Editorial For The Vintage

Airplane
By
Paul H. Poberezny
President, EAA
Fellow Antiquers and Classic Airmen, you will have
to excuse our delay in getting Vintage Airman off on
schedule. It is quite challenging for the small staff here
at EAA Headquarters, especially at this time of the year,
to produce three publications for the Divisions plus our
normal SPORT AVIATION. Many of us were very in-
volved in putting together a most successful annual fly-
in at Oshkosh and as a result of so much aviation en-
thusiasm, we fell behind in some areas.
There have been pro and con opinions as to why we
should have an Division. Some feel that
it all should be included under one name, Sport Aviation,
and under the parent organization, EAA. While others
would like their separate ide ntification, separate pub-
lication and activities. The Divisions of EAA were formed
with the thought in mind that those within EAA, whose
interests were in a particular area of aviation could offer
a great deal to the EAA staff in handling the affairs of,
for example, the Warbird enthusiast, AntiquelClassi c
enthusiast and the Aerobatic enthusiast. This was to be
especially helpful at the annual Convention, when it
seems birds of a feather flock together. This was proved
over the years, with each of the Divisions taking care of
parking of the aircraft of their interest, holding forums,
judging, etc. This has lightened the load conSiderabl y on
those of us whose responsibility it is to insure that the
overall convention runs smoothl y. However, in between
times, we find that getting publications out and answer-
ing additional correspondence generated by Divi sions
is a bit challenging and takes more manhours than was
anticipated. We would very much Like to have your opin-
ions and recommendations on how we keep our ident-
ities of our particular love at the moment, and yet be
successful as a business. We have made a number of
steps in that direction for each of the Divisions are armed
with their own patches, decal s, pins, buttons, etc. How-
ever, we all must recognize that unity and numbers are
certainl y to be considered when it comes to dealing with
government matters pertaining to all of our welfare. If
2
we own a homebuilt, an antique, a warbird or a rotary
wing aircraft, or even a factory built aircraft, all of our
problems in using air space, airports, licensing fees, and
other costs are the same. If we expect to continue to
enjoy the freedom as we now know it, we must be united
and present good recommendations, sugges ti ons and
alternatives to government. The meetings that we have
held here a t EAA Headquarters over the years, with
representatives from our Divisions, other aviati on groups
and the FAA are proof that all of us being united can
lessen government regulation a nd be heard on all mat-
ters. Each of us attempting to do this alone, would not
be as successful and I dare say we would not draw the
attention or catch the proper ears to be hea rd.
When any group becomes large, it certainly becomes
more effective, but with bigness comes problems. Opin-
ions on what course to take will vary and even at fl y-ins
or the annual Convention, logistical problems, peopl e
problems, etc. must all be looked at in a different light.
Many of us look back to the good old days - a less hec-
tic pace - which all of us really desire, I am sure. On one
hand we would like to see aviation even more successful
and stronger, but this again involves more peopl e. I
would like to look at EAA as having assumed a natural
growth and if it has attracted a great many people then
it must be a credit to all of those in EAA who believe in
its principles, philosophies and what it can do for all of
us.
Putting out a publication is not easy. It takes the help
of many. I am personally appealing to each of you to
help us make Vintage Airplane an interesting and educa-
tional publication. Give us guidance and direction. Send
us material. There has been so much printed on aviation
that one wonders if there can be something new.
We will be looking forward to hearing from you and
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Of-
ficers and Directors of the AntiquelClassic Division for
their loyal support and unselfish giving, not only to EAA
but to aviation as well.
A
VOLUME 3 - NUMBER 7 and 8
JULY and AUGUST 1975
COVER PHOTOS . .. (Photo by Lee Fray)
(Top Right)
This beautiful American Eagle. owned by Ed Wegner of Plymouth. Wisconsin , was thi s year's Antique Grand
Champion at Oshkosh. Nicknamed " Tempus Fugit " - or " time flies " i n Latin - this aircraft is known to have
been in the Milwaukee area since the mid-1930's. Flown by none other than EAA President Paul Poberezny, the
aircraft was owned at that time by Paul 's close fri end. Fred Matson. who later lost his life ferrying an aircraft
over the Atlant ic in World War II. Ed Wegner obtained the aircraft in Tomah. Wisconsin and restored it to mint
condition.
(Lower Right) (Left)
The Crites brothers (see Page 4) . Whittenbeck in the " Speedwing" (see Page 8) .
Editorial .. . Paul H. Poberezny ..
Barnstorming ... Edward D. Williams .
TABLE OF CONTENTS
A Silver Eagle in Retirement . . Robert G. Elliott . .... . . . . ... . . . .
The Bates Monoplane.
A Vi sit to Bl akesburg . . . Paul H. Poberezny
Bringing Home the Ryan STM ... Mitch Mayborn .
The Saga of STM-S2 .
Downers Grove Squadron .. . Maj . Florence West holm .
Air Currents . . . Buck Hilbert
It All Happened in July of ' 69 ... Norbert Binski . . .... . .. . . .. .. . .. .. . ... . . . ... .. .. .. . . ...... . . . . . . . .
4
8
13
14
15
18
19
21
21
22
23
24
25
27
27
28
29
30
31
31
32
33
A Hidden Hazard . .. Buck Hilbert . . ... .. ...... . . . . . . . . . . .
Waco Aircraft Corrosion Inspection
Ford Tri-Motor Found in Jungle . ... .. . , . . .
3rd Annual Cub Fl y-In . .. Gar Williams . .. . .... ...... ..... . . . . . . .
Oshkosh Fl y- In Stati stics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... ... . . .
That Same Old Questions and a Tragic Answer .. . . . . ... . .
Washington Offi cials Visit Oshkosh ........ . . . . .
EAA Honors " Grea ts of Aviation" . . ....... ... .
CAP Cadets Help at Oshkosh . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . . .. . . . ..... . . . . . . .. . . . . .. .
The Jaycees and EAA Do It' . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... . . .
M ystery Air pl anes. . ....... .. . .. .. .
Aerobatic Contes t at Fond du Lac .
Minutes of Meetings.
EDITORIAL STAFF
Publisher - Paul H. Poberezny
Assistant Ed itor - Gene Chase
Ed itor - Jack Cox
Assistant Editor - Golda Cox
ANTIQUE AND CLASSIC DIVISION OFFICERS
PRESIDENT -
E. E. HILBERT
8102 LEECH RD .
VICE PRESIDENT
J. R. NIELANDER . JR.
P O BOX 2464
UNION. ILLINOIS 60180 FT. LAUDERDALE . FLA. 33303
EVANDER BRITT
P. O. Box 458
Lumberton, N. C. 28358
CLAUDE L. GRAY, JR.
9635 Sylvia Ave.
Northridge, Calif. 91324
SECRETARY
RI CHARD WAGNER
BOX 181
LYONS. WIS . 53148
JIM HORNE
DIRECTORS
3850 Coronation Rd.
Eagan, Minn. 55122
AL KELCH
7018 W. Bonniwell Rd.
Mequon, Wisc. 53092
TREASURER
GAR W. WILLIAMS, JR.
g S 135 AERO DR .. RT. 1
NAPERVILLE , ILL. 60540
MORTON LESTER
P. O. Box 3747
Martinsville, Va. 24112
GEORGE STUBBS
Box 113
Braunsburg, Ind. 46112
DIVISION EXECUTIVE SECRETARY
DOROTHY CHASE . EAA HEADQUARTERS
THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE is owned exclusively by Antique Classic Ai rcraft , Inc. and is published
monthly at Hales Corners, Wisconsin 53130. Second Class Postage paid at Hales Corners Post Office,
Hales Corners. Wisconsin 53130 and Random Lake Post Office, Random Lake, Wisconsin 53075.
Membership rates for Antique ClassiC Aircraft, Inc. are $10.00 per 12 month period of which $7.00
is for the subSCription to THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE. Membership is open 10 all who are interested in aviation.
KELLY VIETS
RR 1, Box 151
Stilwell , Kansas 66085
JACK WINTHROP
3536 Whitehall Dr.
Dallas, Texas 75229
Postmaster: Send Form 3579 to Antique Classic Aircraft, Inc., Box 229,
Hales Corners. Wisconsin 53130
Copyright 1975 Anlique Classic Aircraft, Inc. All Rights Reserved .
3

kesha, WisconSIn.
Since last May, the 68-year-old Crites twins have been SAnHST D nM!H G
ByEdward D. Williams (EAA 51010)
713 Eastman Drive
Mt. Prospect, Illinois 60056
View notseen byusualaircraftpassenger.
selling rides in a 1928 Waco ASO at Waukesha County
Airport in just about the same way they did almost 40
years ago. And they have found that the rides, at a bar-
gain rate of $5 a person, have stirred tremendous inter-
est and are more popular now than they were in the late
1930s when they flew passengers in two Waco ASOs at
the same airport.
But their barnstorming days go back fa rther than
that - to 1928, in fact, when they were numbered among
the few pilots in the whole state of Wisconsin.
Dean and Dale can be seen with their beautifully
restored Waco almost every weekend at the airport from
9 A. M. until evening. On occasions they take the three-
place, open cockpit biplane to other Wisconsin cities
and into Illinois for fairs and fly-ins, and it was one of
the attractions at the Experimental Aircraft Association's
annual fly-in at Oshkosh July 29 - August 4.
The ASO, in fact, was awarded a large plaque at Osh-
kosh as category champion for the Golden Age era of
1923-1932. Dale also won the category champion award
for the Wright Brothers era for his replica of a 1911 Cur-
tiss Pusher.
Dale is well known to EAA members for restoring and
then flying an original 1911 Curtiss Pusher named "Sweet-
heart", which was a familiar sight at air shows until Dale
donated it to the EAA Air Education Museum at Frank-
lin, Wisconsin five years ago.
"In order to give me a project to work on, Paul Pober-
ezny (EAA President) gave me the remains of the Waco
which had been laying around the Museum," Dale said.
Dean and he did not get right to it, though, as Dale
wanted first to build a replica of the retired "Sweet-
heart". The replica was finished two years ago and was
seen last year at the fly-in at Oshkosh.
The ASO touching down at Waukesha County Airport.
4
Dale Crites is thepilot.
"With the replica flying, we were able to concen-
trate on the Waco," Dale said. "We had considerable
help, both in labor and ideas, from a lot of friends."
Stamped with the quality craftsmanship of the two men,
the Waco was finished and got its certification from the
Federal Aviation Administration on May 9, 1975.
"We flew it immediately at Waukesha and it was quite
an attraction, and so many people asked us how they
could get a ride that we decided to carry passengers,"
Dean said. The response was amazing, Dale added. "Old
and young alike have been thrilled by the rides, and no
one has ever told us he was dissatisfied. Most of them get
out of the plane, shake our hands and say it was the best
ride they ever had. One old man told us that "I've been
waiting a long time to fly in one of these'."
Dale said that people call them all week long asking
about the ASO. The airport management also is happy
with the Waco flights from its field as it is good promo-
tion for the airport, Dale added.
There is no age limit to the interest. "We've had a 65-
year-old couple go up and then rave about it, and we've
had kids as young as two or three go up sitting on their
parents' laps," Dean said. "That's O.K. as long as they
are under five years of age." The front seat was de-
signed to hold two adults easily, and the Crites twins
try to make four flights an hour, for a maximum of eight
passengers an hour. The rides last 10 to 12 minutes.
Each passenger gets to wear an old cloth helmet to
keep his hair from being windblown. "At the Waukesha
County Fair in July, we flew so often that we used four
helmets," Dale said. "Two people waiting their turn to
go up put on their helemts ahead of time so we wouldn't
waste time," he explained. The fair was held on the
grounds adjacent to the airport, and on one day the
Waco was in the air more than eight hours. "We couldn't
take all the people who wanted to go and had to turn
many of them away," Dean recalled.
"This is the greatest sport there is," Dale stated.
"Remember that it was the old biplane that first got
people into flying years ago." He added that many of
the young people who have flown in the Waco since
The ASO always attracts a crowd. Dale Crites discusses
the plane with this group while Dean Crites is the pilot
getting ready to go on flight .
(photo by Le!l Fray)
Left to right: Dean Crites, Dale Crites, and Philippe Van
Pelt, check out the engine of the Brown racer, "Miss
Los Angeles". The Brown is on loan to the EAA Museum
by Bill Turner of Belmont, California.
Engine View on Take-Off.
5
May have expressed an interes t in learning to fly, "j ust
like 40 yea rs ago when barns tormers gave peopl e the
fl ying bug".
Dale said that there are repeaters of two types who
come back for a second ride - those who flew in a bi-
plane many yea rs ago and want to recapture the nostal-
gia of years past and those who flew in the Waco for the
first time this year and come back again. He added that
they even had passengers who flew in their own two
ASOs back in 1937 and 1938. "But the cos t was cheaper
in those day," Dean recalled. For example, at the Elk-
horn (Wi s. ) County Fair in 1937, a ride in a Crites ASO
cost $1 a passenger.
