Vintage Airplane - Jan 1974

8/12/2019 Vintage Airplane - Jan 1974

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Photo by Ted Kaston)

THE PRESIDENT S PAGEBy E. E. "Buck" HilbertPresident, Antique-Classic Divisi on


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WILLARD F SCI :tMt4027 ROCKY RIVER DR. NO. 2

~ L E V E L N D OHIO 44135

VOLUME 2 - NUMBER 1 JANUARY 1974TABLE OF CONTENTS

One Man's Bellanca Jack Cox .. .. . . . . .. .. . .. .. . . . . .. 4Rebirth of a Jenny . . . George Hardie .. ... . . . . . .. . .. . .. . . . 13Golden Oldie of the Month - The Star Cavalier . . . . . . .. .. .. . .. ' . ' . .. .. .17Around the Antique-Classic World .. .. .. . . . .. 19

ON THE COVER ellanca Cruisair BACK COVER Fairchild 4 sPhoto by Jack Cox Photo by Ted Koston

HOW TO JOIN THE ANTIQUE-CLASSIC DIVISIONMembership in the EAA Antique-Classic Division is open to all EAA members who have a specialinterest in the older aircraft that are a proud part of our aviation heritage. Membership in the AntiqueClassic Division is $10.00 per year which entitles one to 12 issues of The Vintage irplane publishedmonthly at EAA Headquarters. Each member will also receive a special Antique-Classic membership

Photo by Ted Koston)


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yJack Cox

When I learned to fly in 1956 there were two airplanesI had a burning desire to own a Luscombe 8A and aBellanca Cruisair. Fortunately, I was destined to own anexcellent example of each during the 1960s. Both lived up

Photo y Jack Coxhe Bellanca 14-13 Cruisair. This aircraft is the subject ofthe story below. It was owned by the author from 1967to 1969. It is now owned by Bryan Jones and B. R.Hyman of Greensboro, N. C

the rear seat forward . Other than for stowing my tie downs,it was never used the entire time I owned the plane. Beingstock also meant it had a hand crank gear retracting

mechanism and a free castoring tail wheel - just like a


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of the fluid level in the prop hub every 25 hours . This,however, is an insignificant item as it requires nothingmore than a small Allen wrench and an occasional dropor two of Aeromatic Prop Fluid, available from Univair.f you want to get into an all night argument on what kindof oil to run in the Aeromatic, just get two or three oldtime owners and get them going on the subject. I used the

approved stuff and never had any problems.Right behind the prop sat that big hunk of metal thatis one of the most controversial parts of a Cruisair the Franklin engine. It's either the best or the worst aircraft engine ever, depending on which aviation expertyou happen to strike up a conversation with - usuallysomeone who has never flown behind one more thantwice. Some will tell you it is a smooth running, economicalengine and others will rave and rant about how hot it runs ,how and why it came by the reputation of being a Leaker- oil, that is - and how you can't remove the plugs without stripping out helicoils not to mention the profanitythat will result from their memories of trying to removeand install the lower plugs. And then, there's th e oldchestnut about the light cases. Some of this is fact ,some fiction.

t is true that the lower plugs are hard to get to and ifyou allow a mechanic not familiar with Franklins to installa set of plugs, you could be in trouble. Continentals andLycomings use 18mm plugs while the Frankli n 6A4-150- B3uses a smaller 14mm sparker that takes considerably lesstorque put 'em in to the torque values normally usedon Continentals and Lycomings and you can be certain youwill have stripped helicoils at your next annual.The older Franklin engines got their somewhat shadyreputation in the late Forties - for reasons that shouldn'thave been. The first batch of about 350 6A4-150-B3swere sent ou t for installation on Stinsons and Bellancas mostly Stinsons - with defective cylinders. Franklinoffered replacement cylinders for 25 each and no furtherproblems were experienced once the cracked ones were

tation was concerned. An ironic historical footnote is thefact that the early Continental C-145s had a similar problem, but for some reason now dimmed by the passage oftime, this has long since been forgotten while Franklinstill lives with th e sins of its youth.The worst rap Franklin ever lived with was the over

