Vintage Airplane - Jul 2009

8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Jul 2009

1/44


2/44

GEOFF RO ISON

PRESIDENT VINTAGE AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION

It s EAA

AirVenture

time

It's here. For

aviators around

the

globe, the

month

of july

always brings

EAA AirVenture

Oshkosh

to

mind. Most every

one of these aviators will wish

he or she were

going to

be able

to

attend, but

for

varied

reasons,

many

are never

able

to make it.

Here's

hoping this

is

the

year for

you I still remember my first EAA

convention in 1984. So far, I

have

not missed a single Oshkosh since

my

first, and each of them has

been very

enjoyable

. But,

some

members

are

not

as

fortunate

as

J

am in being able

to

come

to

this

great

event

every year. Even

i you

can

get here only once, you really

owe it to yourself

to

experience

this amazing celebration

of

the

Spirit of Aviation .

One of the great

benefits

of

membership

is

the

opportunity

to

serve

your fellow members

as

a Vintage volunteer

during

EAA

AirVenture.

So, as

we

typically

do each

year

in july, here's

a

partial

list

of names and contact

so many years now.

VAA

is

about

participation: Be

a

member

Be

a

volunteer

Be there

Let's all pull in the same

direction for the good of aviation.

Remember, we are

better together.

join

us

and

have

it all.

Vintage

Aircraft Association

Chairpersons

Convention

Management

Geoff Robison , Cha i r m a n

chief7025@ao . com 219 493-

4724

Butch

joyce, Vice-Chairman,

windsock@

o

l com

336 427 0971

Convention Management

Field

Operations

George, Daubner, Vice-Cha irman,

[email protected] 414-673-5885

VAA Judging/

Awards

Dave

C

lark

,

VAA

C

hi ef

judge,

[email protected]

317-839-4500

Computer

Operations

Earl Nic

hol

as,

Cha irman, eman4@

ameritech.net 312-451-2930

Construction

and Maintenance

Merchandise

Bob Lum ley,

Chairman, lumper@

ex

ecpc.com 262 782 2633

Metal Forming Workshop

Steve Nesse, Chairman, stnes2009@

Iive.com 507-373-1674

Parking

and

Safety

Michael Kosta, Chairman, cubflyr@

comcast.net

303 673 9355

Participant

Plaques

jack Cope land Cha i rman

copelandl

@jul1o.com 5 8 393-

4775

Past

Grand

Champions

Steve Krog,

Chairman,

sskrog@aol.

com 262-966-7627

Safe Flying

Ken

M o r r i s Ch a i rma n,

taildragger7w@aol .com 815-547

3991

Security

Tim Fox, Ch a i rman

t m

@

f l

yingshepherds.com

26 486-

8126

Tall

Pines Cafe

Steve Nesse,

Cha

irman,

stnes2009@

Iive.com 507-373-1674

Tony s Trolley

mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:///reader/full/ameritech.nethttp:///reader/full/execpc.comhttp:///reader/full/execpc.comhttp:///reader/full/execpc.comhttp:///reader/full/Iive.comhttp:///reader/full/Iive.comhttp:///reader/full/Iive.comhttp:///reader/full/Iive.comhttp:///reader/full/Iive.comhttp:///reader/full/Iive.comhttp:///reader/full/comcast.nethttp:///reader/full/jul1o.commailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:///reader/full/lyingshepherds.comhttp:///reader/full/lyingshepherds.comhttp:///reader/full/lyingshepherds.comhttp:///reader/full/Iive.comhttp:///reader/full/Iive.comhttp:///reader/full/Iive.comhttp:///reader/full/Iive.comhttp:///reader/full/Iive.commailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:///reader/full/ameritech.nethttp:///reader/full/execpc.comhttp:///reader/full/Iive.comhttp:///reader/full/comcast.nethttp:///reader/full/jul1o.commailto:[email protected]:///reader/full/lyingshepherds.comhttp:///reader/full/Iive.com


3/44

y

VOL

37 ,

NO.7 2009

ONTENTS

Fe Straight

&

Level

It's EAA AirVenture time

by Geoff Robison

2 News

6 The Vintage Aircraft Association

Who

we are

how

fortunate we are .

and

all for so littl

e

by Charles W Harris

9

I t All

Started With Dad's Airplane:

The Jacobson Family Saga of N5752C

A Grand

Champion

with a family

connectio

n

by Budd Davisson

1 5

N90 ango ango to Oshkosh

The vintage AirVenture experience

by Mike Sheetz

2

The McBride C-150TD

A family project

by Budd Davisson

26 The Vintage Mechanic

Adh esives

and bonding

, Part II

by Robert

G.

Lock

3 4 Mystery Plane

by H.G. Frautschy

3 6 Eagles Nest at Platte Valley

Giving new

meaning

to the golden age

of

aviation

by Sparky Barnes Sargent

3 8 Aeromail

STAFF

EAA Publisher Tom Poberezny

Director of EAA Publications

Mary

Jones

Executive

Director

/E

ditor

H.

G.

Frautschy

Production/Special

Project

Kathleen

Witm an

Photography Jim Koepnick

Bonnie

Kr

atz

Adver

tis

in

g

Coor

dinator

Sue

Anderson

Class

ified

Ad Coo

rdinator

Les

ley Poberezny

Copy

Editor Colleen Walsh


4/44

Rare Pitcairn utogiro rrives for irVenture

Around this time last

year,

Jack and Kate Tiffany,

of

Spring Hill, Ohio, and the crew

of

Leading Edge Restora

tions, were anticipating the flight of their recently restored Pitcairn

PA-18

Autogiro to Oshkosh for AirVenture

2008. However, the rotor blades were significantly damaged during testing about a week prior

to

Oshkosh,

and the flight had to be called off.

That made the arrival of the

PA-18 that

much sweeter

as

the 77-year-old rotorcraft landed safely at

EAA s


5/44

West Side-

Vintage Aircraft

Camping

Hangar

Row 74

Cafe

~ Theater

""""'\ )

InThe

"

1) Woods

Antique

Parking

V

V;

",,'"

(( r \ Type Clubs,

~ ) Workshops

V

AREA

GENERAL

LAYOUT

5hog, Red

B,,

\: j

Showplane/Camper

M\

b h' B h \

D

t

t J

em ers Ip

oot

R

egis

ra

Ion \:>

\ \'--

_

Volunteer Booth

Past

Grand Champions - parked along road

Wayfinding Tower

Ta

ll Pines Cafe

o

VAA

and in rows 60 & 61,

Near Ultralight Runway Operations

Shack

VAA

Special

Interest Aircraft

VAA

Parking-

Display

D

rea

R

ow

62 through Row 77

No Camping

CommCenter

Rows

60

Row 50

Row 78

& 61

Ea

st

Si

de

VAA

Camping

and Parking Starts Here

Cont inues to Row 150

R C6lO9

To

help members

who fly

in

to

understand

the layout

of

the

convention area

administered

by the VAA, we ve

prepared this simplified

map.

As you can see, camping

starts at Row 74 on

the

east side

of

the

main north/south

road

(Wittman

Road), with

the

areas to

the

north of that

line set

up

to handle display-

only

vintage aircraft. That's

why

you may see

open

areas

as

you

taxi

south to your

camping location.

Once

you

arrive,

you ll

need

to

register

your aircraft

and/or campsite. In

addition

to roving registration ve

hicles, there is one main aircraft registration building, 10-

cated

just

south

of

the

VAA Red Barn (see map). The EAA

convention campgrounds are

private

campgrounds and

are

not open to

non-EAA members. Each

campsite

must

be registered by a current

EAA

member.

