GEOFF ROB I SON

PRESIDENT, VINTAGE AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATON

What is EAA to you?

It's often difficult for me to put into

print my perspective on what EAA
means to me. I'll bet the same is true
for you. Because it means so much to
us, and it's about so many things, it's
hard to get your head around it. It's
such a large part of my life, yet trying
to quantify it is hard. The challenge
to communicate the emotion and
passion I personally feel for this orga
nization is daunting. So, why is this
guy from the Vintage Aircraft Asso
ciation singing the praises of EAA? It's
simple; first and foremost, I'm an EAA
member. Everything else I choose to
engage in, including the VAA and the
B-17 tour, is an important part of the
whole package.
A long time ago, when I was al
lowed to engage myself deeper and
deeper into the soul of EAA, I came to
realize that all of the residual fun and
entertaining aspects of my member
ship had to be measured as secondary,
for it was the broader mission of the
organization that locked me in.
So many doors were opened for
me along the way, it hardly seemed
possible, but getting involved was
often as simple as knocking on that
door. What if that door never ex
isted? What if Paul and Audrey Po
berezny and their family and friends
had never pursued their passion and
created EAA for us? I am reasonably
certain that my life would have likely
never known the joys and pleasures
of aviation. The opportunities I have
grasped along the way have had a
large impact on my life, so it is diffi
cult for me to envision where I would
be today without EAA playing such a
large part in my life.
Just think for a moment about the

many friends you have met through

EAA, whether it's an Oshkosh friend
or a local chapter friend. How many
fewer friends would you personally
have? For me it would certainly have
meant not having had the opportu
nity to meet so many great people
like Steve Wittman, or John Miller, or
the Pobereznys. Maybe my life would
have been a little less fast paced, but it
for certain would have had a lot less
excitement in it!

Do you see yourself

as part of a

larger organization ,

one whose goal is to

further the causes

of recreational

aviation and expose it

to as many fol ks

as possible?

I am unable to fathom what the im

pact would have been to my life with
out EAA. This line of thought then gets
me to ruminating about the great pil
grimage to central Wisconsin to attend
The World 's Greatest Aviation Cele
bration. World's greatest? Sounds a lit
tle boastful to those of you who have
never made this pilgrimage, doesn't it?
Am I right? I would bet that every EAA
member who has attended Oshkosh
would consider that seemingly boast
ful statement for mere seconds before
they would wholeheartedly agree that

it is a perfectly fair assessment of EAA's

annual convention.
Many EAA members have stated
before that it is truly impossible to
properly describe in total the event
with mere words. EAA continues to
improve our web sites with videos and
stories of what goes on at these events,
and even those individuals who pore
over all of these offerings will not be
totally prepared for what they will
eventually witness when they attend
their first AirVenture.
I really enjoy talking to the youth
who attend this event for the first
time. They are typically completely
overwhelmed with the magnitude of
the event, and they will talk in run-on
sentences as they describe what they
observed and participated in on that
first day. Their day may have included
a ride in (on?) a Breezy or a flight in
the Ford Tri-Motor, or maybe they
were just hanging around KidVen
ture, or perhaps they had the chance
to "high-five" Sean D. Tucker. It's just
so fun to listen to these first-time im
pressions. One would swear that their
smile is forever frozen to their face .
What a sweet pleasure to witness, and
then I stop and think about the fact
that I had the opportunity to person
ally playa small part in their experi
ences. How much more fortunate in
life can one be? That's EAA!
How about you? Do you see your
self as part of a larger organization,
one whose goal is to furth er the
causes of recreational aviation and
expose it to as many folks as possi
ble? Think about it the next time you
have an open seat. Call that friend
from church or work you've been
continued on page 39

G
VOL. 36, NO.9

N E
2008

SEPTEMBER

CONTENTS
I Fe

Straight & Level

What is EAA to you?
by Geoff Robison

News

2008 EAA Aircraft Award

The Robin Alights at Sun In Fun

An early cabin-class monoplane from 1929

by Sparky Barnes Sargent

14

Carolinas-Virginia VAA Chapter 3 Fly-In

Alamance County Airport

by Jack Cox

18

Light Plane Heritage

Remember the Klemm

Part III, The Young Baron's Great Adventure

by Bob Whittier

24

The Vintage Mechanic

Part One: Maintenance and troubleshooting

ignition systems

by Robert G. Lock

28

Restoration of Porterfield LP-65

Serial Number 842, NC32412

by Randall Krystosek

32

The Vintage Instructor

Maintaining proficiency

by Doug Stewart

34

Mystery Plane
by H.G. Frautschy

36

Wanna Be Famous?
Write an article for Vintage Airplane
by H.G. Frautschy and Scott Spangler

38

Calendar

38

Classified Ads

COVERS
FRONT COVER: The Curtiss Robin is one of antique aviation's most recognizable airplanes. The
Robin helped move the business of aviation from helmet and goggles to a suit and hat. Richard Epton's Robin is the only C-1 model ftying, now powered by a Wright J6-5. See the article by
Sparky Barnes Sargent starting on page 6. EAA photo by Jim Koepnick.
BACK COVER: The Pemberton family's magnificent restoration of their Boeing 40 was chosen
as this year's Grand Champion Antique at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh. The big biplane will also
take part in the Transcontinental Air mail reenactment ftight from New York to San Francisco in
mid-September. We'll have much more on the Boeing in an upcoming issue of Vintage Airplane.
H.G. Frautschy photo.

STAFF

EAA Publisher
Director of EAA Publications
Executive Director/Editor
EAA Art Director
News Editor
Photography
Advertising Coordinator
Classified Ad Coordinator
Copy Editor
Director of Advertising

Tom Poberezny
David Hipschman

H.G. Frautschy

Olivia P. Trabbold

Ric Reynolds

Jim Koepnick

Bonnie Kratz

Sue Anderson

Daphene VanHullum

Colleen Walsh

Katrina Bradshaw

Display Advertising Representatives:

Northeast and Southeast: Chester Baumgartner
Phone 727-S32-4640, FAX 7275324630, e-mail: cbaumll1@mindspring.com
Central: Gary Worden
Phone 800-444-9932, FAX 816-74 16458, e-mail: gary.worden@Spc-mag.com
Mountain", Pacific: John Gibson
Phone 916-784-9593, e-mail: johllgibson@Spc-mag.com
Europe: Willi Tacke
Phone +498969340213, FAX +498969340214, e-mail: willi@f/yingpages.com

