Vintage Airplane - Mar 1976

8/12/2019 Vintage Airplane - Mar 1976

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: : : .. 'THE RESTORER S CORNER

Oshkosh is just aro und the corner. What's th at yo u say? No, it isn ' t,it's still several month s away. Well, for you severa l months away maynot be just aro und the corner, but for yo ur Division Officers, Directors,and Convention Chairmen , Oshkosh is very definitely just around thecorner. They have bee n workin g and planning for Oshkosh '76 eve r sinceOshkosh '75. Now th eir efforts are deve loping to th e point of fever pitch .There is s till mu ch that th ey need to co mplete th e preparations so that yo uwill enj oy a smooth efficiently opera ted conventi on . Th ose needs fall in totwo categories, equipment and manpower.

In the equipment ca tegory your Forums Chair men need severa l itemsof project ion equipment including a 40 x 40 Dalite beaded projectionscreen , a du al 8 millimeter movie pro jector, a 16 millimeter sound movieprojector and a 5 millimeter slide projector. f any of you have any of thi sequipment in good used wor king condition, it is surplus to your needsand yo u would be w illing to donate it to the Division for use in the forumstent during th e co nventi on , your officers and forum chairmen would bemos t gra teful. The projection eq uipment does not h ave to be the newes t ormos t modern . It only need be -good quality standard equipment in goo dworking co ndition. For example, th e movie projectors should be s tand ardreel type and the slide projector should be one which can be fe d slidesindividually , rather th an th e more modern tray or carousel models. Thisletter is because most forum speakers have only a few slides to projectalong with their talks, an d the y usua lly just bring th e slides loose in a box.Also in the equipm ent ca tegory, yo ur parking chairmen are in need ofa doze n pairs of ping pong paddles to be used for parking airp lanes. Yourchairmen wi ll take care of painting th e paddles interna tional orange ifsome memb ers will donate them. How about loo king in the cellar or theattic and see ing if yo u can sti ll find those old paddles which had the playing s urface worn off of them? They are no longer any good for ping-pong,but they wo uld be idea l for parking airplanes.Your parking chair men also need a dozen light we ight hard hats to beworn by the parking committee mini-bike patrol. And speaking of minibikes , they sha ll need quite a few mini-bikes, motor scooters , and tra il

by J. R. NIELANDER JRbik es since th ey are go ing to ha ve to handle parking in the entire so uth 40thi s year. f you h ave any that yo u wo uld be willing to donate or even lendto the parking committee for the duration of the convention , please let themhear from yo u.

f Y 4 can supply any of thi s needed equipment , please write to yourConvention Chairman in care of Antique/Classic Division at EAA Headquarters as soon as poss ible, so that th ey will know what th ey can counton to work with . Items such as paddles and hard ha ts could be easily boxedand mailed. The projection equipment could probably be picked up bysome division memb er and delivered to Headquarters if you are unableto de liver it yo urse lf . The same goes for mini-bikes or scoote rs, etc.

Next month we' ll talk about the oth er big need at th e Convention -MANPOWER.

n Antique Classic Division Board of Di-rectors meeting will be held at EHeadquarters in Hales Corners, Wisconsinat 9:30 A.M. on Saturday, April 24, 1976.All divisional members are invited to at-tend.


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STAFFEDITORI L

Publisher EditorPaul H. Poberezny AI KelchANTIQUE AND CLASSIC DIVISION OFFICERS

PRESIDENTJ. R. NIELANDER, JR.P.O. BOX 2464FT. LAUDERDALE , FLA. 33303

SECRETARYRICHARD WAGNERBOX 181LYONS, WIS. 53148

EVANDER BRITTP.O. Box 458Lumberton, N.C. 28358CLAUDE L. GRAY , JR .

9635 Sylvia Ave.Nor thridge, CA 91324

JIM HORNE3850 Coronation Rd .

Eagan MN 55122

VICE PRESIDENTMORTON LESTERP.O. BOX 3747MARTINSVI LLE, VA 2411 2

TREASURERGAR W. WILLIAMS , JR.g S 135 AERO DR. , RT . 1NAPERVILLE, ILL. 60540DIRECTORS

AL KELCH7018 W. Bonniwell Rd .Mequon , WI 53092

E.E. " BUCK" HILBERT8t02 LEECH RD .UNION , IL 60180GEORGE STUBBSRR 18 , Box 127

Ind ianapo lis, IN 46234

Assistant EditorLois KelchCentrib uting Edi torsH. N. " Dusty" Rh odesEvander Bri ttJim Barton

Claude GrayEd Esca llonRod SpanierDale Gustafso nHenry WheelerMorton LesterKelly VietsBob Ell io tJack Lann ingBi ll Thumm a

KELLY VIETSRR 1, Box 151Stilwell. KS 66085JACK WINTHROP3536 Whitehall Dr.Dallas, TX 75229

DIVISION EXECUTIVE SECRETARYDOROTH Y CHASE, EAA HEADQUARTERSTHE VINTAGE AIRPLANE is own ed exclusively by Antique Classi c Aircraft. Inc . and is published monthlyat Hales Corners. Wisconsi n 53130. Second class Postage paid at Hales Corners Post Office. Hales Cor-ners, Wi sconsin 53130 and Random Lake Post Office. Random Lake. Wisconsin 53075. Membership ratesfor Antique Classic aircraft , Inc. at $10.00 per 12 month period of which $7.00 is for the publication toTHE VINTAGE AIRPLANE. Membership is open to all who are int eres ted in avia tion.

