Vintage Airplane - Jul 2002

8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Jul 2002

1/36


2/36

VOL.

30, No. 7

JULY

2002

STRAIGHT

&

LEVELlButchJoyce

2

VAA

NEWS/H.G. Frautschy

4

MYSTERY PLANE/H.G. Frautschy

6

PAUL RINALDO

REDFERN

THE FIRST AVIATOR

TO

FLY SOLO

ACROSS

THE

CARIBBEAN

SEA/

Thomas

avage

&Ron

Shelton

10

JOHN MILLER RECALLS

AVIATION IN THE 1920s/John M. Miller

13 HE SAID SHE SAID/Ken Morris

17 NEW LINDBERGH EXHIBIT

MISSOURI

HISTORICAL

SOCIETY'S

EXPANDED

EXHIBITION

SHOWCASES

THE LIFE AND

LEGEND OF CHARLES A. LINDBERGH!

H.G.

Frautschy

21 PASS

IT

TO BUCK/Buck Hilbert

22 CALENDAR

28

CLASSIFIED

ADS

30

VAA MERCHANDISE

WWW VINTAGEAIRCRAFT ORG

http:///reader/full/WWW.VINTAGEAIRCRAFT.ORGhttp:///reader/full/WWW.VINTAGEAIRCRAFT.ORG


3/36

STR IGHT

e LEVEL

Y

ESPIE

BUTCH

JOYCE

PRESIDENT, VINTAGE ASSOCIATION

E

AirVenture s

a

Comin

s I write

this there s about

a

month

to go before many of

us will gather

in

Oshkosh for

E

AirVenture. There's

plenty to

do as we get ready. Like many of

you, Norma and I will have to work

a little harder and get quite a bit ac

complished before we can take two

weeks off

to

work and

enjoy

E

AirVenture. We'll see you there

Let

me take just a

few

lines to ex

press my appreciation to those of

you who were able to contribute to

the

2002 V

Friends of the Red

Barn campaign.

Your

generosity will

enable

the V

to better serve V

members during the convention.

In the past, we've chosen to pro

vide services to

both members and

the genera l

public

that, for

what

ever reason, were needs

that

were

not being current

ly addressed.

Here's a prime example: the V

Tall

Pines Cafe. For

many

years

the

association has asked for a greater

level of food service

on the

south

end

of the airport, and unfortu

nately, the needs of our

members

and our

fellow

E

fly-in campers

of

the

field are

not present during

the

midday

and

often make

other

arrangements for their evening

meal. We

realize

that

may

very

well be a I chicken and egg"

syn

drome and

that

there

may

be

a

need for other meals, so we ll

closely

monitor

comments

to

re

fine

our operation.

V

Director

John

Berndt

is

the

chairman for

the

Tall Pines Cafe,

and

he ll be

operating it

entirely with volun

teer help. We

hope

the

Tall Pines

Cafe will become a morning gath

ering spot for members in much

the

same way the

Red

Barn's porch

is

on

the north end

of

our

area.

One

of the reasons the Red Barn

is

so popular can be

summed

up

in

one word-hospitality.

And

the

chairperson who personifies hospi

tality is V

Host/Activities

Chairman Jeannie Hill. Believe me,

that

short

title doesn t

completely

describe all of the

things

Jeannie

does. Like

many

of us, she wears a

bunch of different hats, organizing

the

V

picnic,

V information,

media

relations,

the V fly-out,

formation on this year's event.

On

a more serious note, I've no

ticed that we've seen an increase

in

the accident

rate

for tailwheel

equipped airplanes,

primarily

during

the

landing phase of flight.

t seems that

some folks have let

their feet fall asleep over the winter

months.

ll

of

us can

benefit from

a little dual instruction every year,

even when we feel we're

at the top

of our game. Little bad habits

can

creep into our flying, and having

an instructor along is cheaper insur

ance

than

paying

the

deductible

and increased rates

after

an acci

dent claim following a ground loop.

Also, be

sure

to keep your air

craft tied down when you re

hand-propping

an

aircraft.

Be

sure

your buddy

knows this, too. Sur

prisingly,

a number of accidents

that have occurred

due

to

inatten

tive hand

propping

occurred

when

a buddy of the owner was flying


4/36

Y NEWS

COMPILED

BY

H.G.

FRAUTSCHY

EAA AIRVENTURE OSHKOSH

2002 HIGHLIGHTS

This is the

50th

gathering

of

EAA members for their annual

convention,

and EAA

AirVenture

promises

to

be

a

great

event,

with

plenty to

do and

see.

Each day

has its own special theme:

• Members '

50th

Celebrat ion

Day: Tuesday, July 23

• Countdown

to

Kitty Hawk Day:

Wednesday, July 24

. Sounds

of

Speed Day: Thursday,

July

25

• Recreational Aviation Day: Fri

day, July 26

• Salute to American Airpower

Weekend: Saturday, July 27

• Salute to American Airpower

Weekend: Sunday,

July

28

. Kids' Day:

Monday,

July 29

Each

day

is

chock-full

of

activi

ties and events, so be sure to see the

full schedule of events for each

day's

theme

at airventure org

You'll also find

each day

detailed in

your copy of

the

official

EAA

Air

Venture

Oshkosh

2002 program.

VAA

PICNIC

Tickets for

the

Wednesday,

July

24, annual VAA picnic held at

the

Nature

Center

will

be

available for

sale

at

the

Red Barn for 8.

Note

R W Buzz Kaplan

Just

as

this

issue was going

to

press,

we

learned of the death of one

of antique aviation's staunchest sup

porters, EAA President's Council

member

R.W . "Buzz" Kaplan. Buzz

was

killed in the crash of his recently

completed Curtiss Jenny. Mechanic

Brent Langer was critically injured in

the crash.

Buzz of course, has been an active

VAA member

and

vintage airplane

enthusiast for decades, often bring

ing some of the most unusual aircraft

we've ever seen

at an EAA

conven

tion, including the Savoia-Marchetti

S-56 amphibian and the Curtiss

Robin on floats, not to mention his

epic collaboration with Sam Johnson

to create a pair of Sikorsky S-38 am

phibions. Our deepest condolences

to his family and many friends .

ARE YOU FRIEND

OF

THE RED BARN?

If

so be sure to check in at the infor

mation desk at the

VAA

Red

Bam.

There,

we'll issue you your special name badge,

and we'll let you know what the sched

ule is for our tram tours of the

VAA

area.

We can also point out the location for

the

Ford Tri-Motor rides. If you have

any questions, feel free to

ask

for Theresa

VAA

MESSAGE CENTER

If you would like to leave a message

for

people you know who frequent the

VAA Red Barn, stop by the information

desk. You can write them a message in

our "notebook

on

a string,"

and

we'll

post their name on the marker board

so

they'll know there's a message waiting

for them. Sure, cellular phones

and

walkie-talkie radios are great, but some

times

nothing works bet

ter

than

a

hand-scribbled note!

LINDBERGH S

75th

ANNIVERSARY

This year we

commemorate the

75th anniversary

of

Charles

Lind

bergh's solo flight across the Atlantic.

We'll

have

a

special

celebration at

the VAA

Red

Barn, sponsored by His

toric Aviation. We'll remember

Lindbergh's epic flight

the

morning

of Friday, July 26. Check

in

at

the

Red Barn for

the

exact time.

FRONT

COVER The

roar of a radial, the

lines that are pure

1930 s

Art Deco the

Spartan Executive is a rare, highly sought

after aeronautical treasure. Ken and

Lorraine Morris bought their dream airplane

in

pretty rough shape, and have put

an

exceptional amount of work into the airplane

to bring it up to showplane condition. Photo

by Don Parsons, shot

on 100 ASA

Fuji slide

film. Photo plane flown by Lorraine Morris.

BACK COVER:

Freedom

Formation From

Sea to

Shining

Sea

is the title of this patriotic

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


5/36

FLY-OUT

The annual fly-out to Shawano

is

Saturday, July 27. The sign-up sheet

will be at

the

desk at

the

Red Barn,

and the briefing will be at 7 a.m. the

morning

of the fly-out. This year

the

meal

will

be

provided

at

the

Shawano airport, so there will be

no

need

to leave the

airfield

.

We re

hoping to have a good

turnout

this

year

to

make up

for the weather

cancellation last year. The commu

nity

of Shawano

is

a big supporter

of

VAA and puts forth a lot of effort

to sponsor this event. It does a great

job, and we hope you ll help

us

thank Shawano by joining

us.

CD WRITER

As more of

us

use

digital

photography

to capture our

memories

of spe

cial events, we're

caught by one

fact of life-those little Compact

Flash or Smart Media cards

don t

always hold all the pictures we'd

like to take.