VINTAGE AIRPLANE

2008 EAA Sweepstakes Winners

AirVenture Oshkosh 2008

In the months prior to the start of EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2008,
EAA President Tom Poberezny said he was asked one question nearly
every day: "Will anyone come to the fly-in convention with high fuel
prices and a struggling economy?/I
To paraphrase the movie Field of Dreams, "If you build it, they will
come./I EAA developed the deepest and broadest lineup of events, an
nouncements, flight demonstrations, entertainment, and happenings
than ever before. And as a result, people did come and created one of
the most event-filled, memorable conventions on record.
"The idea was to provide more value for the members and at
tendees than ever before,/I Poberezny said. "Attendance at this year's
event, coupled with the fuel and economic issues, validates the
unique relationship between the EAA members and Oshkosh, be
tween the aviation community and Oshkosh, and between govern
ment officials and Oshkosh.
"All EAA members should be proud of the results and, more impor
tantly, the impact their event has on the entire aviation community./I
Numbers were up for homebuilts, warbirds, and vintage planes on
the field. The North 40 was full much of the week. A record 23,000
youths visited KidVenture. Theater in the Woods saw its largest crowd
ever on Wednesday night-an estimated 10,000 people-when come
dian and ventriloquist Jeff Dunham appeared courtesy of RotorWay
International. That same night, another 6,000 were at the EAA Fly-in
Theater, presented by Ford Motor Co. and Eclipse Aviation, to hear
Harrison Ford introduce Indiana Jones and the Temple ofDoom.
AirVenture 2008 raised the bar for what the convention will be mea
sured against in future years. As a result, planning has already begun
for 2009. Late in the week Poberezny revealed three major themes are
already confirmed: the appearance of Virgin Galactic's White Knight
Two (and maybe SpaceShipTwo as well); highlighting mission aviation,
people who use flight to conduct humanitarian efforts throughout the
world; and a Concorde reunion, inviting crews and passengers of the
world's first supersonic airliner.
Mark your calendars: July 27-August 2,2009.
2

SEPTEMBER 2008

AeroShell Square was abuzz with

anticipation as the cement mixer
with sweepstakes entries rolled into
place for the EAA Share the Spirit
Sweepstakes drawing. And the win
ners were:
First grand prize: A new Cir
rus SR20 with a year's supply
of fuel-Greg Thompson, EAA
652822, Fairfax, Virginia
Second grand prize: A Rotor
Way A600 Talon kit-Mike
Schoenmann, EAA 656186, St.
Clair, Michigan
Honda ST1300A motorcycle:
John Thibout, EAA 374572, Na
poleonville, Louisiana
John Deere Select Series X700
Ultimate tractor: Martin Ger
hard, Chandler, Arizona
Bose Wave radio/CD system:
Steve Hill, EAA 583395, DeWitt,
Illinois
Canon EOS 40D camera:
Edward Leddy, EAA 14448,
Maryville, Tennessee
Tickets for the 2009 EAA Share
the Spirit Sweepstakes aircraft-a
new Flight Design MC light-sport
aircraft-will become available later
this fall.

Pelton Receives
EAA's Higbest Honor

Jack Pelton and his award-winning

Cessna 195.

Cessna Aircraft President and

CEO Jack Pelton received the 2008

Freedom of Flight Award, EAA's

highest honor, bestowed annually
to an individual whose contribu
tions to aviation closely mirror the
integrity, entrepreneurship, and in
novativeness of EAA members.
EAA President Tom Poberezny
said Pelton received EAA's high
est award for three reasons. "We're
recognizing Jack for his leadership
as chairman of EAA's Gathering of
Eagles; for his vision for supporting
the light-sport aircraft initiative,
as evidenced by the announce
ment of Cessna building the Sky
Catcher; and lastly, for his longtime
involvement in EAA that goes back
to his days as a youth growing up
in southern California as part of
Chapter 1."
Jack's contributions go beyond
his position as chairman, presi
dent, and chief executive officer
of Cessna Aircraft Company
where he actively influences na
tional policy on general aviation
and is highly involved with indus
try organizations.
He is an EAA Lifetime member,
belonging to EAA Warbirds of
America, Vintage Aircraft Associa
tion, and International Aerobatic
Club. Jack also supports numerous
grassroots activities to expose kids
to aviation, including the Build
A Plane organization that gives
young people the opportunity to
build airplanes.
"The access and venues for youth
are not like they were for me 40
years ago," he said. "Security at air
ports and fewer local air shows just
don't give kids the opportunity I
had to go hang out at the airport
and bum rides. We have to work
much harder to ensure we share our
story with kids so they can catch
the excitement that we all found."
@EAA.org
AirVenture 2008 videos, photo
galleries, and news archive
EAA's website team posted more
than 100 videos, close to 250 sto
ries, and 30 photo galleries covering
all the happenings at AirVenture
with more videos being added every

week. Spend some time browsing

these videos, stories, and photos to
relive the excitement of The World's
Greatest Aviation Celebration.

Videos:

Upcoming

Major Fly-Ins

Southeast Regional Fly-In

Middleton Field Airport (GZH), Evergreen,
Alabama
October 24-26, 2008
www.SERFI.org

Copperstate Regional Fly-In

Casa Grande Municipal Airport (CGZ),
Casa Grande, Arizona
October 23-26, 2008
www.Copperstate.org

U.S. Sport Aviation Expo

Link: www.EAA.org/video/
airventure.html

Photos:

Sebring Regional Airport (SEF),

Sebring, Florida
January 22-25, 2009
www.Sport-Aviation-Expo.com

Aero Friedrichshafen
Messe Friedrichshafen,
Friedrichshafen, Germany
April 2-5, 2009
www.Aero-Friedrichshafen.com/html/en

Sun 'n Fun Fly-In

Lakeland Linder Regional Airport (LAL),
Lakeland, Florida
April 21-26, 2009
www.Sun-N-Fun.org

Golden West Regional Fly-In

Yuba County Airport (Myv),
Marysville, California
June 12-14, 2009
www.GoldenWestFlyln.org

Virginia Regional Festival of Flight

Link: www.AirVenture.org/photos

News and Feature Stories

From AirVenture Today:

Suffolk Executive Airport (SFQ),

Suffolk, Virginia
May 30-31 , 2008
www.VAEAA.org

Rocky Mountain Regional Fly-In

Front Range Airport (FTG),
Watkins, Colorado

TBD
www.RMRFI.org

Arlington Fly-In
Arlington Municipal Airport (AWO),
Arlington, Washington
July 8-12, 2009
www.NWEAA.org

EAA AirVenture Oshkosh

Wittman Regional Airport (OSH),
Oshkosh, Wisconsin
July 27-August 2, 2009
www.AirVenture.org

Link: www.AirVenture.org/2008/
avtoday_index.html

For details on EAA chapter fly-ins and

other local aviation events, visit
www.EAA.org/events.
VINTAGE AIRPLANE

Welch Airplane Help

Brandon Abel, the grandnephew
of Orin Welch, is looking for infor
mation regarding the Welch air
plane. Any information regarding
the aircraft, plans, etc., is welcome.
Please call Brandon Abel at 850
685-9207 (he's in the Pacific time
zone) or e-mail him at brandon.
abel@yahoo.com.