heating bit. In late 1945 and early 1946 every lightplanemanufacturer was rushing frantically into production tocash in on the expected post war boom in general aviation.Their biggest headache was getting parts and materials the result being that many substitute war surplus compon-ents were used until the wartime economy made the transition to peacetime production. One substitute item wasa surplus oil temperature gauge installed in most earlyStinsons and Bellancas. These were calibrated in Centigrade increments up to only 100 degrees - O.K. for mostaircraft engines, but the close tolerance, hotter runningFranklins had an oil temp redline of 110 degrees (C). Thefirst long, near gross climbout on a hot day brought theneedle right up to the gauge's 100 degree limit oroff the gauge This sent panicked owners to their nearestshop to see what was wrong with their new enginesand brought one of the sorrier aspects of human natureto the surface, to the everlasting sorrow of Franklin.When World War II ended, thousands of aircraft mechanicswere abruptly plop ped back into civilian life. Many toomany, as it turned out tried to set up shops at thescores of little airports that sprang up during the headydays of 1946 and 1947 before the lightplane bubble bu rstin 1948. Some unscrupulous practices were common asthese men found their businesses folding along with thelightplane market. In their last gasp attempts to stay solvent, many saw the Franklin owners as sheep to be fleeced .Knowing th e engines were supposed to run hotter thanContinentals and Lycomings and that the gauges did notread high enough, they nevertheless told owners that theyhad fried a head (or two, or three) and that the only sol

Photo by ack Cox)


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utlOn was a new set This may have kept the wolf from thedoor for a few additional months for some, but it sent agreat many Franklin owners away muttering under theirbreath . usually about how they would never own oneof those blankety-blank Franklin engines again.The 150 horse Franklin in my Bellanca had about 80hours since a very complete major when I bought theplane. All six cylinders had been replaced along with factory pushrods, bearings, etc., etc. - about all that remained of the old engine was the case. All accessories hadbeen overhauled, also. I put some 250 hours on the airplane over a two year period before I sold it, and duringthat time, the engine ran beautifully, it never leaked oil,got about 6 to 7 hours on a quart, started easily hot or coldand averaged about 10 gallons per hour at 75% power(where I always run it). Other than oil changes ever 20hours and annual inspections, the only maintenance theFranklin ever needed was the replacement of one ignitionlead wire.

I don' t know what else one could ask of an engine.The Cruisair was built using materials and methods thatBellanca has always used - steel tube fuselage and allwood wings. The fuselage was a perfect example of theengineering approach of Giuseppe Bellanca . and Imight as well stop right here and say that one of the greatjoys of owning a Bellanca product is that you become apart of the Bellanca legend, the Bellanca mystique - whichentitles you to refer to the designer of your plane by hisfirst name and to unrestricted retelling of Giuseppeantecdotes. " Now, where was I Oh yes, the Cruisair fuselage shape. n oft-told Giuseppe tale is how he designedevery major airframe component so that it lifted its ownweight in flight. The huge airfoil shaped struts on the oldhigh wing Pacemakers and Skyrockets are presented asevidence of this claim. The entire Cruisair fuselage is,in profile, an airfoil. The curved, flat upper surface allegedly creates quite a bit of lift. It also is a perfect exampleof the Bellanca philosophy regarding streamlining. Thefront of the airplane, up to the windshield, is rounded,but from there on back to the tail, the fuselage is slab

was quite comfortable and visibility was good except overthe middle of the quite rounded instrument panel. Whiletaxiing, I had to occasionally grab one of those windshieldtubes (handy jewels, they were) and hoist myself up soas to catch a peek over the nose.

The pre-war Cruisairs, the 14-9s and 14-12s, had dualstick controls, but the post war 14-13s had dual wheelcontrols. Somewhere along the line, the old kidney shapedpilot's wheel on my bird had been replaced with a Downerram's horn . The right side had the old wheel, so I had onefor authenticitY and one for comfort and flying ease never could locate another Downer wheel.74230 was equipped with a Narco Mark II and a newerMark III, both of which worked well separately, butwell. In 1946, no one, not even Guiseppe, could foreseethe future demands that would be made on today's aircraft electrical systems, so my bird was stuck with thefactory installed 12 amp generator ( ). 230 had an electricturn and bank, a Grimes retractable landing light installedin the belly, the two radios and, of course, position lights.I used one radio at a time and everything went offwhen the Grimes came on