We

' re going

to

help

you with this dilemma by offer

ing to download your images and

burn

them

to

a

compact disc

CD), all for a nominal fee. Bring

your

digital

camera to

the

VAA

Red Barn,

and

see

how

easy it is

to savor your stay in Oshkosh.

RED

BARN

STORE

The VAA Red Barn store, chock

FRIENDS OF

THE

RED BARN HONOR ROLL

Our thanks

to

those listed for

their

generous support

of the

Vintage Aircraft Association s activities

and

programs during

EAA

AlrVenture Oshkosh.

Jaime P. Alexander • Council

Bluffs

IA

David K. Allen .

Elbert

CO

Lowell

T.

Baker Effingham IL

Lawrence A.

Bartell

Waukesha WI

David A.

Belcher Abington MA

Steve Bender

. . .

Roanoke

TX

Jesse

W. Black

III.

.

Maplewood

MN

Raymond

B. Bottom , Jr Hampton, VA

Robert

C. Brauer

. . . . . Chicago

IL

Jerry

A. Brown

. Greenwood , IN

Col

. Harvey S. Browne . . . Ferndale WA

Bruce

L. Campbell

.

Agu

i

la AZ

Peter

Chamberlain

. . . .

Beds

,

UK

David Clark . Plainfield IN

Geoffrey

E.

Clark MD . Portsmouth NH

Sydney B. Cohen . . . Wausau WI

Larry

Collins . . Lake City MI

Douglas J. Conciatu

Sterling

Heights,

MI

Jack Copeland

. . . Northborough MA

Michael J. Damone

'. Bloomfield Hlls, MI

Martin

A.

Ditmore

Las Cruces

NM

Francis

E.

Donahue . . . Wappingers Falls NY

William Dunn . . . . . . Liverpool NY

Doug

Ferguson . . . . .

New Market

NH

William Fie lds .

Hazard

, KY

Thomas G. Rock .

. . . . . . . . Rockville IN

Henry

G. Frautschy . . : . .

Oshkosh

WI

Ray

Fulwiler

.

. . . . . . . . . .

Algoma

WI

Timothy

M.

Gallagher

. .

Poplar Grove

IL

Richard

G

annotti

. .

Brookhaven

NY

Robert

L.

Graham . . . . . . . Chandler,

AZ

Arthur F Green . Palos Heights IL

Jennifer S. Ledman • Gaithersburg

MD

Jimmy Leeward • . • •

Ocala

FL

Earl F livingston Albuquerque NM

Russ

C.

R. Luigs . . Bandera, TX

Robert

D.

Lumley

• • •

Brookfield

WI

Robert Maher

•

.

N.

Augusta

SC

W. Saxon

Moore

Tulsa

OK

Frank

J. Moynahan • Clearwater FL

Eugene E.

Nabors

.

Berlin MI

William

E. Nelson

Juneau AK

Boynton L. Nissen Troy, MO

John and Anna Osborn

. . .

Kerrville

TX

Richard

and

Sue

Packe

r . .

Radnor

OH

William

E. Parent . . Redmond WA

George

Parry Ventura CA

John M. Patterson . Frankfort KY

John

M. Patterson. . Lexington

KY

Don E. Petty .

Saticoy CA

Allan L.

Plapp

. Poplar Bluff

MO

Louis S. Radwanick . . .

Virginia

Beach

VA

Theodore Reusch . Anaheim Hills CA

Dean Richardson

. . . . Stoughton

WI

Milton

Ruesch

. .

Medford

WI

Sally E. Ryan Mounds View MN

Shuji Saitoh Kita Ku Sapporo

Japan

Doug

Schiller

. Warrenville

IL

John A.

Schlie .

.

Cocoa

,

FL

S.H. O

Wes

Schmid

.

.

.

Wauwatosa

WI

William B. Scott . . . . . . Reno

NV

H. Burkley

Showe

. Columbus OH

Bob

Siegfri

ed

.

Downers Grove

IL

Charles

Starr

. . . Niceville

FL


6/36

BY H G F R A U T S C H Y

APRIL 'S M Y S T E R Y P L A N E

COMMAND AIRE

Lymburn,

Princeton,

Minnesota;

and Jun Amendola,

Bellevue,

Washington.

structor

in the

Chicago area

named Dwight Morrow. (In 1942

the airport was

enlarged

and be

came

the

renowned

Naval

Air

Station-Glenview.)

While attending the annual

E

fly-in at Arlington, Washing

ton,

in

July 1991, I was surprised

and thrilled

to

see a restored

Command-Aire

arrive

(q u ietly

with

a

Wright

J-6-7

up

front.

Naturally, I

took

a half-dozen pic

tures

and have

enclosed

two

prints. The man on the left is


7/36

owner/pilot Robert Locke of

Visalia,

California. Since then

I

have

not seen

Locke and

his

Command-Aire at any of the

Ar-

lington

events .

Cheers

Jim Stubner

Mercer Island, Washington

T H I S

M O N T H S

M Y S T E R Y

P L A N E

OMES

TO

US VIA

TH E C O L L E C T I O N

OF

P E T E R

B O W E R S ,

S E A T T L E ,

W A S H IN G TO N .

And from

Ed

Kastner, Elma, New

York

we have this addition:

It

is a Command-Aire Model 5C

3,

powered with

a

Curtiss

Challenger engine of

185

hp. It

was built in Little Rock, Arkansas,

by a company of the same name,

under

Approved Type

Certificate

SEND

YOUR

ANSWER

TO : EM,

VINTAGE

AIRPLANE

, P.O.

Box

3086,

OSHKOSH

,

WI

54903-3086 . YOUR

ANSWER NEEDS TO

BE

IN

NO LATER THAN AUGUST 15

FOR

IN-

CLUSION IN

THE

OCTOBER

2002 ISSUE OF

VINTAGE AIRPLANE .

You

CAN

ALSO

SEND YOUR RESPONSE

184, issued in Ju ly

of

1929.

The frame

visible

at

the rear

of

the rear cockpit raises a question

as

to

its purpose.

It

will be interesting

to see if

the

photo

had an

explana

tion

for it.

And Dick

Harden, Rickfie

ld,

Minnesota , also noticed a few de

tails:

Must be

getting

ready for a high

alti

tude

fl

igh

t .

Note

the

way

the

pilot

is

dressed with no

snow

on

the

ground. And

the extra hatch

structure around

the

rear cockpit

headrest.

We didn t get an explanation

as

to

the tubular frame's purpose, so

if

any

readers

can

fill

in

the

details,

we'll pass

them

along.

Our thanks

again

to Bruce Mi

ll

er

of Harahan

,

Louisiana,

for sharing this

photo

with

us.

VIA E-MAil . SEND YOUR ANSWER

TO

vin

t g

@

org

BE SURE TO INCLUDE BOTH

YOUR

NAME

AND

ADDRESS (ESPECIAllY YOUR

CITY AND STATE ) IN THE BODY OF YOUR

NOTE AND PUT

(MONTH)

MYSTERY

PLANE " IN THE SUBJECT LINE

mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


8/36

olumbia

viator and

His Stinson

Detroiter

Remembered

Paul Rinaldo Redfern

The first aviator to

ly

solo acro

the

aribbean Sea

THOMAS SAVAGE AND RON SHELTON

P

aul Redfern is an aviator whose

short

career

is

hardly known

outside of the area in which he

lived

and

flew decades ago,

but

his

legacy is being kept alive though the

efforts of a group of South Carolina

aviators and the South Carolina State

Historical Society

At age

16 Redfern built and flew a

biplane-type glider

on

the

outskirts

of Columbia, South Carolina. In his

sophomore year industrial arts class

at Columbia High School, he built a

full-size biplane

without an

engine.

It created a local sensation when dis

played

at the University of

South

Redfern n his homebuilt biplane at the field of the Redfern Aviation Company

Carolina and resulted in

his not

graduating

the

following year

with

his

senior class.

Because of his After graduating from high school

flight. Gertrude

and

Paul

did not

demonstrated skills and talent

and

Paul Redfern earned his living

as an

have any children, and she never

re-

with his parents permission he left aviator. In addition to his small bi

married. She died

in

1981

and

is

the area upon the completion of his plane he acquired and flew a Curtiss

buried in Detroit.

second year in

high school

to

work

Jenny IN-4 and a de Havilland DH-

Paul Redfern attempted

to

fly


9/36

same type of engine used

on

Lucky

Lindy s Spirit

St.

Louis.