Dean and Dale were Mukwonago, Wisconsin farm
boys in 1927 when they star ted taking flying lessons
from another farm boy, Robert E. Huggins of Honey
Creek, near Burlington, who had attended an Illinois
fl ying school. At that time, pilots, instructors and stu-
dents did not need flying licenses.
In a story printed in The Milwaukee Journal on May
19, 1929, headlined " From Plows to Airplanes, Crites
Twins Turn From Fanning to Flying", the paper reported
how the boys overcame their father's objection to their
flying. "The sons cured the fa ther," the paper said,
"by havi ng the mother go aloft, and she twitted the dad
into taking a flight." After that, the father was enthusi-
as tic abou t flying.
The twins originally had ambiti ons to be aviation
mechani cs, and fl ying not only was rare in Wisconsin at
that time but it was expensive. "We carried passengers
at Honey Creek just to get money for gas and oi!, " Dean
said . But by 1936, barnstorming had become their main
source of income as they made their base at Waukesha
and flew an OX-5 Waco 10.
" We flew out of Waukesha even before there was a
hangar here," Dale recalled. In 1934, the twins toured
the state in a Stinson Trimotor finding passengers where
they could , but their affinity for the Waco ASO goes
back to October, 1938 when they got their first one. In
May, 1941, they got their second, and hundreds of per-
sons flew in the two Wacos . The brothers formed the
Spring City Flyi ng Service at Waukesha in 1941, but World
War II found them giving flight instruction in Piper
Cubs for the milit ary under contract, a nd their barn-
s torming ended. " We were much too busy with fli ght
training for the Ferry Command," Dean said.
However, they kept the Wacos for a few more years.
Finally, one was sold in 1944 and the other a year later.
The first one crashed later in Arkansas, but the other
is still flying as a crop duster at Orlando, Florida .
Dale stayed with the business continuously until he
sold the Spring City Flying Service, then an established
fi xed base operat ion, in January, 1970, and retired. At
that time he also retired as airport manager, a post he
had held since 1945. Both men have amassed more than
20, 000 flight hours each and have flown just about every
type of general aviation airpl ane ever built. Dean, who
had interrupted his service with Spring City Fl ying Ser-
vice in 1942 to work with the FAA in Milwaukee and then
as manager of the Manitowoc, Wi sconsin airport, re-
joined Dale in 1963 as the FBO plant manager, and he
also retired in 1970.
Dale located hi s famous "Sweetheart" Curtiss Push-
er in a barn at Lake Mills, Wisconsin in 1951 after many
years of storage. He bought it for $500 and completed
res toration in 1966 at a cost of about $5,000. Built in
1911, it was purchased in 1912 by John Kamensky of Mil-
waukee, and it was the first aircraft in Wisconsin. Kamen-
sky flew it in the Milwaukee area at many public events
and it got widespread publicity.
The Crites Waco ASO came out of the Advance Air-
craft Co. factory at Troy, Ohio, as serial number A14 on
July 21, 1928. Since it had a blue fuselage with red trim
dnd sil ver wings, the Crites brothers made sure that that
is how it looks today. The Waco model ASO started out
in 1927 at the "Ten-W" or " Waco Sport" and also was
known as the "J5 Waco", the "Whirlwind Waco" or the
"J5 Straight-Wing" (to distinguish it from the "J5 Taper-
Wing") . It also was known as the "220" and finally as the
ASO.
The factory fr esh ASO was a handsome plane with
simple lines. It had an upper span of 30'7" and a length
of 22' 6" . It had a useful load of 1,050 pounds, a maxi-
mum speed of 125, a cruise speed of 105 and a range of
575 mil es. Price at the factory in 1928 was $7, 215. Power
was supplied by a nine-cylinder Wright Whirlwind J5
of 220 horsepower. " People are amazed that the en-
gine is the same type that Lindbergh used on his famous
solo fli ght to Paris," Dale reported.
Al though the Crites brothers are experienced air-
craft res torers a nd have re-done a number of aircraft
over the years, they hope now to spend more time on fly-
ing, their first love. "Buck Hilbert wanted us to restore
his Swallow, but we just don' t have the time, " Dale
said.
E. E. "Buck" Hilbert, President of the EAA's Antique
and Classic Division, has arranged for the restoration of
the only fl yabl e Swallow in the World (SPORT AVIATION,
August, 1974) . A Swall ow made the first commercial
airline flight in history on April 6, 1926, for a predecessor
company of United Airlines, and Hilbert, a United DC-8
captain, plans to have hi s plane ready to celebrat e
United's 50th anniversary next year.
In addition to the Waco and " Sweetheart" replica,
the Crites stable consists of a Davis D-I-W, Piper J-3
Cub and Piper L-4 military version of the Cub. Dale used
th e J- 3 in his "Flying Farmer" comedy routine at air
shows, and the Civil Air Patrol is using the L-4 in its work.
But it is the Waco that is the star in their eyes, and they
said they are happy to have the opportunity to provide
" another piece of nostalgia".
"We try to give people their money's worth," Dale
said. "A lot more than they got in the post-World War I
days when they paid $10 just to go up and come right
down again in a Jenny." " People say the flight is just
short of breathtaking," Dean added, " and many of them
pose with us for pictures afterward. I've never seen so
much film shot up."
For people who don't have their own cameras along,
the two pilots give them a 3" x 5" picture of the Waco
as a souvenir.
Sometimes, before the passenger-carrying flight s
begin, Dale's daughter, Barbara, gives a sky-diving dem-
onstration to draw interest. Barbara, 25, has about 80
parachute jumps to her credit. She has not jumped yet
from the Waco but hopes to soon. " Years ago, Harrison
Rice jumped from one of our Wacos in the Waukesha
area," Dale recalled, and Barbara hopes to duplicate
that feat.
In addition to being a workhorse, the Crites ASO is
a show horse. At an antique airplane fly-in at Harvard,
Illinois the Waco won three trophies. "It took the oldest
plane, best restored biplane and clean sweep awards,"
Dale said. Dean and Dale plan to take it to more county
fairs and air shows "to show people that there still is
an opportunity to fly in a 1928 biplane" while other bi-
planes are brought in for viewing only by their owners.
Throughout the coming winter months, the Waco
6
probably will rest in a hangar as the Wisconsin winter
weather is not conducive to open cockpit flying. "But
we may take it throughout the South the following win-
ter," Dale said. The two retirees plan on flying the Waco
as long as they can, with no plans to hang up their hel-
mets. At 68, the Crites brothers - and at 47, the Waco
ASO - are going strong, and there still are a lot of willing
people who have never had the chance to fly in a 1928
airplane. Where will the Waco eventually end up? The
EAA Air Museum - of course.
(Photo by Lee Fray)
Dale and Dean Crites (left and middle) work on the
"Spirit of St. Louis" replica prior to its being taken to
Oshkosh. Dave Jameson later flew it during the Con-
vention for the enjoyment of thousands of EAA mem-
bers.
Dale on wing - Dean is pilot.
7
By Robert G. Elliott
Daytona Beach, Florida
IN RETIREMENT
The anxious voice of Hugh Thomason, announcer
for the Fordon-Brown National Air Show, directed the
eyes of every person in the bleacher stands towards the
rapidly growing dot ... low ... low .. . on the horizon.
Although a stand of maple trees on an adjoining farm
had caused the fast approaching dot to rise slightly, it
still snarled closer and closer, trailing a little smoke.
Just over the extremities of the fi eld, the small aircraft
dipped even lower, and as one ... the crowd rose to
their feet, because the little biplane was upside down,
barely six feet above the turf.
It scooted across the field, with not an engine sput-
ter nor a waver of the wings and gradually rose ... way
out there to the left. Some thirty to forty feet above the
ground, it slowly rolled upright. Momentum carried it
even higher so that the pilot turned the plane in his
favorite crowd-thrilling landing maneuver, the power
slip, and before anyone was aware of it, the Great Lakes
had turned 180 degrees about and was landing on the
same runway over which it had just flown inverted.
Without hesitation, the Great Lakes turned off the
runway and taxied to the reviewing stand ... the cheers
of the crowd overcoming that staccato rhythm of the
100 hp upright Cirrus engine. Before the prop had ticked
to a stop, out climbed Clem Whittenbeck ... undisputed
inverted aerobatic flying showman.
I saw Clem perform this feat that day, and another
time at the old Amboy Field, Syracuse, New York, during
July of 1936. Luckily, early arrival had afforded me an
opportunity to pick an excellent spot with no-one sitting
before me. Announcer Hugh Thomason had presented
the Stars of the Fordon-Brown National Air Shows in
their respective order. As I recall, there was Harold
Johnson stunting at low level, the tri-motor Ford. A par-
ticular maneuver which always astounded the crowd was
the loop, immediately after becoming airborne. Roger
Don Rae, retired now and living in Lakeland, Florida
would stunt his Waco Taperwing. Buddy Batzell would
thrill the crowd with his parachute jumps while Charley
Abel performed glider aerobatics with silent precision.
Joe Jacobsen and his Howard Pete gave the crowd a
taste of speed in the many low level passes at times rac-
ing with the Laird Sport, owned by Harold Johnson.
Every air circus of those days had a comedian, in this
case it was Dick Granier, who, dressed like a real country
bumpkin, stumbled down from the stands, ran onto the
field yelling that he too, could fly a plane like anyone
else. Without further ado, he would climb into a wait-
(Photo by Robert G. Elliott, Daytona Beach, Fla.)
Clem Whitten beck and Jessie Woods laugh about old
times in front of a present day Great Lakes. Clem worked
for the Flying Aces Air Shows back in the late twenties
and early thirties, a traveling air show owned by Jessie
and her late husband.
ing Curtiss Pusher, and perform all kinds of low level
stunts before the crowded stands, making it appear as
though he was completely out of control.
But the show stopper was always Clem ... with his
inverted aerobatics. Clem would perform anything in-
verted, that other pilots would perform upright.
Visiting with Clem at his mobile home alongside the
Withlacoochee River near Bushnell, Florida several weeks
ago, Clem made the observation to my wife, Muriel, and
I that during those early days, from the late twenties
to the late thirties it became more and more difficult to
attract the crowds. Many would come to the field for the
performances, but would park outside to avoid paying.
It was for this reason that he decided " to perform
so low that the cheap skates would have to pay for a seat
in order to see".
Only seven years after the Wright Brothers made
their flight at Kitty Hawk in December of 1903, Clem and
a gang of neighbor kids made their first glider. They col-
lected bamboo strips, pine strips, wire, tin and from their
mothers closets, many sheets. After much figuring, wir-
ing and nailing, they were ready to attach the fabric.
They had no knowledge of nitrate dope in those days,
so they covered the fabric with clear varnish, which
they borrowed from their fathers work shops. In view of
the fact that Clem's father had a large barn with a high
hay loft, he was elected to be test pilot. So, after much
huffing and puffing, the kids got the glider up on the
roof. Clem climbed in the glider, and they waited for a
8
.. "
(Photo Courtesy of Clem Whittenbeckj
Clem Whittenbeck in his 100 hp upright Cirrus during
an inverted low level pass over the Amboy Field at
Syracuse, New York during the summer of 1937. He
had changed the paint job from light blue and white
to black and white for the 1937 appearances with the
Fordon-Brown National Air Shows. During a cross-
country pass such as this Clem was usually about 6
feet above the ground.
(Photo Courtesy of Clem Whittenbeckj
Fordon-Brown National Air Shows performers, circa
1936-1937. Seated, left to right : Clem Whitten beck, in-
verted flying in Great Lakes; Capt. Dick Granier, erratic
flying of Curtiss Pusher; Harold Johnson, stunting Tri-
Motor Ford; Roger Don Rae, aerobatics in Waco Taper-
wing. Standing, left to right : Hugh Thomason , an-
nouncer; Buddy Batzel!, parachute jumper; Charley
Abel, glider aerobatics; Joe Jacobsen, racing Howard
Pete.
(Photo by Robert G. Elliott, Daytona Beach, Fla.)
The 1930 Cirrus powered Great Lakes flown by Clem
Whittenbeck during his Fordon-Brown National Air
Show performances, circa 1935-1937. This particular
model was made in 1930, the second Great Lakes owned
by Clem. He had souped the engine from 90 hp to 100
hp for greater power in his inverted flying act. The site
of this photograph was the old Amboy Field, Syracuse,
New York. June, 1936.
(Page, Courtesy of Clem Whittenbeckj
Typical page from a National Air Shows catalogue with
description of the inverted flying of Clem Whittenbeck.
