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8/12/2019 Vintage Airplane - Jan 1997
1/36
8/12/2019 Vintage Airplane - Jan 1997
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January
1997
Vol. 25, No.1
CONTENTS
1 Straight
& Level
Espie "Butch" Joyce
lC
News/H.G. Frautschy
3
Aeromail
4 lC Volunteers
/Trisha Dorlac
7
Robert Davis Contemporary
310
Norm Petersen
8
The Child And The
Plane/
William Whiting
EDITORIAL
STAFF
Publisher
Tom
Poberezny
Edltor-in-Chief
Jack
Cox
Editor
HenryG.Frautschy
Managing Editor
Golda Cox
ArtDirector
MikeDrucks
Computer Graphic
Specialists
Olivia
L
Phillip JenniferLarsen
MaryPremeau
AssociateEditor
NormPetersen
FeatureWriter
Dennis
Parks
StaffPhotographers
JimKoepni
ck
LeeAnnAbrams
KenLichtenburg
Advertising/EditorialAssistant
IsabelleWiske
EAAANTIQUE/CLASSICDIVISION,
INC,
OFFICERS
President
Vi
ce
-Presi
dent
Espie"Butch"Joyce
GeorgeDaubner
P.O .Box35584
2448LoughLane
Greensboro.NC
27425
Hartford.WI53027
910/393-0344
414/673-5885
Secretary
Treasurer
SteveNesse
Chanes
Harris
2009HighlandAve.
7215East
46th
St.
AlberlLea.MN5t/.XJ7
Tulsa
.OK 74145
507/373-1674
918/622-8400
DIRECTORS
JohnBerendt
GeneMorris
7645EchoPointRd .
115CSteveCourt.R.R.2
Cannon
Falls,
MN
55009
Roanoke.TX 76262
507/263-2414
817/4919110
Phil
Coulson
RobertC."
Bob
" Brauer
28415SpringbrookDr.
9345S Hoyne
Lawton.MI49065
Chicago.IL
60620
616/624-6490
3121779 2105
JoeDickey
JohnS.Copetand
55 OakeyAv.
28-3WilliamsburgCt.
Lawrenceburg. IN47025
Shrewsbury.
MA01545
812/537-9354
508/842-7867
6
DaleA. Gustafson
SanGomoll
7724Shady
HillDr.
1042
90thLane. NE
Indianapolis. IN46278
Minneapolis.MN
55434
317/293-4430
612/784-1172
RobertUckteig
JeannieHill
1708BayOaksDr.
P.O.
Box
328
AlbertLea.MN5t/.XJ7
Harvard. IL60033
507/373-2922
815/943-7205
Page9
9
The Dating MachinelBob
Higgins
12
Trimotor
C-3?/
Norm Petersen
13Clipped
-
Wing Cubs/
H.G. Frautschy
19
Fancy Pants PA-H/
H.G. Frautschy and Norm Petersen
22
What Our Member
s
Are Restoring
iNorm Petersen
24
Oshkosh-If We Could
Do
It
Lynn Pinson
26 Pass
It
To
Buck!
E.E. "Buck" Hilbert
28
Mystery Plane/
H.G. Frautschy
30 Welcome New Members/
Calendar
31 Vintage
Trader/Membership
Information
Canon EOS-ln
equipped
withan 80-200mmlens. 1/250sec.@ l I on 100ASAslidefilm.
Cessna210photo plane fiownby BruceMoore.
Page
13
Page19
FRONT
COVER
Janeen
and Dennis
Kochan
swingtheir
newly
restored
Clipped-Wing
Cub across
the
shore
of one of the many
lakessurrounding
the
WinterHaven.
FL
region
of
central
Florida. TheReed
Clipped-Wing
conversion
of the Cub
hasbeen a
popular
modification
of the airplane
for
over
30years. EM photo by JimKoepnick. Shotwitha
8/12/2019 Vintage Airplane - Jan 1997
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STRAIGHT LEVEL
With
the
beginning of
1997, we're just a
short
distance from the year 2000.
We can look back just a few
to
all the years with a seven
in them - 07, 17,27,37,47 ,
57,67,77,87.
When looking
at
these dates, you and I
might think of one
major
event that happened during that time. I was around in 1947, but I
do not remember much, as I was only three at the time.
I can recall that my father owned a new Piper PA-12 Super
Cruiser. When he would put the Cruiser back into the T-hangar
located
in
our back yard, I would walk on the tire holding onto
the strut. One day I fell
off of
the tire and the airplane ran over
me When mother got through with Dad, he felt a lot worse than
I did - it hardly scratched me
Let's see, 1957 was the year that I was beginning to date girls
and was getting into muscle cars. My father had jus t bought a
brand new Piper Tri-Pacer, our first nose gear airplane. When he
brought it home, he and Mom were in a hurry to leave for a
dinner with some friends, so he entrusted me to put his brand
new Tri-Pacer away in the T -hangar. I got the tow bar out,
something I had never seen before, and hooked it up. So we
wouldn't damage anything on the airplane, we carefully lined
everything up before we began and with the help of
some
of
my
football buddies we proceeded to push the airplane back into the
hangar. Well, the
hangar
was
built
when we had
only
taildraggers. That tall tail of the Tri-Pacer was higher than the
top of
the T-hangar doorway. Crunch The rudder hit the front
beam of the hangar, bending the rudder and knocking off the
rotating beacon perched on top
of
the rudder.
As you might have already guessed, I caught "H- L" over
this -
we
had never owned a rotating beacon before. t was a
good thing I did not do anything to our new Narco VHT-3 radio
While cleaning out some old papers lately, I came across some
paperwork that
is related to this Tri-Pacer. In a 1957 Carolina
Aero Club membership directory is an article entitled "How To
by Espie
Butch
Joyce
The next ten years would see
the
most aircraft ever
manufactured and put into service.
1967 would find me as a member of the U. S. Army in the
Special Forces "Green Berets." I lost my Father that year and
the Tri-Pacer was sold.
t
wasn't
a great year so there's not
much more that I want to say about that time period.
By 1977 I had two great daughters, a business that was going
great, a Beech D-35, and I had discovered how much
fun
it
is
to
be a volunteer at Oshkosh for the EAA.
