Vintage Airplane - Feb 1994

8/12/2019 Vintage Airplane - Feb 1994

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2/36

EDITORIAL

STAFF

Publisher

Tom

Poberezny

February 1994 Vol. 22,

No.2

CONTENTS

Vice-President,

Marketing

and

Communications

Dick

Matt

Editor-in-Chief

Jack

Cox

Editor

Henry G. Frautschy

Managing

Editor

Golda

Cox

Art Director

Mike Drucks

Computer Graphic Specialists

Sara

Hansen

Olivia L Phillip

Jennifer

Larsen

Advertising

Mary

Jones

Associate Editor

Norm Petersen

Feature Writers

George Hardie, Jr. Dennis Parks

Staff Photographers

Jim Koepnick Mike Steineke

Carl

Schuppel

Donna

Bushman

Editorial Ass istant

Isabelle Wiske

EAA

ANTIQUE /CLASSIC DIVISION , I

NC.

OFFICERS

Pres

ident

Vice

Presi

dent

Espie 'Butch' Joyce

Arthur Morgan

604 Highway

St.

3744 North 51st Blvd.

Modison,

NC

27025

Milwaukee, WI 53216

919/427-0216

414/442-3631

Secretary

Treasurer

Steve

Nesse

E.E.

'Buck' Hilbert

2009 Highland Ave.

P.O. Box

424

Albert Lea, MN 56007

Union,IL60180

507/373-1674

815/923-4591

DIRECTORS

John Berendt

Robert

C.

'Bob ' Brauer

7645 Echo Point Rd.

9345 S Hoyne

Connon Falls, MN 55009

Chicaw, IL 60620

507/263-2414

312/ 79-2105

Gene Chase

John

S. Copeland

2159

Corlton Rd.

28-3

Williannsbur8

Ct

Oshkosh,

WI

54904

ShrewsbulY,

MA

1545

414/231-5002

508/842-7867

Phil Coulson

George Daubner

28415 Springbrook Dr.

2448

Lough

Lane

Lawton, MI 49065

Hartford,

WI

53027

616/624-6490

414/673-5885

Chartes Harris

Sian Gomoll

7215 East 46fh SI.

1042901h Lane, NE

Tulsa,

OK 74145

M i n n e a ~ l i s MN 55434

918/622-8400

61

/784-1172

Dale A. Gustafson

Jeannie HIli

7724

Shady Hill Dr.

P.O. Box

328

Indianapclis,

IN

46278

Harvard, IL 60033

317/293-4430

815/943-7205

Robert Uckteig Robert D. 'Bob ' Lumley

1708 Boy Oaks

r

1265

South

124fh

St

.

Albert Lea, MN 56007

8rookfield, WI 53005

507/373-2922

414/782-2633

1

Straight & Levell

Espie "Butch" Joyce

2

AC News/

Compiled by H.G. Frautschy

4

Type Club Notes

6

Vintage Iriterature/

Dennis P arks

10

What Our Membe

rs

are Restoring/

Norm Petersen

13

Du

sty and Randy's Taylorcraft/

H.G. Frautschy

15 Floatplane and Luges Bonny Flies

Them Am / H.G. Frautschy

16 Taylorcrafts For Two Cities/

Norm Petersen

21 Spark Plu

gs

to TBO/

Bill Claxton

22

Mystery Plane/George Hardie

24 Pass it to Buckl

E.E. "Buck" Hi lb ert

27

Welcome New Members

28

AlC Calendar

Page 24

29

Vintage

Tra

der

FRONT COVER . . . Taylorcrafts are some of the

most

popular lightp lanes ever

produced . Don

Claude

's BC-

12D

Taylorcraft looks as pretty as the Wisconsin

countryside its flying

over

in this EAA

photo by

Carl Schuppel. This good

looki

ng

restoration has

won

the Classic d ivision - Custom Class A award at

the EAA Convention the past four years in a row! Shot with a Canon EOS- 1

equ

i

pped

w i

th

an 8O-200mm lens. 1/500

sec

.

at

f5 .6 on

Kodak Kodachrome

64.

Cessna 210 photo

plane

piloted

by

Bruce

Moore.


3/36

by Espie Butch Joyce

Weather certainly has been

a hot

topic

during the

last

few

months.

Here in North Carolina, the climate

is usually good enough for weekend

flying during

the

winter months,

but

not

this

year. It 's been cold, rainy

and

wet.

On

top

of

that,

we've

had

a

great

deal of freezing rain and

ice

storms.

Listening

to

other

folks from

around

the

country, I've been

hearing

similar comments. The sub-zero cold

has

certainly been a

burden

for those

who live

further

north. The deep cold

snap

has

even

begun to affect struc-

tures. I understand that during the

skiplane fly-

in at Pioneer Airport last

month,

when

they

tried to

open

a

hangar

door,

it

would

barely

budge.

Apparently,

the

concrete apron had

heaved up slightly and jammed the

door. I've also

had

a

similar

problem

with my

hangar

here in Shiloh.

I

have not

been able to open

my

door to

move

my

aircraft

so

I have been

inside working on

the

airplanes. A

250,000 BTU overhead

propane

heater in my hangar

does a very good

STRAIGHT LEVEL

of it compares with

the

hard

s

hips

some of

our

fellow pilots

have had

to

endure. The flooding in the Midwest,

where many pilots lost their aircraft

and hangar,

along with

it

s contents,

is

still

fresh

in our mind

s. I've

not

yet

heard of

any sses

related to air

craft

in

the California earthquake ,

but

certainly

man

y of

our

friends

and

pilots suffered

sses

that will

take

a

lot of work from which

to recover.

Our

sy

mpathy

is extended to

those

who have suffered through

this

disas

ter.

All this

talk about the

weather

reminds

me

of a

point

I'd like to

make

. As you travel about, you see a

wide variety of

hangars

and T-

hangars

that

have

been constructed

over

the

years.

Pilots

, being a

resourceful

group

, have often

tried

to

make a

hangar out

of anything they

could

get their

hands

on, which

has

led to some

interesting

construction

methods

. Wooden

structures

covered

in

metal, pipe

structures

covered

in

tin. You

name

it, it's probably been

used

to

build

a

hangar

.

In many

cases,

these

sheds have given air-

ports

their

unique

character.

Unfortunately, as many

of these

hangars age, they

may

not be able to

safely store your aeronautical pride

and

joy.

you

have your

aircraft stored in.

During the winter, if

you

suspect

your

hangar

roof

may

not be able to

withstand the snow or ice load upon

it

,

add

a few

support

poles .

t may

not

be

convenient,

but

it may save

your airplane. The

attitude

that

the

hangar has b

een there

for 25 years

and

will hold

up

for

another

50

may

not be the case

. Better to be

safe

than to face a

long

and ex

pensive

rebuild

With the weather, it has been very

quiet as far as aviation

activity

is

concerned

in our area.

f

it

were

not

for

the

EAA

and lC Chapter

activi

ty,

not much

would be

happening.

Our local Chapter 8 has been busy

getting

ready

for

the spring

and

summer f lying

season,

and

Antique

/

Classic Chapter

3

has

been

planning their

spring

fly-in. I sup

pose

it

is

not

to

early

to start looking

forward to

the

EAA

Sun

'n

Fun

Fly

In coming up April

9 through the

16th.

This

is always a shot

in the

arm for those of us who have had to

suffer

through the

tough winter.

I

always look forward to

Sun 'n Fun

seeing all

my

friends and looking at

the

newly

restored airplanes that

have

just been finished

during

the

winter months

provides a

pleasant

break during the early

spring.


4/36

YOUR

COMMENTS ARE

NEEDED

As promised

in last month's

issue,

here are the particulars regarding EAA's

proposal

for medical self-certification.

The FAA has

published

the petition in

the Federal

Register, and the deadline

for

your

comments regarding

this

pro

posal must be received by the

FAA

by

March

4

1994.

This

past September, the EAA sub

mitted a proposal

that

would allow stu

dent and recreational pilots to certify that

they have no known medical defects that

would disqualify them from acting as pi

lot-in-command

of

an aircraft. Also, all

certified pilots would be permitted the

same option when they limit their flight

operations to those allowed by the recre

ational pilot certificate. Flight instructors

would also

be allowed to

self-certify

themselves, as long as they limit them

selves

to

teaching student

and

recre

ational pilots.

By eliminating the burdensome cost

of

a medical certificate,

EAA

believes

that

the cost

of recreational

flying will

come

down, along with the hassle factor of

having to find a doctor, set an appoint

ment

and then go have the examination.