;\hkc lnd ukin}l. of( from the top of ;t mavin;.: aUlomobik WJS one of th.: thrill fc.ltul't'<; lb;n
cnh'rt,Uiwd the c.trniv,11 crowd .1t the )'lunicip,\1 Airport. Mike to han,: concclHratcd ('vt:ry c{(Oft on :u:.-
two whilt' in One was to pl... :tS(. the brgc audience with hi'> ,11;1<;, the vilier hi put
Jm'w.l rd hi.. Il);tlllwr) hf pk',l'>C Glori;t Icvmgc, offici.11 of til(" Air Carni\'.ll. cYhJcnccd the
the tWO -we re "<.'t:11 .It the numerous pMtic<; ,md t he LI\'or:tbiL comment" from the \pt'cl,lt1)r),
W.l i J bif; hi, ,hl1rt 'l.l)' in the "MJSic Ci t y." Murphy\ wedtl ,let JAr with I
R y.1Il ill ,wrohJ;(ic .. cqu,llly ,1<; thrilling Jnd litlle doul'-t that <:.1rni\-a1 nf(ici:tl.. wjll be ('X
("mlm}: .lnuthe( !!H' it.lIion for him to .lppc.U on the prQjtf.un (If imurc
loon . 'X' . \\"'hittcnbt'ck wid, hi.. up"de f1 yi,,:.; to dw a<lwd .H1 their fect. when 11t: flew hi,
built .. tooter <,() dose tv d,C J.:r<.)und !lut the !ilight""l wrun:.; 1ll00'C nf th..- control... ",.)uld Ill re pellcJ
n'ta. Punin th\' 1,IJ;nt known m,I!ll'UYt;r willi" on hi, qjct, belt provJdt'\1 the .....'11\ .1
tiona! .let of thi.' \hnw. Invl..'ned lotll)\' inverted spit"', In f.Kt \\;(<; 111 ,\1'1 unul lhr
I- crowd to wooder if \Vhittenbcck could .ll,tu.lll) fly In, pl.lOe right ..ide up,
n.l..on dw tiUI p.trticip.lh" in the. N.HiOll.ll .\ ir \('l'lll to NHt!I) 'hnnwhl" wllh-thc:ir
tl wn \\' l,h: lhcr it i'l bt.'C,l\Ix' till' \110\\' is fret: t(l the puhlic PI'" of the friendi} rill'\ rl'c('i\'C
tll,il them .1-:1\(' \'('ry lxH .Il Binnin!;:iunl, not knov.'I1. Some h,Ht: willingly :ldillith' lhul tllty
(orm ix-th" !Wfl' .lnJ Ih,.. ,t,ltl'metH ;, ,ub,t.lI11i.tttd b) m,l1l)' (If lb,l( hJh' \1,'\,'0 tI;t'm III t!'e \.Jilt\' :It nth(-r
air
9
good Oklahoma prairie breeze. When it did stir the hot
air, Clem jumped off the roof ... and went straight down
into the farm yard manure pile.
It was a lot later in 1919, while living in Oklahoma,
that a friend of his, Bill Hale, a hardware dealer, bought
an old WWl IN-4. Another mutual friend who operated
a feed business, John Stouffer, who had been a flight in-
structor at Kelly Field during WWI, was asked to give fly-
ing lessons to Bill Hale . . . and as time went by Clem
also got some flying time. Clem soloed the Jenny that
same year, 1919. Not long afterwards, while in Tulsa, he
encountered Jimmy Hazlip who gave him further fly-
ing instruction.
Soon after his solo flight, Clem became an operator
of a small single runway field in Miami, Oklahoma, with
a 1450' north-south approach.
During those early years, there was no such thing as
a flying license nor did many pilots keep logs, but Clem's
accumulation of air time by then was close to four or
five hundred hours as near as he can recall.
When the first inspector of the newly-formed Aero-
nautics Branch of the Department of Commerce came
to Clem's field , he of course found neither pilots nor
planes licensed. Clem was out on a trip at the time, and
when he returned he was told of this new regulation.
Realizing the importance of this restricting regulation,
he flew to Tulsa to see Jimmy Hazlip again for a brush-
up course, as Hazlip was well informed of the new flight
rules of the time. Clem studied navigation, mechanics,
meteorology and shortly afterward took the test and
passed easily. For his effort he was awarded what was
called a Transport License in those days. Clem recalls
that when he retired from flying in 1947 he had a total
of between eleven and twelve thousand hours ... a
huge portion of which had been recorded during aero-
batic performances. He has said that one of the most
monotonous periods of flying for him, was that of flying
from one air show field to another. The routine of Air
Line flying never had any appeal for Clem, though his
activities over the years included that of aircraft sales-
man, demonstrator, flight instructor, stunt pilot and
professional racing pilot. Spotted in there along the
way were hours of charter work, carrying passengers
for sight seeing rides, and testing new aircraft deSigns.
Clem spent many hours giving flight instruction dur-
ing those early days, and perhaps one of the better known
personalities he gave instruction to was the late Wiley
Post. Wiley had lost an eye working in the oil fields of
Oklahoma, and from the cash settlement he received
from the accident he purchased an old WWI Standard.
Wiley, however, was not as interested in aerobatics as
he was in straight and level cross country flight . His pro-
ficiency in this, together with his knowledge of naviga-
tion and aircraft were proven later with his two flights
around the world. Of course, Wiley also became a pio-
neer in high altitude flight research with a pressure suit
of his own design, using the famed Winne Mae modified
for high altitude flying.
In 1930 Clem joined the Flying Aces Air Shows, which
was owned by a husband and wife team. Jessie Woods,
the surviving half of the team, still resides in Sarasota,
Florida, and it was at a fly-in at Lakeland, Florida in the
spring of 1975 that Clem and Jessie met once more after
many years. He had been a contract pilot for the Flying
Aces during the period of 1930 to 1932.
The first Great Lakes used by Clem during his Fly-
ing Aces performances was a 1929 model, while the plane
he used for his performances in the Fordon-Brown shows
was a 1930 model. He had increased the horsepower of
the Cirrus from 90 to 100 by then to assure a greater re-
serve for his inverted aerobatics.
In the period of time from about 1931 to 1932, Clem
went to White Plains, New York and bought a Gee Bee
to be used while performing with the Flying Aces. Clem
attributes his many hours in racing and tricky planes
plus his aerobatic knowledge as a major factor to his
many successful and relatively safe flights in the Gee
Bee.
Clem's aerobatic fame caused the Army Air Corps to
approach him in 1939. Nine contract flight schools were
being formed and Clem was asked to teach aerobatics to
potential flight instructors. The program began in Lin-
coln, Nebraska, all cadets having had a refresher course
at Randolph Field. As the Army Air Corps had no suitable
aircraft for aerobatics at their disposal in Lincoln, Clem
was allowed to use his old 1930 Great Lakes. It was during
one of these instruction flights that a serious accident
almost ended his career.
At about 3500' above the field, with a student in the
front cockpit, Clem rolled right out of an Immelman turn,
and his right rudder pedal jammed full down. He in-
stinctively put the ship in a vertical power slip and yelled
to the student to jump. Clem kept kicking the left rudder
to no avail and it was while the student in front was
squirming about that the rudder pedal came free, the
student's toe having hit one of the rudder control rods.
At about 150' from the ground, Clem rolled the Great
Lakes level, cut the throttle and landed. His first gesture
after climbing out was to touch the student on the
shoulder and say, "Son, let me shake your warm hand".
During his aerobatic exhibitions he never had the front
controls active, so had not been aware of the fact that a
broken spring caused a joint in the control rod to travel
past its center, thus causing the locked pedal.
In July of 1939 the first class of Cadets had formed, but
because of inclement weather the school was moved to
Lakeland, Florida in 1940, Clem going along with the
first group.
Later, an instructor school was started at Carlstrom
Field in Arcadia, Florida and Clem was named Director
of Training.
After WWII, Clem and his wife moved to Tampa. Fre-
quent visits to the area over the years had created a de-
sire to retire in the countryside nearby. In the early
years shortly after WWII however, many towns began
their annual air shows again, so Clem decided to make
one more tour to see his old friends. For the purpose he
borrowed a plane and was booked into several shows
with huge success. The crowds so loved his thrilling per-
formances that he decided to get his own plane again.
Harry Porter, a friend in Chattanooga, had an old
Laird which Clem remembered so he called Harry to see
if it was for sale. "Of course it is," said Harry, "but,
Clem ... it'll take a lot of work to make it fly."
With a mechanic friend and helper, Clem drove to
Chattanooga, bought the basket case Laird Jr. Speed-
wing, piled the wings on top of the car, and towed the
fuselage all the way back to Tampa.
When completed, the Laird was a beauty. (Accord-
ing to Ed Escallon, President of the Florida Sport A via-
tion, Antique and Classic Association, the Laird of Clems
was first flown by the designer-builder, Matty Laird.
It had been built in 1930 for a race at Curtiss-Reynolds
Airport. The registration number is one 'N' number
less than the Laird Solution, which was NX10538.)
Clem had the 300 hp Junior Wasp replaced with a 250
hp Continental with fuel injection, which he considered
more reliable for aerobatics. A while later, Tampa offi-
10
(Photo Courtesy of Cl em Whitten beck)
The Laird Jr. Speedwing, restored under the super-
vision of Clem Whi ttenbeck about 1947. Clem was in-
vited to come out of retirement and after much thought
of the amount of work necessary versus the pleasures
of fishing on the Florida rivers near Tampa, he decided
to make one more swing around the country seeing his
old friends in the flying game. The Laird was a typi cal
basket case when he found it up north, but after truck-
ing it back to Florida serious restoration work made it
blossom into the beautiful ship below.
(Photo Courtesy Cl em Whit ten beck)
Clem performs a low level hi gh speed pylon turn in the
Lai rd Jr. Speedwing.
(Photo Courtesy of Clem Whi tten beck)
This Laird Jr. Speedwing was just one registration num-
ber l ess than the Laird Solution. Matty Laird had been
the first owner and pilot of the plane, as well as the de-
signer, and it was flown in an Air Race in 1930 at Curtiss-
Reynolds Airport. Clem stands proudly before the newly
restored Laird at Tampa, Florida.
11
cials decided to have an air show, so they engaged the
services of Steadham Acker, who supervi sed the annual
Binningham National Air Carnival. Steadham of course
knew Clem very well, and when he hea rd of the Laird
being rebuilt, he insisted Clem be on the show progra m.
Quite a bit of engine trouble was being experienced at
that time and Clem didn' t wish to fl y, but the persistence
of Steadham made him change hi s mind, so the me-
chanics were instructed to find the trouble fa s t a nd
make necessa ry corrections. During thi s modification
period, the fuel wasn't fl owing properl y to the combus-
tion chambers, which caused it to quit now and then.
The show date arrived, and Clem after having been
promised that the repairs had been made, took the Laird
up for a check fli ght. He went north of Tampa over an
abandoned auxiliary fi eld, just in case he had more en-
gine failures. He tri ed every trick he had, and the en-
gi ne functioned perfectl y.
When hi s afternoon performance time arrived, Clem
was in the ai r almost before the announcer had fini shed
describing what the crowd should expect. South of the
field he went into a Split-S for his inverted dive across
the field. A smoke genera tor had been ins talled for visual
effect a few days earli er. Just as he leveled out, inverted
near the ground, the engine quit. He had pl enty of speed,
so he pushed up . .. rolled out and looked around, all
the whil e trying to start the engine. To the right was the
crowd ... ahead were houses and stores ... so he elec-
ted a 180 degree to the left to return over the west side
of the field . All thi s whil e he was low in the cockpit try-
ing to restart the Continental. As he took a qui ck look
ahead though, there they were ... power lines . . . and
he smashed right through them.
Regaining consciousness the next day in the hospi tal,
standing at his side was Margie, hi s wife. When he asked
about his pl ane, she said "Oh, it' s fine". Four or five
months later when released from the hospital he knew
how cl ose it had been because the wreckage was still
piled in a storage area.
His wife Margie died a year or so ago after a long ill-
(Photo by Robert G. Elliott, Daytona Beach, F/a.)
Clem Whittenbeck probably recalling some old times
while flying his Great Lakes back in the early thirties,
at the Fly-In, Lakeland, Florida in April 1975.
ness. They had decided to settl e in a mobil e home earl ier
. . . so that's what Clem has done. He lives in such an
abode, a stones throw from hi s fi shing boat , securely
ti ed to a dock in a cove at the Wynn Haven Fishing Camp,
on the Withlacoochee River, Bushnell, Florida.
Vi sitors are always welcome, made so by thi s wonder-
full y warm, kind Oklahoma man, who will be eighty
years young thi s December.
AVisitTo Blakesburg-
HomeofAAA Antique Airfield
By Paul H.Poberezny
fAA President
The annual Antique Airplane Association's Fly-In
Convention at Blakesburg was deemed a success. This
year wife Audrey and I went to Blakesburg to spend a
few days with fellow airmen, antiquers and aviation
enthusiasts. Though we would liked to have flown over
with the Stinson SM8A, we had another trip after leaving
Blakesburg, to travel to Rochester, Minnesota to pick up
daughter Bonnie who was undergoing some tests at the
Mayo Clinic. With bad weather forecasts and night flying
being anticipated, we went over with Dick Wagner's
Aztec. Our flight over was uneventful and upon landing
at Blakesburg we were met by one of Bob Taylor's sons.
After tying the aircraft down, we were taken over to
Bob's office. We spent an hour and a half just remini-
csing and discussing problems facing all of us who love
old airplanes and general aviation as well .