It's Amazing What Can Be Accomplished in a Week

The dozens of meetings, work groups, and brainstorming sessions held annu
ally at AirVenture Oshkosh involve many of aviation's movers and shakers, from the
grassroots level to the top. The 2008 fly-in continued that tradition , as EAA hosted
representatives from the FAA, all levels of industry, EAA chapters, type clubs, other
aviation interest groups, and thousands of individual aviation enthusiasts.
The flying community flocks to Oshkosh because this is where you can see ev
erything and everyone. People identify problems and opportunities and are able to
work on ideas, solutions, and strategies, all to keep airplanes flying, amateur build
ers building, aviators aviating, and preserve the dream of flight.
Representatives from the FAA always come to Oshkosh because it's a unique
opportunity to meet and interact with aviation 's grassroots, hear concerns, and
work to solve problems.
Here's a list of just some of what was accomplished:
.VAA facilitated a series of six meetings with FAA staffers and vintage aircraft
type clubs who requested face-to-face meetings to address their concerns.
FAA representatives from the Small Airplane Directorate in Kansas City met
with VAA and EAA staff to discuss the next steps in creating a new category of des
ignated engineering representatives.
Members ofthe U.S. House of Representatives Aviation Subcommittee spent
a full day at AirVenture listening and talking with manufacturers, EAA members,
and other aviation enthusiasts.
.A number of working groups met to discuss refining light-sport aircraft (LSA)
ASTM standards to make them more user-friendly and to help usher in ground
breaking technological developments, such as electric-powered airplanes.
.One day FAA officials outlined proposed changes for administering and enforc
ing the 51 percent rule. The next day, EAA staff and members had their say, and
in the end, both sides did a lot of listening.
. Warbirds of America and the National Association of Flight Instructors rep
resentatives met with regulators to resolve operating limitations and airworthi
ness issues.
Industry experts discussed proposed standards for unleaded aviation fuel in
anticipation of 100 low-lead fuel being phased out.
. Safety statistics for LSA and amateur-built aircraft went under the micro
scope as EAA and FAA officials and others met to review and identify ways of
improving safety without adding new regulations. EAA also met with National
Transportation Safety Board officials to answer that agency's concerns about
LSA safety and standards.
Nick Sabatini , FAA associate administrator and an active pilot and strong sup
porter of LSA and grassroots aviation, summed things up. "We don't work together
just for the sake of working together. We work together because of the things we
can accomplish when we work together."
4

SEPTEMBER 2008

VAA Hall of Fame Nominations

As mentioned in last month's
issue of Vintage Airplane, the time
is at hand to submit nominations
for the 2009 VAA Hall of Fame. We
have a preferred address for those
of you who wish to send in a nom
ination. See last month's issue for
the nomination details, and send
it to:
Charles Harris, P.O. Box 470350,
Tulsa, OK 74147-0350.
TFRWebsite
If you're like most of us, read
ing a temporary flight restriction
(TFR) listing written in all capital
letters as it tries to delineate the
boundaries of a TFR can be very
confusing. The Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA) recognizes
that the nature of the text-only
TFR can be perplexing and may
lead to inadvertent TFR intru
sions. To help combat that issue,
the FAA has created a website that
you may wish to make a part of
your preflight briefing ritual. The
website, http://TFR.FAA.gov, high
lights in both text and graphical
form the lateral boundaries of the
TFR and its effective times, as well
as defining its upper limits. While
the FAA plans on updating the site
as often as possible, it is possible
that a newly issued text TFR may
not be listed immediately. A call to
flight service at 1-800-WX-BRIEF
(800-992-7433) or a briefing using
the online Direct User Access Ter
minal System (DUATS) is the only
way to make a final check on the
latest TFRs that may be issued for
your route.

2008

EAA AIRCRAFT AWARDS

ANTIQUE

Antique Grand Champion (Gold Lindy)

Addison Pemberton, Spokane, WA, 1928 Boeing 40C, 5339
Antique Reserve Grand Champion (Silver Lindy)
Jerry Wenger, Faribault, MN, 1935 Waco YPF, N15700
Transport Category, Champion (Bronze Lindy)
Jim Hagedorn, Old Crow Aviation, Columbus, OH, 1943 Grumman G-44, N135MG
Customized Aircraft
Champion (Bronze Lindy)
John Hill, Jr., Washington, NC, 1941 Waco UPF-7, N32071
Runner-Up
John Leppien, Alma, MI, 1940 Waco UPF-7, N30107
Outstanding
Kenneth Kreutzfeld, Port Clinton, OH, 1940 Howard DGA-15P, NC1227
WORLD WAR II ERA

Champion (Bronze Lindy)

William Rose, Barrington, IL, 1944 Grumman G-21A, N600ZE
Runner-Up
J. Holmquist, 1949 Beech Staggerwing D17S, N19493
BRONZE AGE (1937 1941)

Bronze Age Champion (Bronze Lindy)

Michael Vaughan, Charleston, IL, 1940 Howard DGA-15P, N22410
Bronze Age Runner-Up
Larry Boehme, Jacksonville, NC, 1941 Waco UPF-7, N180LN
Bronze Age Outstanding Closed-Cockpit Monoplane
Glenn Larson, Sarasota, FL, 1939 Cessna C-165, N19498
Bronze Age Outstanding Open-Cockpit Monoplane
Gary Kozak, Downers Grove, IL, 1940 Ryan Aeronautical ST-A Special, N8146
Bronze Age Outstanding Open-Cockpit Biplane
Curtis Arnold, Toronto, ON, Canada, 1941 de Havilland Tiger Moth, CFTBS
SILVER AGE (19281936)

Silver Age Champion (Bronze Lindy)

Ted Davis, Broadhead, WI, 1929 New Standard D-25A, NC7286

Silver Age Runner-Up

John Seibold, Rancho Santa Fe, CA, 1929 Curtiss Wright Travel Air A-6000-A
N4942V
Silver Age Outstanding Closed-Cockpit Biplane
John Thomason, Sonoma, CA, 1936 Waco YKS-6, N16522