1987 - I moved up to a Beech Baron B-55, and was on the
EAA Antique/Classic Board
of
Directors.
I'd
made a lot
of
new
great friends working as an EAA volunteer.
1997 finds me writing another "Straight & Level" article for
your VINTAGE AIRPLANE and
president
of
the EAA
Antique/Classic Division, a duty that I really love.
Throughout the year EAA and all of the EAA Divisions
Antique/Classic, Warbirds of America and the International
Aerobatic Club - will be recognizing the volunteers' efforts.
Tom Poberezny, in his December Homebuilder's
Comer
in
Sport Aviation, wrote a letter to the Division presidents
concerning this recognition effort He wrote:
As you know, throughout 1997 a major emphasis will be
placed
upon
recognizing
and
thanking
the thousands
of
volunteers who, essentially, have made EAA what
t
is today.
The celebration ofEAA volunteerism will be a major theme at
'Oshkosh 97, as well as Sun n Fun. Details and plans will
be forthcoming.
Should any of you Antique /Classic members have any
volunteer stories or photos, we would like to hear from you as
soon as you can, so other members can learn about the help that
you and your friends give to the
lC
Division. Trisha Dorlac is
authoring a series
of
articles underscoring the efforts put forth
by
the volunteer corps at EAA Oshkosh. And
of
course, she's doing
it as a volunteer
Volunteerism is not confmed to that effort at Oshkosh, but is
found throughout the year by individuals helping the EAA
movement. f you're wondering how, remember the individuals
who help with the Young Eagles program, and the local Chapter
8/12/2019 Vintage Airplane - Jan 1997
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A C NEWS
compiled by H.C. Frautschy
ANTIQUE/CLASSIC
DI
VISION ON
THE WORLD WIDE WEB
By the time you read this, the newest
web page on the EAA's site on the Internet
will be devoted to the EAA Antique/Clas
sic Division. For now, you can reach the
page
by
going
to
EAA's
s ite
at
www.eaa.organd selecting Specialty
Groups" on the main page. We plan on of
fering direct access in the near future, as
our domain name is logged and registered.
So what will you find on the lC Web
page? Explanations concerning the mis
sion
of
the
IC
Division, and
lC
activi
ties at EAA Oshkosh and Sun 'n Fun (in
cluding the Awards List) . The text from
the EAA Judging Manual concerning the
definition
of
Antique, Classic and Contem
porary aircraft is included. A section is
devoted to an explanation of the division
magazine, Vintage Airplane is also in
cluded, and a page detailing the various
lC
programs
is
on line as well. A full list
of
current AntiquelClassic Chapters is
listed. The importance of the various Type
Clubs and
IC
volunteers
is also high
lighted.
As you can imagine, a web page is a
moving target, subject
to
revision at the re
quest
of
those who use it.
If
you don't see
something on the EAA AntiquelClassic
Web Site you'd like to have available, let
us know. You can send
us
a message via
the home page by using the "Type" radio
button. We don't yet have direct access on
our desktop Mac to the messages (they
come to
us
via Sneaker Net when they are
dropped in
our
IN
basket) but we'll
be
there in the future. We
can send
you a
message back via e-mail. The only thing
we
ask is patience. E-mail messages don't
Those clever
folks
on
the
Antique
/Classic flight line are always
up
for
a
bit of fun
. One
of the wags
parki
ng
airplanes waaaaaay down on the south
end of
the
field (often refe r red
to
as
"North Fond du Lac") added this "Row In-
finity" marker
after row
150. It
can
be a
bit
of
a
bus
ride up
north from your
ai
r-
plane , but it 's still better than driving
to
the Convention
For tunately ,
through
the diligent
ef
-
forts
of the
EAA Maintenance staff,
the
south end areas are becoming smoother
and more hospitable as
the
years go by.
Those
of
us who recall
the
area just east
of
the Ultralight area 15
or
20 years
ago
will remember when it
wasn t
exactly
a
garden spot either, but attention focused
on the area did
get
in
good
condition.
your N-number on your airplane, you must
have the Airworthiness Certificate for your
airplane reissued. Failure to do so could
result
in
an uncomfortable situation should
your airplane be checked by an FAA In
spector. Remember there can be one and
only one difference between the certificate
and the actual number painted on your air
plane. Per FAR 45.22, it
is
permissible to
add the "c" (or R, etc.) to the registra
tion number applied to the airplane
if
it
was originally registered with the prefix
added to the N-number, i.e. NC 12345.
EAA ADULT A
IR
ACAD
EMY
You still have time to register for the
EAA
Adult Air
Acad
emy
.
This year's
class, Basic Aircraft Maintenance, Build
ing and Restoration Skills, promises to be
one
of
the best offered. This one week
session is offered February 16-22, 1997.
Your $800 registration fee covers
alllodg
ing, food , local transportation,
plus
all
classroom materials.
Don't
delay
For
further information,
contact the EAA Education Office by call
ing 414/426-6815 or write to the EAA Ed
ucation Office at P.O. Box 3065, Oshkosh,
WI 54903-3065.
S
WI
FT
PROD
UCTION?
Stuart
Horn and his
company
,
Bravo
Victor, Inc . (which is doing business as
Aviat Aircraft, Inc.
of
Afton, WY) have
entered into an agreement with The Inter
national Swift Association that will allow
Aviat to produce the Swift on a production
line using the original tooling. It is ex
pected that the airplane will be built using
many
of
the existing certified modifica
tions such as the bubble canopy and larger
engines. Also, Aviat will produce parts for
the Swift that will be available to those
who
currently fly and maintain their
Swifts, Classic aircraft built
in
the 1940's.
Mr. Hom's company is currently build
ing the Pitts Special and the Husky, along
with the Chisten Eagle. Hom acquired the
company
in late 1995, and has seen its
gross receipts exceed 9 million dollars dur
ing the first three quarters of his steward
ship. They see the addition of the Swift to
their product
line as a logical
extension
into a specialty market with which they are
familiar, tailwheel aircraft that appeal
to
a
small
segment
of general aviation on a
worldwide basis. Congratulations to Char
lie
Nelson
and the Swift Association for
coming to an agreement with the company
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VINTAGE
AeroMail
Luscombe Door Flying
DearH.G.,
I read Mr. Walter Best's letter in the
November 1996 issue of Vintage Airplane
with much interest. His comments about
maneuvering a Luscombe without rudder
control merits further discussion.
