and

will

teach han

dling

care as

you

practice cutting

and drilling and learn by doing.

Forget the scroll

or

reciprocat

ing

handheld

saws. The work will

jump up and down, and it's im

possible

to do

a

decent

job

with

out cracking and chipping

. For

proper

cutting, the saw blade

should travel

in

one direction,

with

light

but

steady pressure

and

no forcing.

Once the final

sizing has

been

accomplished,

chamfer

or

bevel

all the sharp edges.

The best

way

to

do

this

is

to

use a fine-grit (150

grit

or

so)

sanding

block or sander,

and make

sure

you

get

all those

sharp edges, nicks, and sharp

places nice and

smooth. In

that

step,

you're doing your

best to be

sure the

edge

of the material has

no

small stress risers,

which could

precipitate a crack long after the

plastic has

been

installed.


33/44

one side and then

flip

the

glass

over and

come

through from the

other

side. I have used a rotary file

or

burr with

good results. The

burr

is

also

great

for taking

the

sharp

edges off the drilled

hole, an

im

portant step in crack

prevention.

AC43-13B, Chapter 3,

shows

the

use

of the

Unibit drill

to poke

holes in plastic. If

that

works for

you, and

you

can keep the edges

clean

with

no chips, use it.

Consider here the expansion

and contraction of the acrylic

or

plastic. Plastics are

subject

to

ex

panding and contracting with

temperature changes,

and the

big

ger the piece, the more so.

How

much?

I

don t

know;

read the

documentation sent

along

by

your plastic supplier.

Give

your

self

some

room. The Aircraft

Spruce

catalog mentions

giving

1/16

inch

per foot of material for

expansion space. Don t

jam the

piece into the

frame.

Better

yet,

plan

on some

cushioning

material

between

the glass

and the

frame.

Again, the

cushioning

material

has

to

allow for

the

expansion.

When planning the mounting

holes

around

the perimeter

, also

figure expansion. Drill the holes

so you have slack, yet are able

to

accommodate those

number 6 8

or

10 screws. A bigger

diameter,

about

1/3 larger

than the

screw,

is

best in

this

case. Use a

rotary

file

or

burr

to

chamfer the

holes,

and

use a soft material

to cushion

the

frame forces against

the

glass.

Stop the

earch

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NGLISH

WH LS

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phone: 1-800-828

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email: [email protected]

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at

annual

inspection

time;

you d

be surprised

how

many times I've

found one missing

or

very

loose,

even

when a self-locking

nut

was

used on

the

backside.

In the v nt

there

isn t a frame

and

it's necessary

to

use screws

and

washers, a

countersunk

washer

is

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12

ISSUES

OF VINTAGE AIRCRAFT


34/44

BY DOUG STEWART

CRM

Part

II

Last month I was talking about CRM. For

those

of I know that all

of

us who are

involved

with the

you with an affliction similar to mine, CRM stands for Vintage Airplane Association have a love affair

with

cockpit resource management ,

not

can't remember an earlier time in aviation, when things were so much

much." In the airlines it stands for crew resource

man

simpler

in

so many

respects.

However, we are also

agement. In

any

case it means using all the ava ilab le aware of the many incredible and rapid advances be

resources to aid

in

the

safe

and

efficient flight

of

the ing made

in

technology.

The

plethora

of

handheld

airplane. electronic

equipment

now avail

The other day, I heard a great able is mind-boggling. Virtually

ll

the

weather

example of this at work in the

all

of them

are great tools in

our

airlines as I was

flying in the

CRM bag; however, we

do

have

soup. The pilot of a 737 checked

information that

to be aware of their shortcom

in with the

fina l-approach

co

Documents

Vintage Airplane - Apr 2006