Outstanding Cessna 120/ 140

D. Troy Westrum, Des MOines, lA, 1946 Cessna 120, NC76189
Outstanding Cessna 170/ 180
Donald Lindholm, Phoenix, AZ, 1951 Cessna 170A, N1424D
Outstanding Cessna 190/195
Beau Bradley, Sheridan, MT, 1952 Cessna 195A, N252BB
Outstanding Ercoupe
Ward Marsh, Dixon, CA, 1946 Ercoupe 415-CD, NC93337
Outstanding Luscombe
Joe Champagne, Fairland, OK, 1949 Luscombe 8F, N48RR
Outstanding Navion
Gary Rankin, Camas, WA, 1947 Navion, N8969H
Outstanding Piper J-3
Raymond Cook, Spring Grove, IL, 1946 Piper J-3C-65, N70971
Outstanding Piper Other
James Hudgin, Lewisburg, TN, 1948 Piper PA-17, N4612H
Outstanding Stinson
Earl Muenze, Columbus, OH, 1947 Stinson 108-2, N8055K
Outstanding Swift
Swift Museum, Athens, TN, 1948 Globe GC-1B, N78271
Outstanding Limited Production
Richard Epton, Brooks, GA, 1949 BOcker BU-181, N94245
Preservation
Ray Johnson, Marion, IN, 1947 Aeronca 11AC, N3469E
Preservation
Terry Chastain, Pacific, MO, 1952 Rawdon T1, N5160
Custom Class A (0-80 hpj
Tim and Larry Geldermann, Hartland, WI, 1947 Aeronca 7AC, N3506E
Custom Class B(81-150 hpj
Merrel Kenneth, Mayflower, AR, 1946 Funk B-85-C, NC81137

Custom Class C (151-235 hpj

Hal Cope, Spring, TX, 1946 Temco GC-1B, N3303K

Custom Class D(236 hp & higher)

James Nezgoda, Sandy Valley, NV, 1947 Republic RC-3, N6325K

Best Custom Runner-Up

Michael Lewis, Carmel, IN, 1953 Cessna 170B, N4567C
CONTEMPORARY ( 19561970) AWARDS

Silver Age Outstanding Open-Cockpit Biplane

Historic Aviation Museum, Creve Coeur, MO, 1929 Zenith Z6A, N392V

Grand Champion, (Gold Lindy)

Stephanie Allen, Mukilteo, WA, 1969 Cessna 172K, N78797
Reserve Grand Champion, (Silver Lindy)
Mark Malone & Miles Malone, Camarillo, CA, 1963 Beech Travel Air, N234M

CLASSIC (SEPTEMBER 1945 THRU 1955)

Class I Single Engine (0-160 hpj, (Bronze Lindy)

Bob McBride, Mineola, TX, 1963 Cessna 150C, N14TX

Grand Champion (Gold Lindy)

Joe Dobransky, Allen, TX, 1946 Piper J-3C-65, N70111
Reserve Grand Champion, (Silver Lindy)
Charles and Robert Parish, Tullahoma, TN, 1952 Beech 018, N4477

Class II Single Engine (161-230 hpj, Bronze Lindy

Roger Florkiewicz, Schererville, IN, 1968 Piper PA-28R-180, N65KF

Class I (0-80 hpj, (Bronze Lindy)

Joel Severinghaus, Des Moines, lA, 1946 Taylorcraft BC, N96130

Class II (81-150 hpj, (Bronze Lindy)

Rick Michalek, Keosauqua, lA, 1953 Piper PA-22, N3314A

Class 11/ Single Engine (231-up hpj (Bronze Lindy)

Thomas McKim, Winston-Salem, NC, 1967 Piper PA-24-260, N9171P
Custom Multiengine (Bronze Lindy)
Robert Tanner, Little Rock, AR, 1970 Piper PA-39, N8871Y
Outstanding Customized (Bronze Lindy)
Tony Miller, Warsaw, IN, 1957 Beech E18S, N90TT

Class 11/ (151-235 hpj, (Bronze Lindy)

Doug Grevatt, Danbury, CT, 1952 Beech C35, N5050X
Class IV (236 hp & higher), (Bronze Lindy)
Jonathan Scholl, Plano, TX, 1952 Cessna 195, N195BL
Best Custom
Bronze Lindy, Duane Oosterhuis, Ozark, MO, 1946 Luscombe 8A, Nl071K

Outstanding Beech Single Engine, Outstanding in Type

Mario R. Sotolongo, Ann Arbor, MI, 1964 Beech S35, N6855Q
Outstanding Beech Multi-Engine, Outstanding in Type
Rasmus Nielsen, Seattle, WA, 1959 Beech G18S, N565US
Outstanding Bellanca, Outstanding in Type
Rich Moehling, Cleveland, OK, 1969 Bellanca 17-30, N7346V

Outstanding Aeronca Champ

William Pancake, Keyser, WV 1946 Aeronca 7AC, N1890E
Outstanding Bellanca
Kevin Gassert, Cincinnati, OH 1946 Bellanca 14-13, N74241

Outstanding Cessna 170/ 172/ 175, Outstanding in Type

Gary Grimmonpre, Huntley, IL, 1956 Cessna 172, N5054A
Outstanding Cessna 180/ 182/ 210, Outstanding in Type
Kathleen Royer, Port Orange, FL, 1965 Cessna 180H, N65LG
continued on page 39
VINTAGE AIRPLANE

An egr cabin-class monoplane from 1929

BY SPARKY BARNES SARGENT

RobiD: 3-place C.biD oooplane

Corti.. CbaUeo,er" iD tailed.
If

1929 ad from Aviation magazine. This is a Robin with a Curtiss Chal

lenger engine, excerpted from the entire ad.

The poster board leaning against the Robin is promoting the Curtiss
World Endurance Record.

Built for Durability

The Curtiss Robin debuted in
March 1928. Designed and built by
Curtiss Aeroplane & Motor Com
pany of Garden City, New York, the
monoplanes were manufactured at
Curtiss-Robertson Airplane Manu
facturing Company in Anglum (St.
Louis County), Missouri. (This is
now the location of Lambert Field.)
In 1929, Curtiss Aeroplane and
Wright Aeronautical merged and
became the Curtiss-Wright Airplane
Company. All told, more than 750
Robins were manufactured before
production ended in 1930, and to
day there are about 50 Robins listed
on the FAA Registry.
Various models of the Robin were
manufactured, powered by a vari
ety of engines. The first Robin was
powered by the water-cooled OX-5
(military surplus) and won popu
larity soon after its debut in 1928.
An article titled "The 'Robin,' First
Curtiss Light Commercial Plane"
8

SEPTEMBER 2008

in the June 1928 issue of The Avia

tor touted the fabric-covered Robin
as the first closed-cabin plane in
the "popular-price field, " selling for
less than $4,000 . Its fuselage was
built of chrome-molybdenum steel
tubing, the main gear had a wide,
96-inch tread for safe landings and
taxiing, and a steerable tailskid fa
cilitated ground maneuvering. Its
wing ribs were built of lightweight,
corrosion-resistant Alclad duralu
min mounted on spruce spars.
"Every precaution has been
taken to make the cabin wind- and
weather-tight and as nearly sound
proof as possible. Thus passengers
in the Robin may enjoy their flights
under any weather conditions with
out burdening themselves with spe
cial cloth ing, goggles, helmets or
other clumsy paraphernalia.... The
performance characteristics of the
Robin, predicted from careful wind
tunnel tests months before the ship
was ever flown, have been fully

borne out in actual flight tests ....