By helping eliminate this requirement, it

is hoped that student starts will also in

crease, for many of the same reasons. By

lowering

the cost of flying, it is hoped

that more hours can be flown, and as a

result, pilots will become more proficient.

Some comments have been aired that

by eliminati ng the third class physical, pi

lots who are medically unfit to fly would

be encouraged

or

allowed to fly. In fact,

within the rules established in the present

regulations, pilots "self-certify" that they

compiled by H.G. Frautschy

ational pilots who are not interested in

flying further than 50 mil es from

their

home

base,

the

current

requirements

would still apply.

Your positive comments and sugges

tions regarding this proposal are needed

if the FAA is to see justification

in

chang

ing this FAR.

Address your comments,

in

triplicate, to:

Federal Aviation Administration

Office of the Chief Counsel

Attn: Rules Docket #27517

800 Independence Av., SW

Washington,

DC

20591

In a related area, the AOPA has peti

tioned the FAA to extend the duration of

the third class physical

for

non-instru

ment

rated

private

pilots from

two to

four years.

AOPA

has asked for a two

year trial period ,

after

which the

FAA

can make a determination whether the

extension should become permanent.

EAA has informed

the FAA that

it

strongly endorses the A0 P A proposal"

and believes

that

it will

help

lessen the

burden placed on those pilots who fly pri

marily for fun

and recreation. You can

send your comments to the same address

as noted above, Attn: Rules Docket

(AGC-204) #27473.

JUDGING

AT EAA

OSHKOSH

f you are planning on bringing your

restored

airplane to EAA OSHKOSH

'94, please no t e

that

the

deadline

for

judging

has

been

moved

up one

day.

Judging will

end at

noon

on

Monday, Au

gust

1

and the presentation of the awards

will take

place

during the evening pro

gram the following night, Tuesday,

Au

gust 2,1994.

On

the final day of the Con

vention, the Grand Champions and other

ally contain a change. Changes made on

those pages will be highlighted, so that pi

lots

can

readily

see the new

or revised

data .

f

you order a

complete

manual

subscription, it will be delivered with the

change pages applicable to that edition of

the AIM enclosed.

A two-year subscription to the AIM

is

available from

the

U.S. Government

Printing Office. The cost

is

$58.00.

ABS AND YOUNG EAGLES

A number of Antique/Classic mem

bers who own Beechcrafts also belong to

The American Bonanza Society, and we

are pleased to announce that the ABS

has

entered

into

an

agreement

with

the

EAA Aviation Foundation to participate

in the Young Eagles Program. The orga

nization, with some 10,000 members, has

offered its support to help attain the ob

jective of

the Young

Eagles Program

.

With the added help of the ABS's efforts,

the EAA Aviation Foundation program

is

given a boost towards its goal

of

giving

a million young people an airplane ride

by the year 2003, the 100th anniversary of

powered flight. Glad to have your help,

ABS

DON'T FORGET,

INTERNA TIONAL YOUNG

EAGLES

DAY S

JUNE 11, 1994.

CLIFF ROBERTSON WORK

EXPERIENCE

For

the second year in a row, two

young aviation enthusiasts,

16

or

17

years

of age, will join a CFI 25 years of age

or

younger as th e participants in the Cliff

Robertson Work Experience Program at

EAA's Pioneer

Airport,

a part of the

EAA Air Adventure

Museum. The

James Ray Foundation sponsors the pro

gram as a way to allow a couple of young

sters to experience life as

airport

kids,"

before the days

of

fenced

in

airports.

Application materials

are available

from the Education Office, EAA Avia

tion

Foundation, P.O. Box 3065,


5/36

EAA PERIODICAL

INDEX

It's

ready

for shipment again - John

Bergeson's handy EAA Reference Guide

is now available. The basic volume cov

ers

1953

- 1989, and costs $18.00.

Supplements are available for each of

the subsequent years. Each years supple

ment costs $3.00,

or

$30.00 for the com

plete set.

Payment

is to be

made

in U.S. funds

only, Visa and MasterCard accepted. Or

ders are postpaid (book rate) to U.S. and

Canada. In other countries, add $2.00 per

item above. Copies

of

any article from

any issue are

available

for 35

cents

per

page ($5.00 minimum order). Address all

orders to:

John Bergeson

6438

W. Millbrook

Remus, MI 49340-9625

Phone: 517/561-2393

CUB CLUB PHONE NUMBER

f you 've tried

to

call John Bergeson

using the phone number on the Cub Club

listing in

the November

issue

of

VIN

TAGE AIRPLANE,

you've

probably

heard the recording telling you

that

number is no longer in service. " Well,

John has not moved,

we

just had an incor

rect

phone number

listed for him. The

correct number is 517/561-2393.

1994 SPORT AVIATION

ART

COMPETITION OPEN

The 1994 edition of the Sport Aviation

Art Competition , sponsored by the EAA

Aviation Foundation, is well on its way to

becoming a reality. Applications are now

being accepted for the 18th annual con

test, the longest running aviation art com

petition

in

the world.

This year's special theme

will

be ama

teur-built aircraft - a special Par Excel

lence" award will be bestowed upon the

work which, in the opinion of the judges,

best exemp lifies the joy and fun of build

ing your own aircraft.

Other

recognition

pages of

VINTAGE

AIRPLANE. Most

photos

shot

by our

photo

staff are avail

able, and to further aid those of you who

might be interested in obtaining a photo

print of one of the shots used here in the

magazine, we

will,

starting with next

month's issue, put a small airplane symbol

next to the

photo

credit to al

ert

you

that

the photo is available through the

EAA

Photo department. For

information on

sizes and

prices, you can

ca

ll them at

414/426-4863.

STAGGERWING COMMEMORA

TIVE TOUR, 1936-1996

In 1996, the 60th anniversary of a note

worthy event in Beechcraft history will be

celebrated

- the winning

of

the Bendix

Trophy in 1936 by

Louise Thaden

and

Blanche Noyes in a Wright R975 powered

Beech C17R

Staggerwing. An

added

bonus was the fact that the race had been

won in a

stock lightplane,

one that you

could

order from the factory. Blanche

and Louise became the first women pilots

to win the

premier

cross country race

of

its day. They covered the route from Los

Angeles to New York

in

14 hours and 55

minutes.

To

commemorate that win , over the

Labor Day weekend in 1996, a commem

orative tour will be flown with as many as

100 Beechcraft Staggerwings, from Cleve

land,

Ohio to San Diego, CA. Certain

other Beechcraft airplanes will also be in-

cluded on the tour.

The

route will begin

at Mike Stanko Elser Metro Airport near

Cleveland, with the first overnight stop at

EI Paso, TX. The next day, the tour will

head off to Gillespie Field in San Diego.

For additional information and an itiner

ary, please contact:

William Thaden

34

Goose Point Drive

Kittery Point,

ME

03905

207/439-1161

TAYLORCRAFTFORSALE

According to a press release dated De

cember 14, 1993, the Taylorcraft Aircraft

Glider. He has a set of plans as published

in Modern

Mechanics

magazine, but

gives only limited information. In partic

ular, the details regarding the horizontal

and vertical stabi

li

zer are a bit vague in

the information they have, and they'd like

to get more complete information on the

glider.

f

you

can

help, write

to Bob at

the address listed above, or give him a call

at 603/926-8039.

FLABOB AIRPORT OPEN

HOUSE

f you're

in the Los Angeles

area

the

l st weekend in February, you'll certainly

not want to miss the open house at Flabob

Airport.

Billed

as

A tribute to

the

Golden Age of Air

Racing," this will be

an

unprecedented opportunity

to

view

some of the spectacular reproductions

constructed by Bill Turner and his crew at

Repeat Aviation. The centerpiece of this

display

will

be the recently completed de

Havilland D.H . 88 Comet

racer,

Grosvenor

House." Other exhibits will

include antique, experimental and classic

aircraft, as well as the many projects that

always seem to be ongoing at this mecca

for sport aviation in the L.A. region. Re

freshments will be available , and don ' t

forget the Annual Fund Raiser Dinner,

held at the EAA Club House on Satur

day, February 26, at 6 p.m .

For more information, call 909/686

1318.

ANTIQUE/CLASSIC TRAM INFO

f you

are at EAA OSHKOSH ' 94,

and you decide it would be nice to take a

guided tour of the Antique/Classic Show

plane parking area, feel free to hop on the

Antique/Classic Tram in front of the lC

Headquarters ("The Red Barn"). Ignore

what I wrote last month regarding a small

donation - the ride on the Tram

is FREE,

and does not

cost you one penny.