The wheel control, rudder pedals with toe brakes,throttle and overhead trim handle were pretty conventional, but some other cabin controls were well,rather eccentric. The flap .handle , for example, is mountedon the floor so far up under the instrument panel that Ihad to duck my head completely out of the line of sight ofthe windshield to reach it. The handle had a small lever ontop that had to be lifted to release the handle for movement and lowered again to lock it into the new position.Until one becomes accustomed to it, this is a very awkwardseries of motions, but it works. The flaps, incidentally, hadthree positions - the last, a drag-only 46. When left outexposed to the wind, the flaps must be extended to theirfull 46 or else they will bang and flap in the breeze,resulting in structural damage. They are spring loaded inonly one direction.

The fuel cut-off/tank selection system was also a dilly.


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go and the extra 5 or so turns merely put a lot of tensionon the system. The mechanical advantage you have in thisscrew jack system is incredible. If you make up the 6 in.oleo retracting cables too short and attempt to retract thegear, these steel cables are snapped like cotton twineI've been told that if a Cruisair is bellied in, you can actually lift the airplane by cranking the gear down . Fortunately, I never had the occasion to try that The gear warningsystem consisted of a light on the panel and, no kidding,a door bell that were actuated anytime the bird was throttled below 1700 rpms with the gear in the retracted position. These worked off micro switches attached to the gearlegs. A mechanical back up gear warning device was alittle metal tab that was attached to the gear leg and extended out through the upper surface of the left wing.I t had two color bands painted on it - showing greenwhen the gear was down and extending upward to exposered when the gear was up . Somehow, I trusted this directlinkage, mechanical device more than I did the electrics

Moving on back to the tail section, there was nothingunusual except, perhaps the little outboard plywood stabilizer fins. The story is that these assisted in spin recoveryduring certification, but I think their most memorablecontribution has been to earn the Cruisair the moniker

Cardboard Constellation . The tail wheel has a solid rubber tire and the fork is the lower end of an oleo that fitsinside the tailpost of the fuselage. Cruisair pilots are verycareful where they taxi because the tailwheel fork assembly is heat treated and if you drop it into a chuckhole,you're going to hear some awfully expensive noises

And now he-e-e-e-eres that famous Bellanca wingI don't think the wing of any lightplane in existence hasever had as much written about it as the Bellanca wing .I'll just add to all the good things that are said about itsflight characteristics by steadfastly maintaining their unvarnished truth. The wing is all wood-spruce spars and ribsand covered with mahogany plywood. The surface receiveda layer of fabric to provide a base for the final rivetless,


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Now that you have learned far more than you everwanted to know about the mechanics of a Cruisair,let's get aboard and go out and terrorize the local Cherokee and Musketeer population.A walk around inspection includes the usual checkpoints to determine if everything is full, firmly attachedan d/or pointing in the proper direction. I don't carehow many times you walk around a Cruisair, you neverget over noticing the spraddle-legged gear. Legend has itthat the prototype 14-9 had a perfectly straight wing andafter the initial test flight, the pilot complained to Giuseppe that his creation wasn't holding too much in the stability department, in fact, it would just as soon do knifeedge flight as straight and level. Giuseppe is alleged tohave pondered this for a moment, after which he decreedthat 41/2 degrees of dihedral be cranked into the wings .The landing gear was left unchanged, resulting in thesplayed out stance the 14-9 and all its conventional gearedprogeny would assume from that time onward.

Back into the left seat, you reach across and close thecabin door, being careful to also lock the overhead latchthat holds the part of the door that extends well into thecabin roof. The door is not too sturdy and is prone toleaking air if not carefully sealed around the edges.Mine required an extra latch at the bottom rear to stop anannoying whistle while airborne.