Its stability and easy flying qualities
were also carefully worked out in
wind tunnel tests, and pilots who
have flown it say that it is the nic
est flying plane, and the easiest to
fly, in its class."
Additionally, a company adver
tisement in a 1929 issue of Aviation
magazine promoted the Robin's "ri
gidity, ruggedness and durability,"
proclaiming that "detail after de
tail, the Curtiss Robin proves itself
a plane that's built to last." Epton
heartily bears testament to the Rob
in's performance and durability; he
delights in owning and flying his
79-year-young Robin.

Flying the Robin

"She flies beautifully straight, and
she's got a big wing, so short field
performance is quite exceptional,
even with full fuel and three heavy
men aboard," says Epton. "She flies
and performs like a very heav y
Piper Cub. I fly it every weekend,
and I give rides all the time. After
all, these airplanes are for sharing. I
own it today, and in 50 years' time
I won't own it-somebody else will,
so we're all just caretakers."
Recalling his first flight in the
Robin, Epton chuckles and says,
"When I went to Florida to col
lect this from Ron Waldron and
his 'partner in crime' Harry Wool
dridge, I asked them to put the orig
inal dual controls back in it, just so
one of them could sit in the back,"
recounts Epton. "Well, Harry was
elected, and he promptly folded
his arms and almost went to sleep!
There was a 25-mph wind blowing
down the runway, and I asked him
what the stall speed was. He said,
'I don't know.' What's the rotation
speed? 'Not quite sure.' Landing
speed? 'You'll know.' So then Harry
said, 'Just line it up, do nothing
with the stick, and keep it straight
with the rudder-it will track abso
lutely straight. By the time you ad
vance the throttle and hit the stop,
she'll be showing 1800 rpm; the tail
wheel will already be up and then
you'll be airborne.'

Removing the old fabric from one of the Robin's

wings in May 1996.

Waldron, Wooldridge, and Epton (left to right) on

the occasion of Epton's first Robin flight.

"So that was basically it. We indi

cated 80 mph cruising around, and
my recollection of landing speed
is somewhat vague because I was
kind of busy on that first flight, stir
ring the soup with a big stick! But I
seem to recall it was around 55 mph
over the fence, and as soon as the
throttle's pulled back and the nose is
raised slightly, the airspeed immedi
ately goes to zero. That does enable
you to do beautiful three-point land
ings, and those big gear are like two
hands just feeling for t h e grou nd.
She rea lly kisses h erself onto the
runway most of the time. I've never
bounced her, and I've never done a
wheel landing, because she just sets
herself up so perfectly."
Waldron, who watched Epton's
first flight with interest, says, "Rich
ard made the most wonderful land
ing I've ever seen in my life, on the
first fligh t h e ever ma d e wit h it !

The fuselage is painted and on its gear, with the

Wright J6-5 Whirlwind engine mounted.

Epton lifts off, with Wooldridge in the rear seat.

He's a natural with the airplane."

He advised Epton to remove the
dual controls for his flight home to
Georgia, since the installation of
the rear controls required the pilot's
seat to be moved 6 inches forward,
thus making it uncomfortably close
to the instrument panel. But Epton
didn't heed that suggestion, and af
ter battling a strong head wind to
his first stop, he had covered only
105 miles in 2-1/4 hours and wel
comed the opportunity to land
on the welcoming grass runway at
Fitzgerald, Georgia.
"When I got out I couldn't walk!
So I changed it back to single con
trols, per Ron's advice/, says Epton.
"Not only does that give me more
room for my legs, it also allows more
maneuvering space when switching
the fuel valve, which is located on
the floor between the rudder ped
als. That's an interesting procedure.

I have to shuffle to the edge of the

seat, take a very good look around
the sky, then dive down to the floor
and reach for the valve while bend
ing around the control stick and
trying not to push it around!"
Epton's second cross-cou ntry in
the Robin was from his home in
Brooks, Georgia, to Lakeland, Flor
ida. He departed on Sunday after
noon and landed at Valdosta for
the night. The next morning dur
ing his preflight inspection, he
was dismayed to discover that the
Wright's front exhaust collector
had cracked.
"Fortunately, Walt Bazemore,
who is the new owner of Cham
pion Air, the on-site maintenance
facility, put the Robin in his han
gar right away and went to work
on it at 8 o'clock that morning/'
says Epton, "and by 4 o'clock that
afternoon, his buddy Joey, who is a
VINTAGE AIRPLANE

marvelous TIG welder, showed up

and took the collector to his shop.
By 10 o'clock that night, he had
finished welding it, and we took it
back to the airport where Walt and
his mechanic Ben worked until 1:30
the next morning. They really did a
great job, very willingly. It was all
about getting me to Lakeland."

The engine bolts to a 1-1/2-inch

thick metal-reinforced plywood
board, the plywood bolts to the en
gine mount, and then the engine
mount bolts to the firewall/airframe,
without the aid of rubber bushings.

Close-up view of the data plate on

the instrument panel.
to SEPTEMBER 2008

Passenger's view of the cabin.

With the skylight and full-length
windows up front, the pilot and
passengers have a great view.

It took 20 hours for Rick and Lori

Mullinax of 1000 Signs in Fayette
ville, Georgia, to hand-paint the
Candler Field logo and trim stripe.