Bob and I have worked together over the years for
the cause of the antique airplane, and we can well
remember our joint EAAlAAA fly-in at Oshkosh back in
1956. At that time, not only did the weather turn bad,
but upon arrival we had found that a local civic organ-
ization had turned our combined annual convention into
a local money making airshow. I took the M! Baby Ace
that I built that year and I can well remember the four
times that I was tossed off the field by local guards and
police men, for not having proper identification, that
was issued by the local civic organization. I am sure we
both learned that we should take nothing for granted
and be more definite about our plans and arrangements
for the annual event.
We saw many of our good friends we had just seen
previously at Oshkosh, and it seems birds of a feather
flock together. We only wish that there could be a large
event everywhere throughout the United States, within
a geographical location of most of us. It does take a lot
of time, patience, dollars and planning to do these
things. When we look back we find that there are cer-
tainly a lot more of these activities, which are fostered
by AAA and EAA throughout the nation . Aviation is
richer for this and any of these activities allowing peo-
ple to fly more frequently are a credit to aviation safety
for one's proficiency improves through more frequent
use of his airplane.
While walking down the line we spotted Jack Win-
Bob Taylor, Presi dentAAA,left, and Paul H. Poberezny,
throp, who along with Kelly Viets and others were very
President fAA, at Antique Airfi eld, Blakesburg, Iowa.
busy handling the antique and classic parking at Osh-
kosh. Jack immediately said - "Paul, how about flying
my Waco UPF". Before he knew it, I whipped my helmet
and goggles out of my pocket and was in the cockpit to
shoot a half dozen touch and go landings at Antique
Airfield. We moved to the campground and talked with
old friends and it was a real treat. Meeting two Air Mu-
seum Trustees, Morton Lester and Evander Britt who car-
ried us to town, was a pleasant surprise. We would like
to take this opportunity to thank Bob for his hospitality
and the courtesies shown us, and taking us to every
nook and cranny to see old airplanes and the fine people
who make up AAA.
14
--
- --
Bringing Home
The Ryan STM
By Mitch Mayborn
Studebaker's and Ryan airplanes have been together a
long time. Here's the Spirit of St. Louis being towed by
T. Claude Ryan's 1925 Studebaker roadster.
About 10 years ago I decided that there was just one
airplane for me - the Ryan S-T. Small, mostly metal it
was a classic American design of the 1930's. Plus if I
was lucky enough to find a PT-20 or Dutch STM I would
al so have a genuine Warbird.
Since I made the decision 10 years ago about the
Ryan, I've had a Tri-Pacer (great fun and a good trainer),
a Cessna 182 (good for an ins trument rating) a Fair-
child 24, 1937 model (a good way to get into antiquing),
and spent a lot of time in a corporate Gulfstrea m G-159
and a Convair 240.
For years I've had a photo of one or another S- T
posted on my wall - I always knew "someday" I would
find my Ryan, but didn't have the slightes t idea when.
This past January, DOff Carpenter called to say that my
Ryan - the one I really wanted - was available in Ca l-
ifornia. I call ed the owner Mike Cuddy, and aft er a coupl e
of weeks of negotiations over the telephone, Ryan STM-
S2, cl n 476, ex- VH-AGZ was mine. It came with a run-
out C4S ins talled and an extra 04-87 freshly overhauled
and in a cra te. The wings and fl ying sur faces had just
been recovered. All I had to do was get it back to Dallas.
Beki ns (bless their heart) had said they would bring
it to me for a paltry $450.00. OK, let's do it. Contract
signed, I sat back to awa it its arrival. A week la ter
Beki ns called. " Is the plane here," I asked in all inno-
cence. "No," they said, " the price is $1600.00 not $450.00.
Do you still wan t us to pick it up. "
~ . : . - - - ~ . ~ : . - - ~ ~
'. .I': .. - ~ .,; - -.
That is what was called a dumb question.
I tried several alternate carriers, and several differ-
ent ideas. The only economical way to get the airplane
home would be to go get it myself.
I have a 1961 Studebaker Champ l/2-ton pickup truck
that I bought several years ago for $300. It was in good
working order though, and before leaving on the trip I
scrounged up an extra water pump, starter and genera-
tor. I had an extra fan belt, the tires were good and the
front end was freshly aligned. When I first got the truck
I changed the fuel pump, water pump, overhauled the
carburetor, and had the wheels repacked. We had a spare
tire mounted and another spare unmounted.
We planned the trip carefully. The airplane was 20
ft. long, so we arranged for a 25 ft . tandem wheeled
trailer. I was able to get it from a filling station friend in
trade for rigging lights to it - something I wanted to
have anyway. I installed 2 x 12 boards for the wheels,
and put down some composition boards for a floor.
I found a friend willing to go, a gentleman with
aviation and mechanical experience, H. G. (Andy) Ander-
son . Andy bought the food for the trip - the plan being
to drive straight through from Dallas to Los Angeles to
pick up the airplane. Stops only for gasoline, since we
were carrying our own food. We would pick up the air-
plane, return to the east side of Los Angeles and spend
a short night, then drive straight through to Dallas.
We left Dallas at 4:30 a. m. March 7, 1975. The trip to
Los Angeles (1500 miles) was made in 28 hours. We
averaged 59 mph for the trip. Only two small probl ems
occurred - near Van Horn, Texas we blew a hole in the
exhaust line just ahead of the muffler which I cured by
15
wiring a tomato juice can around. At Bowie, Arizona as
dark approached we noticed a tire going flat and did a
precautionary change. The change went fast, but it took
30 minutes in Tucson to get a new tube installed.
We had dry roads and interstate highway all the way
except for one 60 mile stretch in Arizona south of
Phoenix. However we arrived in LA at 6:00 a.m. in a
driving rain and dark. The truck brakes would get wet
and wouldn't work and I would have to ride them to
steam out the water. We lost an hour (lost) when a free-
way on the map wasn't a freeway on the ground. In any
event we arrived at Thousand Oaks just as the rain quit
at 8:00 a. m. and spent the rest of the afternoon loading
the airplane on the trailer and truck.
Now, the fun started!
The airplane was at the man's home - high on a very
steep hill. When we started to leave the truck was point-
ed so it would drive out straight (I had earlier decided to
not "back" out of the driveway - one of the better
decisions of the trip) but it was uphill. We were going
to go up hill, do a U-turn and creep downhill. I pulled
out across the street, uphill and got nothing but a
smoking and slipping clutch for my efforts! CANCEL
THAT!
I backed up into the driveway, and after several
careful back-and-forths maneuvered so we could head
out downhill. There were several side streets all going
uphill which I planned to use in case the brakes failed. I
hated to do it but I rode the brakes all the way to the
bottom. In low gear and riding the brakes we went
downhill at a walking pace.
It was a couple of miles to the LA freeway and imme-
diately I knew we would not make it to Dallas! On board
was a 600 lb. engine (on the truck), all of our supplies,
a 1000 pound trailer and 1500 pounds of airplane. On the
freeway we had to force it uphill and got pushed down-
hill.
HELP! I immediately considered what we could do
to lighten the load and knew the extra engine had to go.
It was Saturday afternoon, the truck lines were closed -
that was out. I thought of a cou pIe of aviation minded
friends in Los Angeles and one in Glendale. Aha! I left
the engine with John Underwood in Glendale and made
arrangements for him to ship it later.
OK, ready to go once again. Hop in the truck and
drive off. GOSH, it won't pull at all! Andy says, "Wait a
second" and hops out with a sheepish grin on his face.
Seems he left the trailer post still on the ground. That
solved the problem. But by now it was raining again and
we had lost two more hours. The truck was working
good, the load was trailering well now and I felt once
more more optimistic about our chances. We'll make it
to Dallas.
We drove to Indio for the night. Indio was 44 hours
into the trip with no sleep. Except for the time loading
the airplane, the truck had been working constantly. It
rained on us hard all the way through Los Angeles to
Banning Pass and after that we saw the dry desert and
were much relieved.
One interesting note - we drove past every point of
the trip at least once in daylight. Went to bed about
10:00 with a 6:00 a.m. wakeup. On the road east of
Indio in the desert as the sun came up. At the Arizona
border a zealous guard making sure no contraband
oranges go through the state takes one look at our
"grapes of wrath" load and says we have to see someone
about a "permit". However the guy in the office takes
pity on us, "inspects" the load at about 100 feet and says,
"get moving" which we do with great happiness.
Fuel stop - California Desert.
East of Indio as the sun comes up.
Glendale - where we got rid of the extra engine.
16
Moving in my Ryan STM-S2 9N476. Our desert
portrait - the truck, me, the airplane.
The Ryan neatly tucked in for the long trip home.
Ha Ha - we got through with two oranges too! We
were so far ahead of schedule that we took out an hour
at Tucson to visit the Pima County museum.
At Las Cruces, New Mexico just after dark, we de-
cided to put in some of our extra gasoline and not make
a formal fuel stop until El Paso. We pulled off onto a
"scenic overlook" and amidst all of the lovers viewing
the scenic overlook proceeded to refuel the truck. 1'm
certain we disturbed several of the cars with our bang-
ing around fueling the truck, checking the airplane and
getting moving again.
Our first problem occurred at El Paso. The generator
quit. I noticed the lights going dim as we hit the out-
skirts of town. PANIC! Well we got off the freeway to a
lighted s tation before the lights quit. We did. I had
"oiled" the generator bearings at the gas stop at El Paso
' (moral- if it is working - leave it alone) and I guess
this did it. Anyway, no problem, whipped out the spare
generator and were on our way in 30 minutes.
It was a dark night south of El Paso. And cold. There
was snow along the road. The truck heater did not
work (never has). The holes in the floor (the cab is rusted
through in a couple of places) let copious amounts of
cold air in - it keeps the driver awake and the guy try-
ing to sleep uncomfortable.
At Monahans, we stop for gas and to change drivers.
It is 4:00 a.m. 80 percent of the trip is behind us, the
weather is good, it will be the last day soon and the sun
will be up. WE'VE GOT IT MADE!
10 miles east of Monahans we hear a strange noise.
We check the chain. It' s ok. I pull up a few feet and
we know the problem - the left rear wheel bearing is
... you guessed it. (NOTE: This shouldn't have happened
either. When I first got the truck three years ago I knew
it had been standing idle for several years so the first
thing I did was have the rear bearings repacked. You
guessed it again ... I paid for a repacking I never got!)
The promising day evaporates. It is dark. It is cold.
We are broken down 10 miles out of town. Nothing to do
but put emergency plan A into effect. Unhitch the
trailer, bundle Andy up against the cold in the Texas
desert at dawn, pump up the Coleman lantern and stick a
pistol in his belt to guard the load.
I head back to Monahans. I push as hard as I dare go,
but that terrible GRING, GRUNG, GRIND, GRIIIIND!
holds me back. I go to the filling station and talk the
attendant out of his truck. I hop back in it and go get
Andy and the trail er. It's only a moment's work to hitch
the load up, do a U-turn across the hi ghway and back
to Monahans as dawn approaches.
We stash the load in an open lot between the service
station and the highway patrol's office. We jack up the
rear end but without a puller, we can't get to the bear-
ing. On foot at 6:00 a.m. in Monahans . This is the low
point of the trip. We'll never get that *&?//% truck
fixed. Already I'm wondering how we'll ever get home.
Andy takes charge and we walk around to s ~ v e r l places
(by now it is 8:00) and finally locate a guy \who thinks
he can do the job.
We locate a bearing the first parts house we call. It
still takes 3 hours to get the job done. We eat one of
our everlasting roast beef sandwiches out of our grocery
store and sleep on the garage floor. Andy said he talked
to me for three minutes while I sat in the sun on a truck
tire, before he realized I was asleep.
On the road once more - $30.00 shorter and 6 hours
lost time. But on our way. Nothing can stop us now.
Nothing can stop us, but a load of bad gasoline sure
can slow us down.
Got the gas in Monahans (the god of bad luck and
challenge really stuck us there!) No way to use the over-
drive. Had to keep rpm up to get any power. Creeping
along C}t barely 65 (yes, we know, but it was a long,
3000 mile trip in 4-days and if the truck would pull the
load we would push it).
We nurse the truck the rest of the way into Dallas.
We add gas more often to try to dilute whatever problems
we have. We use "extra" instead of regular. It gets better,
but never good.
We finish the trip, arriving before sunset on the 4th
day of the trip. We have met and exceeded all goals. We
returned with the airplane in perfect shape thanks to
Andy's careful loading. We went 3000 miles - a real
endurance run - in four days with the '61 truck doing a
super job. I still don't know the cost but it was less than
Bekins $450.00 estimate and certainly lots less than the
$1600.00 quote. We crossed desert, mountain, big city
and through day and night.
But, we got the airplane home and that's what
counts!
17
THESAGA OF STM-S2C/n 476
STM-S2 c/n 476 starts its journey in December
1940, leaving San Diego and the Ryan factory for
shipment to the Netherlands East Indies (Java).