Another immediate

benefit of

VAA

membership

is

your free VAA

AirVenture

Oshkosh 2009

Participant

Plaque, which you can pick

up

in

the

rear

of the

Red Barn.

EAA and VAA memberships are available at both aircraft

registration

and

at the

membership

booth

located

under

the VAA Welcome Arch,

northeast

of the Red Barn at the

corner

of Wittman Road

and

Vern Avenue.

Flight Planning for

Your EAA

m e

mb

er

Kr

is

Ko

r

tokrax.

ah

ead to confirm

fuel availability


6/44

ing through

Sunday,

July

26,

the

VAA

Tall Pines Cafe will

be open

for breakfast (6:30 - 9:30 a.m.) and

dinner

(4:30

-

7:30

p.m.). Start

ing

Monday, July

27, only break

fast will be served

at the

Tall Pines

Cafe (6:30 - 9:30 a.m.).

Just to

the

north, an FAA

Flight Service Sta

tion (FSS) trailer will be located

near the

cafe. At the trailer

you'll

be able to check

the weather for

your

flight and

obtain

a full brief

ing

from FSS specialists

with

out

having to

trek up

to

the FAA

Building

near the control tower.

We'll see

you there

each

morning

for "breakfast and a briefing."

Are You a Friend of

the

VAA

ed

Barn?

f

so, be sure to check in at the

information

desk

at

the

VAA

Red

Barn. There, we'll issue

you

a spe

cial name badge.

We

can also pOint

out the location

for

the

Ford Tri

Motor rides.

f

you

have

any

ques

tions,

feel free to ask for

Theresa

Books,

the

VAA administrative

as

sistant.

f

you need

to

reach

her in

advance of

your

arrival, call

her at

EAA

headquarters, 920-426-6110.

Our thanks to each of you

who have contributed to

the

VAA

Friends of the Red Barn 2009 cam

paign.

We'll

have the

list of

con

tributors in the September

edition

of

Vintage Airplane

VAA Message Center

f you would like

to

leave a mes

sage for people you

know

who

fre

quent

the

VAA

Red Barn,

stop by

ets must be purchased in advance so

we

know how much

food

to

order.

The delicious meal will be served af-

ter 5:30 p.m. Trams will begin leav

ing

the VAA Red

Barn around 5 p.m.

and

will make return trips after

the

picnic. Type clubs

may hold their

annual

banquets during the picnic.

Call Jeannie Hill (815-943-7205),

and

she will reserve seating so

your

type club can sit together.

Sh w noFly Out

The annual

fly-out to

Shawano

is Saturday, August 1.

The

sign-up

sheet will be at

the

desk at

the VAA

Red Barn, and

the

briefing will be

at 7 a.m.

the morning of the fly

out.

The

community

of

Shawano,

approximately

an hour

north

of

Oshkosh (as the Cub flies),

is

a big

supporter of

VAA

and

puts forth

a

lot

of effort

to sponsor this

event.

Shawano's residents

do

a great job

of hosting

us,

and

we

hope

you'll

help

us thank

Shawano

by

joining

us on

the

flight.

VAA

ed

Barn Store

The

VAA

Red Barn Store, chock

full

of VAA

logo

merchandise

and

other

great gear, will be

open with

expanded

hours all

week

long,

Monday through Saturday, 8 a.m.

until 6

p.m. Early-bird arrivals

can

shop on the

previous weekend

as

well, during limited hours.

Show

your

VAA membership

card

(or

your

receipt

showing

you

joined

VAA at the convention), and you'll

receive a 10 percent discount.

One evening during

AirVenture

for a

morning

or two, we'd appreci

ate it. If that's

not

your cup of tea, feel

free

to check with the VAA Volunteer

Center, located just to

the

northeast

of

the VAA

Red Barn.

The volun

teers

who

operate

the booth

will be

happy

to

tell you

when

your help is

needed each day.

t

doesn't matter if

it's just for a few hours or for a few

days-we'd

love

to

have your help

ing hands There is

no

need for you

to contact us ahead of time; you can

talk with us when you arrive.

VAA Judging Categories

nd

Awards

The

VAA s

internationally recog

nized judging categories are:

- Antique: Aircraft

built

prior to

September

I,

1945

- Classic: September I, 1945 - De

cember 31, 1955

- Contemporary:

January

I, 1956

- December 31, 1970

Any

aircraft

built

within

those

years

is

eligible

to

park

in the

Show

plane parking

and camping

areas.

I f

you wish to have

your

aircraft

judged,

let the

volunteer

know

when

you register your aircraft

and

camping area.

I f you

want your

aircraft to

be judged by VAA

vol

unteer judges, you need

to

be a cur

rent

Vintage

Aircraft

Association

member.

VAA contributes

a signif

icant portion of the costs

related

to the

EAA

awards that are pre

sented

to

the

award

winners. The

Awards Ceremony will be

held

Sat

urday

evening

at 6

in the

new Vin

tage Hangar - not in Theater

in the


7/44

A Night at the Movies With

EAA

Fly-In Theater

Bring your blankets and lawn chairs and watch a great aviation movie at

the

EAA

Fly-In Theater, presented by Ford

Motor

Company and

supported

by Hamil

ton

Watches. Movies are shown

night

ly, from Sunday, July 26,

through

Saturday,

August

1,

and each film

is

introduced by a celebrity presenter. The theater

is

lo

cated

just north of

EAA s Camp Scholler at the end

of

Doolittle Drive, and

the

pro

gram begins at 8:30 p.m.

Here s

the lineup of movies, along with the guest presenters who have

been confirmed:

Sunday, July 26

One Six Right

(presenter

TBD)

and

Barnstorming

presented by

Paul

Glenshaw

and ndrew King

Monday, July 27 The Right Stuff

(presenter

TBD)

Tuesday, July 28

Cloud Dancer

presented byTom Poberezny

and friends

Wednesday, July 29

Six Days

Seven

Nights

presented

by

Harrison Ford

Thursday, July

30

Bat

2

(presenter

TBD)

Friday, July 31 X-1S presented

by

Joe Engle

Saturday, August 1

Pearl Harbor

(presenter

TBD)

Audrey Lane

and

Eide Avenue);

the

Wearhouse flag pole area;

the

shade

pavilion

north

of

the

control tower;

and near

the

Ultralight Barn. Lo-

cations will be

indicated

on EAA s

free convention grounds map. The

admission wristband also instructs

Admission Parking Hours

www.AirVenture.org/planning/admis-

sion.html

Find or Share a Ride to Oshkosh

www.AirVenture.org/rideshare

AirVenture NOTAM

www.AirVenture.org/flying

Alternate Airports

and Waypoints

www.AirVenture.org/flying/alter-

nate_airports.html

www.AirVenture.org/2008/

news/08060S presentations.html

Put

more

than a thousand pre-

sen

tation

s,

workshops

,

and other

scheduled events at your fingertips.

Find Your Favorite

Presentations

and

Workshops

Online

With hundreds

of

the world's

leading aviation

authorities

giv-

ing

close

to

1,000

individual

pre-

sentations

at nearly

4S locati

ons

spread throughout the AirVenture

gro

und s,

finding

out w

ho

is pre-

senti ng, where, and when,

can

be,

in

a word, cha llenging. The

EAA

AirVenture website

ha

s an online

tool that can make this task sim-

ple

when

yo

u

use

the

integrated

AirVenture Schedule.