According to

Aircraft Circulars, National Advisory

Committee

for

Aeronautics, prepared

by

the

Stinson Aircraft Corporation

and published in

Washington

in

1927, The Stinson Model

SM-1

was

the first monoplane of the illustrious

'Detro iter' series and successor to the

popular

SB-1

cabin biplanes. The first

SM-1

ever built won

the

1927 Ford

Air Tour,

flown by

Eddie

Stinson him

self. Thirty-six planes were reported

built in 1927, and many were used in

attempts to set

world

records .

Al

though comparatively large, the SM-1

performed and

handled well

and

could be

landed in the traditional

cow pasture. The factory price was

$12 ,

000 to 12,500

and included

such standard equipment

as

inertia

type engine starter, metal propeller,

wheel brakes

and

wings wired for

Gertrude Hildebrand

Redfern sitting and

Paul Redfern stand-

ing next to the

biplane

he

built and

flew as a high school

senior

die

Stinson tried to

persuade Redfern

that

two days of fly

ing

was

more than

a

man

could stand.

He

was unabl

e,

how

ever,

to convince

Redfern to

take

an-

other pilot with him.

Redfern had the Detroiter painted

green

and

yellow with white letter

ing. The author notes

that

green and

yellow are the colors of the Brazilian

flag .

On

both sides

of the

fuselage

just

behind the

engine

were

the

words Port of Brunswick.

In

bold

letters behind

the

wing's

trailing

edge was Brunswick

to

Brazil. In

large letters

on

the upper

and

lower

wing was the registration number

is

sued

by

the

U.S.

Department

of

Commerce, NX773.

Among those monitoring the

flight

nothing

was heard from any

one

by

the time Redfern's fuel would

have

been exhausted

by 4:30 p.m.

on

August 27.

By

that

time

the

fes

tive

atmosphere in

Rio de

janeiro,

where

the president of

Brazil

and

the movie star Clara

Bow

planned to

greet him, had ended

with

the

knowledge

that

he and his

plane

Redfern surfaced,

as

the captain and

crew of a ship, then docked in New

Orleans, reported their unexpected

encounter with him and his brightly

colored airplane.

This unexpected

encounter

took

place on August 26, 1927, at approx

imately 3:00 p.m.

and

lasted about

45

minutes. The ship was the Christ

ian Krogh, a Norwegian steamship.

t

was near

the island of

Trinidad

and

about 165 miles off

the

coast of

Venezuela.

Approaching the ship

from

the

north, Paul Redfern began

to circle

the ship at

a low altitude.

He

wrote a note

on

a piece of paper

asking

the

captain to point the ship

toward land, and

to

wave a flag or

handkerchief once

for

each 100

miles.

He

signed

the note.

(His fa

ther

later verified his

handwriting

and

signature.) He

put the

note in a

carton and dropped

it

toward

the

ship. Unfortunately it landed

in

the

ocean.

A

crewman

dived

into the

water

and

retrieved

the

carton. After

the captain read

the

note he had the

ship

turned

to

point

toward

Venezuela

and

blew the ship's whis

tle

two times.

Redfern lined his

plane up with the direction

of

the

ship, wagged

the

wings

of the

air

plane

in appreciation,

and began

flying away toward Venezuela.

When Redfern

did not

arrive

at

the

airfield

in

Rio de

janeiro

as

planned, a massive sea, land, and air

search took place and lasted for sev

eral days. After his

encounter

with

the

Norwegian ship became known,

there were successive expeditions to


10/36

was being held captive by an

Indian

tribe after he had fallen from the sky.

These

reports became

so

frequent

and persistent in various newspapers

and

on

the radio that the U.S. gov

ernment

became concerned and got

involved

in

the renewed

search for

Redfern. The Smithsonian Institution

sponsored one expedition. The last

expedition took place in 1938

when

Paul's parents contracted Theodore

Waldeck to search for their son and

his airplane. On April 28, 1938, a re

port was sent from

Georgetown,

British

Guyana,

with

the

headline

U.S.

Searching Party Reports Redfern

Dead. The

report

went

on to

say

that

the

Waldeck

group,

led by

Theodore Waldeck, an ex-World War

I

pilot

and his

author

wife,

Jo

who

had spent considerable time in the

Guyana

wilderness,

reported that

they

had found

the spot where the

aviator fell in Venezuela. Their report

was based on a statement by a native

who

said

that

he had seen Redfern's

plane

crash into some trees. The

Waldecks were

not

able to get to

the

spot

because of a

wetter-than-usual

season. The area in question was full

of sinkholes, poisonous snakes,

and

black widow spiders.

The

Waldecks

returned to

Columbia

to discuss

their findings with Dr. and Mrs. Red

fern. Although the Redferns initially

accepted the Waldecks' conclusion

that Paul

was dead, they later

changed their minds, believing

that

their only son had landed

else

where and that he was still

alive

.

They

had heard

from famed

pilot

A large number of

observers

and

supporters gathered to watch the

UJdeparture

of

the

Stinson

SM l

o

b from a runway

on

the beach at Sea

i Island, Georgia.

Redfern right) and a colleague

be-

side the Stinson SM l.

which

Redfern's wife

sought

to have

him

officially

declared

dead. Mrs.

Redfern was quoted as saying, I be

lieve

my husband

perished, as

did

many other ocean fliers. Also, she

said she believed that

the

scientific

expeditions by

trustworthy

agencies

have

proven

conclusively that

her

husband was

not

alive but had per

ished

at

sea.

In an article

published

in

Art o

Flight artist/author

Robert Carlin

states

that

in

1982

Gene

Lowe and

David Bell got together for the pur

pose of

locating the Stinson

Detroiter. Gene Lowe is identified as

a former World War

II

pilot who has

located a number of lost and wrecked

planes, including a Stinson Detroiter

SM-1 from

the Greenland

ice

cap

where it had been for 40 years. David

Bell is described as a successful au

thor

of a

number

of

aviation

books,

they were made because Angel was

known

for

his bombast,

especially

when he was trying to raise money,

and

because it seemed incredible

that Redfern actually had

managed

to reach Venezuela. Jimmy Angel is

best

remembered today

for discover

ing

the

highest waterfall

in the

world in Venezuela, which is named

for

him,

Angel Falls.

During their research, Lowe and Bell

found a map and crash location for

Redfern's airplane that had been devel

oped at

that

time by Henri Villard, a

consular official, in Caracas. Quoting

again from Robert

Carlin,

Villard

compared Angel's

data

with

that

of

Christian Krogh's crew and found an

immense amount of

commonality in

all of it. Lowe and Bell then located

Marie Angel. They were unable to talk

with Jimmy because he died in an air

plane crash in 1956. Marie talked about


11/36

E

Chapter

242

to

Commemorate

the

75th

nniversary of

the Redfern Flight

August

25, 2002, will

be

the 75th

an

niversary of Paul

R Redfern s historic flight.

On

Saturday, August 24,

EAA

Chapter 242

will

host

a one-day aviation

event.

Amorning

ceremony is scheduled

to

remember and

honor Paul R. Redfern.

A

Stinson

Detroiter

SM-2 will

be

present.

Among the

honored

guests will be one of Paul Redfern s

nephews,

who currently lives with his wife in

Sumter, South Carolina. He was born shortly

after Paul s flight.

His

mother

named him

Paul

Redfern

Jennings after his uncle. Dur

ing the ceremony a 20-inch wingspan stick

and tissue model airplane of the Stinson

Detroiter

SM-1,

painted and

detailed to

look

exactly

like

the one Redfern

flew,

will be

ac

cepted from

master modeler

David

Smith of

Columbia . Bob Coble, mayor of Columbia,

and Dr. Miles Richards of the University of

South Carolina

History Department,

an

au

thority on

Paul

Redfern, will each deliver

remarks

. The owner

and

pilot of the Stinson

Detroiter

SM-2 will re-enact

Redfern s

take

off

in

1927, which will include a female

representing Gertrude

Redfern slipping into

the

cockpit for a final

embrace and

kiss. Af

ter a low pass

over

the airfield the pilot will

fly south until the airplane is out of sight.

The ceremony

will

then

conclude

with

the

dedication of a

plaque

stating that

Paul

Ri

naldo

Redfern was

the first aviator to solo

the Caribbean

Sea

, with a missing

man

fly

over of vintage aircraft and the dropping of a

wreath by

a

local aviator.

In addition to the 75th anniversary

remembrance, the theme of the event

will be the spirit of aviation adventure

and exploration. Several ladies

in avia

tion will participate, including one who

will make the first public flight

in

an

air

plane that she built. Prior to and after

the ceremony EAA Chapter 242 pilots

will volunteer their aircraft

and

their time

to implement the

Young

Eagles program.