Postmaster: Send Form 3579 to Antique Classic Aircraft, Inc. , Box 229,Hales Corners, Wisconsin 53130

OFFICIAL MAGAZINEANTIQUE CLASSIC

IVISIONof

THE EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATIONMARCH 1976 VOLUME 4 NUMBER 3

The Res torer s Corner . . .. . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1Roscoe Turner & 2470 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 3Remember ... M ilo Burcham? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .. . .. . . . . 8Vin tage Album. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 9A Ra nch Cr it ter . . . . . . . . . . . .. .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..From the Albu m of Dean Crites . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14Whis tling In Th e Rigging . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

IEDITOR S NOTE : IS o S

Send Old Stories- - - - - - -------.-

PICTURE BOX(Ba ck Cover)ON TH E COVERMr . Gado I don t even know how to flyFokker 07 in action at Old Rhinebeck , NY. E.L. T , so why should I have one?

Copyright ' 1976 Antique Classic Aircraft , In c . All Rights Aeservej . 2


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\N.ES\RRoscoe Turner 247D

Share a Great omentBy Edward D Williams

713 Eastman DriveMt , Prospect, Il l inois 60056

THE BOEING 2470 WHICH WAS USED FIRST AS A LONG DISTANCE RACING PLANE BYCOL. ROSCOE TURNER AND THEN FLEW FOR UNITED AIRLINES , HAS JOINED FIVE OTHEREARLY AIRLINERS HANGING FROM 52 FOOT HIGH TRESTLES AT THE CEILING OFTHE NEW NATIONAL AIR AND SPACE MUSEUM.

MORE THAN SEVEN MILLION PERSONS A YEAR ARE EXPECTED TO VISIT THE SMITH-SONIAN INSTITUTION'S NATIONAL AIR AND SPACE MUSEUM AFTER IT OPENS TO THEPUBLIC ON JUL Y 4 97 AND THEY WILL BE TREATED TO A LOOK AT SOME BEAUTIFUL-L Y PRESE RVED MILITARY, GENERAL AVIATION AND AIRLINE AIRCRAFT.

FEW OF THE VISITORS, HOWEVER, WILL BE AWARE OF THE WORK IT TOOK TO INSTALLTHE AIRCRAFT IN THE NEW $40 MILLION MUSEUM , AND IN THE CASE OF THE SIXANTIQUE AIRLINERS HANGING FROM THE CEILING OF THE HALL OF AIR TRANSPORTA-TION HOW THE BIG PLANES WERE BROUGHT TO THE MUSEUM IN THE FIRST PLACE.

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For example, the Boeing 247D whichhas the place of honor in the Hall wastowed 15 miles tail first and minus wingsfrom Clinton, Md., to the Museum downMaryland highways and District ofColumbia streets. The move was made atnight in a pouring rain.

Most of the planes came into the museum from the Smithsonian s Silver Hill,Md., storage facility, but the 247D camethe longer distance from Clinton be cause it was restored at Hyde Field there.(See The Vintage Airplane, April, 1975.

The moving procedure is old hat to theEAA s Air Education Museum, whichhas trucked many planes over the yearsfrom local Milwaukee-area airports toBoeing 2470 in the Silver Hill., Md.,storage facility before restoration be-gan last April.

Franklin, Wis. But for the Smithsonian,it was a new experience fraught withdanger for the the valuable aircraft.

The DC-3, FC-2 and Trimotor werealready in the Museum when the 247Dwas scheduled to be moved. Smithsonian officials were wary because twoshots had been fired at the DC-3 enroutefrom Silver Hill, and a speeder who had

Stephen J Chris left) and the authorbefore the restoration work began.Norman Showers, chief engineer for Williams Enterprises in hard hat standingbetween wings in hangar) supervises the movement of the wings from thehangar to the truck.

Photo by Buck Hilbert)

The exhibit includes an AmericanFord Trimotor, Eastern Air Lines Douglas DC-3, Trans World Airlines Northrop Alpha, Eastern Air Lines PitcairnMailwing, Pan American Fairchild FC-2and the United 247D, the world s firstmodern airliners.