Located at www.AirVenture.org

under A t traction s an d

then

under Ac tivities, Presentations

Workshops, the database

in

cludes all th e venues, sub jects and

topics, presenters and eve

nt

s from

not

only

Forums

and

Workshops,

but also Warbirds in Review, Kid-

Venture, Museum Speakers Show-

case, Authors

Corner,

Theater in

the Woods,

special

at

the

air

craft presentations

on

AeroShell

http://www.airventure.org/planning/admishttp://www.airventure.org/ridesharehttp://www.airventure.org/ridesharehttp://www.airventure.org/ridesharehttp://www.airventure.org/flyinghttp://www.airventure.org/flying/alterhttp://www.airventure.org/2008http://www.airventure.org/2008http://www.airventure.org/2008http://www.airventure.org/2008http:///reader/full/www.AirVenture.orghttp:///reader/full/www.AirVenture.orghttp:///reader/full/www.AirVenture.orghttp:///reader/full/www.AirVenture.orghttp://www.airventure.org/planning/admishttp://www.airventure.org/ridesharehttp://www.airventure.org/flyinghttp://www.airventure.org/flying/alterhttp://www.airventure.org/2008http:///reader/full/www.AirVenture.org


8/44

TH

VINTAGE AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION

Who we

are

w fortunate we are and all for so little

BY CHARL

ES

W.

H

ARRIS

The grassroots aviation

commu

antiques, classics,

contemporaries

from "Slim" Lindbergh and his Ryan


9/44

180s, 182s,

and

195s together

with

Mr . Piper again and his Short Wings,

Cherokees

and

Comanches cre

ated

the

marketing

successes that

brought aviation down

to

a

cost

level

that

nearly everyone could af

ford. These

aviation pioneers

an d

their

airp lanes

together

with

Wa

l

ter Beech s engineering masterpiece

Bonanzas brought us aviation

as

we

know it today.

In addition to these legends

there have been all t

he other

greats

and

near greats

who

with their un

canny

abilities have developed t

he

airplanes for us individual

pilots

who

love

the

sky,

who

love

to fly,

and love the

indescribable

magic

of liftoff

and

flight

through

Mother

Nature s heavens

in

what

is

still a

never-ending miracle. Today

thou

sands

and

thousands of these unbe

lievably fine airplanes are available

to

us with all of their proven capa

bilities at essentia

ll

y bargain base

ment

prices.

We

are

the

present-day

beneficiaries of

our

glorious avia

tion past; additionally, we are the

recipients of

what

EAA

founder

Pa

ul Poberezny envisioned

and

cre

ated. I t should be crystal clear to

everyone what

an exceptionally

fortunate group we are.

This

is

who

and

wh

at

we are. Our

love of airplanes

is

what we are, and

the

airplanes are

our

glue. But

the

who

we are even tops

the what

we

are. The people of

EAA and

VAA are

the emotional heart and soul of a

ll

of this magic.

When

one steps

onto

the porch of the

Red Barn

or into

the brand-new Vintage Hangar at

F Administrator Marion Blakey speaks to a group ofType Club officials

during E AirVenture. In cooperation with E

the

Vintage Aircraft sso-

ciation has regular contact with many levels of the F as we work to repre-

sent our membership on maintenance and operational iss

ues

.

The VAA volunteer kiosk is always a busy place. More than 5 members

volunteer their

time

and ex

pert

i

se

during

the

weeklong convention.


10/44

Ken an Lorraine Morris explain the proper way to hand-prop an airplane

one of the educational events the VAA hosts in its area every year.

Expert metal workers demonstrate metal-shaping techni

que

s to mem

who can then give it a try themselves.

VAA. We

have been

the

leaders in our

chosen

field since

our

first days

in

1972.

We

have moved consistently

over the

past

37 years

to

perpetu-

ate our historic past and at the same

time deliver

the

utmost

to

our VAA

members

in

the

way of, first

and

al

ways foremost,

our

freedom

to fly.

Without

EAA

and our

160 OOO-plus

members and our never-ending vigi

lance for

our

freedom to

fly

it

is

al

most certain private

and

sport flying

in

the

United

States, and

perhaps

over

the

entire world, would

not

ex

ist. Secondly, VAA

is

never ending in

its quest

to

provide its membership

with the

utmost in

solid, meaning

ful

ever greater member benefits and

value. Our members presently receive

so

much

value for

their

affiliation

within our

special area

of

interest

that

we quite often lose sight of

the

forest for all

the

beautiful (airplane)

trees. Virtually sight unseen, almost

invisible, and taken for granted every

day are

the

things

that

VAA

has pro

vided us

through the

years, and the

ever

more new things that further

enhance our membership.

Are

you

aware

or have you

ever

considered:

e The VAA has two full-time staff

members: namely,

an

executive di

rector/magazine editor

and

his very

able assistant.

EAA

provides access

to

EAA

staff

in

everything needed

for the business

of

running an as

sociation, from

membership

cards

to

financial

accounting

Addition

al

y

VAA

en joys edi

torial assis

tance from the EAA editorial

staff

and

constantly

commissions out-


11/44

MIKE

STE I

NEKE

The Jacobson Family Saga

of N5752C


12/44

been any other

C-170, a scrapyard

would have been its final destina

tion.

But N5752C wasn 't just any

C-170, and Steve

Jacobson

wasn't

just any C-170 owner.

Steve was born into aviation, and

his life

and

this particular C-170A

have been entwined, in

one

way or

another, for nearly half a

century

(48 years

to

be exact) .

me ready to solo on my

birthday.

However, when the time came, we

were delayed

by weather,

and

in

the meantime, the C-170 was de

livered. Since it was there, Dad gave

me a few hours of dual in

it,

and

away I went, doing

my

initial solo

in our own 170. 1

By now, you're getting an inkling

as

to

why Steve

is

so attached

to

his

droning back and

forth

between

Tennessee and Kansas.

As is

always

the

case, we

tend to

outgrow airplanes with which we

were perfectly

happy

as

we

yearn

for something that's faster and of

fers more utility.

In

1972 Dad sold the 170 and

upgraded to a C-l72 with an Avcon

180-hp conversion and a constant


13/44

While Jake Jacobson toyed with the idea of a super-duper, full-of -bells-and

whistles modern panel, once

the

decision was

made

to put the airplane back to ts

original configuration, there was no turning away from creating a restored panel,

right down

to the

brown-faced flight instruments and NARCO radio.

Interestingly

,

the airplane

was

again sold

to another U S

Navy pi

lot

whom

Steve

had

known.

For

whatever reason, when

I

got back

in

to flying little airplanes

again-I

was flying for the airlines

almost

since

getting

off active

duty-I

decided I

wanted

our

old

airplane

back. I t was as

simple

as

that.

I

wanted

it,

no matter

what,


14/44

Back

before the days of

electric

trim

and a flap mo tor, the pilot

could

quick

ly

grab a handful of flaps

and

roll in just th e right amount of trim.

Du

ring th

e

res

toration,

care

was

taken

to

du

pl

ic

ate

the

style and

finish

of the placards

and

lettering style.

would

save

me

a lot

of

flying

time

getting it

hom

e.

"1

knew

things

were probably

worse

than

the y appeared when

I

forked

ov

er 3,000

just to

get

a

ferry

permit

because

the

mechanics

didn't

want

to do

all

the

work

the

airplan

e

ne

eded

to be

licensed. Re-

gardless I hopped in and pointed it

west

toward

San Francisco,

where

I

The interior

fabrics

were duplicated by Ronnie Broadhead, owner of Bust-

er 's Auto Upholstery

in

Porterville, California.The multipanel design from

1950

was

expertly re-created, and shoulder

harnesses

were installed

in

such

a way that few would think they weren't original equipment.