To start the Franklin, you first reach down on the floorand start wobbling the wobble pump three or fourpounds of fuel pressure is adequate. The master switchand starter are identical toggle switches at the bottomedge of the panel. It helps to know which is which.Mags to Both , master on and flip on the starter.The Franklin roars to life and is impressive in its six cylinder smoothness and its throaty baritone exhaust . . . notloud, just meaner sounding than 150 horsepower. Addpower and begin to taxi - steering with the toe brakes.Remember, there is no connection whatever between thetail wheel and the rudder pedals. The Cruisair wants to gostraight ahead and is very easy to taxi except in a gusty,

think it ought to goCrank. Crank 7, 8, 9 Crank . 12, 13, 14Crank Never mind the flaps and wide open throttle

you can't hurt that Franklin. Crank . . . 18, 19, 20 . . .Crank Lift that barge, tote that bale 24, 25, 26 . . .Crank. Crank Snatch a quick look ahead and around onthe upstroke. Crank 28, 29, 30, 31, 32. HomeAfter sitting back for a few seconds to catch yourbreath, you go back to the task of managing your machine.Slowly retract the flaps to the first notch and bring thepower back to 2500 rpms for climb. I f it is cool and youare lightly loaded, you will be climbing at 1000 fpm orslightly better - around 700 to 850 at gross.

When you reach your intended cruise altitude, leveloff, bring the power back to 2450 (75%), clean up the flapsand trim for about 140 indicated. 74230 would zip alongall day at this setting, consuming about 10 gallons perhour. I f you were above 3,000 feet you could start leaningand lower the fuel consumption some, but not much unlessyou really came back on the power. I like to go fast, soI always took the higher fuel consumption along with mytop end cruise speed. The Franklin loves it.

Although I regularly humiliated the local Cherokees,Musketeers, Stinsons, older Navions, 172s, etc., the fastestthing about my Cruisair was the airspeed indicator. Itseemed to be quite accurate on the low end, but lied likea dog on the top side. t indicated 140-142 at cruise power(2450 rpm), but late evening groundspeed checks overmeasured courses and formation flying with several modern aircraft proved it was actually doing around 133-135mph. (Don;t talk to me about true airspeeds - all I'm interested in are grou ndspeeds.)

On cross country flights, 1 flight planned for 120 mphblock-to-block and except in unusual wind conditions, usually made it on the nose. Most of my unusual wind conditions were headwinds, naturally, but on a couple of occasions I got lucky. Once 1 had a groundspeed of 175mph on a short cross country from Charlotte, N. C toAsheboro. All-in-all, not bad for 150 horsepower and a 20


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\

baH centered , the darn thing would sit there all afternoonjust nodding up and down between 45 and 50, never drop-ping a wing, shaking or anything else. Of course, a fairlygood sink rate would be building up while you were in dulging in such fun and games. Also, if it was gustyandlor if you allowed the ball to get very far out, the birdwould gently slide off on a wing - but all you had to do was

(Photo by Jack CoxThis is the first Cruisair the author ever saw as a 12year old in 1946. Years later it taxied up and parked besidethe author s 14-13. N-74232 is owned by B R Yelvertonof Fremont, N Cplane. This results in a band of distortion about 1 2 in . wideacross the entire bas e of the windshield. You wouldn'tbeliev e what it looks like the first time you flare Sud-denly, the runway becomes a blur - sometimes you see


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Even if you get the bird down in a bad crosswind,you may have trouble getting to the ramp. I have taxiedback down a runway making one 3600 after another tostay on the pavement. Exciting.So, there you are myo id Bellanca, warts and all.I have emphasized the critical aspects more than tho sethat are favorable, but, remember, I loved that littlebird. All its little quirks vanish like the las t snowflakes ofspring when weighed against the plane's good points.Also, bear in mind that I have been describing my experiences in one airplane only, N74230. This necessarily must

take into consideration my own shortcomings as a pilotas well as tho se of my particular airplane. For instance,my only real criticisms of the Cruisair are the lack ofadequate brakes, the need for a s teerable tailwheel and agenerator with a greater output. There are disc brake kits,steerable tailwheel se tups and of course, a wide range ofgenerators that can be installed. I just had too much funflying the plane to stop long enough to have these thingsdone . The men who bought 74230 from me, incidentally,installed a steerable tailwheel and say it helps tremendously in crosswind landings.