The Luscombe Model 8, by its design
nature and center of gravity location will
turn OPPOSITE the
direction
a
door
is
opened in flight,
regardless of
airspeed.
That is, open the left door, the nose swings
right; open
the
right door, the
nose
swings left.
To verify the "door open in flight" han
dling characteristics, I tried a series of sim
ple in-flight tests in my venerable Lus
combe 8A. When I opened my left door,
the nose of the airplane swung right. When
I opened my
right
door, the
Luscombe
yawed left.
Each airplane has its own peculiar char
acteristic(s) when
a
door
is
opened
in
flight. For the lightplane owner, this
knowledge might save a life in the event
of control failure.
I hope this information
clarifies
Mr.
Walter Best's letter.
Warmest Regards,
JimZazas
Luscombe NC45504
Carthage, NC
Jim and Walter are correct. When edit-
ing Walter's letter, I swapped the door ef-
fects, giving the impression that Walt's let-
ter
was in
error
.
Not
so
Walt wrote
it
properly, but I didn't get it down
on
paper
correctly. My apologies.
Not only can the knowledge
of
an air-
plane 's handling with a door open be use-
that airplane?
Steve
said that he had
worked on them when they were built, and
test flew them.
I owned the one that had the four cylin
der
in
line air-cooled Cirrus Hermes engine
in it. It was a fast one to fly at that time,
but I liked it. It also had a very different
type oflanding gear.
I have a sma
ll
model
of
the one I had;
if
you would like
to
see it, let me
know.
Les Deltgen (AIC 14853)
Les stopped by
EAA HQ
here in Oshkosh, and showed
us his neat
solid model
. The
spars
we
found
in
Steve's
hangar seemed to be the right
conjiguration
for
the Traveler,
but they were nearly two
feet
shorter than the span listed
for
the Pheasant Traveler. In the
EAA
film archives exists
a
videotape copy
of
a black and
white jilm showing a air race
staged during
thejirst
annual
Wisconsin air show
in
1930.
In it
a Pheas-
ant Traveler is seen racing around the py-
lons. Although he is not directly shown, it
is
believed that Steve
is
racing the Traveler
at this race.
Did
he
hav
e a "clip
wing"
version, hence the shorter spars? Without
more evidence, it is difficult to say. - HGF
News from the 'Lil Indian
DearH.G.,
Gerry Martin came to me two months
ago and asked if we could fly 84 kids from
a group called The Young Astronauts" for
the Young Eagles program. I checked with
These
two photos show
Les Delton of Menasha
WI and
his model
of
the
Pheasant
Traveler he
owned at
one time. Les
sent
us the
shot of his
full
size airplane taken
when he used to keep it
at the old Appleton Air-
port,
which used
to
be on
the northeast corner of
the city.
We had eight ground members doing paper
work, loading and unloading, parking air
craft,
etc.
h
turned out that the "84 number" was
children and parents! So our end results by 3
p.m. was
67
Young Eagles and 42 parents
Some of the kids were so excited
we
did 18
"second rides" and finished up at 5 :
30
p.m.
for a total
of
126
rides!
You'll notice that under "EAA Chapter
or Affiliate Organization," I've listed W
90" (New London Airport; I figured since
most of us are EAA, Antique/Classic mem
bers and based at New London and Rucker
was generous enough to let us use his air
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OLUNTEERS ON THE
by
FLIGHT
LINE
Patricia
li
T
rish
Dorlac
Safely guiding the many AlC planes that come to visit the
EAA
Conventi
on
is
No.1 priority to the many Flight Line Safety volunteer
s
This series of articles is dedicated to
the men and women in the Antique/Clas
sic
division, without
whom EAA
Oshkosh as we know it would simply not
exist . These
volunteers
not only will
ingly, but cheerfully, offer countless
area of the Antique/Classic
Division, we are challenged
with the awesome responsi
bility of parking hundreds of
airplanes in a very short pe
riod of time. We control the
8/12/2019 Vintage Airplane - Jan 1997
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Dave Thomas (holding
the sign) and Russ
l
-
lis are j
ust
a couple
of
the many
volunteers
who
work
A/e Point ,
at the
south end of of
the taxiway paralleling
runway 18/36.
As each plane taxis in ,
they re picked up by one
of
the
bikers,
who will d i-
rect them to
a
parking
spot in the
Antique/Clas-
sic
area
of
the Co nven-
tion groun
ds.
--'- '
expert
at
picking out the safest
route
to
bring the airplanes to their destination .
They
are able to guide these
beautif
ul
8/12/2019 Vintage Airplane - Jan 1997
8/36
Blake vo luntee r
si
n
ce
1
96 4)
, S teve
Whelan, Dyle Wi lson and several others
Crowd control is proba
bl
y one of the
best jobs for the money. Included in the
benefits package are free food and drink
(THANK
YOU
OPERATION THIRST )
and an awesome view of the airs how.
These marvelous volunteers
brave
the
heat, rain or cold to ensure the safety
of
the
crowd
and
planes. They do their
best to remind the crowd
of
the basic
rules and are capable of keeping them
behind the burn line with a single steely
eyed glance, (although a smi le and gen-
tle reminder are usually all that is
needed.)
Although it is not possible to include
all the folks who work with us, we want
everyone of you to know how appreci-
ated you are. Every
job
is made
easier
by
each person
who
pitches
in to help
make Oshkosh the truly grand event that
we love. Thanks
It isn ' t
all
sunburns
and smelly exhaust
out there on the flight-
line. Sally Ryan (left)
hosts many volunteers
as a volunteer herself.
Orlo Ellison stops by
Sally's Woods for a
smile
and
a dr ink of
something cool.
Okay, so you might
get just a
bit
sun-
burned on the flight
line. After a long,
satisfying day vol-
unteeri
ng, Evan,
Kathy, Mike Trish
and Randy, along
with
Walt
in front,
relax before
retir-
in for the evening.