Robin Restoration
N781M's return to flying status
is primarily due to Waldron's ef
forts . In 1996, after Waldron had
finished building a Travel Air 4000,
he was offered the opportunity to
buy a Curtiss Robin project-and
he just couldn't refuse. After all, he
had grown up around scale mod
els of the Curtiss Robin because it
was his father's favorite airplane.
So he and his buddy Wooldridge
flew the airlines from Florida out
to California. Waldron purchased
the project from Charlotte Nelson
and says he "actually ended up
with one and a half Robins. I had
four wings, a fuselage of another
Robin, lots of parts, and a Wright
J6-5 engine. We rented aU-Haul
and drove 50 mph all the way back
across the country."
Although he had numerous
parts, there were items he didn't
have-such as seats. Scanning
through Trade-A-Plane one day, he
saw an ad for original Robin wicker
Below: The Robin has oleo-spring
outrigger-style gear.

seats. He called to inquire, thinking

that the seller would want a fortune
for them if they were in good con
dition. "He was an older guy and
told me that when he put them
in his barn in 1940, they were in
good shape," recalls Waldron. "He
only wanted $300 for them, but
wouldn't ship them, so Harry and
I drove up to Toledo, Ohio, to get
them, and we also picked up some
extra wing lift struts from him."
Waldron built two new doors for
the airplane, using one old and rot
ting door frame as a pattern. The
Robin originally had a skylight as
well as sliding windows in the doors
and on the left-hand side of the fu
selage-plus full-length windows
on either side of the pilot's seat. He
fabricated the wooden framework
and metal trim pieces for those
and discovered that "there's some
pretty fancy woodwork up around
the skylight, and the luggage com
partment was originally bigger and
deeper-you could crawl inside it!
So I built a little one, because you
really don't need all that space."
He ordered new spruce for the
heavy "I-beam" wing spars and
spent a considerable amount of
time straightening the original
wing ribs.
As far as I know, this is one of
II

the first airplanes manufactured

with metal ribs," says Waldron,
and a few years later, the ribs were
all bending because the cotton was
stretching so tight across them .
Cu rtiss- Wrigh t came out with a
manufacturer's service letter stating
that plywood had to be attached to
the ribs. [That letter stated
the
stamped metal ribs have a tendency
to collapse, especially on the top
side and to roll down until they are
flat on top, on a line with the tops
of the front and rear spars.'] So I
straightened the ribs that I had and
riveted plywood the whole length
of them, front to rear, to make a
solid rib."
When it came to the landing
gear, Waldron needed a bit of help
from another source. So he con
tacted Dick Fischer in California.
" He was the biggest help of any
body. I needed springs for the oleo
gear legs, and he had some extras
on hand that he'd had made up,"
recalls Waldron. He also had some
tail wheels made up that looked like
the ones that Robins had, after they
switched over from the tailskids."
The most challenging aspect
of the project was the paper
work, since the type certificate for
the Curtiss Robin C-1 listed the
Curtiss Challenger R600 as the
II

II

VINTAGE AIRPLANE

11

approved engine installation, and

not a Wright J6-5. Waldron chuck
les in retrospect, explaining, "The
FAA guy told me I had to get a let
ter from the manufacturer regard
ing the change in engine types. He
didn't know what a Curtiss Robin
was! A DAR [designated airworthi
ness representative] came out and
gave me an airworthiness certifi
cate, and the next day he called
me and told me to send it back to
him. I asked him, 'What do you
mean?' He told me he had to come
back out and give me a special air
worthiness certificate for experi
mental exhibition because of the
engine change. So even though
Curtiss did install the Wright J6-5
on another production model of
the Robin [1-1], I had to get all
the paperwork I could. A guy up
in Minnesota had put a J6-5 on a
Robin that originally had an OX
5, so he gave me copies of that pa
perwork. I gathered more through
the ' Robin 's Nest' Curtiss Robin
type club, and I sent everything
in to the FAA. About four months
later, the DAR called me up and
12 SEPTEMBER 2008

said he had a standard airworthi

ness certificate for me, so it all
worked out okay."
Waldron installed Ceconite fab
ric on the airplane and finished
it with Air-Tech Coatings, using a
color scheme similar to the origi
nal-cream for the wings and tail
and orange for the fuselage. The
Curtiss Robin took to the skies
again in 2004. It was the first time
it had flown since 1942, when it
was dismantled and placed in
storage during World War II. (As
for Waldron, he and Wooldridge
bought a 1929 Travel Air Model
10-D project from Nelson in 2004,
which they completed to award
winning status in 2007.)

Robin Records
The Curtiss Robin was quite pop
ular during its heyday, and several
intrepid aviators chose the mono
plane for their attempts at record
setting. In St. Louis, Missouri, For
rest O'Brine and Dale Jackson flew
the St. Louis Robin C-l for just over
420 hours, 21 minutes, and 30 sec
onds in July 1929. In Meridian,

Mississippi, brothers Fred and Al

gene Key set a world record for sus
tained flight when they flew Ole
Miss, a Robin J-l Deluxe, for 653
hours and 34 minutes during the
summer of 1935. These Robins re
ceived aerial refueling in order to
stay aloft and had been modified
with catwalks for in-flight engine
maintenance and a larger fuel tank,
plus an access panel atop the fuse
lage for receiving supplies while
airborne. Robins were also flown in
air races and National Air Tours in
the 1920s and early 1930s. Perhaps
the most amazing feat was that of
Douglas "Wrong Way" Corrigan in
1938; instead of flying back to Cal
ifornia from New York, he flew his
Wright Whirlwind-powered Robin
solo across the Atlantic and landed
in Dublin, Ireland. His proposal of
such a flight had been disallowed
by authorities, so he just blamed
his easterly heading on an inaccu
rate compass.
Another Robin was owned by
the Daily Gazette in rural Nebraska,
where it was used for airborne
newspaper delivery. The airplane is

wasn't among those flown for re

cord-setting flights, it is just that
type of history that inspired him
to own and fly a Curtiss Robin.
And perhaps it may be said that
N781M is on its way to making its
own mark in modern-day aviation.
Among the appreciative onlook
ers at Sun 'n Fun were the aircraft
judges, who awarded it Best Silver
Age antique.
True to his English roots, Epton
has fondly given N781M the nick-

When I would tell them Lincoln

shire, they would say, 'Ah! The
Poacher!' Hence my nickname has
been 'The Poacher' for many years.
My mother, Marjorie Epton, still
lives in Lincolnshire, and not only
does she make the world's greatest
shepherd's pie, she has also been
my biggest supporter in everything
I do! So when she asked me if I was
going to put The Poacher's name
on the Robin, 'Of course' was my
reply. Hence the Poacher's Pony was

"It's just a beautiful aeroplane.

Every time I go into the hangar
and she's there in her glory with the
morning sun coming in on her, I
can't wait to push her out and turn
her into the wind!"
- Richard Epton

currently displayed at The Museum

of Flight in Seattle. According to
the museum's website, it was nick
named The Newsboy because it was
flown "380 miles a day to deliver
5,000 newspapers to 40 towns ....
At each town, pilot Steve Tuttle
would drop a bundle of newspa
pers out a hole in the bottom of the
fuselage."