LITTLE BELL NC LOREThere never were many New Castle Bellancas - thatis, Bellancas built by Guiseppe Bellanca's small companyin Delaware. All the old high wing Bellancas - the Pacemakers, Skyrockets, etc. built during the 205 and 30s werevirtually hand built by today's production standards. Thelow wing Bellanca, that through quite an evolutionaryprocess lives today as the Bellanca Viking, was designedin the late 19305 . t started life as a light 2-3 place jobwith a radial engine (see pictures) and it is a real tributeto the basic design that so much "stretchability" was in

herent in its steel tube fuselage and wooden wing.During the Korean War period Mr. Bellanca sold therights to the 14-19 series. Most 14-19s and all the trigear Bellancas were built in Minnesota by Downer and thepresent Bellanca company. As far as we can tell, the fol-EAA Photo)This is what the low wing Bellanca looked like in thebeginning. This is 1940 en Roycepowered 14-9, owned

by Val Banes of Monett, Missouri.

lowing New Castle, Delaware-built Bellancas are still active: 14-9 . . . . 1214-12 114-12F3 . . .. 414-13 .. 10014-13-2 .. 18014-13-3 . . . 2514-19 514-19-2 . . . . . . 614-19-3 414-19-3A . .. 28TOTAL 365So as you can see, the world of Bellanca owners is asmall one, indeed. In the beginning, I mentioned the firstCruisair I ever saw, a red and white 14-13 at Asheboro in1946-47. That airplane was soon sold and I never heard of


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WAltARD F SCHMITT':02.7 ROCKY R1VER DR. NO.

CL-EVEL.AND, OHIO 44138it again. Twenty years later, I owned 74230 and oneSunday afternoon my wife and I landed at the airport atChapel Hill, N. C. Just behind us landed another 14-13.It taxied right up and parked beside my bird. The firstthing I noticed was that its N-number was N74232 _ justtwo digits away from mine. Most amazing, however, wasthe discovery that this was the same Bellanca that was atAsheboro in 1946 - the one that had inspired my ambition to own a Cruisair in the first place Wonder what Iwould have thought, a 12 year old kid drooling over thatBellanca, if someone had told me that years later Iwould own the plane that was just two places up theproduction line fronl the red and white one?A brief r u n d o w ~ on the New Castle-built low wingBellancas is as follows:Mode/14-9 - Introduced in 1939. ATC No. 716. Two tothree place. Powered by a 90 hp. Ken Royce 5F radialengine. Cruise 115. Empty weight, 943 pounds. Wing loading, 10.5 pounds/sq. ft 12 left - many converted to opposed engines.

Mode/ 14-12 - Basically same airframe as 14-9. Powered by 120 hp. Franklin 6AC-264. Empty weight 1195.Wing loading 11.7 pounds/sq. ft. Stick control as in 14-9.3-4 place. 5 left, several updated to 150 Franklin.Model 14-13 - Cruisair Sr. Four place, powered with150 hp. Franklin 6A4-15D-BC. Wheel control. Airframe stillbasically same as previous models. Identifying feature is

oval shaped stabilizer fin whereas 14-9 and 14-12 hadkidney shaped fins. 14-13-2 and 14-13-3 had improvementssuch as outside baggage door, wider stabilizer and smallfins. Empty weight approximately 1200 pounds. Wing loading 13.00 pounds/sq. ft ATC No. 773.Mode/ 14-19 - The first major redesign of the 14series. Powered by a 190 hp. Lycoming 043SA. Called theCruisemaster. Much faster - and heavier - than Cruisair. 1525 pounds empty. Change from manual flaps andgear retraction to hydraulic system. Beefed up airframe redesigned wing with fewer ribs and 1 8 inch plywoodskin. Hydraulic prop. Would indicate 170 mph. The rightsto the 14-19 were sold in the middle 50s. The 14-9, 12 and13 rights apparently still belong to the Bellanca family.Giuseppe Bellanca died on December 26, 1960 in NewYork City. His son, August is presently involved with thedevelopment of an all plastic, high performance personalplane.

BELL NC CLUBThere is a national Bellanca Club that prints a monthly newsletter, he Bellanca Pilot. This group welcomes

owners of all models of Bellancas and enthusuasts ofthis great line of lightplanes. For further information,contact: The Bellanca Pilot, P. O. Box 9185, Santa Rosa,California 95405.