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zipped around the Trimotor on the highway came closeto wiping it out.And, when the 2470 was first moved from SilverHill, Md., to Clinton for the restoration work on March19, 1975, a motorist was given a ticket for careless

driving around the slow-moving caravan.On the recent trip from Clinton to the museum,however, all went according to plan. t seemed like anincident might occur when a sedan with four peopleinside pulled up alongside the caravan, but they justtook a flash picture of the strange collection of vehiclesand continued on their way. Many motorists on theroad, however, did gawk at the odd mixture of policecars, trucks and an airplane.The Smithsonian's Boeing 2470 had a varied back-ground. t was rolled out of the factory in Seattle as aUnited airliner in September, 1934, but was leased thenext month to Col. Roscoe Turner, Clyde Pangbornand Reed Nichols, who flew it to third place in theStephen J Chris, president ofCNC Industries left) and the authorlook over plans for restorationof the 2470 last April at Hyde Field,Clinton, Md., before the work gotunder way.

MacRobertson International Air Derby. It was returnedto United after the race and put into regular airlineservice. United sold the plane in 1937 to a utility company, which sold it two years later to the Civil Aero-nautics Administration. The CAA in turn used it forresearch projects and donated it to the Smithsonianon July 17,1953.A few months ago, with a 27,000 grant from UnitedAirlines, the Smithsonian contracted with CNC Industries, Inc., at Hyde Field, Clinton, to restore it toits original condition, and Williams Enterprises, Inc.,of Laurel, Md., transported the disassembled 2470 fromSilver Hill to Hyde Field for restoration work.Norman Showers, chief engineer for WilliamsEnterprises and a former Canadian air force pilot, surveyed the route by car previous to the move, and heanticipated no problems, although there was a lot ofconstruction work in progress on Pennsylvania Avenuein the District of Columbia.

I thought about using a helicopter to transport theplane to the museum, Showers said, but we couldn'tget District approval because the flight path would havebeen over congested areas.

Showers was sure there would be enough clearanceon the roads, although the fuselage with the wing rootsand engines attached measured 20 feet in width, and

the three-bladed props added a couple more feet ofwidth. Height was no problem since the tail was notattached but was already in the museum, along withthe control surfaces and engine cowlings.

Showers had supervised the move of the 2470 fromSilver Hill to Clinton on March 19, and was in chargeagain for the move to the new museum the night ofOctober 8 and 9 The plane was prepared for the tripduring the day on October 8. Showers' crew of sevenmen moved the wings from CNe's hangar and loadedthem on the flatbed truck, first laying them on sawhorses and then lifting them up to the truck. StephenJ Chris, president of CNC Industries, estimated thatthe hollow wings weighed about 1,000 pounds each.Before the wings were put about the trucks, Chrisnoticed that some sand had accumulated in the wingroots. t was cleaned out with a vaccum cleaner beforethe work was allowed to continue.

The tailwheel of the fuselage then was mounted ona specially-made coupling on a semi-trailer tractor sothat the fuselage could be towed backwards on its ownlanding gear.

Workman making a final walk around inspectionbefore beginning to roll down the long road to themuseum


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Aft e r so me fina l painting of m a rkings and le tte rin g w ith po lice ca r lig ht s flas hing s tarted th e thr ee hourth e fu seage was rea dy to be move d . trip in the rain . In order to kee p an eye on th e preciousAbo ut 11:45 p.m. th e two tru cks were joined by po ssess ion Wa lt e r Bo yn e a ss is ta nt cur a to r-ae ropo lice ca r escorts from th e Maryla nd s ta te po lice and nauti cs for th e mu se um rod e a lo ng in the ca rava n .th e Smithso nian s ow n sec urity force a nd th e carava n The vehi cles move d ab out five miles an hour a ndThe end of a long haul . he 2470 will be hoisted to hang on the ceiling in aplace of honor. It will share the glory with American Air Lines Ford Tri-MotorEastern Airlines Douglas DC-3 Trans World Airlines Northrop Alpha Eastern AirlinesPitcarin Mailwing and Pan Americans Fairchild FC-2. If you look closely you willsee the DC-3 and Ford Tri-Motor. Already hanging waiting for your arrival onopening day .

.

It

ke pt s pa rse, mid-nig ht traffi c behind it to a craw l.Show ers pulled it ove r to th e side of th e roa d once inMaryl a nd to le t tr affic go by a nd a second tim e a t th eDi s trict of Columbia- Maryla nd line w here th e Maryland state police escort was re lieve d by Metropolitanpolice from the Dis tri ct of Co lumbia. Th e arrival at th eline was schedul ed for 1 a. m. beca use th e ca ravan s permit in th e di s trict b ecam e effective a t that tim e.