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The
by ob Higgins
ating
Machine
I
suppose
there
have been enough well-
researched nuts-and-bolts articles
written about the Piper Vagabond, so I
decided to
offer
a look at that old girl
from a different perspective.
Recollections
of
my first contacts with
the PA-15 date back to July
of
1948, the
same month she received Civil Aeronau
FBO,
ready to take War
ren Oliver's first Vagabond rental
customer into a cloudless sky from the
sandy grass airfield located about six
miles southwest of downtown South
Bend, Indiana. I could hardly wait to see
some during the first few
takeoffs, but I soon got wise to her tricks.
The Vagabond became a refined and
well-behaved lady once her wheels left
the ground. I could relax and concentrate
on her other features while I flew the pat
tern. In level flight at 600 feet on down
wind leg, she
provided
an outstanding
view over the nose, and she accelerated
to
8/12/2019 Vintage Airplane - Jan 1997
12/36
heaped accolades on both of
us. Since the runways were
so close, I enjoyed the thrill
of being a spectator with a
splendid vantage point as
the second
Vagabond pilot
made the circuits around the
pattern that also qualified
him to carry passengers.
I was still filled with ob
vious enthusiasm when 1 re
ported
for work that after
noon at a local tennis shoe
factory. I shared details of
my good
fortune with
a
coworker,
and
news about
that
momentous
flight
spread quickly among the
assemblers
on the
produc
tion line. Among them was
a shy girl near my age, a
minister's
daughter. The
older women guarded her
and had made it known that
1 should leave the girl alone.
Since Betty seemed com
fortable with
their ultima
tum, I honored their wishes.
Besides, 1 had my eyes on
Nancy, a younger
girl
I'd
met recently while attending
a fellow pilot's church.
Ironically, the preacher's
daughter broke the ice that
evening. She slipped away
from her
protectors
when
the dinner whistle
blew,
rushed
to my
work station
out of breath, and startled
me with the news that her
father was
an earthbound
airplane buff whose flying
activities consisted of noth
ing except dreams inspired
by reading magazines.
Did you
really
fly a
brand new airplane today?
she asked.
Yes, I did, Betty, I
replied.
8/12/2019 Vintage Airplane - Jan 1997
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auto
transportation
to
and from the
aiIlX lt.
I got a big kick out
of
Betty' s father as
he raved about our magic carpet. Keep
ing our destination a secret seemed to en
hance
his
obvious enjoyment. Since
I
knew the route and flew
IFR
(I
follow
railways), I didn t need to consult a sec
tional chart or the Vagabond's sole navi
gational instrument, a magnetic compass.
I simply picked
up
the Grand Trunk
(Canadian National) railway tracks just
south
of
the airport and followed them to
our destination.
t
was fun to watch my
elated passenger ' s reactions to
the
scenery, prominent landmarks, readings
on the
altimeter
and
airspeed indicator
,
and the increased speed during descent as
I maneuvered to enter the traffic pattern at
a suburban
Chicago airfield
. His eyes
widened as we came close enough to en
ter a downwind leg. I anticipated his ex
citement at viewing the huge ramp cov
ered with row after row
of
small airplanes.
The Vagabond didn t have a radio. I
found a break
in
the traffic flow and eased
into it behind another plane. After land
ing, we cleared the runway and followed
a
jeep to a parking space.
After
that, I
was content to follow my passenger while
he examined many makes and models
of
aircraft he d only seen in photos. Many
were in mint condition.
The good reverend could hardly con
tain his joy as we mixed with some Piper
owners and engaged them in some great
hangar flying. After a light lunch, I prac
tically had to pry the preacher away from
that place.
We departed to the west and made a sweep-
ing turn to the north to enjoy the Vagabond's
outstanding over the nose view of Chicago's
Loop. That did it. He was so elated that he
agreed to allow his daughter to take a one hour
ride
at
his
expense.
Under the circumstances, I didn t mind
having the girl's father drive Betty and me to
and from the airport a few days later. I got to
log
more time at a cut rate. Besides, I d never
tire of
viewing
the
scenery
on the
way
to
Ben
ton Harbor via the Warren Dunes and the
guardians. I listened with glee. Circum
venting those older ladies had pleased me
as much as finding my way around a dan
gerous thunderstorm. I accomp lished the
latter feat when my future wife and I made
our first Vagabond flight, a trip in which
I
formed my fondest memories associated
with that wonderful dating machine.
The general
aura of
romance associ
ated with flying intensified when it came
to carrying girls in a Vagabond.
t
had a
profound psychological effect on them.
For one thing, the lack
of
a control stick
on the passenger
side allowed
them to
wear typical apparel of that era :
skirt
,
blouse, bobbysox and saddle shoes.
Nancy
had
begun
to
make
articles
of
clothing several years earlier when she
had tackled sewing
projects
with the
Campfire Girls
.
What
we
considered
a
sport plane inspired her to buy some cloth
that matched the Vagabond s interior.
The
airport
crowd
dubbed
us a
cute
couple
as
A
couple
love
struck high-
school students squeezed
into the
blue confines a cozy Vagabond
cockpit would hardly
think of
their
surroundings as austere.
Wefeft
privileged as we roared aloft in our
private compartment leaving
the
we boarded the P A-IS wearing a shirt and a
blouse
cut
from the
same
fabric.
After takeoff on an especially hot and
humid day , we headed south-southeast
and climbed above the haze to the cooler
air at 3500 feet. Our destination
Rochester, Indiana- lay ahead. During
my boyhood,
I d
gone there many times
for picnics and swimming with my par
ents,
sisters and
other relatives. That s
where
I d
met Phyllis Onstott, a local girl
I dated via the buses that ran through
Rochester to the state capitol.
A couple of love struck, high-school
students squeezed into the blue confines
of
a cozy Vagabond cockpit would hardly
think of their surroundings as austere.
smiles and matching outfits. A couple
cameras clicked while we fielded ques
tions about ourselves and our yellow bird.
Eventually we walked to what I con
sidered a
major
attraction , the
Airport
Grill.
t
featured a
juke
box, the kind
of
food teens prefer, a fine view
of
the lake,
and a congenial group
of
local people and
vacationers from near and far.
t
was easy
to spot newcomers in that eating place;
they would attempt to pick up a nickel
that was firmly attached to the floor.