Photo y Jack CoxA 1941 14-12F-3 now being restored by Kelly Viets ofStilwell. Kansas. Kelly is also the leader of the Ercoupeclan.


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( ho to by Jack Cox)Above. A 14 19 Cruisemaster owned by Richard Belush ofHolton , Indiana.

(Pho to by Jack Cox)Below. The 14 19 2 Cru isemaster owned by Big Jim Pealeof Warner Robins, a EAA Designee extraordinaireThis is the so-called 230 Bellanca , the speedster thatmade a shambles of the Powder Puff Derby a few years


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Photo y Dick Stouffer)

President Paul Poberezny decreed at the outset thatthe airplane would be resto red to an airworthy conditionin as near its or iginal s tate as po ssible. Rober t Ladd,who has had considerable experience in resoration work,took over the project in January , 1973. His first taskwas to restore the fuselage structure. The quality ofhis work is evident in the series of photos shown here.Progress has been steady, although a t times interruptedfor various reasons. Typical of th e problems encounteredwas the building of a new rudder and fin. This aircrafthad the wooden type of construction of the tail surfacesand the on ly detai l drawings on hand show the metalversion. Using details from th e draWing shown in ModelAirp lane News draw n by Joe Nieto from dimensions takenfrom an or iginal in Indiana by Bergen Hardesty, Bob Laddwas able to construct a duplicate structu re. But the problem of fastening the fin was elusive. After much search,a rigging drawing was loca ted from which it was possibleto d educe th e probable type of fastening used. Thus areasonable duplication of the original method was arrivedat and work could continue.As of this date much remains to be done. All wingpanels must be entirely re-worked , a ted ious undertaking.The missing right aileron must be constructed, using theleft one as a reverse pattern. All rigging wires must bereplaced and all wing fittings restored to original condition or new ones made. A major task is the complete rebuilding of the Curtiss OX-S engine. This is a genuineCurtiss, not the Willys Motors version built un der contractduring the war. Each step of th e restoration requires careful and thorough preparation if th e work is to meetthe high s tandards demanded by President Poberezny. Thistakes time and consequ en tly no special schedule has beenset. But wh en the project is completed, this Curtiss IN-4D

Jenny will be an authentic examp le of this famousairplane.All of thi s wou ld not be poss ible wit hou t some veryimportant people . These are listed under the List of Do


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Airworthy Prope/ler Built and donated by Ole Fah-Itn, Sunnyvale, Calif.Blueprints Loaned by Andy Anderson , Mansfield ,Mo.: Loaned by Air Force Museum, Dayton , Ohio; Do-nated by Gordon Codding, Lawndale, Calif. ; Microfilmloaned by Robert McDaniels, Naperville, /II .Photos Donated by Mrs. Pat Friedman, Highlandp a ~ k III .; Donated by Museum of SCience and Industry,Chicago , III .; Donated by Ken Hyde Warrenton , Va .List of Sources Leonard Opdyke, World War I Aero-planes, Poughkeepsie, N. Y.; Paul Knepper, Macungie ,Pa .

ist of Donors tthe urtiss Jenny Fund

James Wilson , Jr. , Lake Geneva, Wis .The Lester Corporation , Martinsville , Va .Diane Kline , Clarendon Hills, fII.I n memory of Neal Kline)Roy Lain, Wrightwood , CaliforniaRichard Wagner, Lyons, WisconsinKermit Weeks, Miami, Florida

Bob Ladd left) and Char-lie Smith of the E shopstaff plan the restorationof the fuselage turtle deck.CharlieworkedonJenniesearly in his career.


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BEFORE

nd

AFTER,


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PhotQ by Ted Kaston)1928 Star Cavalier owned by Forrest Lovley of pple Valley, Minnesota.