Spectators will have the opportunity to

a plane fly

over

Venezuela's

Cuidad

Bolivar plaza. He

took note of

the

airplane's green and yellow

colors

and copied down

the number

NX773. He also

recalled

seeing a

thin line of black smoke trailing

back from the nose of

the

plane as

i t

turned

and

flew off toward the

southeast. Lowe

and

Bell referenced

a

book

published in 1942 by Denni

son

entitled

Devil Mountain that

includes

a

chapter about

his

en

counter with Redfern's airplane .

Robert Carlin painted what he

viewed as Redfern's last moments in

the air based

on the

information

in

Dennison's book.

The authors

are fa-

miliar

with

Lee Dennison's

documentation

about Paul Redfern

in the book

Devil

Mountain.

This

is

one of several documents

that

indi

cate Redfern flew over the Caribbean

Sea from Georgia to Venezuela. Also

important is the

information

pro

vided by Jimmy Angel, and later

verified independently by Marie An

gel to Robert Lowe and David Bell.

Carlin

writes

that

Lowe

and

Bell

have flown over the most likely crash

site numerous times. He describes the

jungle as very

formidable

with no

trails cutting through it.

He

states with

conviction that Redfern's airplane will

be found because Lowe and Bell will

see to that. They know it's there. An

interesting

postscript

is

that the

au

thors of this article recently learned

that Lowe and

Bell

are

pseudonyms

.

Robert Lowe is actually Robert Carlin,

who is now deceased. David Bell is ac

tually Dale Titler,

who

has extensive

produced a movie about him,

Too

Hot

To

Handle starring Clark Gable.

In 1969 a plaque was dedicated

at

Sea Island, Georgia,

and

placed adja

cent

to

the

beach

from which

Redfern took off

in

August 1927.

Gertrude

Redfern was

present and

participated in the dedication . A

Stinson Detroiter SM-2 flew over

head during

the ceremony.

In 1982 a plaque was dedicated at

Dreher

High School

in Columbia

stating that Redfern established

the

first commercial airfield

at

that loca

tion

and was lost attempting the

flight

to

Brazil.

Chapter 90S of the Experimental

Aircraft Association

at

St. Simons,

Georgia, was named for Redfern when

it

was

formed in 1988. The

service

provided to fliers stopping at the club's

airfield while on their way to the EM's

annual Sun 'n Fun Fly-In in Florida is

provided in Redfern's memory.

The South Carolina Educational Tele-

vision Corporation, commonly known

as

SCETV produced a video about him

in 1988 which has been shown yearly

during the month of August.

Russell Maxey, who

attended

high

school

with

Paul Redfern and con

sidered him a

personal

friend ,

authored

a book entitled

Airports

of

Columbia in

1988 that he dedicated

to Paul Redfern,

and

several pages

and

many

pictures are

devoted

to

the Redfern story.

On

August 24, 2002, a plaque will

be

dedicated at

Owens

Airfield

in

Columbia stating

that Paul R. Red

fern was the first aviator

to

solo the


12/36

John Nill,rR,(alls

• •

•

Aviation in the 192 s

JOHN M.

MILLER

I

may be hard

to

believe but there was a time, less

than

a lifetime ago, when there were no

U.S.

flying

regulations (or even drivers' licenses in New

York .

Connecticut had some very restrictive aviation reg

ulations beginning in 1911,

but they

are mostly gone

now except for destructive taxes, of course.

When

I started flying

in

late 1923, at 18,

one

of my

great attractions

to

flying was

the

absolute freedom in

the

air. There were

no

aviation regulations

at

all.

We

were

free

as the birds.

Up

there aloft one was completely

alone-liberated. Without

radio

there

was

no

way

to

communicate for help, so it was imperative to be self-re

liant, or to

learn

how to

be. Flying

United States were Rand McNally state maps that showed

railroads (no roads), towns, and terrain such

as

mountains,

rivers and lakes. Those

that

were sold for aviation were

printed with red isogonal magnetiC lines, known airfields

(not airports in those days , and known elevations of

peaks

and various areas. I still have a mint condition Rand

Mc

Nally

Directory o Air Fields and amp Grounds

vintage

1923, which does

not

list a single airfield with a paved

runway in the United States. There were none. Brakeless,

tailskid-type airplanes and paved runways were

not

at all

compatible. The first paved runway I ever

saw

or landed

on was in 1929 at Miami, built

by

Pan American

Airways

for Fokker 3-Engine airplanes, which

was

the great adventure of the time.

had tail wheels. It is now MIA-Miami

The airplanes

were

almost all International. The first airplanes with

p

th,r,

aloft

WW I surplus types, mostly

the

Cur

nose wheels were the old Curtiss Pre

tissJN-4 or the StandardJ-1 biplanes

WW I pusher

biplanes.

Those nose

on,

w s

with

two

open cockpits.

They had

wheels were fixed,

not

steerable, and

no electrical systems, no radios, no

had a brake shoe

that

bore down on

lights,

no

flaps,

no

airspeed indica the tire, which was out in front of the

ompl,t.ly

alon.-

tors,

no

interphones,

no

engine

pilot, who was

out

in front of every

starters,

no

heaters,

no

navigation

thing

else,

in the cold wind.

lib,rat,d.

ystems,

no

fog-flying instruments,

About 1932 Waco provided a new

and no

wheel brakes, only a tail-

skid. The shock absorbers were simple rubber bungee

cords

that

produced great bounces if the landings

were

not

good

3-point.

The

altimeter had

a

single

hand, which made a partial circle

to

15 ,000 feet or so,

an altitude entirely unattainable by these

airplanes.

We would set them

to

ground level. Flying was practi

cally a continuous emergency!

There were

not

even carburetor heaters, so dead-en

gine landings were routine when the carburetor iced and

caste ring nose wheel on the Model N

cabin biplane, but pilots were very suspicious of it.

I t

was ahead of its time. The tailwheel

and

taildragger air

planes were directionally

unstable on the

ground, so

they

often

ground

looped, which means

to

reverse di

rection very violently and destructively. The early

tail dragger airplane's only braking was provided by

the

friction of

the

tailskid

on the

sod.

On

a paved surface

runway

there

was practically

no effective braking.

Without

brakes,

the

most effective directional control

http:///reader/full/ompl,t.lyhttp:///reader/full/ompl,t.ly


13/36

large steerable nosewheel airplanes.

My fondest

memories

are of flying those old bi

planes

in the days before regulations .

There

was

complete freedom of the

air

and we all took advantage

of it. One sport that I enjoyed the most

on

a fine sum

mer day was to fly up

into

the scattered, fluffy clouds

and play around in them. It was both fun and valuable

practice. Instrument flying first started in 1926 by

Howard Stark and was barely beginning to be practiced

after the Lindbergh flight in 1927. By the time I was

flying for a living in 1928, it was very rare for any air

plane to be flown

on

instruments,

and

then

only by

the air mail pilots who had learned from Howard.

So

the clouds were sterile of airplanes.

In a Jenny devoid of instruments, I could fly through

the

clouds without losing control. But if the time re

quired to get out the other side was too long, I would get

into the classic spiral dive and plunge out of the bottom

in a turn opposite to what I had sensed, just

as

Howard

had described in his 1926 pamphlet. It was exhilarating

flight check for an ATP I was limited to

th

e turn and

bank indicator. (Eastern

Air

Lines old test.)

In the early 1920s, it was seriously proposed to have

the

army

regulate all

fl

ying. The flying

communit

y,

such as t

then

existed, squashed

that

idea,

and

so a

long period without regulations continued until

th

e

Air Commerce Act of 1926 went into effect in 1927.

Then licensing and flying regulations started coming

into

effect;

they

became

mandatory

in 1928. Barn

storming became difficult under the new regulations,

so it soon ended. .

The period from 1919 to 1929 was the barnstorming

era, flown mostly with

WW

I surplus aircraft, but with

some new production aircraft from 1926 to 1930. The

surplus aircraft were open biplanes, mostly 2-seat train

ers,

unfit

for

cross-country

passenger carrying in

commercial operations due to

their short

range, low

speed, low load capacity, and low safety record. Also the

war surplus or pre-war designed surplus engines did not

have a long life or the best reliability.

fun to plunge into the clouds, dive

through the

cloud valleys

and

canyons, circle the white peaks and

castles, and spin

down

through a

cloud to break out of the bottom. The

Jenny was perfectly docile in a spin

and would spin as

long

as I could

count, recovering

in

one turn. It was

fun to loop up

into the

bottom of a

cloud and come out of it on the back

side of the loop.