While we ate and talked, airplane buffs
hanging around on the flight line had am
ple time to inspect the Vagabond under
the watchful eyes of Helen House Out
celt, the lady who ran the airport .
During those Vagabond days, we could
arrange to pay for only the time aloft as
long as we got the plane back in time for
its next appointment. That day, however,
the sudden approach of an isolated air
mass thunderstorm cut our stay short.
Our takeoff
to
the southwest afforded
us
a fuzzy view
of
a dark haze shrouded men
ace that promised a bumpy ride
if
we got too
close. Once we got high enough to maneu
ver, I entered a gentle tum away from the
storm until it was slightly behind our left
wing tip. Mother Nature ' s No Trespass
ing sign (increased turbulence) suddenly
sent us to a more northerly heading.
By the time we reached the clear cool
air above the haze, we were far enough
from the
storm
to
safely
turn to a direct
homebound course
and level
flight at
4500 feet. However, we first made a brief
detour to the west, a heading that afforded
us a marvelous but eerie view
of the awe
some black roll cloud unleashing its fury
on Rochester. Above the storm we could
see the beautiful white towering cumu
lonimbus cloud capped with an anvil.
With a tail wind pushing
our
ground
speed to more than two miles per minute,
we reached the South Bend area with time
to spare . Reluctant to return to earth, I
stayed high, made a rapid descent, and
used a slip on final approach.
We watched the next couple take to the
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Tri-Motor
Aeronca C-3?
y
Norm Petersen
I f you think you are
seeing double (or triple)
with your eyeballs,
don t
be dismayed. This par
ticular airplane
is
indeed,
a tri-motor Aeronca C-3
that was put together in
the late
1940 s by
Howard Libersky of Ma
son City, Iowa and now
of
Okeechobee, FL. De
signed to be "something
different
" at
airshows,
the basic Aeronca C-3
was modified with a 65
hp Continental
in the
nose pulling a Lewis pro
peller (you can see the
Lewis logos on the
prop) . In
addition,
Howard hung
two 16.8
cu . in .
two-stroke
en
gines from the Radio
plane OQ-2A drone un
der
the wings that were
attached by special
mounts. The drone en
gines had contra-rotating
propellers (note the different blade angles on the small props) and
could be throttled from the cockpit.
\
because of a fatal crowd accident in Colorado, Howard removed
the two outboard engines and sold the single-engined Aeronca C
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moved, the
No.2
Compression
strut s taken out, and the lead-
ing edge metal, root ribs and
false rib s are removed. That
leave
s
over
40 inches
of
the
spa
rs exposed at
their root.
Measure twice and cut once
with a saw, varnish the ex-
posed ends
of
the spar and get
ready to start installing hard-
ware. The compression strut
n the old No. 2 position is re-
moved, replaced with the orig-
inal root compression tube in-
stalled in its place. The spars
are drilled using a hand brace
and bit and the fittings and ribs
reinstalled. The spars have to
be reinforced at the strut fit-
tings with a vertical channel ,
added to co mpensate for ec-
centric strut loads (the wing
struts will no longer line up
precisely with the fittings in-
stalled on the spar). The wings
is then trammeled and recov-
ered. That's not all there is too the modifi-
cation though.
A new set
of
wing struts is built up. All
four struts use the larger "front strut" tub-
ing. The forward struts can be made
up
us-
ing the original forward struts, provided
The Clipped-Wing Cub, Piper Cl pper
and Meyers 200 all share floor space
n the Kochans hangar n central
Florida.
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s
an anniversary present last year, Janeen commissioned aviation artist Sam Lyons, 4600 Kings Crossing Dr., Kennesaw, GA
30144 to render this pretty artwork of the restored Cub resting in front of the
b m
it w s found in. Janeen had the artwork,
entitled Treasures, on display with the airplane during Sun 'n Fun '96.
especially difficult, and care taken during
the changes can result in and very good
looking airplane. All of the required
changes are spelled out in the STC pack
age.
That racy look I spoke
of
earlier has in
spired some wild color schemes over the
years. Thinking back, you ll remember the
blue and white sunburst on Hazel Sig s
Clipped-Wing , and the many others that
have shown up as mounts for basic class
Keeping it light
is
the
aerobatic pilots at lAC contests. The modi
secret of its success.
fie airplane has brought out the fun side in
A stock panel with
nothing additional
restorers.
keeps the fun in this
A couple of restorers who fit that de-
sport airplane.
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Above) The shorter wings
of
the Reed
Clipped-Wing conversion are readily
apparent in this shot of this J 3C
re
stored by Scott
Gross
and his
brother, Steve Gross along with their
A P friend, Bill Hadden.
scription are Airborne Express DC-8 Cap
tain Janeen Kochan,
of
Winter Haven, FL
and her husband Dennis, a Captain and in
Already a clipped wing conversion, the
Kochen's Cub had only a few owners in its
past. A man from St. Louis bought it new
in 1974, the Cub got its Continental engine
somewhere along the line as well. It didn't
fly again until 1996, this time with the new
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A
well done restoration by
the
Cinquanta family and friends has given them
a
fitting tribute
to
their father
Frank,
who bought
the
PA-11 in 1964 for 700.
By
aril E Cinquanta
Ale 2 758
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The color
scheme
scallops add
an air of raciness
to
the PA-11,
accentuated by the cowled en
gine of the J-3 derivative. If
i t
could be
seen, the
restorers
ei
ther
chromed,
polished
or painted
it
to
perfection.
Even the
propeller
was polished,
with fancy paint trim applied to
the tips.
The hangar was constructed at the far end
sixties
in
order
to be
restored.
Circum
cable brackets and footstep, were chromed
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of
the seven acres and the dirt runway that
I was standing on as I reminisced ran di
agonally across the property. Very few
pilots would attempt
to
land on
such a
short runway .
Most would
land on
the
plateau to the west which
was a
very
long
dirt
runway . Once airborne you
were 1,000 feet AGL. you were drag
ging on takeoff, you could drop your
nose and build
airspeed
soaring
down
the valley.
During
the
1960s, Joe and
Frank had Wa
cos, a Stearman,
Swifts and vari
ous models
of
Pipers .
Joe
would
restore
them
and
sell
them
in
his
spare
time.