Dellicker of Del-Air in Porterville,

California .

Tha

t was well

inland

and away

from

the sea. Besides,

Harry

had done the conversion on

Dad's 180-hp 172

and

came highly

recommended

by

a

wide variety

of sources as

being one

of the

best

metal

men in the

country.

liMy

origina

l

intent

was

to have

Harry

fix what

needed

fixing so I

could go

fl

ying and en

j

oy my air

p l

ane.

However, it seemed as i f it

was a matter of only a few

hours

after

he

st

arted taking

th ings apart

that I knew

my

airpl

ane

was

much

sicker

tha

n I

thought it

was.

"For one

thing,

t here was a lot

of seam

and rivet corrosion .

In

way past

the

intergranular stage

,

and that gear could have ripped

out of the

airplane at any second

.

Knowing how

far I

had

ferried

the

airplane, when I saw

that

, I

couldn't

believe I

had

dodged

that

particular

bullet. t

sho

uld have come home

on a truck.

"Early

in

the

process, I

came to

grips with reality: I hadn't

bought

an airplane;

I

had bought

a flying

basket case.

Everything about

the

airplane was

wrong, and there

was

simply no way to put it back into

the air safely

without

doing a

com

plete restoration. But, I

didn't know

if I really

wan

ted to go

that

way or

not.

I

knew

I

didn't

want a show


15/44

With

mo

re than 75 percent

of the

exterior skins replaced during

the

restoration

the

17

gleams in

the

partly sunny

skies over Waupaca Wisco

nsi

n one

of

our regular sites for a relaxing afternoon

of

air-to -air and ground photogra

phy during

the

annual E

co

nvention.

I went radio shopping, I found the

bells

and

whistles were

going

to

cost something like five times what

I had paid for the airplane

in

the

first place. I just

couldn't

do it.

II

At

the

same time, I sat back

and thought about how much of

my life had

been

spent

glaring at

illuminated gauges in

the

middle

of the night in lousy weather. I had

done

i t

in single-engine Navy air

planes and

most

recently in 777s,

and it was usually over the ocean. I

was building this airplane

to

fly for

fun, but as many dark, nasty nights

had repeatedly reminded me, flying

hard IFR

quite often is a long way

from being fun.

I

was in the

middle of an

I then

knew what

I wanted in an

airplane: a no-frills, fun-to-fly, and

fun-to-Iook-at airplane.

Five Two

Charlie was going back to original.

When Steve returned home, he

pulled

the trigger

on a

total

res

toration, and

Harry

Dellicker in

cluded

a bunch

of extra sheets of

aluminum in

his

next

truckload

of metal

because

he

was going to

need it for S2C.

Del-Air

is

well-equipped for do

ing complete

170/172 rebuilds be

cause, among other

things,

i t

has

one of the

original

fuselage jigs it

bought

from the factory, and Steve

Jacobson made good use of it.

l i lt became obvious that there

wasn't

one

piece of major structure

Incidentally, as soon as I saw

Lindholm's airplane, I knew Five

Two

Charlie

was

going

to be pol

ished,

and that

drove many of the

decisions during restoration.

It goes

witho

ut saying

that

pol

ishing an airplane

doesn't

give the

restorer

anywhere

to hide.

Every

single

litt

le nick, ding, and zit be

comes painfully

obvious, and ev

ery time he lines up a rivet gun to

drive a rivet

he

asks himself, ls this

the one

where I'm going to screw

up and

put

a 'smiley face' on an

otherwise pristine panel and have

to replace it? It's a nerve-racking

process th a t

leads to

'craftsman

ship paranoia' during the restora

tion.

It's an old

axiom that

perfec


16/44

otherwise. We wound up replac

ing

about 75

percent

of the skins.

Even the fin was

mostly

junk. All

we were able to save were the ribs.

The

same thing

applied to

all the

control

surfaces. The corrugat ions

were terrible, so we got

new

skins

and

remanufactured

the

surfaces .

We weren't restoring an airplane.

We were

building

a new one, one

piece at a time

The

wings were basically a re

peat of

the

fuselage. We pulled ev

ery

bolt and

rivet

and

replaced ev

erything,

including skin

s

cables,

pulleys, and

anything

else that

wasn't

close to looking like new,

and I don't remember much

that

fit

that description.

li he

instrument panel had been

modified for an old VTR-1 , so we

just

rebuilt one and

put

i t

back

in. We're using the receiver and

the VOR , but the transmitter isn't

hooked

up

. The

one

[transceiver]

we use is in the glove box."

Steve

can

' t

say enough about

the support he got from

the

Inter

national

Cessna 170 Association

or

the maintenance

guys

at

the

Cessna Pilots Association,

but

none

of them could

help

him when it

came time to do the interior. There

was lots of

information

for a 170B

but

nothing for a 170A, and Steve

hadn't come that far only to cut

corners at the last minute.

"Ron Partridge, customer service

manager for the propeller division

at Cessna, and his staff shuffled

through a bunch of drawings and

came up with engineering specs on

I

decided I wanted our

old airplane back.

It

was as simple as that.

I wanted it,

no

matter what,

which is

a bad mind-set to have

when buying an airplane."

started before he retired, and then

Paul Lodas jumped in . However,

Chris Shaw,

who

was a

young

guy

just

out

of school,

took

over

and

finished the airplane by himself, in

cluding

doing the panel, rewiring

the entire airplane, and shooting

airplane

finished,

but

as I took

off, I knew he was watching, and

I

couldn't help

but

grin, think-

ing

that my career, in

fact,

my

entire life, started right there in

that same cockpit, with him by

my

side. Absolutely nothing gets


17/44

N9

ang

ango

l

The vintage irVenture experience

r an old student pi

lot

and

devout aviation

junky, there is nothing

like a trip to Oshkosh, Wis-

BY

MIK

E SHEETZ

ana

,

to

fly the vintage aircraft early

in the week to the show.

We

were

to follow with the company 's King

Air

in mid-week

and return with

we would take this beautiful bird for

its flight

to

the big dance. Up early

Thursday morning, I found ground

fog and low ceilings to be ruling our


18/44

machines. Tony had seen

that

it was

lovingly restored

with

beautiful at

tention to nearly every detail. The

panel was closely restored

to

origi

nal except

for

the

GPS

autopilot

navigation systems

and the

radios

including the Bose headsets. I was in

aviation heaven already.

With our

luggage,

flight

bags,

navigation charts,

and

supplies

to

A close look

t the

award plaque and

the

Lindy trophy

had before,

but

will always remem

ber. We made

our way

down the

taxiway,

made our

radio calls, and

were heading down Runway 27 with

the

morning

light behind

us. We

climbed

through the

shallow cloud

cover

and in

just a

minute

were on

top

with

a

beautiful

morning sun

shining off to my right

as we

headed

north

for our first rendezvous pOint,

checked our heading.

We

were listen

ing to air traffic control

ATC) out

of

South Bend, Indiana, and Chicago

Center

as we climbed

to

a cruising

altitude of 4,500 feet mean sea level.

Angling across Lake Michigan

to the

northwest

can

be a little

unnerving

for a student pilot like me, but with

Harry s careful eye on things, I was

comfortable just keeping an eye

out

,


19/44

came upon what seemed like a hun-

dred windmills generating electricity.

Quite a sight I

must

say, just spin

ning

gracefully in the wind. About

this

time

we

heard

from

Oshkosh

ATe. There

had

been

some delays,

and if we weren't yet circling around

Green Lake west of Ripon, the en

try point for Wittman Regional dur

ing AirVenture, we had better find a

place to just lazily bore a hole in

the

sky for a while until things eased up.