This

service has been offered by the Division

for the past 8 years, and has grown to be a

much

appreciated part of the Antique/

Classic Division' s serv

ic

es

to the

public


6/36

CLIJB

otes

by Norm Petersen

Don Cox sends

this information

from Brimm and Bogess about wire

gauges. The

chart

lists four

different

measurements

for

converting

gauge

to

inches, but we will only list the Birm

ingham

Wire Gauge

(B .W.G .) as it is

the

one used for steel

tubing and

sheet

and

that

is what we see most often on

the Monocoupe plans.

From

thickest

to thinnest:

auge

Number

/ B.W.G.

Thickness

in inches)

1 .................................... 0.300

2 .................................... 0.284

3 ..................................... 0.259

4..................................... 0.238

5 ..................................... 0.220

6 ..................................... 0.203

7 ..................................... 0.180

8 ..................................... 0.165

9 ....................................0.148

10 ................................... 0.134

11

................................... 0.120

12 ................................... 0.109

13 ................................... 0.095

14 ................................... 0.083

15................................... 0.072

16 ................................... 0.065

17 ................................... 0.058

18 ................................... 0.049

From the Monocoupe Flyer Bob Cool

baugh, Editor (703-590-2375)

Speaking

of Props:

When installing

wooden propellers with a torque wrench,

the following in.-lb. values would apply:

AN6 - 3/8 in. diameter prop bolts

200

+/- 25

AN7 - 7/16 in .

diameter

prop

o ts-

250

/- 25

AN8 - 2 in. diameter prop bolts

300 +/-

25

Caution: Over tightening propeller at

taching bolts will cause

the

wood

of the

hub to crush,

breaking

its

moisture

seal

and slightly reducing drive-torque capac

ity

of

the installation.

-From

Sensenich

Corporation. Refer to

FAA

AC 43.l3-1a

for further information.

From The Bticker Newsletter Chris Ar

vanites, Ed. (815-436-1011)

Sam Burgess just wrote to say that he

has found something very important and

wants to warn those

of

you who are con

verting your lungmeisters from

the

Sie

mans radial over to the flat-four Ly

coming engines. He says that

the

lungmeister has a six-point pick up at the

firewall for the engine mount attachment

to distribute the torque and static loads.

This is because the tubing is only .028"

wall thickness. Some

lungmeisters that

were built after WW II used .035". The

lungmann

has a four-point pick up

for

the lighter and lower horsepower engines.

From the B-C Contact! Larry

D'

Attilio

Editor (414-783-6559)

you have a

similar spot

in your

plane

where water can collect, install a drain at

the lowest point. This is especially impor

tant

if your plane, like the Champ, is tied

outside for long periods of time.

r

have been told this

is

a real problem

for all fabric covered

V

shaped legs.

Some owners use a metal cover, as it isn't

sealed and

will

drain. Not covering to the

bottom of the V on the bottom side is

another

good solution. Even a grommet

at the bottom

will

help.

I would strongly suggest if your

gear

legs are fabric covered, that you carefully

inspect them for corrosion under the fab

ric covering. This might mean that you

will have to remove the fabric. Fortu

nately, the plane can be flown without the

covering on the gear leg. You won't even

notice if you have only one gear leg cov

ered.

Why this gear leg (at Oshkosh) didn't

fold is beyond me. f it had, the resulting

ground loop might have totaled the plane

.

. .

but it would have been on the ground.

Control surfaces, on the other hand, get

stressed in the air. Have one

of

these col

lapse in the air, and the results could be a

lot more serious. Since grommets can

and

do

get plugged,

check

to see if the

grommets

are open

and clear in the bot

tom

of

the flaps, ailerons and elevators.

Retained moisture in our style of air

planes creates serious corrosion and rot.

I t is important to

check

to see

if

grom

mets are open. These small openings also

ventilate and dry out the interior

of

your

wings, flaps, etc. during flight. So go fly

ing. Tell your spouse that the plane needs

airing out. Now that's a real deal.


7/36

looked

at before

covering?

There

was

surface corrosion on ribs and compression

tubes (made of steel). We looked at the

rib nails. Many were re-inserted because

they were covered with epoxy glue. The

new technique for unribbed nails is to put

epoxy over them. Check the tension on

the tie rods. We pluck each tie rod includ

ing those that go through the center

of

the

fuel tank. t

should make a dull low bass

note. Our

general observation of the

compression fitting outboard was where it

bolts to the front

spar

- it was not sand

blasted or re-chromated

at

recover time.

Epoxy varnish was slopped over

the

fittings right over the rust. Typically, the

wood varnish was thinly applied in the

70's.

This causes longitudinal drying

cracks from root to tip, usually found on

the outboard end of wing, midway from

top to bottom of spar. Eventually a small

crack leads to a large crack. New varnish

could have been added. Varnish had

dripped around

the compression

st

ud

over old rust. The bottom of the tie rods

were rusty and condensation on the bot

tom indicat es it was

not hangared

for a

long time.

Spar compression failure problem was

discussed

in

the newsletter before. Look

at the front spar, outboard of the lift strut

attach point. There are 118" thick ply

wood reinforcing plates which end right

beyond the next outboard rib. In order to

inspect for a

compression

failure

you

have to get a light on top of the

spar

be

yond the rib.

That

takes an outboard in

spection hole. The fact that there was no

outboard inspection hole means that this

airplane has not been checked for com

pression failures

in

the spars, in important

places, since it was recovered. Gee whiz

From the Twin Bonanza Association

Richard Ward, Ed. - 616-279-2540

How would you like to have virtually

every vinyl placard/decal you could ever

imagine, in order to give your old bird a

new look?

Mellissa, one of

the

staff of Moody

Graphics, located

in

Florida, did

a

in

their

aircraft.

One is a fire

extin

guisher, the others are a small tool kit and

some type of first aid equipment.

The

other day, while I was strolling down the

ais l

es

of a local building supply store, I

came

across

a

small

first aid pouch. I

guess what attracted me to it was its com

pact size and

the

nylon zipper case.

The

First Aid Pouch made by

Eastern

Safety

Equipment Co., Inc. contains the follow

ing: instant ice pack , Tylenol, two 2 X 3

pads, two 1 X 3 bandages, ten antiseptic

wipes, two iodine swabs, two sting relief

pads, two ammonia inhalants and lip oint

ment burn cream. All of this

is

packed in

a small red pouch that weighs only a few

ounces.

The

best part is

that

the price

ranges

from $3.99 to $4.95 They are

available

at

most

home

building

supply

dealers, e.g.: Lowes, Builders Square,

Home Depot and

Target.

f you can't

find one, contact Eastern Safety Equip

ment Co., 59-20 56th Ave., Maspeth , NY

11378 or call 718-894-7900 and

ask

for

Ann Beirne.

My advice go out and

pick up one of these before the word gets

out

and the price goes up - Skip-

From the International Swift Association,

Inc. - Charlie Nelson - 615-745-9547

Swift Main Gear Toe-In: We have dis

covered by accident a very simple way to

check the toe-in on our Swift. First, we

have just received from Dennis Gehring,

White Bear Lake, MN, a very nice copy

of

his

A

frame shaped towbar built es

pecially for the Swift. With a golf cart or

garden tractor, I can now, solo, thanks to

Dennis, move

either the Buckaroo or

Swift up and down the ramp into the mu

seum hangar. This towbar attaches to the

Swift via approximately 12" long, 1-114"

steel tube which has a collar machined to

perfectly fit into the axle of the Swift

gear.

The

first attempt to use the towbar

revealed the attach

tube

slid perfectly

into the right gear, bu t would not install

into the left gear. After removing the at

tach tube from the " A frame, it slipped

into the

left gear axle. The

answer

was

then very obvious; with the extension of

told Swift ground handling improves with

proper toe-in . We'll see, my left gear is

off a bunch. Due to the necessity of re-in

flating the ELI, I haven't adjusted it yet.

International Cessna

120 140

Assoc. - Joy

Warren, Ed - Sec-Treas: 319-377-3311

High Engine Oil Temperature - Bill

Rhoades,

Tech

Advisor: The

Cessna

120/140/140A was designed with a pres

sure type cowling. The air enters through

a pair of large openings in front of the

cylinders and is trapped

in

a "box". Air is

only allowed to ex it this box through a

path created by a set of

engine

baffles.