All such flying was valuable prac

tice in maneuvering, which became

instinctive. Later in the early military

fighter biplanes, I would practice in

verted

maneuvers

and

even flying

through clouds inverted, using a tum

indicator. Being up

there

was like

bouncing around on a big soft mat

If

you

wond.r.d

why th.

old tim.

pilots

oft.n

wort

thos. whit.

scarv.s,

it originat.d to wip.

th.

oil from

th.ir

fac.s and

goggl.s.

Flying during that period was lim

ited mainly to flight instruction, sport

flying, local passenger hopping, and

itinerant barnstorming. The latter was

my forte and very successful with a new

production, excellent airplane designed

specifically for barnstorming, the New

Standard

D-25

.

t

was

a 5-place open

bi

plane with the latest engine, the Wright

J-5 of

225

hp (the same type as used by

Lindbergh on his famous trans-Atlantic

flight, which of course temporarily

stimulated barnstorming).

The year 1927

was

the busiest barn

storming period. That was also the

most

lucrative year for

the

famous

Gates Flying Circus. But at the end of

the

season the new regulations and

inspection system grounded all of

tress. When pulling out of a dive with one of those faster

fighters, the wingtips made vortex trails of visible vapor.

their war surplus planes and put the Gates Circus out of

business. They had carried at least a quarter of a million


14/36

they were used in

the

newly designed biplanes of various

makes, such

as

the Waco Swallow Eaglerock, American Ea

gle, Travel Air 2000,

and

others. Walter Beech and Lloyd

Stearman were associated in

the

production of

the

Travel

Air

2000. The 8-cylinder, 90-hp, water-cooled

V-8

OX-5 en

gines

had

exposed valve rocker arms

that

were

not

even

covered by cowling. They were lubricated between flights

by means of an ordinary squirt type oilcan.

You

had to stick

its spout into the little oil holes in each of the rocker arms

and

give it a

shot of

oil. Thus, a lot of surplus oil would

blow back into the faces of the pilot and passengers in

the

open cockpits.

f you

wondered why

the

old time pilots often

wore

those white scarves, it originated to wipe the oil from their

faces and goggles. The original OX-5 90-hp engines had a

single magneto but the later ones, the OXX-6 rated at 110

hp

,

had

dual magnetos. There were fewer of those.

When

the single magneto failed (and it often happened) there was

a dead engine landing to be made in a hurry, either a rather

happy

occurrence or a disaster. Beginning in about 1926,

some new engine designs, including

the

Warner

and

Kin

ner, began to appear mounted on the nose of those biplanes

and later

on the cabin types.

The era of open-cockpit biplanes powered by the 90-hp

OX-5

engines engendered a new air show sport,

the

popu

lar

OX-5

races. The engines had to be unmodified, and the

I

don

't

know,

Howard. Maybe

if we'd used Poly-Fiber we'd

only

change allowed in the airplane itself was a cover for

the

front cockpit to reduce drag

and

removal of

the

front

windshield. The pilots would fly

the

races with a light load

of fuel

and no

passenger. I even saw some take

the

front

seat cushions out

to

reduce weight However, I know that

when

the airplanes were flown

at high

speed, the wings

were at a very low angle of attack, thereby flying at low

LID

ratio with high drag. I won a

few

of those races by secretly

loading heavy sandbags in

the

covered front cockpit of a

Travel

Air

2000

and

flight testing to get

the

right load for

maximum speed. The wings

then

flew at higher

LI

angle

of attack

and the

fuselage was pOinted better

into the

air

stream. t would take longer

to

take off, but I would later

gain on my competition and win. I was challenged as hav

ing souped-up the engine, but the losers never did find out

about

the

heavy sandbags. They didn t know mu

ch

about

aerodynamics, if anything. I could have used a passenger

for weight, but the cockpit would be

open

and create un

wanted drag. I had a snap-on cover for the cockpit.

As

I remember,

the

first production cabin airplane was

the

Stinson cabin biplane with

the

early Wright J-4 radial

engine of 200 hp. t was of typical welded steel tube fuse

lage and wood wing construction

and

fabric covered. One

of those was used by Howard Stark to fly

the

mail,

and

in

which he

developed

the method of

using

the turn and

bank indicator to recover from

the

often fatal spiral dives

and to safely fly in fog. Fairchild produced a very successful

cabin

monoplane

with a radial engine and Robertson Air

craft, in St. Louis, put a 3-place cabin monoplane on the

market, the Robin, with an

OX

-5 engine. The company and

its design were later acquired by Curtiss-Wright,

and

they

installed a 165

hp

Wright radial engine in

the

Robin. That

was

the

plane used by "Wrong Way" Corrigan for his re

markable flight to Ireland. They were some of the first

U.S

.

cabin airplanes built in any quantity.

Lockheed developed

their outstanding

all-wood Vega

and the Orion, which

were

used

for record

round

the

world and trans-Atlantic flights, the latter by Lindbergh, for

many long distance exploration flights. Bellanca built a fine

cabin airplane that was flown nonstop

to

Germany by

Clarence Chamberlain,

and

Clyde Pangborn flew

one in


15/36

have done some flying for a

local aircraft broker in the

past.

Then

one

day

several

years ago, I got a call asking

me to come over and teach

KEN MORRIS

myself how to fly this Spartan so I

could demonstrate it for prospective

buyers. I was so excited

that

I

didn't

want to wait

for the

telephone

checkout" from the owner.

The telephone

arguably the coolest airplane ever built.

Any uncertainty was immediately

relieved

once airborne.

It

flew as

good as it looked I'd like to say it re

quired massive

male strength and

skill to

handle,

but except for the

ground visibility being poor (there

is

Lorraine

and

Ken Morris Spartan Executive owners from

Poplar Grove Illinois.

checkout con-


16/36

Here s a shot you don t

see

very often; the landing gear is in transit as Ken cruises

in

the art deco flying sculpture.

but I have

another

Spartan for you

to pick up in Texas/' said the broker.

"No kidding," I said. The owner

had decided it

was

more

than

he

needed

to

deal

with,

and I was

to

bring

it

up

here

where the broker

could clean it

up

and sell it. t

needed it...bad. It was Father's Day

weekend 2000,

and

I thought

my

dad

might

enjoy

an

adventure. So

we

met in Dallas

and

flew to Amar

illo via Southwest Airlines.

When

we

got

there, four

hours

late because

of

thunderstorms in

Dallas, it was ready

to

go. Fuel, oil,

and about 65 pounds of radios that

were

so

old they couldn't spell VOR.

was new, and

it

had less than 100

hours

on

it since a major overhaul.

Unfortunately, that was in 1980.

Armed

with

a

handheld

VHF

transceiver and a portable GPS, Dad

and

I blasted off chasing daylight.

Other than the mouse

nests

and

spent

sunflower

seeds flying into

my face, the takeoff was unevent

ful.

Climbing

on top of the haze,

wearing Texas clothing (cutoffs and

a T-shirt), I

immediately became

aware of the standard lapse rate, es-

pecially since

the

large 4-inch main

air

vent

between

the

rudder pedals

had no shut-off. This great ventila

tion

system

was

soon

augmented

been

oil

on the right

side

of the

windshield,

but

for some unex

plained reason it

seemed

to start

flowing with great enthusiasm. Even

though

a little oil looks worse

than

it really

is,

we figured we'd rather be

safe than sorry. (Now we think

of

this.) When a big hole over Newton,

Kansas,

opened

up, we thought we

should investigate and warm up.

Slight left crosswind, wing down,

left

main,

right

main,

left aileron,

more, more, tail down, full aileron,

just a little

right

brake, where the

hell

is it? Grab. Left brake. Grab.

Tailwheel shimmy. Grab, shimmy,

grab, shimmy, grab. Stop. That was


17/36

(/)

z

g

a:

it

z

8

After restoration, the panel's

new

equipment blends

neatly

with the beautifully exe

cuted interior done by Lorraine, who has a particular affinity for aircraft upholstery.

There

it

sat,

the

stepchild it was, proud

as ever. Not a drop

of

oil

on

the ramp!

(That

scared me.) After fuel

ing

(it liked gas),

we

were

off.

I t

was a

per-

fect

morning to fly,

not

a

ripple en route. In

spite of all its quirks, we

realized it flew remark-

In Amarillo, Texas, Gene Morris cleans

the wind-

ably straight.

shield of the Spartan before he and son

Ken

ferry I

figured

I

might

as

the airplane to northern Illinois .

were suspect.

Not to

mention that

I

didn't

even know if

it

had

any

in

terior lighting!

Whoever ends up with this was

really going to have their hands full.

"What a piece of . ."

The

next

leg was less everything.

Less long, less

high,

less cold, less

mouse

stuff, less oil. Dusk and as

phalt met in Centerville, Iowa. Less

well

go to

my

house

first and park

it

in the

yard for a

"photo

op. "

After all,

there's

no way

Lorraine, my

wife

and

fellow airline pilot, would even

consider such a monster. Especially

with

the work necessary, and her

beloved Bonanza would have

to

go.