In the Di s trict of Columbia th e carava n mo ve dca uti o us ly aro und th e cons tructio n wo rk o n Pe nn sy lva nia avenu e and th en cre pt along on Ind epe nd enceAvenu e pa st th e Capit ol to th e new mu se um site betwee n 4th a nd 7th stree ts stopping a t 7th stree t. Th epolice escort de pa rt e o a nd th e fla t bed truck w ithth e wings passed in to th e wes t side of th e mu se umthrough la rge g la ss doo rs which when opened measur ed 30 fee t by 30 fee t. The n th e fu se lage was towedin. The fu se lage was se t in place on th e floor jus t below w here it was to be li fted by cra ne for place me nthanging fro m th e ce ilin g tres tle . The win gs were unloa d ed a nd se t on th e floo r pointing out fro m th e fuselage s s ides . A few hour s la ter at 8 a. m . a crew fro mCNC Industries arrrve d and began th e job of assemblingth e plane. Th e wor k too k until O ctober 16 fina y th e247 was hois ted int o place on Oc tober 24.CNC Indus tries had wor ked almos t seven monthsto res tore th e 24 70 a nd it now loo ks like it did moreth an 40 yea rs ago, except tha t the aircra ft was paint edto rese mbl e th e anodize d gray co lor of th e a luminumsk in whe n it firs t ca me o ut of th e fa ctory. The a nodizinghad wo rn too thin and a Smithsonia n pa int er had tobl end 11 different colors to match th e or iginal color.Th e 2470 in its final form had a qu al app ea ra nce as th eright side is pa ined as a Unit ed airline r a nd th e le ftside as it was in the 1934 Lond on to Austra lia a ir raceTh e only major cha nge from th e o riginal is in thep rops. The 2470 had two H a milton-S tand a rd th ree bl ad ed cont ro llable pit ch p rops with coun terwe ight sbut so me tim e befor e th e plan e was dona ted to th eSmithso ni an th ese we re cha nge d to H a milton-S tand ard s wi th out th e c oun terwe ig ht s .Chris said th e props with th e coun terwe ight s areextremely rare a nd wo uld be quite ex pe nsive. Ho wever,th e S mith so ni a n is kee ping its eyes open and w illmake a change if original type props a re loca ted. Chri ssa id the newer m od el of th e props ca m e o ut about 1940long af ter Unit ed di spose d of its flee t of 69 247Ds andth ese newer pr ops w ere on th e Smithso ni an s 2470w hen it mad e its las t la nding a t Was hington s Na tionalAirport in 1953.

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Dear Dot,I'm enclosing a couple of pieces of my antique 7AG Champ. It is a 1946model and is covered in ceconite and it is a Beaut" even if it is mine, as youcan see from the photos I made a custom designed instrument panel. When itwas rebuilt all new wood , cables and pulleys were replaced . It is about the sameas a new Champ .As you can see from the photo I'm crippled due to an auto accident manyyears ago and was told I'd never be able to fly . So far I have "ra cked up about5500 hours. Several years ago I had arthritis in my hips so bad i t put me in

a wheel chair but with the help of God and some fine doctors I can walk betterthan ever.t present a partner, Jim Braden , and I are finishing a Starduster Too. But

at heart I'm still an antique /classic fan. My first restoration was a 1931 BuhBull Pup back in 1948 There are a number of antiques and classics in thisarea and when I attend another fly in I' ll send you some pictures with namesif you would like them .P.S I have to remove my built up shoe when I fly so I can feel" the RudderPedal. Regards,

Bob Knox720 Exchange Bldg .Memphis , TN 38103

Commercial Aviation5 I

The design uf a 1976 commt'morativestamp honoring fifty yeilfs of commercialaviation in the United States was unvei led Thursday, December 11, in Washington, D.C. i l t t meeting of the Boardof Directors of the Air Transport Association.

Tht: I3-ccnt stamp. which will beplaced on sa le March 18, 1976, sa lut escommercial aviation in connection withthe 50t h anniversary year of the firstcontract airmai l flights. Award of thefirst air mail contracts by the Post OfficeDepartment in 1926 provided financialimpe tus which helped the com merc ialav iation indust ry become a reality

The stamp design features the a irplane \.vhich flew the first contract airmail Hight in 1926 a nd another a irpla nerepresentative of other contract fligh tswhkh followed.

Appearing at the upp er Idt of the vigneUe is the Ford Pullman all-metal monoplane used by the Ford Motor Compa nyto completl the first contract flight onFebruary 15, 1926 from Dearborn, Michigan to C leve land , Ohio and return.Other Ford Pullman planes inauguratedservice between Detro it and Chicagoo n the same day.

Appc.lring below Ih( Ford plane isthe Laird Swallow biplane which flew acontract route from Pasco, Washingtonto Elko, Nevada, via Boise, Idaho o nApril 6: 1926. The Swallow was ope ratedby Varney Air Lines, a predecessor ofUnited Air Lines.

The s tamp will e printed on thegravure press with 50 stamps to the paneand five plate numbers. The colors areye llow, magenta, cyan, black tone andblack line. The modeler was Peter Cocciof th e Bureau of Engraving and Prin ting.

The first day of iss ue ceremony willbe held at O'Hare Airport in Chicagoon March 18. Requests for first day cancella tions should be add resse d to Commercial Aviation stamp, AMF - O'Hare,Chicago, IL 60666. The cost is 13c pers tamp to be affixed to the self-addressedenvelopes \v hkh must accompa ny o rdersand remittance should be by check ormoney order instead of cash. Postages tamps will not be accep ted as payment.

Return addresses s hould be writtenlow and we ll to the left a nd a filler ofpostal card thickness helps to assureclear cancellations a nd to preventdamage to enve lopes.