Cooling efficiency

is

determined by the

amount of air in the pressure chamber

that can be directed around the cylinders.

Bad

seals around

the

top cowl

doors,

back

bulkhead

,

or

baffles will bleed off

pressure chamber air. Worn baffles will

allow

the

air to be pulled away from the

cylinder and reduce cooling.

On

some

of

our aircraft there

is

a 1" tube (Part Num

ber 0450240) on the right side of the rear

baffle. This directs air from the pressure

chamber down on the housing for the oil

temperature bulb. According to Cessna

this is to reduce the indicated tempera

ture to match the actual (engineering cali

brated) oil temperature.

The source of heat in our Continental

motor

is,

of course, created during the ig

nition/combustion cycle. This heat drives

the piston down, turning the crankshaft

which spins the prop. Problems develop

when that heat is allowed to escape past

the piston rings into the crankcase. First,

these combustion gases heat the oil that

is

on its way back to the sump and second,

it

builds up a pressure inside the crankcase.

According to Continental, the maximum

crankcase pressure

is

.79 inches of water.

That is the same air pressure it takes to

indicate

40

mph on the airspeed indicator

-

not much. One of the by-products of

over

pressurization

of

the crankcase

is

blow-by. As the air is rushing

out

the

breather , it is taking some of the oil va

pors with it. The end result is a lower

fuselage that will never corrode.


8/36

V I ~ T A t 3 ~ L I T ~ V A T U V ~

by [ enni V d r k . ~

Libr-dr-y / ~ r c h i v e

[)ir-ectur-

From the Pages

of

Aero 1910 1912 Part II

eear end

report

published by

AERO

magazine

in 1911

estimated

300

aircraft had been

constructed

during

the year. The majority of these were

done

by

amateur builders. The Jan

uary 1912 issue

of

AERONAUTICS

estimated that

of

750

aeroplanes

built

during the year,

not

more

than

200

were

constructed by concerns

that

could

be

considered as aeroplane man

ufacturers. The number of engines sold

totaled 425.

This does

not included

those

engines adapted

from automobile

use.

Of the aircraft built

by

recognized

manufacturers,

105 were

built for

ex

hibit use

,

58

for private use

and

11

sold

to various govenments.

Exhibition use

was a great

way

to

spread knowledge of

the

emergent

aircraft

industry and both

Curtiss and Wright had

large teams.

During 1911

, a

number

of world

records were

broken

in the

United

States .

Beachy

made a record flight of

11,642

feet

in

a Curtiss.

G.W

. Beaty

broke

the

world 2-man duration record

by flying 3 hours, 42 minutes, 22

sec

onds

in

August

1911. A

new

duration

record of of

4

hours

,

16 minutes

,

32

sec

onds

was

set

in

October by H.W

. Gill in

a

Wright.

This growth

in aircraft in the United

he list is organized by

type

of

supply

Ball Bearings:

R.I.V . Co., New

York, NY

Bamboo:

J. Deltour, New

York, NY

Carburetors:

A J Meyers, New

York, NY;

Marburg Brothers,

New York, NY

Fabric:

Goodyear,

Akron, OH;

Baldwin, New

York, NY;

C.

E.

Conover, New

York, NY;

Pennsylvania Rubber Co., Pittsburg,

PA;

Wilson and Silsby, Boston,

MA

Glue:

Ambroid, New York, NY

(a

name still familiar and available 84 years later )

Importers:

J.S. Bretz, New York,

NY

Instruction:

Chicago Technical College

Instruments:

Warner Aero Meter, Beloit, W

Magnetos:

Simms,

New York, NY

Patent Attorneys:

Chas. E. Brock,

New York, NY; Aug. P.

Jurgensen,

New York, NY;

E. Ellis Chandlee, Washinton,

DC;

C.L Parker, Washington, DC

Propellers:

Harris-Gassner, Philadelphia,

PA; P.

Brauner, New York, NY; Paragon,

Washington DC; Requa-Gibson, New York,

NY;

M. Stupar, Chicago, IL

Radiators:

EI

Arco,

New York,

NY

Supply Houses:

Aeronautic Supply Co., St. Louis,

MO;

California Aero, San Francisco,

CA;

Chicago

Aero

Works, Chicago,

IL

E.J.

Willis, New York, NY

Tires:

Goodyear,

Akron,

OH,

B.F.

Goodrich,

Akron, OH

Tubing:

Carran Hathaway, Worcester, MA

Wheels:

J.A. Weaver,

New

York,

NY;

Tiger Cycles and Aeroplane; New York, NY

Wire:

John Roebling, Trenton,

NJ;

Scott Cadiz, OH

Wood:

Chicago Embossed Mldg. Co., Chicago,

IL

Wm.P. Youngs, New

York,

NY

You will notice that the greatest number of suppliers were located in New York

City. (17

of

34) The following advertisments were taken from the p ges

of

AERO for the years 1910 1912.


9/36

T

OUR NEW QU RTERS

SUPPLIES

OF THE

Ri ght

Kind

AT

THE

Ri ght

Prices

IN

STOCK

H VE YOU SEEN

OUR BIG

CATALOGUE?

Second Edition of No 3 now ready Free to reade of

AERO

THE AERONAUTIC SUPPLY COMPANY

6664

DELM

A R A VE. ST LOUIS MO

BALDWIN S

VULCANIZED

PROOF

MATERIALS

BALLOONS

AND

AIRSHIPS

AEROPLANE

MATERIALS

A SPECIALTY

CHICAGO AERO WORKS

H. S. RENTON

Pro

prietor

49 Wabash Avenue CHICAGO ILL

Aeroplanes for

sale and built to order. Propellers, Air-

craft

Supplies, Models and Model Stock. Plan . Sketches

and Experimental Work. Flying T

0YII

.

ur Chicago Engines,

35

and 50 H. P. are more dura-

ble

and

reliable

than

any

others. Compr

ess

ed

Air

Motors

for

Trial Machines and Models.

We

Make

Everything

in

Chicago, and our work s super-

intended by

J.

B. Rathbun, A eronautic Engineer and Instructor

Department of Aeronautics Chicago Technical College.

A COURSE IN AVIATION

F1yma

Moder.

of

PrincipaJ Makes

of Ae roplan

es

Prov

i

ded

and

CoMlructed

-

Actual

Fi

eld

T

riaI..

A

VIA

TION is

in its

infancy but rapidly developing. It is

no longer a sport but a hard and fast business propo-

sition

. Now is the time to get your knowledge of it. Get in at

the beginning

of

a proposition destined to make thousands

of

dollars-the

enormous possibilities are absolutely unlimited.

Develop yourself as the business develops.

Don't

delay

but write at once for further information and catalogue.

This is your great opportunity.

The Chicago Technical College

Athenaeum Bldg. 26 E. Van Buren St. CHICAGO,ILL.


10/36

Aeroplane

Protection

on

Landing!

Tearing lcosfl of a

tire as

the ae roplane lands

means serious

inj u

ry

to t he machi ne! Equ ip ped with Goodye

al

'

j)('illchlllJlc ,\f'I'oplanc

'l

' il'cs, in

jury

is impossible, for

42

w ires in

the tape at

the b

ase-2

1 on ea

ch

s i

e

hold the ti re

to

the

r im in a vise- like

gr

i

p.

Tho

on

ly

aerop

l

ane tires

in

the

wo rld

so made

a re t he

GOOD

De tachab l e e r op l ane

T i r e s

The Goodyear

De

lachable

Ti r

es

embo

dy

the

p rincipl

es of the famous

Goodyear

No-R

im-Cut Auto Tires,

Goodyea r Aerop la ne

Ti

r

es

are the li

ghte

s t

ae

rop lane ti res mau u (actu l'ed,

considering size. They combine greatest possible resiliency with extra

tough

tr

ead - hence hard to puncture .

Judge the Goodyear by the fact that t hese av iators have

equ

ipped

their

ow n mach ines with

it:

Capt. T hos. Bal

dw

in , Cha rles

K.

Hamilton and all

of Moisant's crew

o

in t

ern a t

ional

aviato r

s,

J . A, D. McC urdy, Clifford B.

Harmon, Harkn

es s

, 'Wilcox and

scores

of

other famous American and [01'

eign

av

i

ators.

Goodyear ae rop lane fabrics a nd

rubber

shock

absorbers

are being

adopted by the World

's Famous

Aviators,

The Goodyear Tire

&

Rubber Company

Main Offic

e

and

Factory

,

Ninety-sixth St., AKRON,

OHIO

Bra nc

he

s a nd Agencies in all the Principal Cities

In

the

Sky,

Relaxing Fabric

Means DANGER!

ampneu

and cold above the earth C4useJ shrinlcing

of

the wings

of aeroplanes

when built

of

plain. va

r

ni

s

hed

or "treated" fabria.