Harry decided to head toward Fond

du

Lac

after a bit

and

set down for a

while instead of burning off fuel

at

50-plus gallons per hour even in

effi-

ciency cruise. About

15

minutes later

a more serious

ATC

communication

informed

us that an incident

had

occurred

at Wittman

Regional,

and

ATC was shutting down arrivals for

at least an hour. Now the fun began.

Harry steered our Beech from

the

southwest,

making

a nice

gradual

turn

back to enter a left

downwind

for 36 at Fond du

Lac. We

could see

aircraft coming from Green

Lake

and

Ripon like bees

going

back to the

hive.

Once in

the

pattern

we were

able to get

in

line

and

were quickly

turning onto

left base for 36. Com

ing directly at us on a right base for

36 was a Mooney. About that

time

Fond du Lac tower said, Twin Beech

cleared to land

on

36. Harry banked

our bird in a smooth 90-degree low

turn and headed

for the numbers.

The last I saw of

the

Mooney off

to

my right was it beginning to climb

out

for a go-around

and

keeping its

distance. Thanks, I thought, to the

Mooney pilot, for giving way.

the next half-hour it never let up.

After an

hour

or so of waiting, we

got

news

that Wittman

was

about

to open;

we prepared ourselves for

departure. After a brief delay caused

by

other

parked aircraft was solved

by

the

line

crew, we

made

a

hard

left turn from our parking spot

and

then

traveled

down the

taxiway for

departure on 36. One or two aircraft

departed

ahead

of us, but

soon

we

were off and turning west toward -

pon and entry

into

the

line for Wit

tman.

Scanning

for

other

planes, I

assisted Harry with information for

approach,

and

we fell

in behind

a

couple

of

Cessnas heading up the

tracks

from the southwest toward

Wittman.

We

had to

drop

the gear

and

flaps

and

go into a near-stall

configuration, with

an occasional

chirp from

the

stall warning,

to

stay

behind them. ATC asked us to do the

usual wing waggle

to

make sure we

were in communication. About the

time I thought Harry was

going to

take

the

high

and

wide approach of

faster aircraft, ATC told us to head di

rectly east from our position over

the

town of Fisk

and

follow Fisk Avenue

(County Road

N ,

which would take

us into

an

extended direct base entry

for 36 at Wittman. With light winds

Wittman Regional was

using

both

runways for arrivals.

We

had maybe

two

other

aircraft ahead of us, and

compared

to

our arrival

at

Fond du

Lac,

this was a piece of cake. That big

runway was a sight

to

behold, with

all

the

planes

and

activity going on

to our left. It was magical. Harry

put

the Beech

down

on the

numbers,

The next three to four hours were

spent cleaning the

plane

in

prepa

ration for judging

and

setting

out

a

display

that

detailed

the

restoration

of this fine aircraft. I couldn't believe

I was here,

at

AirVenture,

helping

prepare a beautiful aircraft for judg

ing. I didn t mind

dirtying

up my

AirVenture cap from

the

year before

while

getting to

baby

this beauty.

Anyone who knows about round en

gines knows they

aren t the

clean

est,

but that

makes them all the more

unique. After all, how

many

times in

one's lifetime do you get to

fly

in an

honest-to-goodness classic airplane

in exchange for preparing it for the

highlight of

being at

AirVenture. I

still couldn't believe it.

Once Harry

and

I finished clean

ing

up

and locking things up for the

night, we headed out for food and to

check out some of the other aircraft.

Of course, we spent some time talk

ing to a lot of people about our ride

and

got to

know

some of

the other

Twin Beech

parties around

us, all

great people. We

had

some visitors

from all over,

including

Australia .

Venturing through some of the clas

sic, vintage,

and

antique aircraft

on

display, we made

our

way

down

to

the ultralight strip.

We're fortunate our older brother,

Jim,

lives

in

the

nearby Appleton

area. He and his wife, Jan, welcome

us to AirVenture every year. Jim's

not

a pilot

but

enjoys

the

show enough

to join us

one

day each year to see

and

hear

the

action

and

take plenty

of pictures. They knew of our plans,

but

we called

them

to

set

up

a meet


20/44

dew and a few night bugs stuck on the

surfaces, set up the restoration photo

display,

and chat with those who

came by to admire the

Beech.

One fel-

low gave quite a compliment by say

ing he had been around AirVenture

three days taking pictures and that the

Twin Beech was

the

best looking of

the lot. The judges arrived promptly

as

planned and quickly went about their

duties. We could tell they were im

pressed, but there are

so

many beauti

ful aircraft here at Oshkosh. Anyone

would be hard-pressed to judge them

all.

Several others stopped

by,

includ

ing the pilot-owner,

Rod

Lewis, of the

P-38 Glacier Girl That was a special

treat.

We

watched a lot of planes ar

rive through the rest of the morning,

monitoring

ATC

and

admiring

the

controllers' professionalism.

Harry stayed with

the

plane,

and I

headed out to check

out

the displays

and

consider some souvenirs from

my

stay. My

daughter,

Suzie,

had

and

finally

made

i t

back

to

the

plane.

A nice surprise was there

waiting

at the Twin Beech

when

I got back.

An

invita

tion

from

the

judging com

mittee to attend the Saturday

evening awards ceremony

had been

handed

to

Harry.

Wow This was to be a real

event-fi lled week I'm sorry

the owner, Tony,

wasn t in

attendance.

We

called to let

him

know of

the

invitation.

I

could hardly wait. The rest

of the evening was taken up

with a

few

conversations with

admirers of

the

Beech

and shutting

down for the night. We walked over

to

the

Theater in

the

Woods to take

in

the

program.

I

believe

that night

included an interview

with

Jimmie

Doolittle's navigator, Dick Cole. That

was

primetime, too.

Saturday was taken up with trying

to get

in as much as

possible with the

commercial building displays, more

air show with warbirds

and

all, tak

ing in

the

Ford exhibit, checking out

some of

the

newer designs,

and

ad

miring

the work of others. The big

aircraft at show central are always a

hit,

as

are

the

military aircraft dem

onstrations. There was so much

to

see

and

do. Of course,

the

evening

program was yet to come.

Theater in

the

Woods is a special

setting for AirVenture faithful. This

is

where we get

to

know

those who

have made aviation such a grand un

dertaking. Many notable figures have

appeared there, and the programs are

came

to

the

stage

to

be recognized

for their achievements.

We

sat there

not

knowing for sure what

the

out

come would be, just that our atten

dance

was

requested.

Finally, the

moment

came

and

brother Harry

made his way to

the

stage to receive

the

Bronze Lindy for

the

Outstand

ing Customized Contemporary

Air-

craft. Older brother Jim was there

taking

pictures, as was

I

Harry ac

cepted

the

award

on

behalf of Tony

Miller,

the

owner.

I

was very proud

to be even a small part of it all. Back

at

the

house

that

evening, we remi

nisced about the

entire

goings-on

and then,

sadly,

began plans

for

Sunday

and

leaving AirVenture.

The time had finally come to pack

up

and

be

on our

way back

home.

We

contacted the volunteer

shed

handling departures and cranked up.

Again, Harry had to make a hard turn

out of our parking spot to avoid some

thing, this time a PA speaker pole. Out

on the taxiway there

was

quite a line.