Some
were
jet
powered, such
as the DH
Hawker. Joe
would hand
craft many
of
the parts
him
self. A number
of his airplanes
would appear
over the years
in
various fly
ing magazines.
He
was
well
known through
out Colorado,
stances,
unfortunately,
dictated that she
would sit
in
storage until restoration finally
was begun in 1993. At one point, the Civil
Air Patrol stored the airplane
for
my dad, but
strangely enough
it
disappeared. The CAP
had
to
send out search planes to fmd her but,
sure enough, she was ultimately found and
rescued.
Restoration was
commenced
in 1993,
but unfortunately my Dad was diagnosed
with prostate cancer and then lymphoma.
in order to add to its uniqueness. Various
metal pieces, exhaust manifolds and ex
haust were powder coated in flat and gloss
black. This
is
very durable and looks great.
The
cabin
was carpeted by Airtex and
we had a
dash cover
made. We
have
a
hand held King KX-99, an intercom and
has
an
external antenna
.
Headsets
are a
must
and the
whole system works
great.
The instrument panel looks wonderful with
a touch of nostalgia. Original cream faced
instruments, in
cluding a rate
of
climb and
a
1949 inclinome
ter,
were
in
stalled.
The C90-SF
was
completely
overhauled
and
fitted with a Mc
Cauley
climb
prop which helps
here in the Mile
High City.
An
0-
200 oil tank was
also
installed.
The left side win
dow was modi
fied to
open out
on a
sma ll
hy
draulic strut; this
really opens up
the cabin. Piper
should have
thought
of
this as
an
option.
The uphol
Minnesota and
Straight
lines that
are
supposed
to
be
straight are
and
curved lines
are
smooth
and
accu- stery
is
custom
Wisconsin. For
rate attesting to
the
excellent work
done by the
painter Larry Pickerell.
and
beefed up
many years,
Joe , his wife
Kathy and daughter LeAnn lived in Min
nesota
and had a
private strip called
"Hawks Haven." Joe
is
well-known
in
EAA
circles and
is
presently building one of his bi
plane designs called the "Homet."
The PA-II was our
Dad's
personal air
plane and one
of
two which have remained
in the family. The second was the "Hor
net" mentioned above. This Cub special is
We tried to have the airp lane restored in
time
so
that he could fly her one more time,
but it
was not
meant to be .
He
l
oved
to
visit our hangar and spend time there. We
know he would have
approved
of
our
re
storation
of
his plane and we truly feel he
will be
in
the back seat when we fl
y
In
restoring the Cub Special, we wanted
her to have a personality of her own. We
for us short Ital
ians The engine
cowling is also custom, allowing room for
the towering plugs. We had to search all
over the country for the RPM and oil tem
perature/pressure gauge. We finally lo
cated them in Maine. The hardest thing to
find was the spinner with front
and
back
plates. This was not an original item. In
stead, the
PA-II
came stock with a skull
cap . The spinner was ultimately found in
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James Donnell s
Contemporary
Cessna
172
stra ight tail Cessnas.
for an older straight tail 182 , he stumbled
into this 172 and bought it in 1991 .
was in dire need of
some TLC
.
This sharp looking
1
959 Cessna
172
s
t r a igh t - t
a
i l ,
N6331E, SIN- 46431,
is the pride and joy
of
James
W.
Donnell
(EAA 530423)
of
Winnsboro,Louisiana.
Jim has been
flying
for
52 years
and
has
always had a soft spot
in
his
heart
for
th e
While searching
It
Since
then , he has upgraded the entire airplane,
inside and out, installed a complete new
interior,
one piece windshield
and re
placed the former "droop tips" with these
hi-performance wingtips . A new paint
job
in
white and blue with black trim re
ally sets the pretty four-placer off. With
the list
of
improvements running over two
pages in length, Jim has done just about
everything to this airplane that is possible.
He
admits it draws many second looks at
airports with many questions about it be
ing for sale.
He
feels he has been blesssed
as the owner and enjoys the airplane im
mensely. Congratulations, Jim, on a really
beautiful
172.
Jack
Du eck s scombe 8E
Jack Dueck (EAA 337912) and
hi s
wife, Jean, of Whitehorse, Yukon Terri
tory ,
Canada, restored this
pretty
Lus
combe 8-E, CF-MNS, after finding it in a
garage . The former owner had purchased
the airplane with floats, used the floats on
a
different
airplane and
stored
the Lus
combe.
When
the
Dueck s
hauled the
Luscombe home, the restoration got un
derway and the result is the beautiful pol
ished Luscombe you see
in the
photo.
Both restorers admit the total costs were a
bit unreal, but the job itself took patience
and hard work. After flying the neat two
placer
to
Oshkosh, they
have
now em
barked on building an RV-4. The photo
and story were submitted by Rem Walker
(EAA
11640
, A C 12982) of
Regina,
Sask. Canada.
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OSHKOSH-IF WE COULD DO
IT
YOU C N TOO
by Lynn R Pinson le
343
There are times
in
your life when you need to say "NO " to the naysayers and those who would steal your dreams.
Establishing a goal and making it come
to fruition makes the accomplishment all that much sweeter. Lynn Pinson and
his friend Jerry confronted their fears and slayed a mental dragon. What mental dragon has you at bay? Perhaps be-
ginning or finishing that restoration project or planning that long cross country? Perhaps doing what you already
know nee
s
to be done
is
all that stands between you and the worthwhile attainment
o
your objective.
-
HGF
Someone much smarter than I am once
said that the moment of readiness is when
the discomfort of the status quo finally ex
ceeds the fear of change. After nine years
that
moment
had
come
.
For nine
years,
Jerry
Hostick
and
I talked
and
dreamed
about flying
to
Oshkosh for the annual EAA
Fly-In and Convention. We talked
about
how we would take our time, fly when we
wanted
to
fly, stop when we wanted to stop,
and we especially wanted to fly up the Mis
sissippi River, jus t flying and looking as we
would make our way to the Mecca of avia
tion, Oshkosh. But each year we got cold
feet and backed out a couple of weeks before
it started. We had heard so many
stories
about how many airplanes got there at the
same time and how we might run into some
body, or crash, or just
anything
-
maybe
everything - awful might happen to us or our
airplanes. We would then suddenly get sick,
or have
to be
somewhere else
,
or have
to
work that week. Until now.