Th is is followed by

"stretching."

which leaves the

doth

Rapping,

cuts down ,peed nnd is the DANGER SIGNAL!

GOODYEAR

fab ric, the

new

rubberized aeroplane c.loth .. makes stretching and rdaxation

ABSOLUTELY

IMPOSSIBLE I It is waterproof and

cannot

shri

nk

and

stre

i

ch

when subjected

to moiuure and then dried.

Our

rubberized cloth

is the lig

ht e

s t fa bri c

for its pu

r

pose

in

the

world.

"First

In

All

America"

T

he Firat

A

ero Store

in America.


11/36

The

Aviator s

Safeguard

A. P.

W l'IIer,

the lay tor, pronq the Aero-Meter, wb lch .fa

1.11

adaptation of the

&mou.

Warner

AutoMeter

T

HE

vagaries

of the wind are

what

make a

flight

dangerou. f you guess wrong on its velocity when

you

start,

the

leut that can

happen

II a

diaappointinf. exhibition instead of a spectacular achievement.

f the continued wbiuing

of

the

air by your face

while

00 a

flight

baa

dulled your sense of velocity

or air

preuure

it

may

resul

t seriously

when

you

dip or

rise

OT

tum.

This i l

O e

vital part of the "bird

aeme which

it is

difficult to acquire.

No need

to

spend time learning

or

acquiring tbll. A glance will tell all that need

be

known in an in

stant. Rely

fOt'

th1J part of

you

r education upon

Accurately indicates speed

of

the

wind-or h ~ d

pressure-in nules per hou r

TH

E

FIRST

AERO

PLANE

ACCESSORY

nle

Aero

eter ' an

adaptatioo of the

now

celebrated

Warne

r Auto-Meter which indicates rate of

s

peed

and

distanc:e

traveled

by

an automobile

with derfuI

precision. The A

uto-Meter

is used by profes

sIonal

racing drift '$. on the

c:an

of prominent manufacturers, and forms part of the equipment

of

90%

of an pleasure c : a r a 01'

IDQR

It is 10

rmnect

in

c:onstruction,

so phenomena\Jy accurate and

withal 10 durable that it became

ImowD

as '"The Aristocrat

of

Speed Indi cators. The Auto-Me

ter

is

Ilh

ays 8eItf d where the of a car can

afford

i pun:base.

ENT COMPANY

107

B

W T

.

WIS


12/36

WHAT OUR MEMBERS ARE RESTORING

y

orm Petersen

Robert Schacht s Ercoupe 415-D

Th

is

rather artistic Ercoupe 415 -D, N89331,

S N

3269,

is

the proud workmans

hi

p

of Rober

t Schacht

(EAA 428922, A C 20405)

of

O'Fa llon, MO. t fea

tures a Continental 0 -200 engine of 100 hp, a 720

NavCom, transponde r

lencoder

and the usua l in

strumentation.

T he in terio r is done in shades of

blue with black trim. Rober t says he

spe

nt

abo

ut

four months in h

is

garage (with the wi ngs off) do

ing the interior, fancy paint scheme and po lishing

the aluminum. The end res ul t

is

an

Ea g

l

e

pai nt

scheme complete with claws on the wheel pa nts.

Note the leading edge landing light in the left wing.

Robert reports the little two-placer draws attention

wherever it goes.

Glenn Mittelstadts J-3 Cub

Pictured by his very original looking 1941 Piper 13 Cub,

N35870, S N 6628,

is

owner

Glen

n

Mittelstadt

(EAA

356507

A C 19546)

of Landrum, Sc. The

Cub has

just

been tota lly refurbished by Glenn and flies as good as it

looks according to the owner. The photo was contributed

by

Art

Scammell

(EAA

304783, A C 21087) of Campbell

sport, WI, a close friend

of Glenn's,

who says

that Glenn

used to live in

Campbellsport before

moving to Landrum ,


13/36

Mike Toman s Taylorcraft BC-12D

Park

ed on some nice green grass on hi s father's airstrip

is

Taylorcraft BC-12D, N44039 , SN 9839,

owned

by Michael

Toman (EAA 414378) of Painsville, Ohio. Mike purchased the

T-Craft

from an airline pilot in 1991. t has 1100 hours

total

time, airframe and engine, with the original Continental A-65

still equipped with the original Case magnetos. Mike reports he

disassembled the engine and replaced all gaskets, rebuilt the car

buretor and after three months of searching for parts, rebuilt the

two Case mags.

He

has also rebuilt the wheels and fuel system

and replaced the bungee cords in the landing gear.

Other

fea

tures on the bright red T-Craf t are a metal McCauley propeller

and a set of nice looking wheel fenders. Mike says the T-Craft

has spent its entire life in

Ohio

.

He

and the airp lane attended

the 1993 Taylorcraft Fly-In at Barber Field.

Steve Zeller s Luscombe 8C

Pictured by his totally rebuilt Luscombe is Steve

Zeller

(EAA

325644,

IC

18133)

of

Alpharetta,

Geor

gia.

The

Luscombe 8C, N28782 ,

SN

1543, is a 1940

model, being one

of

just 57 8C's remaining on the FAA

register. Steve bought

the

badly

bent

airplane follow

ing a ground-loop and rollover in 1991. Two years,

2,000 hours and many dollars later, this is what she

looks like.

The

first flight was

on

December 5,1993

and all went well.

The

Luscombe indicates 110 mph

at

2300 rpm

and

will

do

nearly 120 mph flat

out

with its

Continental

C85-12 engine and a 71 X 52 cruise prop.

Note the

added

glass in

the

lower doors, the Scott 3200

tailwheel and the parachute on Steve 's

tender

body.


14/36

These photos of

a 1940

Piper

J-3F

65

Cub,

NC35052, S N 6059, were sent

in by

owner

Bob Ruffini EA A78135,

IC 17676) of

Birmingham,

MI,

who

recently

restored

the Cub for the sec

ond time. It is one of 157 J-3F-65 mod

els

remaining

on the U.S.

register.

The

history of the Cub is unique in

that it was constructed

on

December

19,1940 and signed off by

Piper Air

craft on

December

26,1940. It

spent

its early life in Detroit, MI, including

having all original logs and documents

stolen from the

airplane

on June 18,

1943.

On

Nov. 12, 1944, it was

crash

landed with

damage

to

the

gear and

fuselage.

On

June 5,1948, it was sold

ob

Ruffini s -3 Cub

to Donald

Kibby of Ferndale, Ml.

t

was

completely disassembled

and

stored

in his

garage.

In 1962, Don

Kibby let Bob

Ruffini

look

at

the

pieces in his garage

and basement. In

1970, the

Certificate of

Registration

was revoked. In 1971, Kibby gave the

entire

airplane

to

Bob

Ruffini, as he

was the only person to ever show an

interest in the Cub. With the old fuse

lage

rusted,

a

replacement

fuselage

was located in 1973, hanging in a barn

in Mt. Pleasant, Ml. In 1974, the Aero

Mechanics High School at Detroit City

Airport

began a total

restoration

with

a C-85-12 engine replacing the original

Franklin 65. From 1976 to 1980, the

Cub was flown 190 hours, however, in

1981, a second rebuild was begun. On

May 21, 1982, the Standard Airworthi

ness Certificate was again revoked.

On

June

11, 1991, the second

rebuild

was

completed and

a new Airworthi

ness Certificate was issued.

On

July

18,1991, the Cub was signed off for

float operation on Aqua 1500 floats.

All covering is Stits

HS90X

with Stits

Poly

tone

finish.

Also installed

were

shoulder harnesses, intercom and

Mode C Transponder.

Bob Ruffini enjoys the Cub

more

than ever

these

days, be it

on wheels

or floats. His

latest project

is a J-5

Cub Cruiser. Stay tuned.

Jack Thompson s Globe Swift

This very nice looking 1947 Globe

GC-IB

Swift, N80563,

SIN 66, is the

pride

and joy of Jack Thompson

EAA

426 43 A IC 20172) of Hope Hull, Alabama . Jack bought

the Swift in March of 93 from the previous owner, William

Hurley, Montgomery, AL, who had owned the airplane for

25 years. Unusual is the engine conversion to a Lycoming

0-290C

of

25 hp with a fixed pitch metal prop. Jack says

the controls are very crisp and responsive and even his son,

who

is

an F-16 pilot, admits the Swift

is

as close to a small

fighter

as

you can get.