Then to top it

off,

a departing aircraft

apparently lost a fuel cap. Runway 18

was

shut

down

to allow a couple of

vehicles to cruise the runway looking

for the missing cap. When the runway

was finally cleared,

the

line moved

fairly quickly under the watchful eye

of

the

controllers. I was able to take

a couple of quick

photo

shots

as we

lined up

on

Runway 18 of

the

long

runway ahead of us and a final shot

of the miracle of AirVenture. Winding

up those beautiful radial engines,

we

climbed

out

to about 500 feet

until

clear of

the pattern

and

a

few

miles

beyond, and

then

began climbing to


21/44

Over

the

years, I have had several airplanes insured with AUA

and I can tell you that their attitude and their service is tops.

I know from experience that they

won't

turn their back on you;

they ll be there to help when you need them.

ou

can t do any

better than

AUA

Going

to

Airventure

- Emory hronister

Emory

Chronister

Stonevilre NC

_ Graduated from Embry-Riddle

Aeronautical Institute in 1962

_ Joined

Braniff Int

l Airlines

in

1965

_ Over lost 40 years

has flown for

three

airlines

a

charter

company

and as a corporate

pilot

_

29

000 hours


22/44


23/44

I

went

to Williams AFB and flew

T-33s getting ready for F-80 fighter/

bombers overseas. I

wasn't

crazy

about the F-80, but

at

least t was

a fighter. I really wanted F-86s, but

they

were a

ll

going to

the

more sea

soned hands .

Fate

has

a way of changing the

cards

an

individual holds in the

oddest

of ways, but seldom

is

i t as

odd as the next turn of events.

I was on leave

during

Christ

mas of '51

from fighter/bomber

sch

ool at

Ne

ll is. I

decided

to

try

to

drive throu

gh

a blizzard, which

was a serious mistake. I got stuck

and

nearly died before

being res

cued. However, I had frostbite seri

ous enough that they temporarily

grounded me and I couldn't report

as per

my

orders.

When my new

orders

arrived,

it was to be part of the first class of

pilots

to

be checked

out in

F-86s. I

was finally going to get to fly the

fighter we all dreamed about.

When he

arrived

in Korea

he

flew

100

combat

missions

in the

F-86 with the 51st Fighter Group.

Bob

wen

t

on

to

a

disting

u

ished

career in

the

Air Force, which in

cluded 170 missions in Vietnam

flying RF-101 Voodoos, before retir

ing as a fu ll colonel.

Although the

military kept

him

in t

he

air

and

moving from base to

base, it wasn 't

enough to

satisfy his

aeronautical

desires, so

he bought

his first airplane.

I was

based

at Offutt

AFB in

Omaha and kept my Swift

right

th ere on base.

The

old man, Gen.


24/44

With just a couple of slight changes to make

the

150 a bit more accommo

dat ing

to

the modern operating environment

the

interior of

the

restored

150 hearkens back to a less complicated t ime of flight instruction and per

sonal transportation.

We

flew over

to

Spring Valley,

and the gentleman who had i t

for

sale met us there.

t

was David

Pi

installed

a full gyro panel and

did

what

we

thought

was a first-rate job

on the

airplane.

The

distinct head on

view

of

the

high-wing essna is punctuated by

the deep black McCauley prop.

Cessna 140As because their tapered

metal wing

was a

little more

effi

cient than the early model wings.

Bob the elder continues,

I

liked the A Model 1405, but

then

I

started looking even closer at con

verting a square-tail 150

into

a tail

dragger. That

would

be the best of

all worlds. t had the Fowler flaps

and

better ailerons as well as a more

modern panel.

The

only

thing

wrong

with

the pre-'63, straight-tail

150s was

that the

little

wheel

was

on the wrong end.

So, we decided


25/44

Bob Jr., mom Robbie, father Bob Sr., and brothers Chris

and

Greg all had a hand in creating a new-old classic.

you still need an airplane to convert.

Bob

Sr.

says, I started the search

in

the

usual place,

Trade-A-Plane

and found a listing for a 1963 C-lS0,

which was the last year of the straight

tail and had

the

best panel. The air

plane

was

in Mountain City, Tennes

see so we

bought it,

then

drove 950

miles to pick it up, intending for one

of

us

to

fly

it home.

When

we got there

the

airplane

had

no wings or tail on it.

At

some

point in the past, the

seller

had

taken i t

apart

and

taken

it home

so

he

wouldn't

have

to

pay stor-


26/44

with

one

from a

14 A

to

get rid of

the

nose-gear

mount

bracketry

and

to clean up

the

cowling area.

Part of the firewall forward

cleanup includes removing the

steering mechanism and

flush

patching

the

holes in

the

boot

cowl. And,

of

course,

you have

to

cut

the nose-gear

connections

off

the

pedals themselves.

We

spent

quite a bit of time tidying up every

thing

ahead of

the

firewall.

When

we started on

the

instru

ment

panel,

the

original idea was

to

hard-mount the

entire thing,

but

we decided to maintain

the

original

panel

on the

right. We'll

do

a plas

tic overlay for

the

entire panel, as

soon

as we

can

get

Mom

and Dad

to stop flying it for a day or

two.

Dad chimes in, "We didn't

plan

on

redoing the wingtips

and

the

dor

sal,

but

the dorsal was pretty sorry.

t

wasn't straight because

the mount

ing

flange was bent and

probably

always

had

been.

So

Chris did a

'fl_

angectomy.'

He

cut

the

entire flange

off, made another,

and

riveted it in

place. He also

made

up mounting

flanges for

the

152 wheelpants."

Once

the

airplane was on its gear

it was Bob Jr.'s turn.

"I

painted

everything

inside, in

cluding

the

doorsills, so we wouldn't

have to worry about

them

when

painting

the

rest of

the

airplane.

"We replaced all of

the

glass,

and

when

it came time to

do the

uphol

stery,

[we]

used Airtex seat kits

and

the

wool

headliner, but I had

to

work it quite a bit

to

get a clean fit."

Little by little,

as

the

airplane

came

together, the pile of

painted

pieces continued

to

grow, and Bob

Jr. kept moving

them into

his back

bedroom for safekeeping.

"I

took

some

time to build

a

regular paint booth

for

the

fuse

lage

and the

wings,

and

it was well

worth

the

effort."

As

Oshkosh 2004

began

bearing

down

on them,

Bob Jr. says

they

were

putting

in 80-hour

weeks try

ing to

get

everything done.

Plus,

their

mother had just gotten out

of the hospital from bypass surgery

and didn't

have

enough

strength to

flare the PA-12

to land

it. For

that

reason alone, they vowed to

have

the airplane

at Oshkosh, when

their parents showed up.

Bob Jr.

says, We decided to

go

with

a

slightly

modified

1955

Cessna 180 paint

scheme,

but

we

had to do it in red. Dad

is

a real red

freak, so

there wasn't

even a ques

tion

what

color

the

trim would be.

He

continues, "We really wanted

to surprise them,

and,

in fact, we

sort of

kept

it

a

secret, and they

didn't see

the

airplane for the first

time

until

the two of them walked

up

at

Oshkosh. Mom hadn't been

out of

the

hospital very long at all,

and she absolutely lit

up when

she

saw

the

airplane.

That

was

the

ef

fect

Chris

and

I

had both been

hoping for. That

made it all worth

while.

The

fact

that

we received a

Bronze Lindy made i t even better "

These days

so

many families

have

a difficult

time maintaining

their relationships

as

the

kids

get

older

and

new families begin

to

take

precedent. However, it

doesn't

take

more than

a few minutes

around

the McBrides to realize

that

they

definitely

don't

have

that

problem.