Oh

well, I'd

get

a

picture anyway

.

Shimmy, grab, shimmy, grab,

shimmy, grab, stop. "What a piece

of..."

one

hand on

the

yoke, one hand on

the

radio .. .oops,

out

of hands. Radio

in the lap. I could still hear.

"Cleared

to

land, Runway 25."

"Roger (whoever he is)."

Left

main,

right main,

STAY

OFF THE DARN BRAKES,

keep

the

tail up,

aileron, that

's it, hold

the

tail

up

.

"Spartan 836, say parking."

Hold it up,

no

brakes, just hold it.

"Spartan 836, Rockford."

Hold

i t

up, more aileron.

"Spartan 836, how do you read?"

Slowly fly

the

tail down, that's it.

"Spartan 836, Rockford."

Shimmy,

grab, shimmy, grab,

grab, "Darn," stop.

"Spartan

836, Rockford, say

parking."

Luckily, the radio had fallen out

of reach during

the landing,

and I

was able

to

calm down before I spoke

to the

tower.

In spite of it all, I knew Dad and I

had a

good time.

I

hoped whoever

bought it would give it a good home.

It

deserved

the

best

because

it

was

way

ahead

of its

time and

a real

treasure.

Maybe I could take Lorraine for a

ride someday. I hoped she wouldn 't

fall for this

thing.

t would be too

much work, too

much money,

too

much time, just... too

much. I t did

look good in

the

yard,

though

.

Close to

a dream is

better than

never having dreamed ... Be happy

with

what

you

have ... The grass is

always

greener. .. (Who comes up


18/36

She

Said

By LORRAINE

MORRIS

n

June

2000,

my

friend, Janet,

and

1

participated

in

the

Air

Race Classic, an all women's

cross-country air race.

We

were

having

a blast, zooming across the

country, when a local aircraft broker

asked my husband, Ken, to bring a

Spartan Executive from Texas

to

Illi

nois for the broker to sell. Ken took

his dad with him, and they went on

their own adventure.

[ should

have

known something

was going to hap

pen, because

when the two

of them

get together, look out Looking back,

1

believe they were

conspiring

against me.

We

kept in

touch

with cellphones

and traded

stories of our adventures

each evening.

Ken was always refer

ring

to this Spartan

in such

glowing

terms as, "What a piece of..." Well,

that is just Ken's way of saying

the

air

plane was going to need some work.

1 was

thinking

that 1 was happy

that

he got to

fly

a Spartan again.

He

was

hired by the broker to demon

strate

another

Executive

the

previous

year,

but

it sold so fast

he didn't

get

to

fly

it much. He has always drooled

over Executives, so it was great

that

he could

fly another

one. When the

race was finished, Ken

and janet's

husband,

Scott,

flew

out

to Massa

chusetts in

our

(read my) Bonanza

to

pick us up.

The whole

way

home, Ken kept

dropping hints

about the

Spartan.

o

g

t

z

o

0

to Rockford to "see" the airplane. He

was right; it needed a lot of work. But

he was also right in

that

it was all stuff

we

could

do

(I thought).

The

next

thing

1 knew, he had pulled it out. He

said I

could

see it better in the

sun

light.

(Yeah )

"Hey," he said,

"want

to

go

for

a

ride in it?"

(He

was really

working

it )

So

we piled in

and

away

we went. "Boy,

Lorraine,

you look

great in the airplane." Did I

mention

he is a

major schmoozer

when he

wants something?

While

we

were out flying, he

landed at our

house.

(We live on

Poplar Grove airpor t in

northern

Illi

nois.) "Let's

put

it in

the

hangar,"

he

said,

"just to

see if it will fit."

Good

grief So,

we put it

in

the hangar,

and

yes, it fit. Right

about now,

I

could

see

that he

was

hooked.

Bad.

He

said

we could do

our own little

pre-buy while

we

had

it

in

the

hangar,

out of

the sun. So, we took

off

panels ,

went through the

logs,

and

realized that

we

were

going to

have

a

lot

of work ahead of us if we

were crazy enough to

buy

it. The air

Ken, on the

other

hand, has always

wanted a big

round

engine for his

very own. I could see his eyes light

up

when

he

looked

at the

Spartan. Sev

eral times his lower lip stuck

out

(kind

of like a pout)

when

he said, "Please?

Can

we

get it?"

So

we

had

"the

talk." I

was a little concerned that

the

Spartan

would

not

get

used

as

much

as our

Bonanza, and

that

our ability to just

get in

and

go would be drastically

re-

duced. I was also giving up

my

baby,

the

plane I

had

spent months looking

for, and

that

was going to be

tough.

Ken assured me that I would get

checked out completely in the Spar

tan, and

that

I would be able to get in

and

go whenever I

wanted,

just like

with

the

Bonanza.

He also kept say

ing, "Besides,

you

will look soooooo

coooool

in it "

(That's

right,

he

ap

pealed

to my

vanity.)

So, we bought it.

We

sold my Bo-

nanza.

We sold my Cessna

150

taildragger. We sold just about every

thing

to get a

dumb

airplane. How

much sense

does that make? You

should

have seen the big smile

on


19/36

NEW LINDBERGH EXHIBITION

Missouri

Historical

Society s

expanded exhibition

showcases the life and legend

of

Charles A. Lindbergh

harles

A.

Lindbergh's

time

in

St. Louis,

Missouri, might have

been

brief,

but

his

impact

on

the

city's

fame

and

aeronauti

cal

glory

has

been

unparalleled.

The

Spirit

o

St. Louis

gave

the

city

the

type

of positive

name recognition that would make

any public relations staff giddy with

the results.

Seventy-five years after

the

flight

took place, the man

who put

it all

together

is

still

the

subject of books,

articles , and intense

scrutiny.

Charles

A.

Lindbergh's life was a fas

cinating and sometimes wearisome

journey,

as

he fought to keep his pri

vate

life

out

of

the headlines

yet

recognized that the fame he ab

horred could also be used to further

the causes for which he felt a pas

sion. In the early days after his solo

flight across the Atlantic, furthering

the

cause of

aviation

was his main

goal, but by the end of his life, fight

ing

for

environmental

causes

became a true passion.

Since 1962, the Missouri Histori-

H.G.

FRAUTSCHY

cal Society has owned a sister ship to

the

Spirit

o st

Louis This ship

was

formerly owned by Tallmantz Avia

tion and

was

one

of

the

airplanes

used during the filming of

the

1957

movie The Spirit o

St.

Louis starring

Jimmy

Stewart.

The airplane

was

originally a Ryan B-1, SIN 153, but

Tallmantz modified it

to

serve as

one

of

the

movie airplanes. I t was

later purchased by

the

Friends of the

Missouri Historical Society

and

pre

sented to the society in 1963.

Displayed

at

the world's fair in

New York in 1965,

the

replica was

flown over the city of St. Louis in

1967. Placed on display in 1975

in

the

terminal at Lambert Interna

tional

airport,

it was removed in

1998

and

restored

by

Langa Air

in

East Alton, Illinois,

with

support

from

the

Society,

Save-A-Connie

Inc., and Trans World Airlines.

The newly expanded Missouri

History Museum

now

has space to

accommodate

the

airplane,

so

it

now hangs in the atrium of the So

ciety's Emerson Center.

Shortly

after

his epic flight,

Charles

Lindbergh

lent the society

the constantly growing collection

of

trophies, medals,

and

gifts show

ered

upon him

as he

and

his flight

were

celebrated

around

the

world.

Later, Lindbergh and his

bride,

Anne, donated the collection, by

then

numbering almost

15,000

items. For many years,

the

bulk

of

the

collection was not available for

public viewing, but with the com

pletion of

the new Emerson

Center,

there

is

now

expanded

space for exhibits.

We visited the new building and

were intrigued by

the

variety of arti

facts

on

exhibit. From "Lindbergh's

Trunk" (which, by the way,

is

not

actually

located

within the

main

Lindbergh exhibit but retains its

place in

the

permanent

exhibit

"Seeking St. Louis," located

on the

second

floor of

the Emerson Cen

t e r be sure

to

see it, too )

to

a

sealskin kayak

presented

to

the

Lindberghs

on

their

trek

through

the frozen north, the artifacts are

spellbinding.

While

it's

certainly

best seen

in

person, here are a few photographic

highlights

of

the exhibition:


20/36

After a short exhibit of artifacts and photographs of Lind

bergh s

childhood

and

the beginning of

his

aviation

career, visitors to the exhibition come to this case where

the set

of

flying togs worn

by

Lindbergh on his trans-At

lantic flight are hanging.