Orders must be postmarked no lat ertha n March 18.

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Milo in cockpit of his World f mous Boeing fighter plane.

Milo s red and silver Boeing P-12, 100 Sportsman Special

MILO BURCHAM?INFORMATION AND PHOTOS BY BILL SWEET

Fl ying hi s red and s il ve r Was p powered Boe ing P-12 Spo rt sma nbipla ne in his fa ultl ess prec ision aeroba tics a t th e pre-Wo rl d Wa r IICleve land Na tio n a l Air Races, Milo Bur cha m was a yea rly favor iteo f th e vas t air race fan s . Hi s inve rted hamm erh ead stall fo llowed bya roaring in ve rted powe r dive to g rass cutting altitude, th en zoomingh eavenw ard in a n out s ide loo p were th e great es t. [n 1936 h e es ta bli shed an unu sual flight reco rd th a t s till s tand s tod ay w he n he rema ined alo ft fo r 3 hour s, 37 minutes l ying up side down' He hadhopes of m aki ng a transco ntin ental flight fro m th e inver ted pos itio n ,but thi s never je lled .

[n May a nd Jun e of 1937-1938, h e a nd Co lon e l Joe Mackey ofMackey Air Lines represented th e USA in th e great Intern a tional AirGa mes, Par is, France . Bo th of th ese grea t Ame rican pilo ts s tole th emee tIn 1939 Burcham retired fro m ae robatic l ying and took a pos itio nas chi ef tes t pil ot for Loc kh eed Aircra ft Co rp. at Burbank , Ca li fo rni aand ran all experim ental flight test s o n Lockh eed ghte r-bomber aircra ft during World War II He was kill ed tes tin g th e firs t je t ght er, th efamo us P-80 Shooting S ta rBur ch am was o ne of th e mos t resp ected and honored airm en in thi scountry and in Europe. His name and deeds are etched deep in th epages of air his tory .EDITOR S NOTE:

o my knowledge only 2 Boeing 100 airplanes still exist, one isbeing restored in Florida by Ted Voorhees , we will have a story soon .With luck we might see it at Oshkosh 76 .


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\.... intag, : : i ~

Men an1 4> _ItJ ;.. -' . / . . . . . . - ; ~ ~ . . . . . , ~ ~ - : : - v- P h o t o ~Every Year In JSponsored By A

Here Is A Sample - Come

1: Hey man you oughta get aride in one of them things2: Grandpa Quick Silver showing thecubs how Dale Crites).3: Baron Von Ladd thinks Cubsare great Targets?)4: Looks good , hold it steadynow (Barrier Landing Contest).5: Ted Koston tells thewhole story with this one photo,The mark of a true professional.6: Burlington is truly abeautiful spot in the spring. Aco untry setting for country a irplanes,


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Albumheir Vintage Machines. - ... .. .-. . J J . ... . , . . . , . ~ ~ .

Ted KostonThere Is A ub ly Inque Classic DivisionI The Fun At Burlington Wisconsin

7: Note the expression ofapprehension (will it or won t it?)8: Cubs as far as the eye cansee. The Fly In is not restricted , how-ever, to cubs .9: Fly In wing sitting is aBEAUTIFUL game . Dick & Jeannie Hill.10: AH' that's better. Nowyou get your ride.: That convertible roof sure makesa good flour bomb target. NoRocks Please'2 : I think there is a little good

natured cheating going on here.You ' re suppose to land over the string .

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ARANCHCRITTER

y ob WilsonRt. 3, ox 275BOcala Florida 32670

My airplane is a 1930 Waco RNFSpecial Licensed Exper im ental Ex-hibition or to be more accurate it shouldbe a UNF as it now has a 220 Continentalengine in place of the original 110 War-ner. The engine and mount ring are off aStearman and the rest is home made asthe original engine mount was not re-movable and welded directly to the fuse-lage. The exhaust collector ring is basically Stearman with a 4 foot tailpipe forthe smoke rig. The smoke system consists of an oil tank, air bottle and pressureregulator with a control valve. I've beenusing Coruis Oil or Gulf EnduranceNo. 39. t works real well but gets a littleexpensive at a buck a gallon.

t has a 92 Curtis Reed prop, Model5550. Th e gear, brake and wheels arefrom a Cessna 140 with Waco replicafiber glass wheel pants from Wag-Aero.The front seat is replaced with th e smoketank and collector tank for the invertedfuel system. The center section has anextra rear strut and double wires alsoextra flying wire and double take wires.With an empty Wt. of 1605 lbs. it cruisesabout 110 at 1800 rpm. I recently builtan inverted oil system to go with th e in-verted fuel system and PS5C pressurecarburator. It now runs beautiful in anyattitude. t flies real great and does allthe fun maneuvers except I can't get itto snap clean. I've run spin strips of