Love takes

many

forms,

and

in this

case, it

is

shaped like a little red and

white

airplane,

and neither

Bob

Sr.

nor

Robbie McBride

would

have it

any

other

way.


27/44

CONCORDE

COCKPIT

CREWS 40TH

ANNIVERSA

OTH AN IVER A Y

OL

AIR

CAMPER

80TH

ANNIVERSA

JE

F

DUNHAM LIV


28/44

BY RO ERT G. LOCK

dhesives and

bonding

Part

II

In

this

issue I want

to

follow up

on the

subject

of a

previous

arti

cle-bonding.

Specifically, I want

to comment on the

use

of epoxy

resin

on type

-certificated aircraft.

But first, le t 's exp l

ore

where

the

FAA stands on

this issue . Advisory

Circular 43.13-1 B

is the

latest

re

vision and

contains

the

approved

adhesive for

the construction and

repair

of

type-cert ificated aircraft.

Chapter

I, Paragraph

1-

4a

1 )

says

to

refer

to the

aircraft

repair

manual for acceptable

adhesive

selection. There's

only

one

prob

lem here-there re no structural

repair

manua ls for

old

airplanes

Paragraph 1-4a (2) says adhesives

must

meet a

military

specifica

tion

(mil spec), aerospace material

specification

(AMS),

or

technica l

standard

order

TSO)

for "Wooden

Aircraft Structure." Further, Para

graph

1-4b states, "Adhesive tech


29/44

heCommand-Aire upper wings taking shape. Note

that

the wings are bol ted

together

to assure proper

fit

when aircraft will be rigged for flight. At this point

the leading edge plywood skin has not been installed.

Installation

of

the leading edge skin takes skill; the job

is

made easier if one

has

done it before. Nailing strips

will be used to apply pressure to glue joints while the

adhesive cures. Nailing strips are cut from clear pine

and will measure 118-inch thick and 114-inch to 1/2-inch

wide depending on how wide the glue

joint

requires the

clamping pressure to be applied.

The upper left

wing

for a New Standard ready for

installation

of plywood

leading edge. The lower skin

is bonded in place and varnished well to resist water

damage. Outboard skin

is

bonded in place, and nailing

strips can be seen apply ing pressure to the adhesive

joints. Inboard skin has been prepared by applying

several coats of varnish. Note the rib, spar, and stringer

locations do not have varnish

but

are the raw wood. A

light

sanding,

just

enough to scratch the surface, will

improve bonding strength. Adhesive is applied to both

surfaces

to

be bonded, and the skin aligned and tacked

in place at the

upper

corners. Now the nailing strips

are

put

into place to

apply

pressure to the

joint

Waxed

paper is placed between nail ing strips and skin. I ll go

into more detail

as

to

how

to align, mark, and apply skin

in a future article.


30/44

from Aircraft Spruce Specialty

Company

or almost of C-clamps or para llel cla mps. Clamping pressure

any

marine

supply business. for those older adhesives is recommended at 125-150

There are precautions that must be observed wh

en

psi

fo

r softwoods a

nd

150-200 psi for hardwoods. I f

using any epoxy adhesive. For old-timers who have one uses that mu ch pressur e w

ith

epoxy adhesives,

used Resorcinol or plastic resin (no longer approved) the pressure will drive the epoxy resin from

the

joint

adhesives,

clamping

pressure for spar splices

or

any and a

wea

k

bon

d will

occ

ur. A

clamp

that

applies

bonded

joint

with a large surface area was by means en ough pressure to bring sur faces i

nto con

tact and

allows some squeeze out of ex

cess

resi

n is n ee ded . I f possible,

spring-type clamps

and

caul blocks

should be used.

For

rib

fabrica

t

ion, use

brass

n ails an d nail through gussets for

pressure

dur

ing

cure. For

installa

ti on

of plywood

skin

over wood

rib s use nailing strips

and

lI2-inch

to S

in ch

long p lain wire nails.

Th e nail

ing

strips will be removed

after cure.

ot My m ain concern when

u s in g epoxy

re s

in is clamping

p

ressure

wh

en

th

e j

oint

r

equires

mech anica l clamping. I f mechani

cal

clamping

is required, make sev

eral test samples until

the

clamping

pressu

re

yields an airworthy joint.

An airwort

hy

j

oin

t will cause wood

he Command-Aire lower left wing with skin bonded to upper and

to fail or show wood fibers in the

lower surfaces. Leading edge skin

is

birch, while lower

wing

walk area

bond line wh

en

tes ted to destruc

is mahogany plywood. Difference in color is apparent. Both birch and

tion . Clamp, c

ur

e

and

destruct test

mahogany plywood are from the hardwood family

of

woods,

but

birch

is

samp les unt il you achieve the de

denser and harder than mahogany.

It

can be difficult to nail

with

brass nails,

sired result

s.

Most repairs

to

wood

especially if

it is more than l i -inch thick.

st ructures are classified as rna jor

repairs, so

the

airframe and pow

erp lant mechanic with i

nspection

authorizat ion must conduct these

tests since he or she will

be sig

nin

g to ret

urn

t

he

structure to service.

Mixing th e WEST

SYSTEM is

easy

. Wh ile

m a n y p r

evio

u s

ep


31/44

slow hardener is 206. I've used only the slow hard

ener.

You

can purchase pumps that fit in

the

can

that

will meter out

the

exact

amount

of resin/hardener.

EPOXY

TIPS

Mixing:

Use

unwaxed

paper

cups;

do

not

use

any

container

that is

glass, waxed, or plastic foam. Some

times the pumps that dispense the resin and hard

ener will spit some air, particularly

i f

they

haven't

been used for a period of time. In that case, meter

some resin into a cup,

then

meter

some

hardener

into the same cup. I f

the pump

does

not

emit any

air with the material, you're good to go. I f some air

is

emitted

with

either

the

resin or hardener,

throw

the batch away and mix a new batch

as

the ratio of

resin and hardener will not be correct.

Stir slowly for

at

least a minute

to

thoroughly

mix the

hardener

with the resin. Don't whip the

mixture, as you will introduce air bubbles into the

adhesive. Popsicle sticks or tongue depressors make

good stir sticks.

Once mixed,

the pot

life will depend

on ambient

temperature

and amount of epoxy

in

the cup. Ep-

oxy resins cure by chemical cross-linking

of

mole

cules. The byproduct of this cure is exothermic heat

(exotherm). Once

the

cure process kicks off,

the

ma

terial will begin to gel. Your project must be assem

bled

and

clamped before the material begins to gel.

If

the

resin is in a pot,

the

gel time will be very lim

ited due

to exothermic heat buildup

.

So

don

t

mix

too much material at

one

time. It's always better

to

mix small quantities of ten than to throwaway large

batches when they kick off.

Spreading Use a

brush

that doesn't shed bristles.

For hardwoods (plywood) I sand bonding surfaces

lightly with a fine grade sandpaper; just enough

to

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32/44

OISE

Cribbage Boards

Handcrafted from wood, they include game instructions, pegs,

cards and historic

in

formation about the plane. Game board can

be removed from airplane for playing.

Nieuport28C1 52652955

149.00

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Men's Cotton Golfshirt

Green

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Tan details

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put some scratches

in the

surface.

Softwoods (spruce) do not need

sanding.

Spread

an even coat

on

both

surfaces

to

be

bonded , as

semble,

and then

apply appropri

ate pressure.

Clamping Apply only enough

pressure

to bring

surfaces

into

good contact and allow

for

a

small

amount

of

squeeze

out

of

resin

. Maintain pressure until

resin has cured.