Arrived February 1941 and used by the Dutch Marine
Air Arm (MLD) out of Soerabaja as STM-S2 No. S-40.
By February 17, 1942, only 34 of the original
108 STM airplanes are left. These are shipped to
the Royal Australian Air Force. No. 476 is one of
these planes. It was delivered to the RAAF August
21, 1942 at Mascot Aerodrome and flew as ASO-30.
On June 12, 1946, the 26 surviving STM airplanes
are sold surplus to Brown & Dureau of Melbourne.
No. 476 has accumulated 170 hours of military flying
and is overhauled at this time. Registered as
VH-AGZ, No. 476 flies from Moorabbin (Melbourne) and
makes two trips to Tasmania (over 200 miles water!)
and back. Also flies to Berwick, Kerang and Yarra-
wonga. On August 3, 1957 she hit high tension lines
at Corowa and wrecked. Total time is 402 hours.
First flight test after repairs, on December 25,
1959. New tail cone (from c/n 448, Dutch Navy S-12)
is fitted and front cockpit reskinned. Owned by Mr .
B. Buchanan, Seymour, flights include Warranambool,
Benhalla, Ballarat and Broadford. Sold in 1964 to
Mr. E. R. D. Mackay with 555 hours.
Pa c
Flying the 1300 mile trip from Melbourne to
Rosedale, the engine quits and No. 476 ground loops
on landing at Charleyville. A new left landing gear
is fitted and on March 5, 1964 it arrives at Rosedale
(Jerico Station)
Flights include trips to Kensington, Long Reach,
Blackall and Barcaldine.
I f I
)----+----- .0 ----+------'''---1-------\
ASIA

p-
NORTH
AMERICA

o At lantic
-- ..
=---

__ ___
. o
SOUTH
" AMERICA
" o
20'
-t.:.:..:'c:---+-- ----,..",f- 40' ---+----+-----+----1-----1---.
January 1969, Dorr Carpenter goes to Australia
and buys No. 476 with 597 hours total time. Dorr
flies it from Jerico to Sydney via Roma, Cliffton
and Scone. January 20, 1969, Rex Aviation (Banks-
town) crates No. 476 for shipment to the USA .
Shipped via the Australian Gem steamship from
Sydney t o New York City, No. 476 returns home after
29 years in the Far East. From New York to Lake
Bluff is via truck . Dorr Carpenter checks her over
and relicensed No. 476 as N288Y with 613 hours time.
Dorr flies No . 476 between July and October 1969.
At that time it is sold to Jeff Cannon and shipped to
him in California via United Airlines DC-8 freighter.
It is shortly sold to Mike Cuddy of Thousand Oaks who
takes it out of service with 630 hours total time for
a major in December 1971.
STM-S2 No. 476 remained stored from December 1971
through January 1975. During this time the wings and
flying surfaces are recovered. Purchased by Mitch
Mayborn in January 1975 and hauled from California to
Dallas, Texas via truck. Restoration to flying status
should be complete by fall 1975 and as N7779, No. 476
should be flying once more.
Downers Grove Squadron,
By Maj or Florence Westholm
Civil Air Patrol Auxiliary
(All Photos by Jack Signorell i)
Of The United States Air Force
Sandy Cl ock with Cadet
over Naper Aero.
The Downers Grove Squadron, CAP, has put the "air"
back in Civil Air Patrol. . The unit placed ninth nationally
in the 1974 competition among more than two thousand
cadet and composite squadrons.
During 1974, some 300 hours of instruction was
accomplished in powered aircraft and gliders. Two
classic airplanes are used to provide all of the powered
flight instruction. A neighbor, Mr. Gar Williams, pur-
chased a J-3 Cub, N92227, to be used as a primary train-
er, that is, to take the student pilot through solo in a
simple taildragger before advancement into the Cessna
140A which in addition to being more difficult in ground
handling also has a full gyro panel.
The other trainer is a 1950 Cessna 140A, N9682A,
which was purchased three years ago by three unit mem-
bers for flight instruction. It is only one of one hundred
Major Florence Westholm explains
svmbols on a Chi cago sectional to
cadet members of the uni t.
and fifteen 140's with an 85 hp Continental engine. As it
was used it became apparent that it was, indeed, a very
nice aircraft and the project of restoring it became as
important as flying it.
Three years ago cadets and Seniors of the unit began
stripping off the paint. Eight coats of paint covered most
of the control surfaces . Arrangements were made to have
it pain ted according to t he original Cessna scheme.
Photos in books, the original owner's manual, a nd an
original parts manual were used to determine the origi-
nal markings. Since it was confirmed that some 140A's
were completely painted, it was decided that N9682A
would also become a completely painted craft. Dupont
Imron was used in the colors matching as closely as
possible that used originall y on the aircraft. The interior
is yet to be completed. Only recently the material for the
19
headliner and the rest of the upholstery was found to
match that being produced by a company that makes
fabrics for restoring model A Ford's . The fabric shop at
Cessna still has the patterns and the plan is to purchase
the fabric and restore the interior to its original state.
The only changes made to the aircraft were the addi-
tion of dual brakes, the IFR panel with gyros, a 360
channel radio and the STC'd strobe installation. With
regard to flight instruction, those CAP cadets and
Seniors receiving instructions in both of the aircraft have
a rigorous training program provided by CFI's Al Freedy,
Stan Tonkin, Art Arnett, Nick Selig, and Sandy Clock.
First of all, all students receive spin training (Look at
your girl friend's house spin and look at your friend's
girl friend's house spin, that is, both left and right spins).
Then, of course, each student must become proficient in
making wheel landings as well as all other flight maneu-
vers required by the recent changes in the FARs. Thus
cross countries are a real challenge in this aircraft. We
also have an FAA certified ground school for both in-
terested cadets and Seniors to prepare them for their
private pilot written examination.
Two cadets have obtained their licenses in the Cessna
140A: ClLt. Col. Ed Powers and ClSSgt Greg Reese. Re-
cent soloes include ClWO Mark Stodola, ClLt. Col. Mark
Signorelli, ClWO Rich Wolf, and ClA-lC John Quinn .
Cadets who received their licenses in tricycle gear air-
craft are, of course, challenged to solo the Cessna 140A.
So far three cadets, ClLt. Col. Boyd Bender,
CWO-STP Bob Castle, and ClCapt. Steve Puis have ac-
cepted the challenge. ClWO Mark Stodola earned his
license in a Cessna 150 as the Cessna 140A was being
annualed at the time. Cadets who are too young to solo
a plane but are challenged by fl ying are sent for glider
training to Hinckley Soaring Enterprises headed by Mr.
AI Freedy and his tea m of flight instructors and two
pilots. ClLt. Col. Greg Augst soloed in a glider before he
moved to Arizona; ClLt. Col. Robert Haddick soloed
and ClLt . Col. Joel Signorelli earned his glider license
(they were 15 and 16 years of age, respectively).
(jesides a strong flying program, we also have a
s trong Civil Air Patrol cadet program which is ad-
ministered by our cadets under the guidance of com-
petent Seniors. The program emphasizes a general
knowledge of aviation: its past history and current
impact on our lives and leadership: effective people
management. In addition, to the rewards of flying 6
cadets and 1 Senior over the years have spent time in
foreign countries as part of the International Air Cadet
Exchange (lACE), toured the FAA academy in Okla-
homa City and have been guests at the Arnold Space
Center in Huntsville, Alabama. These activities were
sponsored by the Air Force through our National Head-
quarters. To add impetus to our program on a local level,
regular field trips are planned. The unit has toured the
local FSS, ARTCC, control towers, airline hangars, Air
Guard facilities as well as the EAA museum and the AF
museum at Dayton. Thus our unit prepares cadets for
careers in engineering, aerospace science, general avia-
tion, and all related fields . Cadets from the unit are at
the Citadel, the AF Academy, in schools of aviation at
Southern Illinois University, and the University of Illi-
nois, and various engineering programs. One cadet is
currently a CAP reCipient of an AFROTC scholarship at
Purdue University. Two recent past commanders of the
Cadets are Air Force pilots: 1st Lt. Raymond Schlanser,
USAF and 2nd Lt. Larry Larson, USAF. Both earned their
licenses while members of the unit. Lt. Schlanser also
earned his glider pilot's license. In conclusion, the real
success of our unit can be summarized as: GAP is FUN,
FLYING and following the CADET PROGRAM, and
FLYING TAILDRAGGERS (CLASSIC AIRPLANES).
Left to right . FAA designee examiner AI
check ride with CAP Cadet Joel Signorelli.
Seniors also receive flight instruction in the Cessna
140A. Pictured above is SM Melania Wilson who is
receiving flight instruction in the squadron plane. SM
Wilson is the third member of her family to join the
unit. Her husband, Ron, is currently the squadron
operation officer and her daughter Wanda is a squad
leader.
Cadet Wanda Wilson tries her hands on the controls
while Cadet Dave Haak looks on. Both cadets look for-
ward to the day when they, too, will solo in the glider.
20
AIR CURRENTS
ByBuck Hilbert
President,Antique/Classic
Type Club Interest continues to grow. We've had
newsletters and inquiries from just about all of them to
date. Constant monthly repeaters are the International
Ercoupe Association, Carl Bury's Stampe Club, The Cub
Club headed up by J. T. " Bucky" McGeoghegan (GAGAN)
whose address is Round Tower Ranch at Ojai, Califor-
nia 93023. The Aeronca Club, the Staggerwing Club.
The Monocoupe Club and the West Coast Ryan Club
headed up by Wm. B. Richards at 2490 Greer Rd., Palo
Alto, California 94303.
The ever newsey Little round Engine Flyer and the
Wisconsin Chapter newsletter come from Ken Williams
at 331 E. Franklin St., Portage, Wis. 53901, and the Penn
a Tri-State Chapter news comes from Charles Stewart
at Coraopolis, Pa. EAA Chapter 260 of Dolton, Ill . always
sends their ca lendar of events and keeps us up to date
on the South Side events around Dolton, Illinois. Chapter
180 is back in existence down around Sarasota, Fla. and
the President is Lee Bennett 4462 Maygog, Sarasota
33581.
Letters thi s month are running as high or higher than
usual. I've been pushing people to put down on paper
anything that might be interesting to all our members to
put into Vintage Airplane. So far we have promises from
some of our fortner contributors and some new ones too,
Garth Elliot of Ontario, Canada is going to do an article
on Cubs in Canada and old Wally Wingover may come
out of hiding and do some of hi s past articles over agai n.
And Norb Binski of the Cross & Cockade is gonna write
up his Fleet project. How about some of you guys getting
in on this too, a coupl e pages of explanatory notes and
some pictures, prefe rably 5x7 black & whites will do the
It All Happened In July of '69
ByNorbertBinski
I had always dreamed of having a Fleet, but this was
a fantasy beyond my wildest imagination. Then one day
I received a call from a good friend Julius "Rosey" Head.
He had located two Fleets and had to buy both to make
a deal. Do you want a Fleet? We all know the answer to
that.
The next time I heard from Rasey was at 2:00 a.m.
in the morning. He was on his way over with a Fleet on
his trailer.
Can you imagine the comments when I called a
couple of friends to help unload an airplane at 2:00 a.m.
in the morning.
Well , little did I know how many more sleepless
nights that Fleet would bring.
It was a good thing I was half asleep, because you
can't imagine how I felt when I saw that hopeless
mess. The only consolation was that it was a model 7
and very rare.
Many of the parts were missing including the engine.
The wings looked like somebody had walked across
them. The upper wing was deliberately cut in half.
The only lucky thing that happened was I found a
Zero majored B 5 Kinner.
I spent the next two years trying to make them
bones look like an airplane.
job nicely. No fancy manuscripts, just put it down on
paper.
R. O. Cornelius of Chico, Cal. sent some real tough
questions and some pictures of instruments that he has
acquired. I couldn' t identify them or their origin, but it
was fun trying. Mike Mandiak, a photographer from
Lackawanna, New York, really threw me a curve. He
wanted to know why we always parked the airplanes at
Oshkosh facing north. After years of attending the con-
vention and photographing them facing in that direction
he felt it was time for a change. Howard Holman of Sky
Ranch, Wayne, Maine is looking for a pair of original
Wheel Pants for hi s J-3. Good luck Howard. Sure hope
you can come up with them. They are even more scarce
than Warner parts.
As usual Nick Rezich is hosting the an nual OX-5 picnic
at the Rezich Ranch near Rockford. Maybe he oughta
invite Chapter 260 to come out there to launch their
Balloons the same day. Chapter 260 has a real novel
fu nd raising project. They launch helium filled toy bal-
loons with a message inside at their annual picnic. You
buy the balloon and the return addressed post card from
the chapter. Then if the post card is returned from some
far away place and yours is farthest, you win a portable
TV set. How about that?
New spars were made and every nib was removed,
disassembled, straightened and repaired.
Every nut and bolt or part that could be removed was
taken off cleaned and repaired. All this work was being
done in my garage basement and a small barn I was
renting.