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various lengths on both wings and it still hangs on in astall. If any rea ders have any suggestions now to makea RNF snap clean, I'd sure like to hear from them . I'veexper imented with the rigging and put gap covers overthe a ilerons which just about doubled the roll rate.This Waco has a rather colorful backgro und . It wasoriginally modified and flown by Roy Timin with theCole Bros . Air Show back in the early 1950's. I keep theairplane on my private airport here in Ocala, Florida .It's a 2000' x 150' grass strip we carved out of the woods.We have a ranch here where my wife raises race horsesand raise airplanes. I also have a Cessna 310 here thatI commute about 300 miles to Miami to get to work. I'ma Boeing 727 Captain for National Airlines in Miami.I started in aviation as an A E mechanic and wentto Spartan back in 1949-1950. I've done a little of every-thing from fixed base to airlines and flown charter,corporations , crop dustin g, instruction, cargo, non-sked s and the pa s t 2 yea rs with National Airlines.I'v e kept active as a mechanic since I started and do allmy own work from Waco to tractors. I've rebuilt manyairplanes over the years and built my own Pitts Specialabout 10 years ago, which we raced at Miami and Reno.I hav e another set of Pitts wings about finished, butthey're han ging on the shop wall and may be a longtim e before they turn into an airplane as long as I havethe Waco. The thing I really like about the Waco is it'sa real crowd pleaser at any fly-in and a true antique,yet a real good flying sport plane where I can enjoydoing aerobatics.I have a partner in the Waco who is a local equineveterinarian and commercial pilot by the name of WaltMuluihill. A couple of years ago we were playing

around in my Old Cessna 195 and I did a few lazy8's and chandralles and Walt thought it was great fun.At the time, he was a private pilot that had never doneover a 300 bank and really enjoyed a few maneuvers.I told him I could give him a much better demonstra-tion in something that resembled an aerobatic airplane.The next day he lands on my strip in a rented Cessna150 Aerobat and said let's go try a few aerobatics .Well, after that ride he said he had to have an aerobatic airplane and considered buying the Aerobat.I told him I had a lot of respect for Cessna but an Aerobat was not my idea of an aerobatic airplane. The onlyway to enjoy the world upside down is when it'sframed between two wings, with wires and struts anda large exhaust stack along side your ear, barking outof a radial engine while hanging by the belt with yourhead n the slipstream of an open cockpit. We lookedfor about a year until we found our Waco at a price wecould live with and I spent the next several monthsgetting it in shape to relicense. The next step was toget Walt checked out in the Waco. He owns a Cessna18Z and is a great pilot but only had a couple of hoursin Taildraggers. We found Bob Koons, a great guy up inGainesville that had a stock two hole Stearman. Heflew it in one weekend and says why don't you keepit here for a week or so and get Walt checked out?How's that for a stroke of luck? I think somebody upthere likes us. Anyway, by the next weekend, old Waltwas flying that Stearman like a pro. While he was stillhot, we strapped him in the Waco and away we went.Never had a bit of trouble and by now is getting to bea pretty good aerobatic pilot.We both rea lly enjoy this old bird and fly it when

Pasture For irplanes

ever we can. We've had it to several fly-ins and airshows and even picked up a couple of trophies.

Any of you young fellas that have never been upin an old biplane just haven't lived yet. Go find onesomewhere and at least get yourself a ride while there'sstill a few around .As for me, after 18,000 hours of flying, my favoritepastime is rolling and looping our Waco while enjoyingthe real beauty of Mo ther Nature from an open cockpit.

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It does great loops,Cuban 8 s, slow rolls, pointrolls and all the funstuff. I have the smoke rigworking real well and it notonly looks good fromthe ground but is alot of fun to fly and seewhere you ve been.

q i \ j ~

I ve had the airplane about2 years and have done a lotof work getting it back inshape. It s a real good aero-batic performer for an oldbiplane although it s noPitts Special. he roll rateis relatively slow even withthe ailerons.


15/20

What s Plane Engine ForAnyway? Crites Lands HisTraining Ship Without OneYou need "guts" to fly an air- tile glide, and "pancaked" slightly.plane, but the plane doesn't need {The ship came down , bumped along

"guts" to fly. J:l few yards and stopped, its exteriorDean Crites, a u l { f ~ s h a flying in- undamaged.structor, proved this Monday Only Two Minutesmorning and nal'l'owly f:SCal,ed with The flirtation with death took on-his life and the life of


16/20

dJ'iw P2atd ffJ})ecen/ ~ ua,nyo", Ibm1f4hinf (Jlo""JI (t'lld '!!!>YOOIf01 a .u1J1tla", W.,cidmil well be enrolle.d

(nlo the W. 90. ' >1'(W denl mul t ~ 1 f mmnb_e6 PlJeQ/n Cfijr-deo

SPI ING CITY :fLYINC S EJ2VICf INCPHO NE 96 F13

WAUKESHA COUNTY A IRPORTWAUKESHA, WISCONSIN

e,itlM1tb_ 22, {.911'g j tofte ;;. tell?'[f o/'mil ~ i e n c e a6 a j tdd w to ~ a M y Ick I f W , , ha6 wo-nde> < e a d ~ dee tl.,;.'-[16 n().tlJ tlw,tgj' ,,?i. tluwe k w o '; 0_ J,..:Jt/W;i ma"[li?, 01:JaC1. a ntuatiM., tlwn-[16 Ik l do not jladl. i?, oned mi?"j i?nmedt:atel1f a/tOt. bei?'[f taken C M 1 1 ~ &yj{ttj'lIYi a.d to k.ee;bjt lenty 0/ai?< fteed ta6t (he e l e v t U l ' 6 bec((tde (he mO"e 'luiclcty tlti< i< k ... U wiII/te1"venL tI", 10d:J 0/