Curing I usually leave clamps

in

place at least

overnight and

keep

temperature

to around 70°F (I'm

from the old school) .

FI LERS

There may be a time when a

filler material

can

be added to the

epoxy

resin

mix to create a spe

cial occasion

product.

I

have

used

two types:

microballoons and

cotton

linter.

Micro

reduces

the

density of the epoxy and can

be

mixed to any consistency from

syrup to

peanut

butter.

t depends

on

what you

are going to do

with

it. Micro

and

epoxy make good

filler

that

is

easily

sanded

but

has

very

little structural

strength.

Cotton

linters

and epoxy

resin

is strong when cured, but

it

has

little

use on

wood

aircraft

struc

tures.

e

sure to thoroughly

mix

the resin/hardener irst and then

add in

filler.

OTHER USES

When we

were

restoring

the

New Standard

biplane

, the fac

tory

made all wing and landing


33/44

foam to soften. When

the lam

inated

glass

fiber is in the liB

stage of cure (resin begins to gel

and exothermic

heat increases),

the glass

can

easily be trimmed to

shape

using

a razor blade, knife,

or scissors. After complete cu re

I sanded the fairings to fit each

strut.

I

then mixed resin an

d

added

cotton linters

to make

a

thick paste and stuck the fairings

to the

struts,

applying pressu re

with masking

tape until

cured.

Adding filler

material (cotton

linters)

to epoxy

resin makes

a

good

gap-filling adhesive, but

it

doesn t sand easily, so

wipe

off

excess

resin that

squeezes out.

I then sanded

and

wrapped the

fairings with pinked-edge surface

tape and finished with the Poly

Fiber process. It worked great

and

is very lightweight.

Epoxy resins can be useful for

repair of structures due to

their

flexibility. Perhaps the F

door

to

granting

approval

for use

on

type-certificated aircraft has

opened ever so slightly. There are

some

F

field approvals available

for use of WEST SYSTEM epoxy

resins

in

wood

structures

. Some

of

the type

clubs would have a

337 available. It s only a

matter

of

time now. ........

Flight

omes

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34/44

Who we are .

. . continued from page 8

Gene

Chase

a longtime

VAA

member,

is

just one

of

the

many volunteer/members who stand ready to help. Like

Volunteers like Dwayne and Sue Trovillion exemplify

the otherVAA directors and director emeritus, Gene s a

the camaraderie and spiri t that s ust part of the VAA

great resource

to the VAA

staff throughout the year.

experience.

throughout the

country to support

local vintage airplane owners and en

thusiasts groups.

All

of these local

chapters originate and distribute peri

odic aviation newsletters to their mem

bers and supporters. Many local

VAA

chapters organize and conduct vintage

airplane fly-ins throughout the

co

u

n-

try each year for

the

benefit of area

members and the entire vintage air

plane community.

e

The

VAA

represents

its

more

than

7,000

members and

approxi

mately 40,000-50,000 non

member

vintage airpl

ane

owners

at

FAA

Ag-

ing Airplane conferences each year.

e The

VAA

nationally has 24 mem

ber elected

officers

and director

s

directly, publicly, and visibly in con

stant support of

the

vintage airplane

movement 12

months

each

year.

e The

VAA

has initiated and con

ducts the only annual Vintage Aircraft

Ha ll

of Fame program in the world.

e The

VAA

conducts and hosts

th

e

largest gathering of

the

finest show

class vintage airplanes

in the

world

each

year

at

AirVenture

in an

area

specifically reserved for vintage air

craft.

t

hosts each member attending

th

e convention

in

a newly enlarged,

most we ll known, and highly recog

nized meeting place in the world for

vintage airpl

ane

fans ...

he one and

on ly, internationally

famous

Red


35/44

• Through EAA, the VAA has access

to the highest reaches of the Depart

ment

of Transportation and FAA, as

well

as the highest reaches of the po

litical spectrum in Washington, D.C.

•

The

VAA

recruits more

than

500 volunteers each year at AirVen

ture

to

assist

in

hosting

and to

sup

port

the

700-800 vintage airplanes

that

attend the

largest

sport

avia

tion event in the world.

• As

this summary

is

written,

VAA

prepares

to launch, in mid-

July 2009,

the

first issue

of

a

new

medium,

Vintage Airplane Online

e-

newsletter. I t will be

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, with

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the

happenings

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36/44

BY H.G.

FRAUTSCHY

THIS MONTH'S MYSTERY PLANE COMES TO

US

FROM

A SUGGESTION BY W S SMITH OF SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS.

Send your answer

to

EAA Vintage Airplane

P.O. Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086. Your answer needs

to

be

in no later

than

August 15 for

inclusion in

the

Octo

ber 2009 issue of

Vin tage Ai

rp

lane .

You

can also

send

your

response

via

e-mai

l.

Send

your answer to mystery

plan

e@eaa org Be sure to

include your

name plus

your

city and state in the

body

of

your note and

put

I/(Month) Mystery Plane

I in

the subject line.

APRIL S MYSTE

RY NS WER

We didn t

fool

many

of you with

Kreutzer K-S

built

by Air Transport changed to the T-6

and

put into pro

the

April Mystery Plane. Here s

the

Manufactur ing for

LA

businessman duction for a Latin American market.

first answer we received: Allan Hancock in 1929 (NC99SY).

Julian A. Smith

The

April

Mystery Plane is a

Later the K-Sdesignation was

Hernando, Mississippi

Hayden Hamilton, who

Coach introduced in 1928 which was offered in two

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


37/44

models ATCs 170 and 171) and were designed for the

smaller airlines operating over rugged

and

desolate

country. The company also

thought

the design would

appeal

to

business owners looking for extra

comfort

and the

safety of mult i engine flying.

The

design, created by Albin

K. Peterson,

was a

baby tri-motor powered by three Kinner K-5 100

hp engines.

The cabin could

accommodate six pas

sengers in a spacious

cabin

that was

equipped

for

heat and

ventilation.

The windows were made from

shat terproof glass, thereby providing a perception of

added safety.

The

total 300

hp

provided more than

ample reserve power

that

translated

into higher

per

formance while providing ample power for

contin

ued flight i f

an

engine where

to

fail.

The Air Coach saw

utilization

with airlines op

erating

in Arizona

and Louisiana, both of which

offered bleak terrain where

the

margin of safety was

most likely appreciated by all on board. Kinner En

gine Co. operated a

K-5

as a demonstration aircraft,

flying

around the country to show

off

their

engines.

Production

was

suspended with

only

about nine

planes being

produced,

one of the

many

aircraft

companies

that

folded

during the

Great Depression.

An attempt was made in 1935 to revive the design

by the Air Transport Mfg. Co., but

this

venture was

not

successful.

Specifications:

Length: 33 feet 6 inches

Wingspan: 48 feet 10 inches

Height: 9 feet 6 inches

Wing Area: 315 square feet

Empty Weight: 2,745 pounds

Gross Weight: 4,443 pounds

Useful Load: 1,698 pounds

Fuel: 85 gallons

Maximum Speed: 130 mph

Cruising Speed: 110

mph

Landing Speed: 45 mph


38/44

Eagles

Nest

at Platte Valley

Giving new meaning to the golden age

o

aviation

'

a topic that many

of

us

are reluctant to think

about: How

long

will

my

loved ones be able

to

live inde

I

t

S

Y SP RKY B RNES S RGENT

gles

Nest

project. Taylor's vision

of an aviation-themed assisted

living facility was first inspired by

Dr.

James Pa

Documents

Vintage Airplane - Jul 2009