When I closed the hangar door that beau
tiful summer Sunday morning after packing
the 1947 Cessna 120 with the sleeping bag,
the pork
'n
beans, the crackers, the cheese
crisps, the canteen, the hand-held radio, the
borrowed GPS and two duffel bags of extra
clothes , I wondered
if
I
would ever
come
back and see that hangar again.
t was
Tom's
fault. I told him in Febru
ary about
our dreams
and how long
Jerry
and I
had
been talking
about
it . He
came
back with, "Well, we ' re going this year, no
backing out cause I told Chuck I would be
there this
year
with the Kitfox ."
"Pinion,
you ain't baclan' out this time "
No way could Tom finish that Kitfox by
July.
He
didn't even have the engine in it or
the insides in it yet. But he did.
He
soloed it
We landed at Morey Airport on the west
side of Madison, WI late Tuesday evening in
a light rain shower. The past three days we
had flown in
clear skies,
in light rain and
clouds, and actually did some scud running
in southwest Missouri ,
but nothing
really
bad the whole trip. We checked into a motel
and decided to have a nice dinner and then
try
to
get a good night's rest before the much
anticipated and dreaded arrival at Oshkosh.
Wednesday morning, after several trips
to the restroom, the engines were started, we
took several
deep
breaths
,
and
departed
Morey. We headed to the rendezvous point
of every VFR airplane in the United States,
Canada, and parts of Europe
-
Ripon." We
felt as
if
we
were
flying over the
English
Channel to do
war
with the Germans . We
were scared spit less because we
just
knew
we were going to meet sudden death at any
moment by colliding with all those other air
planes that were going
to
be at Ripon.
"Curses, Tom
Yates, why did I let you
talk me into this?"
Then
I saw a town and the
water tower
said
"Ripon."
I
was there Where was
everyone else? Where were all those other
8,000 airplanes? There was Green Lake and
Rush Lake and there were the railroad tracks,
but
only three or
four airplanes
were
in
sight. I saw the markers, then the strobes,
then that much anticipated voice came over
the radio and said, "Blue high wing taildrag
ger, rock your wings " I did, and the voice
said, "Good rock blue taildragger, clear Fisk
and proceed 070 degrees for landing on 36L,
listen 126.6." I had no idea I could see Lake
Winnebago ahead of me and also saw the
hundreds
, no,
thousands
of
airplanes and
things immediately in front of me. Oshkosh
tower cleared
me to land on
36L and as
I
by another fellow on a green "Gator."
I got out of the little Cessna and looked
around
at the
gorgeous
day.
The sun
was
shining, the airplanes were still landing, and
the rows behind me were rapidly filling up
with aircraft. I stared in disbelief. There
was nowhere else in the whole wide world I
had rather be at this moment
Well, we were at the Convention for three
days, saw everything we could see, walked
our legs
off to
the hips and still couldn't see
it
all. t was everything we had heard about,
read about, and hoped
it
would
e
about.
We saw Paul, Gene, Tom, Patti, Bobby,
Julie, Chuck, Bud, Delmar, and many, many
others. We saw bitty planes and big ones ,
almost 14,000 of them.
We saw most
of
the 850,000 other people
there besides us .
The
weather was perfect
and there was not anything that disappointed
us
. Then
it
came time to go home. Early Sat
urday morning we got
up
early, checked
weather, and took
off
from Wittman Field at
7:30 a.m. in three mile visibility and low ceil
ings. As I was climbing out I looked back
through the right window
of
the 120 at that
giant, sleepy airport that was just beginning
to
stir for the day's activities, still amazed that I
had been there. I headed to Portage, Wiscon
sin where I was to meet Jerry since he had to
depart on the other runway, and then we con
tinued the long trip back home. Tom and the
Kitfox stayed another couple
of
days, leaving
on Tuesday. We went back through Musca
tine, then down to Kirksville and spent the
night at Sedalia, Missouri. We then flew to
Coffeyville, Kansas, Stillwater, Oklahoma,
then finally Frederick Municipal appeared in
sight about 3:30 Sunday afternoon. Our wel
come
committee
was a very happy and re
lieved wife Nancy and proud brother Keith
~ i r d m e n
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The onarch
A gold-\.Iinged giant
T
he
trouble \.lith flying lies not
in the peril but the
return to t
arth. Yes coming
arrests my eye
dO\.ln is much harder than spinning a Jenny or pulling off tha t four point roll.
soaring
and
stalking his
sacred
patch of
sky.
Ask
anyone of
these
old fe
ll
o\.ls
clustered
near
that
yello\.ling
box
kite
,
perched on
and around the machine as if
it
\.Iere some sturdy fence.
As a great touring czar
my field
he rumbles past,
Inquire \.Ihat
it's
like to
pla
y
God
for
a\.lhile
,
soaring high
above
patch\.lork pastures,
blue frame and patriotic fin
fighting th
at dO\.ln\.lard
pull.
holding
our rap tured gazes fast.
Discover
\.Ihy
they treat
that plane
like a lady,
ho\.l
t
hey talk
to
her, feed her,
Collective breath
is held in
check
doctor
her on
occasion .
Mo\.l
they
kno\.l
her
mind
like
their
o\.ln.
as he circles and touches dO\.ln.
Mi
s
lo
y
al
entourage
forms
to
flank him,
\.Ihat do they
see,
climbing high enough to
peer
over the
edge
of the
\.Iorld.
mi
le
s
reveling
in the smoke belched
from
his cro\.ln
.
of hazy
indigo
sloping
gently
a\.lay
into space.
This
monarch
holds court, good
natured
Look at them , their leathery faces cracked
and
tanned
as
their
jackets,
their ey
es
and
god
-like, regally surveying
his
domain .
alight \.lith
fire
reliving the long
day
, hands t\.Jisting, turning, rete lling an aerial ballet.
As admiring masses move to\.lard
him
,
spl0.5hes
of color
against the
grassy plain.
\.lith
eyes as big as
the children
on
their shoulders they
\.latch
a craft shudder to
life
and
r
umble acro.ss the \.Iide,
grassy sea.