15/36

Keeping kids motivated about anything other than video games or

V

can some-

times be a challenge to parents these days. With so many distractions surrounding

today s youngsters, the simple pleasures

of

learning to do something with your

mind and hands is sometimes lost. Dusty Howell and his dad have

found

a way

to get past the modern day distractions and accomplish a series

of

goals along the

way

a process that will continue

for

years to come. Setting

and

achieving goals is

an important lesson

for

all

of

us to learn, and it s especially significant to young-

sters - being able to work towards a dream and reach it with your own efforts is

something that will stay with you

for

the rest

of

your life.

Randy

Howell EAA

443361) of By

ron, CA must have

been pretty excited

that

fall day in 1987.

He

became the

fa

ther of a baby boy, a tiny little fellow he

and

his wife

Marie

named Dustin, but

everybody calls him "

Du

sty." I t was a bit

too cold and windy the day they brought

Dusty home , so his firs t ride

in

a vehicle

was in a car instead of

the

airp lane that

he

a lso built a

specia

l

seat extens

ion so

that Dusty can see over the cowl at about

the same

he ig

ht

as a fully

grown

ad

ult.

With his fat

her

, a CFI , sitting in the right

seat, Dusty can fly the Tay

lorcraft legally

from the left

seat whenever

his

dad

says,

"Want to go fly?"

Dusty also has the added knowledge he

gained while his Taylorcraft was being re

The

BC-12

that

was

restored

came

to

the Howell 's garage

in

a roundabout way,

as

many

restorations seem to

begin.

Bonny Warner had bo ught

the project

back in 1990, intending to restore the air

plane

to

fulfi

ll

a co uple of goals. Already

a floatplane pilot, she wanted an airplane

of her own

she

could fly from her

back

yard , and she wanted to restore

the

air


16/36

low United Airlines pilot and a f10atplane

pilot who lived in the same housing devel

opment southeast of San Francisco.

They've

flown

together

as

the

crew

of

a

United 737 on occasion.

Randy had been flying his Cessna 180

on amphibious floats for

a

number

of

years,

but

felt

that

it would be

too

much

airplane

for his

son to handle when he

started

to learn to

fly.

The Taylorcraft

was just the right amount of airplane

though. A deal was made, and the project

was moved to the Howell household.

From

the

beginning, Randy

intended

the Taylorcraft to be Dusty's airplane. As

I mentioned before , it would be the air

plane he could use to learn to

fly

with, and

eventually it

would be Dusty's to take

with him when he headed off to make his

way in the

world

. Even the

N-number

says

just that

-

N93DH. 93 for the year

the

restoration

was done

,

and DH for

Dusty Howell.

The

rebuild of the BCS-12D was

the

first restoration by Randy, and he also re

lied

on the knowledge of

his

friends to

help him with

the

process

of putting the

airplane back together. As it turned out,

Bonny

did

not

have

to

move to

Denver,

and so she was one of

the

principle re

builders on the project. Bonny, Dusty and

Randy all

learned about

the ins and outs

of rebuilding an airplane together, along

with the invaluable help provided by Sam

Richardson, an

AI and airline pilot who

supervised

the

rebuild

of the Continental

C-85.

Another

irreplaceable person dur

ing the rebuild was Bud Todd, the gentle

man who had started the Byron, CA air

port many years ago

,

and

is

an

accomplished

A&P.

His help

with

the

welding

that

had to be

done

on

the

fuse

lage was one of

the

tasks that was made

possible with his experienced hand.

Another resident of Discovery

Bay,

the area Bonny and Randy reside in, was

also a big

part

of

the

restoration. Ron

Warren

is a retired

general

contractor

who

had

never been involved

in

the

re

build of an airplane before, but he was en

thusiastic about helping, and since he was

quite good with his hands, Randy put him

to work on the project. He was there al

most every day.

There was no dilly-dallying during this

project. Work started the 1st of January,

and didn't stop until the end of April, that

same year April

24 , 1993,

the T-Craft

went into the water for the first time. Be

fore

that could happen,

though, a ton of

work was packed into those four months.

First off, after the fabric was removed

(a favorite task of 5-year-olds, something I

can attest

to

as well ) ,

the

steel

tubing in

the fuselage was tested.

To

their dismay,

both

lower longerons

were found to be

completely

rotten,

with rust due to salt

water totally ruining the bottom of each of

the lower longerons. Ron had

a

neat

method for removing the old tubing using

a ground down drill bit. (Look for a short

article

on this

method

in next

month

' s

VINTAGE AIRPLANE). After

remov

ing the

old

longerons, Bud said

yes

to

Randy's

request that

he weld in

the

new

steel. Fortunately,

the rest of

the

steel

tubing was in good shape, and Randy and

Dusty spent some

time filling

each tube

with preservat ive oil.

Randy

had decided

to

use the Cooper

Superflite system

to

cover the airplane. After

the

prep work

was done, he

started

by painting the fuse

lage structure with Superflite primer.

The

cowling also required some work,

with cracks welded and then ground down

to a smooth finish, or with patches back

ing up the repaired area.

The

project came complete with a

set

of

Edo

1320 floats,

but

the keels on both

floats had seen

better

days.

The

tedious

task of replacing both keels

was accom

plished,

then

any corrosion on the floats

was

removed. Finally, the floats were

treated

with metal prep and alodined.

When everything was ready to be primed,

they coated the metal parts with primer.

With

the

fuselage was

ready

to be put

back together, the wood stringers were re

placed, along with the wood around the

door jambs. Fairleads were renewed, and

the airplane was quickly brought up to the

stage

where

the covering would need to

be applied.

Randy and Bonny took a deep

breath

and

tackled

the

covering in a two

stretch

that included

4

hours of work,

2

on each

day with

about 4

hours of sleep

in be

tween. Because the final top coats should

be applied within seven days, they wanted

to

move quickly,

and

were

able to

neatly

complete the job

in

the

time they had.

You can see

in

the photo that the covering

and priming

process

took

up all of the

Howell

household

, as well as the yard.

Even

Dusty'S swingset and sandbox were

pressed into service. With everything cov


17/36

lies

Them

ll

by H.G Frautschy

Just as this issue of

VINTAGE

AIR-

PLANE

arrives

in your mai lbox this

month, the Winter Olympics

will

have

started in Li llehammer, Norway. As you

peruse

the

pages of

your

magazine , you

may see a face that may be vaguely recog

nizable - that of Bonny Warner, Luscombe

and Taylorcraft pilot, United Airlines first

officer, and retired Olympic luger. Luge?

It's one of the events in the Olympics held

on

the

bobsled tracks. Single and two

person teams rocket down

the

side of the

mountain on small sleds, reaching speeds

near 80 mph.

The

run

is

between 1/2 and

3/4 of a mile,

and

as yo u can imagine , a

ride down the run requires all the skill and

concentration one can muster.

You may see Bonny during the te levi

sion coverage of the Olympics - she

is

tak

ing a few weeks off from her airline job to

work

as

an expert commentator on the

Luge competition for CBS.

As much as she enjoyed being a Luge

competitor , Bonny says it simply was not

as much fun as flying. She te lls the story

of being

a

youngster,

14

years

old

,

and

having a

speaker

come to

her

school with

an interesting idea.

He

to ld the students

that when he was young, he made up a list

of 100 things

he

wanted

to do

in his life.

Whether it was available to him or not at

that time , he

wrote

down

everything

he

thought of. Bonny wasn't sure she could

come up with a

hundred

items, but she

had a

few

, and she wrote them down.

The

list included: be in the Olympics , work

in

television, go to a good college, build a

house and become a pilot.

One by one, she h as picked off h

er

goals,

but

she's

been

happi ly surprised as

to how things have worked out as time has

progressed. She

attended

Stanford Uni

versity in Ca lifornia st udying broadcast

journalism, but

she

had already

been

bit

ten

by

the

O lympics bug.

As

a fresh

man

co llege at hl

ete,

Bonny had been se

lected

in

an

essay contest r un by the

magazine

Runner s World as one of

the

torch bearers for the 1980 winte r Olympics

in

Lake Placid, NY. While

in

Lake Placid,

she saw

the

Luge

competition

in person,

and dec

i

ded

she'd like to

give it

a

try.