Now came time to assemble. The barn was too small.
The Chicago chapter Antique Airplane Assn. was
looking for an airplane to display at a shopping center.
A perfect place to see if it all fits together.
This was N1929B's first public appearance since its
rebirth. The fleet still needed to have instruments and
control cables installed and covering.
After this I realized that I must have a proper place
for this bird.
Well the search started for a farm, airstrip or what
have you to caIl home.
Now 3 years later I have finaIly settled on an airstrip,
built a home and hangar.
With a little luck and a few months of work, the Fleet
and I will celebrate in the air where we belong.
21
A Hidden Hazard
Within recent weeks two of our good Illinois airmen
were killed in an accident which was caused by a hidden
failure in the aircraft. Shortly after completion of an
annual inspection on an old aircraft (antique), the own-
er attempted a loop. One of the wing struts failed near
the lower end and the wing separated from the aircraft.
Investigation showed that although the strut had a good
coat of paint on it, the steel strut had corroded from the
inside, and then failed under the added load applied in
the loop.
While it is true that wing struts and fuselage tubing
are treated during the manufacturing process to prevent
such internal corrosion, there are times when the treat-
ment does not seem to be eternal in its effects. In some
manner or another moisture gets inside this tubing and
in time rust thins the tubing from the inside. The result
is a weakened structure unable to bear the loads which
might be imposed on it.
We have seen the same situation show up in the
tubing used for longerons in some of the older fabric
covered aircraft. We have seen situations where an ice
pick could be pushed through the lower surface of every
longeron in the aircraft near the aft end of the fuselage.
This is often a difficult condition to detect. Even the
most skilled mechanics at times have been fooled by
the excellent appearance of the outside of the tubing.
We have two suggestions.
First, if you are rebuilding an aircraft which has such
steel struts or a steel tube fuselage, ask the mechanic
doing the work to give special attention to detecting such
a condition if it exists .
Secondly, we suggest you avoid applying sharp, high
load factors to these older aircraft unless the integrity
of the structure has been recently carefully checked.
We like and enjoy the antiques too, but be very sure
of their condition before you fly them.
FROM ILLINOIS AVIATION
Retyped September 4, 1975
DH-82 Tiger Moth, former RAAF Serial Number A17-
712, as seen before recovery at Tully, Queensland.
LETTERS
Hi BUCk:
Just a note to say how much LOis and I en-
joyed our stay at Oshkosh. So after nearly
4,000 miles we are back safely home and our
trailer parked for another year.
We were very pleased to have met you as
this was part of our going to Oshkosh.
What I also wanted to say was that I most
certainly enjoyed your article on Henley
Field in Idaho and your meeting with Skee-
ter Carlson who we have met on several
occasions. We go to their (Chapter 79) fly-in
every year and get to make many friends
from the Spokane Chapter of EM. We were
down there last weekend to attend their
gathering but unfortunately, the weather was
right on the deck so they had to cancel their
plans. But I did meet a few of the boys there,
some of whom had flown to Oshkosh. The
rain most certainly didn't dampen their spirits.
I think Henley is a perfect spot to relax and
as you said , enjoy your dinner as well as
watch their various activities.
I wish I had known you were going to be
there and I would have flown my J3 down and
given you a joy ride.
I see Walt Redfern has added another
Fokker Tri-wing to the group at Henley.
My best to you in all your endeavors.
Sincerely,
Denny Hughes
Dear Buck :
Please find enclosed a bank draught for
U.S. $10.00 for this years subs.
When I first joined the Antique/ Classic
Division, I was looking to buy a Ryan S-T-M,
a very scarce item indeed. The Ryan I was
after was eventually bought by an RAAF,
F-III jockey to aid the restoration of his own
Ryan, UH-RAE. At least this machine is in the
right hands.
I've since bought an aircraft (two in fact)
for restoration. As the initial purchase in-
cluded both a DH Tiger Moth and an Auster F
III , I took in a partner, with the view of re-
storing both machines. We've since sold the
Auster to Mr. G. Law of Berwick, Victoria,
who is actively rebuilding il.
Now we are well into the restoration of the
Tiger Moth and are enjoying this hobby
immensely. There are a number of other
restorations in our area, most of which are
also Tigers. I'm realizing now, the good for-
tune I had in locating these two machines as
it is extremely difficult to find old aircraft in
Australia, most of them having been bought
up by prOfiteering exporters or enthusiasts try-
ing to save them from being sent overseas.
As a result of this, the enthusiasm has grown,
and the number of projects has boomed.
Anyhow, I ' ll keep you informed of the
Tiger's progress. Here are some pics in the
meantime.
Sincerely,
Graham Orphan
20 Tallaroon SI.
Jindalee 4074 Brisbane
Queensland, Australia
22
'
August 15, 1975
WACO AIRCRAFT - CORROSION INSPECTION
Intergranular corrosion was found in the spar crush bushings in all wing fittings of a Waco Model UPF-7 aircraft
during overhaul. The corrosion was most prevalent in the lower wing at the root and "N" strut fittings. It is recom-
mended that these areas be examined very closely during inspections. The bushings are a close press fit and can be
removed by USing a wooden dowel and a hammer. If they are seized, this is a good indication of expansion caused by
intergranular corrosion. When this occurs, the spar holes should be checked for elongation caused by expansion of
the bushing. It may be necessary to remove the reinforcing plates to accomplish this inspection. If the spar holes
are elongated it may be necessary to replace the entire spar.
These conditions may exist in other models of Waco aircraft or other aircraft of similar design.
r ""'"
i
Lo we,,- W'''IO FRO"'T
RooT ,!",,"T INct
TVPlc.o-l B\J3\iING INST"LL"lION
"T 4. BOTT- END fiTTING3
WING SPAR CRUSH BUSillNGS
- ZOSlO zfa"le
WACO UPF" - WI"-IG GEOMe.'TRY
Please submit an FAA Malfunction or Defect Report if any of these conditions are encountered. FAA Form 8330-2,
available from the local General Aviation District Office, may be used for reporting purposes.
1 GENERAL AVIATION INSPECTION AIDS
23
Before and after - the Ford Trimotor fuselage which Antique/Classic Vice-President J. R. Nielander
recently recovered in Nicaragua for the EAA Museum is shown how it appeared in the jungle. In the
other photo, it is shown after it arrived by truck at the EAA Museum. EAAer Tony Sabatino donated
his time to bring the aircraft back from Corpus Christi , Texas, where the local EAA Chapter members
were of tremendous assistance. A detailed story will appear in a future issue.
3RD ANNUAL CUB FLY-IN
By Gar Williams
"Waukesha Tower, Cessna 25485."
"Cessna 485, Waukesha Tower."
"Waukesha, 485 ten south, leading flight of 14 J-3s,
landing Waukesha."
SILENCE! (Hmmm - did my receiver quit?)
"Cessna 485, are you requesting special VFR? Wau-
kesha has sky partially obscured, 25 thousand thin over-
cast, mile and a half in fog and haze."
"Waukesha, 485 and flight eight south. Special VFR
request for 0825 arrival made arid granted by phone prior
to takeoff."
SILENCE!!
" 485, report five south."
"485. "
" Waukesha, 485 and flight five south."
"485, hold your flight outside the control zone! I've
got an IFR inbound."
"Waukesha, I can't stop these guys!"
SILENCE!!
"Cherokee 41 Mike, where you at?"
"Waukesha, 41 Mike, VOR, 3 minutes from Wauke-
sha."
"41 Mike, use caution, no radio Curtiss Pusher in pat-
tern for 36 right - FLIGHT OF 14 CUBS APPROACHING
FROM SOUTH!"
" Cessna 485, advise when field in sight."
"485."
"Waukesha, 41 Mike right downwind 28."
" 41 Mike, cleared to land 28 right. "
"Waukesha, 485 and flight one south, field in sight."
"485, cleared to land on the grass, 36 right. Are all
those Cubs going to be able to land on the same grass
runway?"
"Waukesha, 485 - affirmative!"
"But I got ships on downwi nd for grass 36R, grass
36L - AND WHAT'S THAT TAYLORCRAFT DOING?"
With the comforting knowledge that we have been
under Big Brother's control the J-3 overcast drifted slow-
ly over the airport, fell politely in line and slipped to a
dewey landing on the grass at Waukesha, Wisconsin.
What a start to the second day of the Antique and Clas-
sic Division's Annual "Cub" Fly-In at Burlington, Wis-
consin. Taildraggers will endure anything for a good fly-
in breakfast!
Back at Burlington, after an equally frustrating dis-
course with Big Brother on the departure of fourteen
"no radio" Cubs, the activities continued. Short Field
Takeoffs, Flour Bombings, Barrier Landings, buddy hops,
picture taking - what a way to spend a weekend!
The Burlington site is the most attractive future home
of the EAA Air Museum. Here in the shade of many huge
old oaks, one can camp in an atmosphere of serene
country woods yet the proximity of the runway allows
you to bring your Cub - or Champ, or whatever - right
to the campsite. The condition of the Museum property
is outstanding - neat, clean and well trimmed. Inter-
spersed through the northern part of the woods are some
of the larger Museum display aircraft - Skyraider, BT-13,
AT-ll. Just across the runway - some 300 yards - is the
Burlington EAA maintenance and storage faCility. With-
in this building are most of the flyable Museum air-
craft - looking inside would find most people astounded
at the cleanliness of a maintenance facility . Certainly an
exhibit for which we should all be proud!
The Antique and Classic Division has invited all Cub
owners to this beautiful site for a Cub Fly-In during the
early summer for the last 3 years. Certainly, this is clas-
sified as a regional fly-in but it's surprising how far some-
one is willing to go to bring their prized J-3 to a gathering
of yellow eagles! This year found Kerry Sim and Kris
Bach traveling from near Toronto in hi s modified "sand
and spinach" J-3. Sometimes people seem to be proud
of averaging "only 48 mph" ! This Cub has been modified
to the PA-ll configuration and the airplane/pilot com-
bination is an excellent example of grassroots "let's
have fun" flying.
The oldest Cub was also (not by too far) the slowest
Cub. Squadron Leader "Let's-penetrate-the-control-
zone" Gene Chase led the flock at 55 mph (statute, indi-
cated) in his 1935 Continental A-40 E-2. This ship had been
originally resurrected from the graveyard by another
Wisconsin antiquer, Ken Williams. Would you believe
it cost Ken 85 bucks and a shotgun - howbeit some years
ago! Gene has done very well in keeping this E-2 air-
worthy and doesn't hesitate to loan it out at the asking
for a trip "around the patch".
The games are ideal exercise for a Cub - putting
everybody on equal footing and making the outcome a
function of skill. Although not restricted to just Cubs,
it's hard to beat the short field performance of a J-3. As
a matter of fact it's a fine bombing paltform as well!
The short field takeoff was won by EAA Museum em-
ployee Dorothy "Carrot Top" Aiksnoras with an A-75
powered, "home-brew" fueled '46 J-3. Weighing in at
98 pounds (including orange braids) she beat all others
by at least a fuselage length . No one knows what hap-
pened to the Cub drivers in the Barrier Landing and Bomb
Drop - Joe Simandl won both with his rare Lycoming
powered, stick equipped, pre-war Chief.
Although not restricted to J-3's, the Cub Fly-In has
proven itself to be a real fun week-end. Many other
types show up and, of course, are quite welcome, but
the comradeship associated with the operators of this
immortal design of C. G. Taylor and Bill Piper add a very
unique flavor to fly-ins. Try one in your area - you' ll do
it again!
PIPER )-3 CUBS
NC 30233 George Williams, Portage, Wisc.
CF-NOU Kerry Sim and Kris Bach, Garrie, Ont. ,
Canada
NC 1525N Jack and Golda Cox, Hales Comers,
Wise.
NC 15676 (E-2) Gene Chase, Hales Corners, Wisc.
NC 38259 Daro Miles and Marty Hvarre,
Camp Lake, Wisc.
NC 42621 Dave and Phyllis Hamilton, Anderson,
Ind.
N92227 Dorothy Aiksnoras, Milwaukee, Wisc.
NC 35098 John McCann, Oak Park, m.
N 70444 Bob Cruthis and Lois Palmer, Decatur,
m.
N 87937 Peter and C. H. Smith, Plainfield, III .
NC 36471 Dick Hill, Lyons, Wisc.
N 2ll0M
Joe and Janie Henley, Cherry Valley, III .
N 70652 Bill Thomas, Belvidere, Ill.
N 87771 Norm Shuff, Watertown, Wisc.
N 32920 AI Kelch, Mequon, Wisc.
OTHER PIPERS
N 7382D-
SuperCub
John Schuster, Waterford, Wisc.
N 7422D -
Tri Pacer
Dick Walling, Muscatine, Iowa
N 4225M-
PA-12
Jack Taylor, Mt. Prospect, Ill.
N 2953M-
PA-12
Tom Mulvey, Palatine, Ill.
OTHERS
N 84231 Ron Berggent, Burlington, Wisc.
Aeronca Champ
NC25485 GarWilliams, Naperville, Ill.