~ ' : e eleva to'}' CM.bd to C'eve?d thc'o/wfi- :;hcl/1.k, and blade4, jtOd:JlOty ~ v e w y 50 _ tOO ' tle ti?ne the jte1'


17/20

EDITOR S NOTEDean and Dale rites are twin brothers that have beentogether and active in aviation for as long as anyone I haveknown urrently they grind out restorations fasterthan possible by men many years their junior moreinteresting pair of gentlemen would be hard to find

rites raisedFor Work

Pilot Dean Crites, Waukesha, form-erly of Mukwonago, holds the Wis-consin Civil Air corps plaque for themost outstanding feat of aviation inWisconsin in 1941. He was presentedwith the plaque in Milwaukee at thecorps annual banquet recently , atwhich 222 persons were present.

Crites has been flying since 1928and has 2,600 hours to his credit. OnSeptember 22, 1941 , he safely landeda Waco plane after the 220 horse pow-er motor had been torn out of it bya broker propeller blade . NeitherCrites nor the student flier with himwere injured.

Crites also is credited with train-ing more than 100 youths to fly un-der the federal instruction program.


18/20

Whistling n The RiggingPaul H Poberezny

fAA President

For th e be tter pa rt of my life, ] have bee n a memberof so me ty pe of av ia tion orga niza tion . Inva riably, eachone of th ese orga ni za tions had a newsle tter or communiqu e to kee p its memb ership info rm ed and toge th er In1953, w ith th e fo undin g of th e Ex pe rim ent a l Aircra ftAssocia tion, I bega n my involvement with th e publishin gof an in -house news le tte r Ra ther than bein g on the out side looking in , I was now on the inside loo king out fo rhelp from aUof th e membership for items of inte res t to bepublished .In th e ea rly days of EA A, the publica tio n was a news-letter tha t contained in fo rma tion on people a nd a ircra ftin a rela tively sma ll geographical area . As the orga nization grew, the sma ll tabl oid becam e a w inted publica tionand The Experimenter was born. Informa tion s ta rted tocome from a mu ch wider base, w ith int ern a tional newsapp ea ring. As th e publica tio n deve lop ed in s ize a ndquality , The xperimenter evolved into SPORT VI TIONThro ughout thi s pe riod of tim e it was easy fo r th emembership to rely on the edit or to find , write and printthe info rma tion . f I had a penn y for eve ry tim e I waspromised an article but never rece ived it, I wo uld needa big jar to hold them all . I am sur e SPORT AVIATIONedit o r Jack Cox ca n docum ent many ins ta nces ofhi s own.Lets face it, th e toughes t job facing any assoc ia tiontoday is ge tting out a timely, wo rth while in-ho use publica tion. O ne easy way to so lve the probl em is to have apaid edi to ri a l s ta ff th a t does ll th e wo rk , fr o m resea rch to wr iting . This wo uld make membe rs hip du escos ts prohibitive.17

fin d today th a t many memb ers of EAA forge t th a tSPORT VI TION is TH EIR publica tion. It is not a newss tand item with s to ries w ritten by a paid edit orial sta ff .Ra the r, it is a house o rga n with a rticles writ te n by th eme mbers, fo r th e me mb ers. I g uess beca use it has deve loped into such a fine publica tio n, peo ple tend to fo rge t th at we are a ll amateur publis he rs at hea rt.Th e proble m is uni ve rsa l As [ rev iew th e hundredsof Cha pter news le tters th a t come th rough H eadqu art ersea ch month , it beco mes a pp arent th at each of th e news le tte r edi tors face th e sa me pr oblem . where d o we ge tinform a tion and w ho w ill co ntribute?

The Vintage irplane is fa cin g th e sa me pr obl e m .There are m any grea t s tories to be to ld a nd fine ph otosto be printed . But unl ess we can ge t participa tion fromth e membership , your edi tor, Al Kelch, cann o t do it a ll .He already has a lead on man y fine s tories, but ha s foundtha t it takes thr ee or fo ur le tters and a number of ph o necalls before he can rece ive a res ponse . Many tim es he ispromise d an article and it is tw o, th ree or fo ur monthsbefore any info rm a tion is rece ived . Wh en inform a tion isrece ive d it may be in co mpl e te a nd furth er pu rs uit isneeded.To each one o f yo u I say - The Vintage irplane isyo ur publi ca ti o n. Yo ur edi tori a l s ta ff NEE DS YOURH ELP. f you see an item of interes t or know of an itemtha t wo uld be no teworth y, please let Al or any of the of-i cers, dir ectors o r contributing edit ors kn ow about it. fyo u say you are go ing to write an article, please do so . tis a big job to put toge th er thi s publica tion and it is be ingdone by a compl ete voluntee r effort. Le ts a ll work to ge the r to make a tough job eas ier Each one of us willbenefit.