Training in Europe during the winter, and

attending

co llege

in between, meant tha

t

the road to h

er

degree was stretched out ,

but she

event

ually did

graduate,

and she

landed a job as a reporter at a San Fran-

cisco television station.

Working as a

reporter

was an excellent

job,

but as

she progressed

in

her

flying,

earning

her instrument,

commercial and

flight instructor licenses, Bonny discov

ered she preferred flying to television.

To

the

amazement

of her friends and co-

workers, she quit her job at the

TV

station

and

went to work full time as a flight in

structor.

All

during

this time, Bonny was going

through the feast of working and then the

famine of

heading

off

to

Europe

for

5

months to train for the Luge. Funding for

training the team

was in

short

supply in

the early '80s when she started training in

the sport, which made it tough for Bonny

Olympic Luger and floatplane pilot

Bonny Warner

and

h

er teammates to make ends meet

while they

tra

ined during the winter. At

first, plane fare

there

and back

was all

they got,

but

as the decade progressed,

more

sponsorship has made it possible for

the

U.S. Olympic Committee to just about

fully fund the Luge team's training effort.

A ll her hard work paid off though - she

made the U.S. Olympic team in 1984 and

again

in '88,

competing

in

the

games in

Sarajevo,

Yugoslavia

and then

Calgary,

Alberta, Canada. (She placed sixth overall

at Calgary, one of only 2 Americans ever

to finish in the top six spots in Olympic

Luge competition.)

Her

big

break

in aviation

came

when

she was

hired

as a flight engineer for

United Airlines in 1990. United, to their

credit

,

was

willing

to work with Bonny

concerning

her

schedule relating to train

ing for the Olympics , and so she was able

to

compete in the 1992

games

in Al -

bertvi

ll

e,

France

.

(As

an aside,

there are

only

2

Luge

courses in

North America

(Continued on page 23)


18/36

ollin

Hatfield .

938

Taylorcrafl BC-66


19/36

neof the prettier pre-war Taylor

crafts

to

grace

the

flightline at

EAA

Oshkosh '93 was NC21239,

S N

1029, re

stored and flown by

Rollin

Hatfield

(EAA

302651,

A C

14732) of Meridian,

Idaho. This bright red with black trim T

Craft ran off with the Runner-Up Trophy

in the Bronze Age (1933-1941) category

of the

Antique

awards. The story about

this

airplane and

its rebuilder, Rollin

Hatfield, who recently retired at age 60,

is

unique.

As a young lad, Rollin enjoyed flying

with his father, who owned a 1939 Taylor

craft BC-65, almost a mate to N21239. By

the time Rollin reached 16, he was ready

to solo (1949) and at age 17, he earned his

Private license. Rollin well remembers his

father looking at two Taylorcrafts for sale

in 1946, just after World War II. One was

a 193740 horsepower model at $300 and

the other was a 193965 horsepower model

at 400. As Rollin says, Dad bought the

BC-65 and I was excited "

Called into service during the Korean

War , Rollin became an A P mechanic

and ,

following

a stint

with

Morrison-

Knudson Construction Co. keeping their

DC-3 in top shape, he joined the Idaho

National

Guard

and became a Mainte-

nance Officer.

Rollin spent

40

years serving

in

the

Idaho National Guard before retirement,

however, when he was about 45 years of

age (1978), he stumbled on to an old T

Craft crammed into a

storage

unit in

Nampa, ID. Closer inspection revealed

the "pile of junk" was a 1938 BC-65 Tay

lorcraft - nearly identical to his father's

old airplane. A deal was struck and Rollin

started

hauling

parts and

pieces

home.

The fuselage was the only part that would

roll on its own wheels.

The fuselage was stripped and sand

blasted

in

the back yard before the prim

ing and steady rebuild began. The previ

ous owner had

added

a skylight , D


20/36

one in New

Hampshire.

All metal plac

ards were accurately reproduced by Noel

Allard

of

Chaska, Minnesota (612-340

4838). An original round control wheel

was located in Portland, W A which made

a good pattern for Rollin to make a sec

ond one

from.

The wheel shafts

were

chrome plated and the wheels themselves

were covered with

sewn

leather (a real

touch

of

class).

A

factory option

in 1938

was

a

split

seat that was trimmed in genuine leather.

A long search located an original one

of

these jewels

in a

chicken barn

in

Okla

homa - under layers and layers of chicken

manure (quit laughing, Charlie, that's the

cultured term ) . Rollin says

the

old

seat

made an excellent pattern for duplication,

albeit a bit sharp on the nostrils.

The wings

had

to be

dismantled

with

each part needing heIp. The spars were in

good shape and only needed varnish. The

ribs, however, were in dire need

of

much

work wi th

nearly

every rib needing

straightening.

Once the wings

were

re

assembled, new leading edges were fabri

cated from 0.0202024 T-3 aluminum and

installed with the aid

of

some cleverly de

signed

leading

edge clamps

that

Rollin

made up. In addition, all metal was re

placed in the two ailerons.

The covering was done in Ceconite 102

using Grade A cotton tapes and butyrate

dope. Matching enamel was sprayed on

all metal parts. The finish is very nicely

done and will turn a judge's eye at

40

paces. All lettering was done with stencils

and sprayed on, just

as

Taylorcraft did

over

55

years ago.

Being an A P mechanic, Rollin over

hauled the A65-8 Continental engine him

self, adding the drilled connecting rods

of

an A75 and 100 oct. valves - even though

he runs the engine as an A65.

The

result

is that it runs nicely on 100 octane fuel.

The four-piece windshield, common to

the

pre-war Taylorcrafts

, was

made up

from flat

stock that

was

bent

with

heat.

The joints are covered with aluminum

strips

and

fastened with

many

small

screws. Plexiglas didn't come along un

til

WW II so

compound

curves

in the

windshield

were

not available

until the

postwar aircraft were built.

Once

the T

-Craft

was all

assembled

and the engine run-in,

Rollin

made the

first flight on May 1, 1988, approximately

ten years after he purchased the "pile

of

junk in 1978.

t

was worth all the blood,

sweat and

tears

because

the

little

two

placer flew perfectly . That summer,

Rollin and his lovely wife, Mary, took off

a month and flew to the Watsonville , CA

airshow. From there , they flew to San

Francisco and then east, aL the way across

the country to Norfolk,

VA.

They

also

made the Taylorcraft

Fly-In

at

Alliance ,

Ohio, the big Oshkosh Fly-In and the

Blakesburg

Antique

Fly-In. Before going

home to Idaho, they

flew

to Evergreen,

W

A. That's

ocean

to ocean

with a 65

hp

Taylorcraft navigating all the way by com

pass and maps.

This

was the third Oshkosh

Antique

award for Rollin and his neat looking Tay

lorcraft

, having previously won the Con

temporary Age Runner-up

in 1988

and

the Contemporary Age Champion in 1990.

Congratulations and best wishes are in or

der for Rollin Hatfield, who is now retired

and

has

somehow

managed to become a

genuine airport bum - but you can be sure

he is enjoying every minute. Perhaps we

should all extend a very special thanks to

Rollin's father , who wisely plunked down

$400 for a '

39

Taylorcraft BC-65 way back

in 1946. Isn't it amazing what it led to?

The BC-12D Taylorcraft evolved from the pre-war BC-65 and all owe their beginnings to the creative genius

of

the talented light

plane designer, C G Taylor. The advent of the opposed, four-cyli nder aircraft engine such as the Continental,

Lycoming

and

Franklin, really made C G Taylor's designs reach their acme ofpopularity. These airplanes were actually affordable to own and oper

ate by the general populace. Don Claude's BC-12D (below) owes a lot to its predecessor, the pre-war BC-65. Note the Billowing

fabric between the ribs, quite typical

of

HS9 X

fabric. Also visible

s

the slightly rounded l ook caused by the wider fuselage stringers.


21/36

Acomment

once h

eard at

an Antiq ue/Classic

meeting went something like this: When the gross

weight

of

the accumu

l

ated trophies exceeds

t he

empty weight of the airplane, the

owner

should re

ally consider a new project.

Although

not yet

in

the

above category, Don

Claude (EAA 134336, A/C 17459) of DeKalb, IL,

is

well

on

his way with his beautiful

Taylorcraft

BC

12D, NC96440, SIN 8740. This

particular airplane

has collected the Custom Class A (0 to

80

hp) award

in

the Classic Division at Oshkosh for the past four

years running. Added to the four beautiful Oshkosh

trophies are a bunch

of

trophies

and

awards won at

numerous smaller fly-ins.