In

the background is a cutaway

section

of

the cockpit

of

the

Spirit of

St.

Louis

complete

with a simulated instrument panel and the rubber life raft

lying

on

the stringers aft

of

Lindbergh's wicker seat. Stu

dents and staff

from Parks College

of

St. Louis University

built the cockpit section.

Thousands

of

objects and commemorative gifts were

created and given to Lindbergh. A sampling

of

the jewel

encrusted models, engraved plates, and medals struck

just

for the occasion are on display. (Below) Some gifts

have an interesting history, such as the pair

of

German

silver terrestrial and celestial globes, circa

1700,

which

were

sent

to Lindbergh

by

William Randolph Hearst.

Hearst tried to

persuade Lindbergh

to

star

in a movie

with Hearst s mistress, Marion Davies. Lindbergh tact

fully refused, and

in

passing conversation he mentioned

how impressed he was with the two globes pictured. The

next day, the globes were sent to Lindbergh. While he

ap-

preciated

the gesture,

Lindbergh

didn t

take the

bait,

and

the globes

be

came part of the Missouri

Historical Society's nearly

15,000-object Lindbergh

collection.

The

other

objects in

the photo are a gold jewel

box presented to him by

the city

of

St. Louis and a

silver and rhinestone

model

of

the Spirit made

by

Agnini Singer, Jewel

ers, of Chicago.


21/36


22/36

The

magnificent globe of the Earth was a wedding present

presented

to

Charles and

Anne

Lindbergh by B. Franklin

Ma-

honey, owner of

Ryan

Airlines when i t built the

Spirit

o st

Louis

In

the background are a series of display cases with

artifacts

given

to

Lindbergh during his national tour during

the late summer and early fall of 1927.

v ~

-

;

~

Aspects of Lindbergh's later life are also detailed in the

exhibition including

the

controversy surrounding Lind-

bergh

for

his

isolationist

views prior to

World War I

I

Arti facts from his America First movement and phono-

graph recordings of his speeches are on display.

Hanging in the

atrium

of

the Mac-

De

r

mott

Grand Hall

of

the new Emerson

Center at the ex-

panded Missouri

Historical Society is

this replica

of

the

Spirit

of St.

Louis


23/36

P SS IT TO

BUCK

BY E.E.

"BUCK" HILBERT,

EAA 21

VAA 5

P O

Box

424,

UNION,

IL

60180

The National

Museum

of

Naval viation

THIS YE R

DOROTHY

A DI DROVE

TO

Sun

n Fun . It

gave

us a chance to visit our

in-laws and outlaws and every wind

sock along the way. We took 10 days

just driving a circuitous route.

One of the greatest attractions we

revisited was the National Museum of

Naval Aviation at Pensacola, Florida.

For those of you who have not been

there

for

several years, and for those

who have yet

to

see

the place, I could

n t

recommend a more pleasant and

enlightening visit.

The improvements since our last

visit back in 1986 are next to unbe

lievabl

e.

The displays,

the

pristine

restored aircraft, and artifacts from

Period artifacts can do a lot to enhance the

presentation

of

an

aircraft

on

display. This

WWI era

poster

is displayed along with a

Curt iss IN-4, covered and painted on one

side so the public can see the wooden

structure beneath.

World

War

I through the present may

not be of interest to all of our mem

bership,

but

this

is

one of the finest

museums I've visited in years. Really,

there

is

something for everyone. Our

EAA AirVenture Museum is the best of

the best, of course, and the Museum

of Flight at Seattle's Boeing Field might

be a close second, but this one

is Navy,

Marine,

and

Coast

Guard, and

in

cludes some of the airplanes I

was so

much in love with when I was a young

boy, some I saw in World War II and

Korea,

and, of course, the latest

in

jets

as

well

as

some real oddballs no one

has ever seen.

I was so impressed that after about 20

minutes of

ogling

I

had to

present

myself

to Capt.

Bob

Rasmussen.

He

heads up

this wonderful facility, and he really

is

something

else.

An accomplished sculp

tor, painter, and administrator, you'll

find his work all through the museum.

who had volunteered many years

be

fore to help restore a gondola from

one of the blimps. He stayed on and

is

now a senior member of the restora

tion staff. We had a delightful "inside"

tour

and an even

better tour

of the

outside displays.

There were

so

many airplanes I'

ve

known and loved, most dating from

my first desires to

fly.

I can't begin to

describe all of them. There were Navy,

Marine, and Coast Guard airplanes of

every type and size . Take a look at the

pictures, and put this

one on

your

Places to

See

list.

Over to you,

The NC-4, the first

to cross the

Atlantic

in


24/36

FLY-IN CALENDAR

The following list

ofcoming

events is

fur

nished to our readers as a matter of

information only and does not constitute ap

proval, sponsorship, involvement,

control

or

direction

of

any event fly-in, seminars, fly

market,

etc.) listed. Please

send

the

informa

tion to EAA, Att: Vintage

Airplane,

P.O. Box

3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086. Informa

tion

should be received four months prior to

the event date.

JULY 20-21-Dayton,

OH-1st Eastern

Region Nat'l Aviation Heritage

Invitational cOinciding with 2002

Dayton

Air

Show. Co-sponsored by

Rolls-Royce North America, NASM,

Nat

'l Aviation Hall of Fame and Reno

Air

Racing Assn. No more

than

50 air

craft are selected for each Invitational.

Applications are

due by

June 15. For

details

on

eligibility and judging crite

ria, entry application, etc. contact

Ann

, 703-621-2839

JULY 21-Burlington, WI-10th Annual

Group

Ercoupe Flight Into AirVenture.

Wheels up at noon . Everyone welcome

to join. Info: 715-842-7814

JULY 24-0shkosh, WI-VAA Picnic at

AirVenture. Nature

Center

Pavilion,

6

8 p.m., Tram at VAA Red Barn begin

ning at 5 p.m. Type Clubs may reserve

tables. Info: Theresa 920-426-6110 or

[email protected]

JULY

26-0shkosh, WI-Moth Club

Dinner at EAA AirVenture 2002. At the

JULY

20-Cooperstown, NY- K23) Old

Pioneer Inn, Oshkosh, bar opens at

Airplane Fly-In & Breakfast Sponsored

6:30 p.m., Dinner at 7:30 p.m.

by EAA

Ch

. 1070. 7:30am- Noon, rain Directions distributed during Friday

or shine. Adults 4.00, Child ren under

morning s Moth Forum. RSVP to Steve

12 3.50. Pilots of 1962 or older air

Betzler at [email protected] or fax:

craft eat

free!

Info: 607-547-2526

262-538-0715

JULY

20-Alamosa CO-San Luis

AUGUST 4-Qlleen

City,

MO-15th

Valley Regional Airport Air

Show and

Annual Watermelon Fly-In. Applegate

Fly-In. Features classic warbirds

Airport. Info: 660-766-2644

(WWII), acrobatic exhibitions, cur

AUGUST 9-11-Alliance, OH-Ohio

rent

military aircraft,

experimental

Aeronca Aviators Fly-In and Breakfast.

aircraft, and homebuilts.

Pancake

Alliance-Barber Airport (201) . Info: 216

Breakfast. Event free

to

public.

Info

:

932-3475 or bwmatz

@y

ahoo.com or

719-852-9860.

www.oaafly-in.com

EAA Celebrates

a

Century of

Powered

Flight

with

the most

exciting

and most

loved

aircraft designs of the century!

Q: Looking for a fun way to support

EM programs, plan your

month

and enjoy some

EAA FLY-IN

SCHEDULE

2002

NORl IWEST

EM

RY IN

www.nweaa.org

July

1() 14, Arlington,

WA

EM

AlRVENTURE

0SII 0SIf

www.airventure .

org

July 23-29,

Oshkosh,

WI

EM GOUlEN

WEST

REGIONAl RY IN

www·gwfly-in.org

September 6-8,

Yuba

County

Airport

(MRV)

fAA

M11 .EAS1EJIN

RY IN

419447-1773 (telefax)

September 6-8,

Marion,

OH

VIRGINIA S lIIE fAA RY

IN

www.vaeaa.org

September 7-8, Dinwiddie

County

Airport

EM EAST COAST

RY IN

www.

eastcoastflyin.org

September 13·15,

Toughkenamon, PA

EM

sot/I1IWBT

R£GIONAI.

RY IN

www.swrfl·com

September 27·28, Abilene, TX

fAA

SOUIIIEAST R£GIOIW..