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GOL EN OL IE OF THE MONTHNo departure from standard practice is found in thegeneral construction of the Cavalier. The fuselage and tail

group are welded chrome molybdenum steel tubing andthe wing structure is of wood. Both are fabric covered.Routed one piece spruce spars are used with ample filletsat all fitting stations and spruce truss ribs with plywoodgussets are employed in the wing construction. RoundMacwhyte tie rods are used in the internal bracing. Thewing is divided into two panels set at a slight dihedralangle. The spars are connected by heavy gauge tubesacross the top of the fuselage. These tubes are providedwith strong lip fittings to receive the spar ends. They liecompletely above the longerons and are rigidly attachedby welding. Two 13 gal. gasoline tanks are built into thewing roots and the drag stresses in the bays containing thetanks are carried into the fuselage through diagonal grainedplywood panels secured to the front and rear spars and tostrong box ribs at the ends of the bays.A heavy tubular diagonal cross truss in the upper bayof the fuselage takes the drag stresses and at the sametime serves as one of the units of a cantilever arrangement which eliminates the necessity of cross bracing inthe cabin. A similar unit is used in the lower trussing ofthe fuselage . Particular attention has been given to the

Elevators are mounted on a single torque tube having acrank inside the vertical fin. Conventional horns and cablesare used in the rudder control.Landing gear is of the split axle type with a 5 ft 6 in.tread. The tail skid consists of a steel leaf spring securedjust below the tail post.

The Star Aircraft Co. is well financed. All but three ofthe officers and directors are also directors of the PhillipsPetroleum Co. The Star Company is, however, a privateenterprise with ample funds for unlimited expansion.Specifications of the Cavalier as submitted by themanufacturer are as follows:

Wing Span . 31 ft. 6 in.Overall length . . 19 ft. 8 in.Overall height . .. 6 ft 3 in.Chord . .. . .. . .. .. .. . .. . . . .. 5 ft. 1 in.Wing area including ailerons) . 157 sq. ft.Aileron area . . . .. 17.85 sq. ft.Rudder area . . .. .. . .. . 6.5 sq. ft.Fin area . . . .. . .. . 3.7 sq . ft.Stabilizer area . . .. .. . 12.8 sq. ft.Elevator area . . . .. 8.8 sq. ft.Weight without engine . . 476 lbs.Weight with engine and equipment 740 lbs.


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Gentlemen:

AROUND THE ANTIQUE/CLASSIC WORLD

Ralph Sawvell 1846 Quail Hollow Rd., Dayton, Ohio45459, telephone 513-434-8505, has an excellent CurtissReed No. 55511 prop 165 Warner) to sell or trade for an 88 ft., 20 spline Curtiss Reed No. 55501 (245) Jacobs,Con.).He is about ready to fly his cabin Waco and lacks apropeller.

umor Has It that there is an airplane (type unknown) ontop of a Mobile gas station at the corner of Higgens andMenard in Chicago l Ted Swigon, Chicago, Ill.

Dear Paul Poberezny and Jack CoxPlus all the rest that are doing so well tJ: e greatjob with our old airplane history that has to be done.I am very grateful and appreciate the nice article thatH. Glenn Bu ffington and you are responsible for. Have hadmany letters, messages and compliments of its interest.Wishing you all the best for the Holidays and the NewYear. Respectfully yours,Edna Gardner Whyte, R. N.Aero-Valley Airport, Inc.Rt. 2, Box 15, Roanoke, Texas 76262

Hi Buck,I am sending you a picture of my Taylorcraft for yourfiles. I have twin boys - 15 years old. They can handle it

Being a proud member of EAA for the past four yearsI wish to join the Antiqu e-Classic Division and continueto help promote sport flying. For this period of time I havebeen an active pilot and have a ttempted to fly as many ofthe great aircraft of the past as possible. Recently, I earnedmy A&P license and am emp loyed in an active mainten-ance shop, working on everything from J-3's to DC-3's.But, I must admit I enjoy working on the antiques the most,for example, a Fairchild PT-26 or a mint J-3. In the nearfuture I hope to gain access to a nu mber of antique aircraftwhich I discovered in the proverbial farmer's chicken coop.Numbering eleven in all and comprising such types as:Curtiss Robin, Fairchild KR-34 Curtiss Junior, Aeronca C-3and 7-AC, PT-19, UPF-7, Stinson 10-A and J they represent some of the best.

I wi ll keep you informed of any progress.Thank you and keep up the good work.Respectfully,Gary Lampman100 Glebe St.Johnstown, N. Y. 12095


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Vintage Airplane - Jan 1974