P-:>Iack blades of steel and those throaty
cylinders contrast
his bright,
blinding sheen.
A different
breed
t
hey are,
these s\.lorn foes of
gravity,
shuffling inside, the
eyes
in
Truly he
is
a
splend
id
sigh
t,
the backs of their heads looki
ng lovingly
over the rustic mach ine.
this proud and mighty PT-1 7.
T
heir thoughts are never
far
from
its
needs and
their o\.ln: To fly to
paint
on a
Rumb lin
g
again, taxi
ing a
\.l
ay
brilli
ant b
lu
e
canvas, there can be no greater aim.
thunder
ing
into
the \.Ii ld blue,
at
his
kin
gly fee
t I lay one
reques
t;
There's
not one
among
you \.Iho \.Iouldn't sprout \.ling if he cou ld. Circling higher,
next
t
im
e your hi
ghne.ss
, please
take
me
\.lith
you . high
er,
\.li
th
the
so
le
purpose
of
staying
aloft.
Jef R
ea
ha
rd
Jef
eahard
http:///reader/full/fello/.lshttp:///reader/full/fello/.lshttp:///reader/full/fello/.lshttp:///reader/full/highne.sshttp:///reader/full/highne.sshttp:///reader/full/highne.sshttp:///reader/full/highne.sshttp:///reader/full/fello/.lshttp:///reader/full/highne.ss8/12/2019 Vintage Airplane - Jan 1997
28/36
P SSdh
UCK
by E E
Buck
Hilbert
EAA 21 NC 5
P.O. Box 424 Un ion IL
60
180
Here's a problem that I can't direc
tl
y help
this fellow with - maybe one
of
you can sup
ply him with the needed part:
Dear Mr. Hilbert,
I own a Taylorcraft 15A, one the six still
flying
or
flyable
in
the U.S.
The
T-
Craft
15A and the Aeronca 15AC both use the C
145, have identical motor mounts , and may,
ifmy eyes haven't deceived me, nearly the
same cowl. As we readers ofYintage know,
you own a 15AC and that leads me to you
for help.
My problem lies with the plug/cowl dis
tance on the
number
six cylinder,
which
is
too low to
allow
the use
of
a
conventional
s
hielded plug and wiring. My 15A
(N6653N) was restored in 1992 by a couple
of ge ntlemen in Ohio
from
whom I pur-
chased it Their solution to the plug problem
was to install a Champion C-26 plug in num
ber six
with
a strange ,
insul
ated wire cap
which is like nothing I or anyone at our field
has ever seen. It
's
that plug cap that I'm y-
ing to locate (or some other reasonable solu
tion to the height problem).
The plug cap
they installed came from a friend who
is
now
deceased and no one knows where he got the
part.
The
following sketch (above,
right)
gives you some idea of the design . It is la
beled Breeze 3202 with no other mark-
ing
s
It sort
of
looks like something from the
with a
reasonable solution would
be
grate-
fully received.
I ' m
particularly keen in
knowing how the problem , assuming it ex
ists, is resolved in the Aeronca.
Richard B. Roe
10141 Spring Lake Terrace
rounding the engine
is
unique. Even with
shielded plugs and harnesses, there is no
problem with clearance in the Aeronca
Sedan cowling - the engine has plenty oj
room. The Taylorcraft 15A used a cowlfrom
their production line.
be the envy of the biplane line at Oshkosh or
8/12/2019 Vintage Airplane - Jan 1997
29/36
BREEZE SP RK
PLU SHIELDS
Th
hield fit right ov r your pre Dt park p l u ~ s
and
ra
di .
hi
Id th m perfectly. They ar made n
two siz and fit all s
tand
aN: :lircr:lft plugs.
IZE No . 5 F its all plug$ lip to 1% I ngrh, such
as
the
B.
G.
o.
4 ,
4B.1,
482
,
4C,
58.2, Champion
M3,
Hurley
owruend
No.
300 aDd 437 , tc.
SIZE o. 6--Fits
ll
p lu gs
up
to 2" l
ength,
s
uch 5
th B.
G. Model
IX , t .
Th pri includes th
terminal
nut and
bur
no
ferrule for the spark
plug
wire.
o. 5 Brc zc
Spark
Pl
ug Shield
o. 6
Sr
czc Spark
Plu
g
Shi
Id .
No
.
3 1
40
-3 u a Tennio . t Nu .. Ea ch
No. 3154- 2 Ex I
ra
Ru b
ber
P
ack
il1
g.
Ea ch
o.
R
S I
O
Fe
rrul e for
conn ec
tin g Packa rd
bl e 10 r ~ u e hi
Id
h
ay not have
had
one installed when
it
came
rom the factory. Unless it came with a radio,
t
s
unlikely that th e shie
ld
was insta lled. s
ou mentioned, it was given to the restorers
of
our airplane by a now departed fr iend.
sfar as ignition noise
is
concerned, don t
orget to cast a critical eye on the P-leads that
ook your mag switch to
th
e magnetos
-
th ey re
otorious for eminating lots
noise
ifnot
hielded properly, or grounded as well. Other
ise, they act like nice long antennas, radiating
Ffor your radio recieve. Keeping the antenna
s far aft as possible is also a good idea.
The top cap that Jfou nd is
not lined
with
Bakelite, but it certainly
mak
es sen
se
that it
would be.
What
other solutions are available to
Richard? Ca n anybody else help us youngfe
l-
lows out on
th
is neat little solution
to
an annoy
in
g problem? fyou c
an
supply Richard with one
of
the Breeze Spark Plug Shiel
ds
fee lfree to drop
him
a
lin
e at the address listed above. - HGF
The Fleet IO's Fahlin prop decided after,
gos h
knows how long
, to
delamin
ate. In a
=Iuandary, I looked at an old Hamilton, and a
Hamilton Standard that I've been sitting on for
years and dec ided that maybe it was time to
,witch the Warner over to a metal prop.
A closer inspection
of
the Hamilton was dis
leartening. It
was on loan to the Sun ' n Fun
\1useum for several years and they had sent it
Jut to a prop shop for overhaul. It was very ap
Jarent on close in spection, that it had been
packing
J.50
3.50
20c
10c
hi
Ide