RY IN

www.ser{i.org

October 4·6, Evergreen, L

COPPEIISTA1E

fAA

RY IN

www.copperstate .org

October

1() 13,

Phoenix,

AZ

TYPE CLUB DINNERS AT A1RVENlURE

2002

Wednesd

ay

July

24 2002

Vintage Aircraft Association, Nature

Center

Pavilion,

6:00

pm,

Cost

$8.

Tickets should

be

purchased

thedayspriortodinnerat VAA

Headquarters/Red Barn. Trams from the

Red

BarntoNatureCenterbeginat

5:00

pm.

Th u

rsday

Jul

y 25 2002

Ercoupe OwnersClub, Hilton Garden Inn (north

side

of

Wittman Reid), 6 pm social hour, 7

pm roastturkey

or

potroastdinner. 20/per

son before 7/18. Reservations to J.M.

Abrahams,

4214 Aeur Dr., Suite 11, Des

Moines, IA

50321.

After

7/18, 25/person.

Seaplane Pilots Association corn

roast,

885

Ripple

Ave.,

4:3().8 pm. Noparkingavailable.

Buy

tickets

at SPAdisplaybooth.

Friday. July

26 2002

Bellanc&Champion,HiltonGardenInn,

6:30

pm.

A

private

room has been reserved. A Guest

of

Honor

willbe

announced

soon.Ticketsare

$25

each

and

early

purchase is highly

rec

ommended

.

Reservations at szegor@bellan

ca-championclub.com

or

518-731-6800

Eastern Cessna

190/195

Association,

Rn

'n

Feather,

Winneconne,

WI,

6

pm.

Reservations 44().777-4025. Limit 40

peo

ple. Cost is $25. Someone will

be at the

table in

theType

ClubTentWed.-Fri.,

1-2

pm

takingcareoflast

minutechanges

and

tofill

cancellations. If

you

can

provide

a

ride

to

Winneconne, please

stopby

the

t

ent

and

let

mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:///reader/full/www.oaafly-in.comhttp:///reader/full/www.nweaa.orghttp:///reader/full/www.airventure.orghttp:///reader/full/www.airventure.orghttp:///reader/full/www.airventure.orghttp:///reader/full/www%E7%A7%B7fly-in.orghttp:///reader/full/www.vaeaa.orghttp:///reader/full/www.eastcoastflyin.orghttp:///reader/full/www.eastcoastflyin.orghttp:///reader/full/www.eastcoastflyin.orghttp://www.xn--swrflm-mg0p/http:///reader/full/www.ser%7Bi.orghttp:///reader/full/www.copperstate.orghttp:///reader/full/www.copperstate.orghttp:///reader/full/www.copperstate.orghttp:///reader/full/www.copperstate.orghttp:///reader/full/www.copperstate.orghttp:///reader/full/ca-championclub.commailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:///reader/full/www.oaafly-in.comhttp:///reader/full/www.nweaa.orghttp:///reader/full/www.airventure.orghttp:///reader/full/www%E7%A7%B7fly-in.orghttp:///reader/full/www.vaeaa.orghttp:///reader/full/www.eastcoastflyin.orghttp://www.xn--swrflm-mg0p/http:///reader/full/www.ser%7Bi.orghttp:///reader/full/www.copperstate.orghttp:///reader/full/ca-championclub.com


25/36

UGUST100Tou

ghkenamon,

PA-EAA

Ch.

240,

28th Annual Fly-In/Drive-

In

Pancake

Breakfast.

8:00 a.m.

New

Garden Airport (N57) .

Young

Eagles '

Rally. Admission free. Info: 215-761-3191

UGUST

Aubum,

IN-Hoosier

Warbird Fly-In/Orive-In

and

Airplane

Auction. Oekalb County Airport.

Pancake/Sausage Breakfast. Info: 574

457-5924 or [email protected]

UGUST

17-Cooperstown, NY- K23)

Old Airplane Fly-In Breakfast

Sponsored by

EAA

Ch. 1070. 7:30

a.m.-Noon, rain or shine. Adults $4.00,

Children under 12 $3.50. Pilots of

1962 or older aircraft eat

free

Info:

607-547-2526

UGUST

17-Sp

earfish

SD-EAA

Ch

.

806 19th Annual Fly-In, Black Hills

Airport/Clyde Ice Field. Unicorn

122.80. Aircraft judging displays .

Camping under the wing for early

birds who fly in

on

Friday. Sat.

Breakfast served by Civil

Air

Patrol.

FAA

seminar.

SO

Aviation Hall of

Fame Induction Ceremonies 7:30

pm

Sat. Info: 605-642-0277 or

c21golay@mato .

com

UGUST

IS-Brookfield,

WI-VAA

Ch .

11 18th Annual Vintage Aircraft

Display and

Ice

Cream Social. Capitol

Airport. Noon-5 p.m. Includes Midwest

Antique Airplane Club

's monthly fly

in. Control-line radio controlled

models on display. Info: 262-781-8132

or 414-962-2428

UGUST

23-25-Mattoon

, IL-6th

Annual MTO Luscombe Fly-In.

Luscombe judging awards, forums

banquet. $50 cash to Luscombe

that

flies farthest to attend. Info: 217

234-8720, [email protected] or

217

253-3934

UGUST 23-25-Sussex,

NJ

Sussex

Airshow. Top performers.

All

types of

aircraft

on

display. Info 973-875-7337

or

www.sussexairportinc.com

UGUST 24-Janesville-Beloit WI-EAA

Ch. 60 Fly-In

Pig

Roast. Beloit Airport

(44C).

11

a.m.-2 p.m. Info: 608-365

1925 or

members. tripod.

com

UGUST

24-Cr

ested Butte,

CO Ch.

881

CB

Falcons Fly-In. Mountain flying

seminars,

FAA

Wings program, Young

Eagles flights. Crested Butte Avion

Airport

(3V6)

(OC02),

Elev.

8980 ft.

MSL.

Info: 800-663-5374 or

[email protected]

SEPTEMBER

7-Cadillac,

MI

-

EAA

Ch .

678 Fly-In/Orive-In Breakfast. Wexford

County Airport. 7:30-11 a.m. Info:

231-779-8113

SEPTEMBER S Mt.

Morris

,

IL-Ogle

County Pilots Assn. EAA Ch . 682

Fly-In Breakfast at Ogle

County

Airport

(C5S)(Barnette Field). 7-12 noon. Info:

815-732-7268.

SEPTEMBER

12-1S-R

eno , NV 4th

Annual Western Region Invitational.

Co-sponsored by Rolls-Royce North

America,

NASM,

Nat'l Aviation Hall of

Fame

and

Reno

Air

Racing Assn. No

more

than

50 aircraft are selected for

each Invitational. For details

on

eligi

bility

and

judging criteria, entry appli

cation, etc. contact Ann, 703-621-2839

SEPTEMBER B lS Watertown, W I-

2002 Midwest Stinson Reunion.

(RYV).

Info: 630-904-6964

SEPTEMBER 14-Holl

ywood, MD-EAA

Ch . 478 Fly-In, Open House, Young

Eagles

Rally, and

Pancake Breakfast.

Captain Walter Francis Duke Regional

Airport (2W6). Info: 301-866-9502

SEPTEMBER 14-Palmyra

WI- 88C) Fly

In Lunch,

noon-2

p.m . Info

:

630-904-6964

SEPTEMBER

14-Andover

,

NJ

Andover-Aeroflex Airport (12N).

EAA

Vintage

Chapter

7 annual Old

Fashioned Fly-In. 10

AM-4 PM

, (rain

date Sunday, Sept. 15). Antique, clas

sic and

contemporary

aircraft. Food,

prizes, Pilots' Choice and People's

Choice Awards. Everyone is welcome

so fly-in, drive-in or walk-in for a fun

day. Info:www.vintage-aircraft-7.org or

Bill

Moore, popmoore@webtv, 908

236-6619 or Lou Okrent,

LOAF

[email protected],

973-548-3067

SEPTEMBER 4 Andover NJ-VAA

Ch .

7 Annual Old-Fashioned Fly-In at

Andover-Aeroflex Airport (12N). 10

am-4 pm. Hosting a full range of

antique, classic,

and

contemporary air

craft. Food, prizes, Pilots' Choice

Peoples' Choice Awards. Fly-in, drive

in, or walk-in for a fun day. (Rain date

Sunday, 9/15.) Info: 908-236-6619.

SEPTEMBER 14-1S-R

ock Falls

IL -

North

Central

EAA

Old Fashioned

Fly-In

at

the Whiteside

County

Airport (SQI

).

Best

Country

Pancake

Breakfast 9/15. Forums, workshops,

fly-market, camping, air rally, awards,

food exhibitors. Info: 6

Documents

Vintage Airplane - Jul 2002