Poacher'.1 Pony
Although Epton's airplane

name of Poacher's Pony, which has

been painted on the cowling.
"When I was a budding young
ster playing cricket in England, I
was from a county called Lincoln
shire," explains Epton with a twin
kle in his eye, "where folklore has
a character known as 'The Lincoln
shire Poacher.' I went on a cricket
tour around Europe when I was 16
with a bunch of professional and
semiprofessional players, and they
would ask me where I was from .

born. I'm an Englishman, and this

is my ride."
The Poacher's Pony will occasion
ally be stabled at Ron Alexander's new
Candler Field Museum at the Peach
State Aerodrome (identifier GA02,
www.peachstateaero.com) in Wil
liamson, Georgia, in the near future
(hence the hand-painted Candler Field
logo on the Robin's fuselage), where
Epton plans to appear in period cos
tume and continue giving rides to those
tempted by a taste of yesteryear. .......
VINTAGE AIRPLANE

13

Carolinas-Virginia

VAA

CHAPTER

FLy-I N

Alamance County Airport

BY JACK

he Carolinas-Virginia An
tique Airplane Founda
tion, otherwise known as
EAA-VAA Chapter 3, held
its annual Spring Fly-In at the Ala
mance County Airport (BUY) near
Burlington, North Carolina, dur
ing the first weekend in May. In
contrast to the past few weather
plagued years, the 2008 event en
joyed good weather and, as a result,
an encouraging turnout of both air
craft and drive-ins. "Encouraging"

Cox

because everyone was concerned

about the effect of high fuel prices
on attendance . It didn't seem t o
matter a lot-the display area was
full of airplanes on Saturday, and
the awards banquet that evening
was a full house.
Chapter 3 is a rather unique
group. It was chartered as a three
state nonprofit foundation in the
early 1960s by the late Evander
Britt, a Lumberton, North Caro
lina, attorney and antique airplane

collector and restorer. It was from

Britt that author Richard Bach ob
tained the Parks P-2A he would im
mortalize in his books Biplane and
No t hing by Chance. By the late
1960s, the group's annual Spring
and Fall Fly-Ins had become the
largest sport aviation events held
on the East Coast and would main
tain that distinction until the Sun
'n Fun Fly-In at Lakeland, Florida,
came along in the mid-1970s. With
members spread out over three

Jack and Glinda Hill's Show Grand Champion 1941 Waco UPF-7, N32071.
14 SEPTEMBER 2008

states-North and South Carolina

and Virginia-the group has never
held monthly meetings, as do most
local chapters, relying instead on its
two fly-ins and its bimonthly news
letter, Antique Airways, for com
munication and cohesiveness.
When EAA's Antique/Classic Di
vision (now VAA) was formed in the
early 1970s, the Carolinas-Virginia
Antique Airplane Foundation be
came affiliated as Chapter 3 and has
been an active part of EAA activities
ever since. A number of its members
became part of the national scene.
Brad Thomas and Butch Joyce each
served long terms as president of the
EAA Antique/Classic Division and
its successor-in-name, the Vintage
Aircraft Association. Evander Britt
and Morton Lester served as mem
bers of the Antique/Classic board of
directors, and Morton also served as
a member of the EAA Aviation Foun
dation board of directors. Susan
Dusenbury is a current and longtime
member of the EAA board of direc
tors-and is the current president of
Chapter 3. Jack and Golda Cox, who
produced Antique Airways during
the 1960s, became members of the
EAA headquarters staff in January of
1970 and would head EAA's editorial
department until their retirement
and subsequent return to North
Carolina and Chapter 3 in 1999. A
number of Chapter 3 members have
served as showplane judges at Sun
'n Fun and EAA AirVenture Oshkosh
over the years, and several continue
to do so today.
Chapter 3's fly-ins are open to the
public but are basically twice-a-year
reunions of its members . Days are
spent visiting in the sh ade of the
high-wing airplanes, admiring and
photographing the showplanes,
giving buddy rides, and making fly
bys ... although with $S plus avgas,
the latter were noticeably down
this year. Various type clubs often
join in the fun, and this year the Er
coupe Owners Club took part, with
the group's founder, Skip Carden,
leading a forum on the type.
Friday night is reserved for either
an on-field barbecue or dinner at a

Chapter 3's logo features Er

nie Webb's award-winning 1928
OXX-6 powered Travel Air 2000,
which brought widespread recog
nition to the chapter in its early
days in the 1960s.

The evening ended with the presentation of awards by Chief

Judge Xen Motsinger. The winners were:
Best Experimental-2002 RV-6 , N164N, Tommy Newkirk, Gar
land , North Carolina
Best Warblrd 1943 North American SNJ-5C, N3JC, Larry Morris,
Concord, North Carolina
Best Single Engine Contemporary-1957 Cessna 172A, N8377B,
Bob Schaefer, Tryon , North Carolina
Best Multi-Engine Contemporary-1967 Cessna 310, N221MB,
C.T. Mendenhall, Sophia, North Carolina
Best Classic 0-65 hp 1946 Taylorcraft BC-12D, N95525, Bill
Brown, Gibsonville, North Carolina
Best Classic 66-100 hp-1947 Cessna 120, N2613N, Joe and
Roxanna Mancusi, Raleigh, North Carolina
Best Classic 101-150 hp-1948 Swift, N3849K, Jeff and Donna
Smith, Asheboro, North Carolina
Best Classic over 150 hp-1946 Bucker Jungmann, N191X,
Steve Hawley, St. Matthews, South Carolina
Custom Classic 1948 Piper PA-15/ 17 Vagabond , N4309H , Frank
Moore, Wake Forest, North Carolina
Longest Distance-Gary Collins, Goshen, OH - 1954 Cessna
170B, N1981C, Gary was accompanied by his friend Howard
Wells, who celebrated his 86th birthday during the fly-in.
Grand Champion Classic-1952 Cessna 195, N1571D, Stan and
Sandy Sweikar, Dameron , Maryland
Show Grand Champlon-1941 Waco UPF-7, N32071, Jack and
Glinda Hill, Washington, North Carol ina
Congratulations to all!

VINTAGE AIRPLANE

ts

Stan and Sandy Sweikar's Grand Champion Classic 1952 Cessna 195, N1571D.

nearby facility, followed by a get

together at the host motel for more
visiting and viewing vintage avi
ation movies. An awards banquet
is held on Saturday night that in
cludes a featured speaker.
The speaker at Burlington in May
was VAA Treasurer Charlie Harris of
Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Harris is one of the founders and
the driving force behind the Biplane
Fly-In held each year at Bartlesville,
Oklahoma, the longtime editor of
the VAA Chapter 10 (Tulsa) news
i:3 letter, and the owner of a collection
~ of beautifully restored showplanes.
----------~
8 An excellent, entertaining speaker,

-&--.. . . . . .