Cessna Airmaster
NC13556 Buck Hilbert, Union, Ill.
Aeronca C-3
NC53298 Dick Perry, Hampshire, Ill.
Beech Staggerwing
N 13139 Al Kelch, Mequon, Wisc.
Franklin Sport
N 3603 Tom McCann, Naperville, Ill.
Nieuport17
N 25570 . Ken Williams, Portage, Wise.
Rearwin Sportster
NC87618 Gene Smith, Topeka, Ks.
Monocoupe90AL
N 3615H Tim Casserly, Rockford, Ill.
Ercoupe
N 44204 Geneand AudreyTownsend,
Taylorcraft Decatur, Ill.
N 33702 Joe Simandl, West Allis, Wise.
AeroncaChief
N 4189V
JohnJ. Kaspar, Chicago, Ill.
Cessna170
N 9935A Loren Gilbert, Rio, Wise.
Cessna 170
N 82198 HugoFeugen, Mendota, Ill.
Aeronca Champ
N 12380 W. E. Ropp, Delray Beach, Fla.
Travel Air
N 1970K Bob Adamec, Plainfield, Ill.
Luscombe8E
N 3396E Augie Wegner, Kenosha, Wise.
Aeronca Chief
N 355E Ed Georgeand H. Koplin
Ercoupe
N 3706 C. Shuster, Chicago, Ill .
T-18
NC 19464 Tom Rench, Racine, Wisc.
Cessna Airmaster
N 7968G Ray Konrath, Westchester, Ill .
Cessna Skyhawk
N 61179 John D. Banaszak, Hammond, Ind.
Cesna150J
N Bob Ladd, Milwaukee, Wise.
FakkerFokker
AWARDS
Best Custom Bui lt
Bob Ladd, Milwaukee, Wisc. - Fakker Fokker D 6-1/2
Best Original Classic
DaveHamilton, Anderson, Ind. - J-3 Cub
26
Best Restored Antique
GarWilliams, Naperville, Ill.
Short Field Take Off
DorothyAiksnoras,Milwaukee, Wise. - J-3CubN92227
Longest Distance
KerrySimandKris Bach, Barrie, Ont. , Canada- PA-11
CubCF NOU
Spot Landing
Joe Simandl, WestAllis, Wise. - Aeronca ChiefN33702
Cross Country Bombing
Joe Simandl, WestAllis, Wisc. - Aeronca ChiefN33702
OSHKOSH FLY-IN STATISTICS
1975
Seventh day statistics - August 4, 1975
1973 1974 1975
Custombuilt 390 473 479
Antique 168 173 171
Classic 422 512 466
Warbird 101 117 126
Rotorcraft 27 28 30
Replica 4
Special 22 42 66
1120 1345 1338
Above numbers are subject to revision upon final check
ofall registrations.
TOTAL AIRCRAFT MOVEMENTS
FirstDay 7,559 5,124 5,770
Second Day 6,177 12,720 11,450
Third Day 6,970 13,645 12,900
Fourth Day 10,422 14, 754 16,232
Fifth Day 11,140 12,443 4,660
Sixth Day 12,071 6,407 13,140
Seventh Day 4,101 4,945 3,162
Totals 58,440 70,128 67,314
(PhotobyLee Fray)
The 1928 Folkerts High Wi ng - designed by Clayton
Folkerts - on displ ay i n the EAA Aviat i on Museum.
"That Same Old Question
And A Tragic Answer"
By Buck Hilbert
President, EAA Antique/Classic Division
Back in the March '73 Vintage Airplane, I wrote
an editorial about aerobatics in our old Antique & Classic
airplanes . The entire thing was to make people think,
to think about the structural integrity of a machine
twenty-two years old. Doing aerobatics is fun. When you
at least have the mental assurance that your machine
is going to hang together; that it is structurally sound.
But again, what about that old bird of yours? When
did it have its last annual? Was it thorough as it should
have been? And, even if it was, the article appearing in
this issue courtesy of Illinois Aviation, serves to illustrate
that maybe there is something internally wrong with
the machine that a casual, or as the case may be, a
rigid inspection will not and cannot reveal.
I watched Don Taylor from the lAC Division rebuild
his Great Lakes a few years back. He replaced every
spar, all the hardware, and went over that airplane with
a fine tooth comb and a microscope. I felt that he was
overcautious, but then when we tore down Mr. Fleet to
restore him, we found cracked bones, frayed cables,
worn fairleads and just all sorts of discrepancies. He was
forty-three years old, had been recovered several times,
and still looked good ... outside.
Give it some thought, and if you can truthfully say
you've nothing to be concerned about, then have at it
1
<.. _ ,
Th!
~ .. rlD
(Photo by Lee Fray)
Famed race driver Johnny Rutherford is pictured here
with World Aerobatic Champion Charlie Hillard (right)
next to the Aresti Cup, awarded the World Champion
during the World Aerobatic Contest. Rutherford spent
a day recently visiting the Museum and is currently
involved in a Stewart P51 project of his own.
(Photo by Lee Fray)
The " Spirit " being towed to Hales Corners for its first
flight after being on display at the EAA Museum for
quite some time. From Hales Corners Airport, Dave
Jameson flew the aircraft on to Oshkosh.
27
(Photo by Lee Fray)
Gil Bodeen - of the EM staff - poses next to the Pfalz
OX/! in which he had a large part in restoring. Gil had
to do extensive woodwork on the fuselage to make the
craft suitable for display in the EM Museum. The Pfalz
is on loan from the Smithsonian.
(Photo by Lee Fray)
The original Stits Playboy, N8K, now on display in the
EM Museum, donated by EMer Ray Stits. The aircraft
was flown from California to Wisconsin by Bill Turner.
28
WASHINGTON OFFICIALS VISIT
EAA CONVENTION IN OSHKOSH
On August 1 and 2, governmental officials from Wash-
ington visited the Experimental Aircraft Association's
AnnuaJ Fly-In Convention and Sport Aviatjon Exhibition
in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Almost unanimously, these offi-
cials expressed their surprise and amazement at the size,
magnituoe, and cleanliness of what is now recognized
as the world's largest aviation event.
Among these officials was Acting Administrator of the
Federal Aviation Administration James Dow. In remarks
before approximately 3,000 EAA members at the con-
Mr. Dow stated that he was most impressed
with EAA's annual event, the quality of the aircraft on
the field, the excellent cooperation between FAA and
EAA officials, and the fine working relationship between
EAA and FAA.
Three Congressmen visited Oshkosh for the first
time. These were Representa tives Dale Milford, Gene
Snyder, and Jim Lloyd. All are involved in aviation policy-
making in the Congress and were deeply impressed with
the Standards and breadth of the EAA movement. On
their departure Saturday night, all expressed their ap-
preciation for the hospitality extended by EAA members
and officials.
By far, Oshkosh 1975 saw the largest contingent of
officials from the Congress, The Department of Trans-
portation and the Federal Aviation Administration.
EAA HONORS
"GREATS OF AVIATION"
IN OSHKOSH
The Experimental Aircraft Association honored many
of the people who made aviation what it is today, in spe-
cial ceremonies held during its Annual Fly-In Conven-
tion and Sport Aviation Exhibition at Wittman Field,
Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
Some 38 aviation personalities were in attendance.
Included were such famous names as T. Claude Ryan,
C. G. Taylor, Bob and Ed Granville, Eldon Cessna, Jim
Church, Jack Rose, Mike Murphy, Len Povey, Steve Witt-
man, Tony LeVier, "Fish" Salmon and many others.
The day' s ceremonies began with the dedication of a
historical marker near Basler Aviation on Wittman Field,
commemorating Steve Wittman's contributions to avia-
tion and the Oshkosh community. Following this dedi-
cation, the "greats" got an extensive tour of the con-
vention site, a lunch hosted by EAA Chapter 252 of Osh-
kosh, participated in a forum, attended the evening air-
show, and then were honored at a special awards pre-
sentation during the evening convention program. Over
3,000 EAA members gave a standing ovation to these
"greats" at the conclusion of the day's activities.
All expressed their appreciation to EAA for being in-
vited and said they would be back again next year.
(Photo by Lee Fray)
The 1912 Curtiss Pusher -donated to the EM Museum
by Dale Crites of Waukesha, Wisconsin.
(Photo by Dick Stouffer)
Bellanca 14-13-2 at Oshkosh.
(Photo by Dick Stouffer)
Congressman Dale Milford's Temco Buckaroo. Even
though he did not personally fly the aircraft to Osh-
kosh, Representative Milford did visit the Fly-In on
August 2, along with Representatives Gene Snyder
and Jim Uoyd.
(Photo by Lee Fray)
Some of the CAP cadets who were of great assistance
during this year's EAA Convention in Oshkosh. These
cadets were hand-picked from the midwest area and
helped in many areas.
30
CIVIL AIR PATROL CADETS
HELP AT EAA
OSHKOSH CONVENTION
Civil Air Patrol Cadets from nine different Midwest
states assisted in key areas in the operation of the Ex-
perimental Aircraft Association's Annual International
Sport Aviation Convention and Exhibition at Oshkosh,
Wisconsin.
The Civil Air Patrol is the official auxiliary of the U.S.
Air Force and involves young people between the ages
of 13 and 21 years of age. Under public law, CAP pro-
vides emergency aircraft rescue service, aerospace edu-
cation for cadets, and the very active cadet program. Jim
Pope, Chairman of the FAAICAP Coordinating Com-
mittee stated, "EAA' s Fly-In Convention in Oshkosh pro-
vides cadets with a tremendous opportunity to gain ex-
posure to aviation." CAP hopes that this combination
working and learning exposure will be expanded in fu-
ture years to involve cadets from all over the nation.
Specifically, cadets are providing services in flight
line operations, the control center, aircraft parking,
emergency aircraft repair and photography.
In addition to augmenting EAA volunteers in the Fly-
In' s operation, each cadet will have scheduled time in
each of the Fly-In's workshops. These workshops cover
such areas as aircraft covering, synthetics, woodwork-
ing, sheet metal, and welding.
EAA believes that the future of aviation lies in the
involvement of young people now. It hopes that the
cadets will gain from their exposure to sport aviation
and that this will further spur their interest in aviation.
THE JAYCEES AND EAA DO IT!
From AIRTALES
EAA Chapter 160 Newsletter
Erie, Pennsylvania
To call it a success would be an understatement, be-
cause the smile of a plane ride for the first time on the
face of a youngster is a thrill for everyone. The smile
from a crippled child from the same experience is grati-
fying. In case you weren't there, the First Annual Erie
Jaycees-EAA 160 Fly-In picnic for crippled children and
their families was a success. I say First Annual because
already, the Erie Jaycees have received thank you notes
and requests of the EAA and Jaycees to please do it again
next year. Adults and children alike all had a great time
at Moorhead Air Park on Sunday, August 17. As president
of the Erie Jaycees I want to personally thank all of you
who generously donated your time, airplanes and fuel
for a very successful joint community service project.
Gary Stevens
These World War I aircraft have long ago left our skies.
Can you identify them? Send your answers to Vintage
Airplane.
A B
C 0
5 10.1R .
31
(Photo by Eric Lundahl)
The De Havilland " Dominie" pictured at Oshkosh -
formerly owned by Richard Bach. The EAA Museum
has a similar aircraft, donated by Bob and Norma Pur-
year, whi ch is undergoing refurbishing now. The wings
and tail surfaces are covered and the fuselage will be
covered shortly.
(Photo by Lee Fray)
One of the highlights of this year's EAA Convention
in Oshkosh was the " Greats of Aviation Day" on July
31, 1975. Pictured here at a reception at Dorothy and
Steve Wittman 's home the night before the festivities
are C. G. Taylor, designer of the " Cub" and Taylor-
craft, Karl H. Whi te, designer of the Curtiss-Wright
" Junior" , and Paul and Audrey Poberezny.
32
AEROBATIC CONTEST ENDS
AT FOND DU LAC
The world's largest aerobatic contest came to a close
yesterday after setting new records for attendance, num-
ber of competitors and contest flights . The contest was
conducted at the Fond du Lac County Airport by the
International Aerobatic Club, a division of the Experi-
mental Aircraft Association. The competition is held
annually in conjunction with EAA's International Fly-In
Conventton and Sport Aviation Exhibition.
A total of 134 competitors participated in all four
classes of competition: Sportsman, Intermediate, Ad-
vanced and Unlimited . Fond du Lac, Wisconsin became
the aerobatic capitol of the world for the four days the
contest was in operation.
At lAC's Awards Banquet, the following winners were
announced in their respective categories:
UNLIMITED: Clint McHenry, Boca Raton, Florida
flying a Pitts S-l
ADVANCED: Chipper Melton, Boulder, Colorado
flying a Pitts S-l
INTERMEDIATE: John Keplinger, Palm Springs,
Florida flying a Pitts S-lS
SPORTSMAN: Giles Henderson, Charleston, Illi-
nois flying a Clipped Wing Cub
All the winners faced stiff competition considering
the size of the contest and number of contestants they
were pitted against. Sportsman category alone had 52
entrants. In addition, 8 women were entered in the com-
petition - setting a new record for Fond du Lac.