Don is

retired from thirty years as a refrigeration

serviceman at the University of Northern Illinois at

DeKalb. The

Taylorcraft

was his first restoration

project and the only reason he started it was,

Be

cause he didn't know any better "

Way back

in

1965, the two-place Taylorcraft had

been freshly rebuilt by

another

party when a strong

gust

of

wind flipped it upside down

at

its moorings.

The result was a crushed upper fuselage, wing

and

strut damage and a severely twisted tail.

The

wreck

age was bought by

Jerry Hamer

of

Mendota,

IL,

who

after

checking

it

over

carefully, decided to re

sell it with an ad in Trade-A-Plane.

Don

Claude saw

the ad and our story was off and running.

Brought

home

in pieces, the badly

bent T-Craft

had to wait while Don helped a friend build a new

house

with a large garage and generously sized

workshop

in the

basement.

Once the house was

completed,

the wings were

taken into

the friend's

basement and the

restoration

work begun. About

this time, Don picked up another wrecked T-Craft

for parts - especially

one

good righthand wing. The

left wing

of

N96440 was totally rebuilt with a new

rear spar and carefully rebuilt ribs. All "rib to spar"

nails were replaced with new "ring" nails (that grip

the wood ferociously), each one epoxied

in

place.

The righthand wing was also re-nailed and a factory

new, 6-gallon wing

tank

installed. Incidentally, all

four wings spars in the

airplane are built

up from

pieces of Sitka spruce glued together - none are one

piece.

A considerable amount of work was necessary on

i

a.

a.

::J


22/36

(Above) NASA air

scoop

installed in

the

side of

the

boot

cowl. The knob adjusts the amount of airflow.

(Right) Don

takes

a

close

look at the

scale as

the right

wheel

is

weighed during the

weigh-in

process

.

Note

metal

prop

installed.

place the

original

ones

that

were

some-

what pitted.

Once

the engine was installed in

the

bare airframe, the

temptation

became

strong to see

if

it would run after sitting for

nearly twenty years. The prop was bolted

on

and the

fuselage was

tied to

a

tree

in

the yard. After priming the cylinders, Don

turned the switch on and pulled it through

- smartly.

(Neither

magneto has an im

pulse.)

The engine caught

on the

very

first pull. Naturally, the neighbors soon

appeared wanting to

know what in the

world all the noise was about

Unique

to

the

(original) Continental

A65 engine

are

Bendix SF mags with con

secutive serial numbers. Don installed

new shie l ed harnesses, however, he was

not excited about installing the raised

metal

covers on

the

cowl

necessary to

cover the top shielded spark plugs. He in

stalled

the

shielded

lower

harn ess

and

shie l ed plugs, however, on the top of the

engine, he used the

shielded harness

and

the origina l (short) type unshie

l ed spark

plugs. Now when he wants to use a hand

held

radio without

ignition

interference,

he calmly switches to the left mag (which is

entirely shie

l

ed) and jabbers away.

All four cy

lind

ers were removed to

check

for rust

(one

was

cracked and

was

replaced) and when cleaned and painted,

were reinstalled with new gaskets. New

cy linder baffling was fabricated and in

sta lled

with

new felt edging

put

on

with

hand

made stap

les - as per original. The

worn

out

exhaust system

was

replaced

with a new system

made

entirely of stain

less stee l, right down to the extra long

tailpipe. Don originally

planned on

cut

ting the

tailpipe of f

, however, he discov

ered

it is

noticeably quieter with the longer

tailpipe and doesn t streak the belly with

exhaust stains.

While making new stringers to go above

the

cabin,

Don decided to

glue

1/8 inch

plywood to

both

sides

of

the

stringers

(while clamped in a curve). The result is a

set of stringers that you could walk

on.

Likewise, on the fuselage , the old stringers

were poorly supported and gave that " rode

hard and put away wet" look. Don care-

fully built wooden saddles for each tube

juncture that support deeper

stringers.

The result

is

a bit

more

rounded look to

the

fuselage -

almost

like a

Monocoupe.

Visitors at Oshkosh would squint

a l

ong

the fuselage

and

ask Don what was differ

Continued on page 26)

Some of the recommendations related


23/36

SPARKPLUGS

by ill Claxon

AiC 17837)

TOTBO

Last month

we

discussed engine oper

ating procedures

that

are conducive to

and the

replacement of

small

standard

parts not involving complex assembly op

to preventive maintenance to reduce the

effects of spark plug fouling are:

1. Rotate

the

plugs from

top to

bot

tom

at

50 hour intervals since

the

top

plugs scavenge

better than

the bottom

ones. You may need to do this more or

less often depending on your individual

operating conditions.

2. Do

not assume tha t the spark plugs

installed in your engine

are

the correct

ones. Current literature states that in

certain instances, it has

been

found that

the incorrect

spark plugs have been in

stalled.

Look

at the current literature

such as Service Bulletins, Service Letters,

current spark plug manufacturers' listings

and engine manuals.

3. The

plugs can tell a lot

about

the

engine operation. Excess lead deposits

can indicate that the plug

is

too cold for

your type of operation and a hotter plug

may be needed. However, be sure to con

sult the manuals to select a correct plug

in

the hotter range . Excess lead

is

not the

only problem that can be discovered from

the condition of the spark plugs. The de

posits can tell you a lot about the engine

if

you learn to read them.

4.

Clean

and gap

the

plugs if indi

cated. f you use an abrasive blaster, use

it VERY briefly Blasting beyond barely

cleaning the

electrodes

serves

only to

erode them excessively.

f

you erode the

plugs with excessive blasting and repeat

this several times, you are only eroding

away

the

service life

of your

expensive

spark plugs. 1 know; I was taught to blast

away at

the

plugs until all the cavities

were clean. Rather, use Hoppe's 9 Pow

der

Solvent

(or

equivalent)

to

clean the

lead deposits along with the careful use

of a fine probe. This solvent

is

designed

to remove lead deposits from gun barrels

and does an excellent job on your spark

plugs.

You

can buy it at

your

local gun

store.

5. Set the gaps as indicated in the ap

propriate service literature. Always use

spark plug anti-seize compound and new

gaskets when you install the plugs. How

ever, I have annealed

the hard copper


24/36

MYSTERY PLANE

Let 's go back

to

pioneering days for

this month 's Mystery Plane. Yes, it was

an

experiment

tired by a

well known

builder of the period. The photo is from

the

EAA

files. Answers will be pub-

lished in the April issue

of

VINTAGE

AIRPLANE. Deadline for that issue is

February 28

The November

Mystery

Plane re -

mains a mystery. Charley Hayes of Park

Forest,

L

offers these comments:

The plane pictured at top of page 28

in

the November

1993 iss

ue of VIN-

TAGE AIRPLANE may be an ancestor

of the Lincoln Sport. It appears to have

an Anzani engine (prop turns clockwise)

and the nose, gear and wing cellule are a

little like some Lincolns.

On

the other

by eorge Hardie

hand, there's a strong resemblance to the

L.F.G. Roland D-VIB and the Friedrich

schafen 0 1 fight e rs

of

WW I

Except

for

engines and

a

couple of

other fea

tures , they' re rea llook-alikes.

No

other

answers were received.

Maybe at a later date someone will come

up with

the

answer.

Meanwhile

, we ' ll

have to wait.


25/36

Dusty and andy

Continued/rom page 14)

was not that concerned

about

resale value

(it 's

Dusty

' s airplane, after all) he origi

nally was going for a much wilder scheme,

but his

friends

convinced him to tone it

down a bit.

The neat scheme

on

the

air

plane now is a slick looking piece

of

graph

ics.

The

stripe itself is actually vinyl self

adhesive decal material. The forward end

of the stripe (the darker portion) is one

shade of blue, with the portion

aft

of the

wave

in the stripe a lighter shade.

The

wave itself is

cut

from a single sheet of

material with graduated shades of blue .

After

the design was finalized, a friend in

the sign business scanned a drawing

of

the

wave

into

his

computer.

The design was

then cut out using an automatic decal cut

ting machine, in the

same

way the ma

chine can be programmed to cut out letter

or

other designs.

I f

it were ever

desired, the scheme

could be easily changed back to a simple

stripe by removing the wave and replacing

it with a s traight stripe

of

graduated mate

rial. The stripes on the floats were done in

the same way.

With the channel leading to the water-

The Taylorcraft project takes over the

Howell household

. If you look carefully, you

can see that Dusty's

swingset

was even pressed into

service.

The

landing

gea

Documents

Vintage Airplane - Feb 1994