MEMBERSHIPDRIVE

One for one for one. f each member would take it upon himself toget one new m emb er a year eachye ar , the compounded effect wou ldresu lt in a very successful organi-

ation . Take pride in your activity- make it grow.

NOMIN TIONS FORANTIQUE CLASSICDIVISION OFFICERS

ND DIRECTORSIn acc o rdance with th e Div s ion s By-Lawsas amended, th e terms of two officers and fourdir ectors will expire at the 1976 EAA AntiquelClassic Division Annua I Business Me e ting to beh e ld on Augus t 4, 1976 at Oshkosh , Wi scon sinduring th e 24th In ternational Fly-In Convention .

Tho se offices which will expire are:PRESIDENT J R Nielander, Jr.SECRETARY Richard H. WagnerDIRECTORS Al Kelch

Evander M. BrittM C Ke lley VietsJack c Winthrop

All of the incumbents have indicated thatthey will b e candidates for reelection. Additionalnomination s for these offices shall be made onofficial nomination forms obtainable from theheadquart er s of the Experimental AircraftAss ociation , Inc ., P.O. Box 229, Hales Corners ,Wi scon s in 53130. The Nominating Petition sha llinclude a recent photograph of the candidateand contain a bri ef resume of his backgroundand ex pe ri e nc e . Candidates must ha v e beenm ember s of the Antique /Clas s ic Divi s ion ingood standing for the previous two con secutiveyear s . Each petition requires a minimum of ten(10) s ignature s of AntiquelCla ssic Divisionm embers in good standing with their Divisionmembership numb er and e xpiration da te.Nominatin g Pe tition s mu st be submitted tothe Chairman of the Nominating CommitteeEAA AntiquelClassic Division , clo EAA Headquarters no later than ApriJ 30th, 1976. Votingins tructions and procedu res will be publishedin a late r iss ue of The Vintage irplaneMorton W. Les ter, ChairmanNomin atin g Committee


19/20

alendar of EventsMay 1-2 - Corona, California - Southern July 3-4 - Gainesville, Georgia - 9th AnnualCalifornia Reg ional EAA Fly-In Cracker Fly-In. Sponsored by Northsponsored by EAA Chap ter 1, 7, 11, 92, Georgia Chapter of AAA, Antiques, Classics,96, 448 and 494 . For information contact Homebuilts and Warbirds welcome.Terry Davis, 13905 Envoy Ave., Contact Bill Davis, 2202 Willivee Place,Corona, CA 91720. Phone (714) 735-8639. Decatur, GA 30033.July 31 - August 8 - Oshkos h, Wi sco nsinMay 15-16 - Conroe, Texas - Fly [n at 24th Annual EAA Internatio na[Montgo mery, Texas Airport (40 miles Fly-In Co nventio n. Start making yournorth of Hou ston), sponsored by EAA plan s NOWAntique and Classic Chapter 2, EAA Chapter August 30 - Se pt ember 3 - Fond du Lac,12 and EAA Chapter 345. For information Wisconsin - 11th Annual EAA/IA C Inte rcontact Dou g Scott, 626 Lakeview national Aeroba ic Championships. SponsoredDrive, Sugarland, TX 77478. Ph. by International Aerobatic Club.(713) 494-3791 or Ed Pruss , 6327 Tall Willow Septemb er 17-19 - Georgetown , SouthDrive, Houston , TX 77088. Ph. Ca rolina - Second An nu al Spirit of 76(713) 466-4490. Fly-In at Georgetown Coun ty Airport, SouthMay 22 -23 - Cambridge, Maryland - 9th Carolina. Sponsored by Chapter 543Annual Po tomac Antique Aero Squadron Antique/Classics, Warbirds and Homebuilts.Antique Fly-In , Horn Point Aerodrome. For information contact Herb Bailey,May 28, 29, 30 - Watsonville, California - 12th P.O. Box 619, Georgetown, SC 29440. (803)Annual An tiquer Fly-In Air Show. 546-2525 days; (803) 546-3357 nigh ts andweekends.

NEW NEW NEW NEWBeautiful Tie Tac /Lapel Pin and

charms with the officialAntique/Classic Emblem Blue with

silver or gold> $ ' ~ - ~ t 4.DV S ON Charm - Silver $3.25Charm - Gold $3.50Tie Tac /Lapel Pin $4 .00(Gold Only)

Above prices include postage.

Send orders to:Antique/Classic DivisionP O Box 229Hales Corners, WI 53130

Back Issues Of The Vintage AirplaneLimih.d numbers of back issues of TH E VINTAGE AIRPLANE Me available at $L each. Copies s tillon hand a t EAA Hl'


20/20

Documents

Vintage Airplane - Mar 1976