MINUTES
ANTIQUE/CLASSIC DIVISION BOARD MEETING
April 12, 1975
Conference Room, EAA Headquarters
The meeting was called to order by President Buck Hilbert
at 10:30 A.M. Division Officers and Board members attending
were:
E. E. "Buck"Hilbert
J. R. Nielander
Richard Wagner
MortonLester
GeorgeStubbs
ClaudeGray
GarWilliams
Jack Winthrop
Kelly Viets
Absent:
Evander Britt
Jim Horne
Al Kelch
Others attending were Jack Cox, Pauline Winthrop, Dorothy
Hilbert, Edna Viets, Mary Alice Williams and Dorothy Chase.
Minutes of the previous meeting in January had been mailed
to all Officers and Directors and the following correction was
made: J. R. Nielander is Co-Chairman of the Antique/Classic
Division for the Convention, and Kelly Viets is Chairman of
the Aircraft Parking withJack WinthropasCo-Chairman.
Secretary Wagner gave the following report on member-
shipin the Division:
1750 membershipsissued
1450 active members
30-40 new memberseach month
12 non EAA membersatthis time
Renewalrateis about85%
President Buck Hilbert reported that the type clubs are
becoming moreinterestedin theAntique/classicDivision.
Treasurer Gar Williams reported that the Division had a
working capital as of March 31, 1975 of $6,234.05. Gar also
stated he had attended an EAA Chapter meeting at Lockport,
IL and that they were not aware of the Antique/classic Divi-
sion's existence. He presented the program with slides and
explainedtheDivision'saims and goals.
It was suggested that consideration be given to sending
an issue of THEVINTAGE AIRPLANE to all EAA Chapters with
a letter containing information about the Division, asking
that the letter be read at the Chapter meeting. It was stated
that a copy of the publication (VINTAGE) was sent to each
ChapterPresidentinMay1974. Nofurther discussion.
Following a brief discussion, a motion was made by Dick
Wagner and seconded by Gar Williams that the Division pay
motel bills for 1 night for officers and directors attending
boardmeetings. Motioncarried.
A motion was made by Gar Williams and seconded by
George Stubbs that the Division repay J. R. Nielander $400.00
owed him by the Division. This amount was advanced to the
Division by J. R. in January to finance a purchase of jewelry
to be soldatthe Convention. Motion carried.
Amendments to the Division By-Laws were discussed and
will be presented for voting upon at the Annual meeting at
the Convention.
Petitions on file and recommended by the nominating com-
mittee for re-election arethe following:
Vice President- J. R. Nielander
Treasurer- Gar Williams
Directors:
Jim Horne
GeorgeStubbs
Morton Lester
Claude Gray
Ballots will b" mailed to all active members 60 days prior
to the annual meeting and results announced at the annual
meeting.
A report was given by Gar Williams, Judging Standards
Committee. Appointments to the committee were made by
the President to fill the void left by the committee appOinted
in January. The committee consists of Gar Williams, Dick
Wagner and Al Kelch. This modification to the committee was
approvedby theofficers of the Division.
Gar stated he had talked with Bob Taylor, AAA President
regarding the Divi sion's aim in setting up ground rules for
restoration standards for governing the judging of antique and
classic aircraft. Following a discussion on the clarification
of the intent of the rules and standards for judging these air-
craft, a motion was made by Morton Lester to support the
committee's presentation of rules, with the intention that the
rules as corrected this date be used at meets throughout the
country this year. Seconded by J. R. Nielander. Unanimously
carried. There was some discussion as to copy rights, etc.
but no more action taken. Al Kelch was appointed to get the
forms printedfor useinjudging.
Dick Wagner reported that a classified ad would appear in
several publications in an effort to increase the Division
membership. The ad will be coded so that we can monitor
the response.
Claude Gray suggested the Division publication include a
current column each month to keep members informed of what
the othermembers were working onandflying, etc.
The Annual business meeting was set for Monday, August
4 at9:00 A.M. atOshkosh.
Convention report by J. R. Nielander - J. R. is recruiting
volunteers and plans to set up a time schedule for each day
at the Convention. He suggested that each volunteer be given
a ride in an antique airplane. He stated that he would need
250 volunteers, working2-3 hourshifts.
It was stated that there wouldbe no camping in the Antique/
ClassicParking (Aircraft)area this year.
Gar and Mary Alice Williams will be in charge of pre-regis-
tering classics again this year. An announcement will appear
in the next Hot Line of SPORT AVIATION, asking members
to contact GarWilliams directly, for reservations.
It was suggested that the date and time of the Chicken
dinner in Ollie's Woods at the Convention be announced
far enough ahead of time and that arrangements be improved
overlastyear.
The meeting wasadjourned at 2:45 P.M.
Respectfully submitted,
DorothyE. Chase
EAA Divisions Executive Secretary
Minutesof Antique & Classic Division
Board Meetingat theEAA 1975 Convention
August 4, 1975at0900
Meeting began with an informal discussion of Division
Status within EAA structure until arrival of Directors Al Kelch
and Vice President J. R. Nielander when a quorum was then
met.
Meeting called to order by E. E. "Buck" Hilbert, with the
following officers anddirectors present:
E. E. "Buck" Hilbert, President
J. R. Nielander, Vice President
JimHorne wlproxy from EvanderBritt
Al Kelch wlproxy from Claude Gray
Kelly Viets
Jack Winthrop
Excused and absent without proxies Gar Williams, Treas-
urer; R. H. Wagner, Secretary; George Stubbs and Morton
Lester. Also absent was Divisions Secretary Dorothy Chase.
Also present were Ed Escallon, President of the Florida
Sport Aviation Antique & Classic Association, Bill Ehlen of
the Southeast Sport Aviation Council and Stan Gomoll, Presi-
dentofthe newlyformed MinnesotaChapter.
Ed Escallon was appointed to act as Secretary for the pur-
poses of this meeting. .
Election results were announced. The balloting committee
composed of Pauline Winthrop and Irene Gomoll provided
the count. Re-elected were the incumbents: J. R. Nielander,
Vice President by 274; Gar Williams, Treasuter by 276; Claude
Gray, Director, 270; Jim Horne, Director, 262; Morton Lester,
Director, 269; George Stubbs, Director, 268.
On the ballots submitted were write-ins of a very humorous
nature as*ell as some very talented and worthwhile individu-
als. There were 6 runners-up each with one vote for Vice
33
President, there were four runners-up for the Treasurer posi-
tion with one vote each and there were twenty-nine write-ins
for the Board with Ed Escallon (3), Ted Homan (2) and the re-
mainder with one each.
A discussion of Election Procedures followed. The ex-
pense of mailing and the cumbersome administrative effort
to hold and tally the ballots led to a motion by J. R. Nielander
to have the Division President appoint a nominating mechan-
ism committee, to study and rewrite this section of the By-
Laws. Seconded by Jim Horne and passed unanimously.
J. R. Nielander moved the By-Laws be amended to provide
staggered two year terms for the officers to assure continuity
of leadership and the benefit of one year's experience to new
incoming officers. Seconded by Kelly Viets . Passed u nani-
mously.
Discussion of EAA Membership tie-in as a prerequisite
for Division membership. Directors and Officers agreed that
although present administration duties are increased, the
idea be given a little more time that the prerequisite not be
enforced.
Discussion of the Minnesota Combined Chapter consist-
ing of both EAA and AAA members. This is a first.
Discussion of Type Club & EAA A&C Division tie-in by offer-
ing Chapter status to Type Clubs.
Motion by Al Kelch to encourage and invite type clubs to
become a combination Type Club Antique & Classic Division
Chapter. Seconded by Jim Horne. Passed unanimously.
Motion by Al Kelch that existing aviation organizations
sharing our mutual interests be invited to consider affiliation
as A&C Division Chapters. Seconded by Kelly Viets. Passed
unanimously.
Discussion of By-Laws:
Motion by member Bill Ehlen, Article VII, Section 1, Of-
ficers, Section 1 Paragraph (a) be amended to include, "And
will be members of EAA in good standing". Seconded by Jim
Horne. Carried unanimously.
Motion by J. R. Nielander that Article 8, Paragraph M be
amended to read, "Each board member must be a member
of the EAA and the Antique & Classic Division in good stand-
ing" . Seconded by Jim Horne. Carried.
Personal note of thanks to the Judging Committee for their
development of the new standards, to J. R. Nielander for his
extensive and far reaching efforts to make the convention a
success, and also to the volunteer workers for their parti-
cipation and help in making our part of the 1975 convention
the success it was. Special thanks to our parking committee
Chairmen Kelly Viets and Jack Winthrop.
Discussion of Judging Standards as developed by Gar
Williams and Al Kelch brought out the need for type clubs to
provide assistance to the Committee and the Judges on authen-
ticity of restorations during the 1976 Convention and at any-
time for that matter. J. R. Nielander will write to the various
Type Clubs and so inform them along his invitations to par-
ticipate at next year's Convention.
Discussion of additional problem areas and their possible
solution prompted the suggestion that members write to
President Buck with their ideas.
Motion to adjourn by Al Kelch, seconded by Kelly Viets.
Carried, and the meeting was adjourned at 1110 COT.
34
By
Ed Escallon
Acting Secretary
CLASSIFIEDS
RANGER AIRCRAFT ENGINE, model 6-440-C5 (200 HP)
443 TT, OSMOH, long term preservation, 1946, not
maintained, mags, logs, best offer. RANGER AIR-
CRAFT ENGINE, model V-770 (520 HP), not pre-
served, no logs, salvageable parts. Best offer. W. B.
Nixon, 609/452-5111. Please submit bids to Princeton
University, Box 33, Princeton, New Jersey 08540.
Attn: Philip Krier, Assistant Director of Purchasing.
WANTED TO BUY - Gull Wing Stinson SR-7 through
SR-10, V-77 & At-19 for restoration project. E. W.
Brockman, No. 1469, 14320 Joy Rd., Detroit, MI48228.
WANTED - Old CONTINENTAL A-40-4 Aircraft Engine
complete, also later Model Cont. 65 H.P. , What have
you? Please give full particulars, price - first letter -
Chas - Opalack, 1138 Industrial Ave. , Pottstown, PA
19464.
WANTED - Piper Cub J-3 about 1938-39-40 Models,
complete or in parts. Need a 1939 J-3 Cub FUSELAGE
mostly for one project, will also buy a Taylorcraft and
Aeronca complete Airplane needing restoration for
another project. Give FULL details in your first letters
please and fair prices, if you actuall y want to sell.
Chas . Opalack, 1138 Industrial Ave., Pottstown, PA
19464.
WANTED - 2 fuel tanks for 14-13, Lou Casey, 3909 Engle-
mar, NW, Washington, D.C. 20015, 2021537-1991.
'FOR SALE - Hamilton Standard propeller - 2B20-220
(6135A-15) and governor & large spinner from Ces-
sna 190. 4 hrs. since overhaul ' and polish: w/tags.
$695.00 or trade for Curtiss-Reed 96x71 in like condi-
tion. Also Cessna 190 cowl and engine mount: $150.00
each. Carburetor for W670-23 Cont. $125.00. Dennis
K. Owens, 140 Second St. , Deposit, NY 13754.
WANTED - PA-7A Pitcairn Mailwing Wheels needed for
a Smithsonian Restoration. The aircraft has to go
back to the Smithsonian by early 1976. Joe Toth and
Charles Lasher of Miami are rebuilding this one.
Contact Charlie Lasher if you know where they can
obtain a set of wheel s at: Southern Aeronautical Co.,
14100 Lake Candlewood Ct., Miami Lakes, Fla. 33014.
FREE - 1936 Terraplane Auto Wheels - FREE. 3 wheels
and 1 hubcap. Contact: Joe Evans, 2254 W. Alvina
Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53221.
WANTED - A pair of original J-3 wheel pants. Howard
C. Holman, Sky Ranch, Wayne, Maine 04284.
(Photo by Dick Stouffer)
Another EM Division, the International Aerobatic Club, held the world's largest aerobatic competi-
tion, in conjunction with the EM Fly-In Convention at Oshkosh this year at Fond du Lac, Wiscon-
sin. 135 competitors entered - they, their aircraft, and the contest officials are pictured here at
Fond du Lac on July 27, 1975.
..
(Photo by Lee Fray)
The Pober P-9 " Pixie", after its conversion to the Limbach engine. The aircraft is now equipped with
aspecial Sensenich wood propeller and is performing well.
-::. ..."t .-.:,:
(Photo by Lee Fray)
Some of the " Aviation Greats" congratulate Steve Wittman after the dedication of a historical
marke'r honoring Steve at Oshkosh' s Wittman Field. Left to right : Herman " Fish" Salmon, Clayton
Brukner, Bernie Pietenpol, Karl H. White, C. G. Taylor, Steve Wittman, Vernon Payne, Martin Jen-
sen, and Ed Granville.