Charlie Harris and Susan Dusenbury.

16 SEPTEMBER 2008

Harris detailed t he purposes and

founding of the Biplan e Fly-In and
its ancillary effort s to h ono r th e
men and women who h ave served
our country in the military services.
He concluded by urging support of
the construction of the EAA Found
ers' Wing within the EAA AirVen
ture Museum at Oshkosh-a facility
to display Paul and Audrey Pober
ezny's 55-year collection of EAA
historical material.
Special guests at the Burling
ton fly-in were VAA National Di
rector Bob Lumley of Brookfield,
Wisconsin, and Director Emeritus
John Turgyan of New Egypt, New
Jersey. Harris, Lumley, and Turgyan
have been members of Ch apter 3
for years, even though th ey reside

Jeff and Donna Smith's Best Classic 101-150 hp 1948 125 Swift, N3849K.

in other areas of the country.

On Sunday morning, a num
ber of pilots flew to the nearby

Jim Wilson (in the black cap) hard at work interviewing subjects for ar
ticles in Chapter 3's newsletter, Antique Airways, with his Waco YK5-6 in
the background. Jim and his wife, Eileen, flew the Waco to Alaska last year.

Roxboro, North Carolina, airport

for a fly-out brunch at the Home
stead Restaurant, with reservations
and arrangements for ground trans
portation made by Skip Carden.
Special thanks are due to Chapter
3 President Susan Dusenbury and
Vice President Ron Normark, who
handled most of the advance prep
arations for the fly-in, plus all the
chapter volunteers who assumed
the various on-field duties during
the weekend.
Next up for Chapter 3 is its Fall
Fly-In, to be held the weekend of
October 3-5, 2008, at Woodward
Field (CDN) in Camden, South Car
olina. For fly-in formation, call Jim
Wilson at 843-753-7138 or e-mail
him at crosswindjim @homesc.com.
Everyone is welcome.
......

Steve Hawley's Best Classic over 150 hp 1946 Bucker Jungmann, N1 91X.

VINTAGE AIRPLANE

17

Light Plane Heritage

ORI GI NALLY PUBLISHED IN

EAA Experimenter

DECEMBER 1991

Remember the Klemm

Part III, The Young Baron's Great Adventure

BY B OB W HITIIER

Last month we told you about how in 1929, 22-year

old EK. Baron von Koenig-Warthausen of Germany made
a nonstop flight from Berlin to Moscow-and kept on go
ing. We left him making his aerial way from Shiraz to
Bushire in what was then Persia and is now Iran.
The latter city had a good airport on which were
based representatives of the Junkers aircraft firm and
some of their all-metal commercial monoplanes.
They took their young fellow countryman under their
wing-both figuratively and literally. They showed
him the town and sheltered his little Klemm from the
broiling sun under the wing of a big Junkers.
In Bushire, EK. was thrilled to receive a telegram in
forming him that his Berlin to Moscow nonstop flight
had won him the coveted Hindenburg Cup. There he
also met his hero, Baron von Huenefeld (pronounced
Hoonfeld), who had been one of the crew of the Junk
ers Bremen that made the first east-to-west crossing
of the Atlantic in 1928. This airman had stopped in
Bushire while on a flight to the Far East.
EK.'s stay in Bushire had its amusing moments. A lo
cal potentate heard that EK. was on his way there and
became quite excited. Expecting a monarch in a top hat
and swallowtail coat to emerge with great pomp from
a polished and majestic Junkers, he was indeed flus
tered when what looked to him like a kid hopped out of
the cockpit of a travel-begrimed little Klemm. It seems
he knew that the word Koenig means king in German
and assumed the king of Germany was going to honor
Bushire with a visit. Too bad about that.
Our hero expressed a keen interest in seeing for
himself one of the fabled harems of old Persia. This
called for much string-pulling on the part of the Junk
ers people because the Persians took as dim a view of
foreigners intruding in this way as the Soviets later did

of U-2s overflying their country. However, a visit was

somehow arranged.
Alas, on passing through the magic door, EK. found
himself inside an ordinary-looking home in which four
not at all glamorous women were going about routine
household tasks. This, he was solemnly assured, was one
of Bushire's finest harems. Well, so much for harems.
Talking with the Junkers people, F.K. decided that
the most logical option open to him would be to fly on
to Karachi on the west coast of India (now Pakistan).
There he could get a steamer bound for Germany.
So he said farewell and headed eastward along a coast
line where the climate proved to be so unbelievably hot
and arid that he sighted not one speck of green. By that
time he had learned that pilots of open-cockpit air
planes in that part of the world routinely wore typical
pith helmets while flying in order to avoid sunstroke.
He stopped for two days at Bandar Abbas on the
north side of the Strait of Hormuz. The British consul
there (remember, EK. spoke English well) had the only
car in town and also the only house with electricity.
This place was said to be the hottest town in the world
and was made all the more oppressive by high humid
ity and thick swarms of flies.
He sighed with relief as he left this hellhole behind,
both for the foregoing reasons and because the soft
sand there had so hindered his takeoff that he barely
cleared a power line. Then he set course for Cape Jask,
another obscure coastal town looking out over the
Gulf of Oman. After an hour of following the coast
line, he noticed a worrisome sound coming from the
engine. He chose a place to set down and found that
one of the cylinder hold-down bolts had broken, prob
ably from his having overtightened it.
So he nursed the Klemm back to Bandar Abbas,

Editor's Note: Longtime aviation enthusiasts will recognize the byline of Bob Whittier. Bob has been a regular con
tributor to EAA publications since the founding of the organization, as well as a knowledgeable author for other avia
tion and boating magazines. Bob's Light Plane Heritage series in EAA's Experimenter magazine often touched on aircraft
and concepts related to Vintage aircraft and their history. Since many of our members have not had the opportunity to
read this series, we plan on publishing those LPH articles that would be of interest to VAA members. Enjoy!-HGF
18

SEPTEMBER 2008

As he glided in to land, he
was startled to see the whole
huge crowd was running
righ t into his path. None
of them had the slightest
knowledge of the operating
peculiarities of these new fly
ing machines, of course, so
he gunned the engine and
came in on a different ap
proach-and the same thing
happened again! This insane
game went on for 20 mad
dening minutes until the
o local telegraph operator real
~ ized what was going on and
~ managed somehow to clear
~ the field.
~ The sand was so soft
~ that only the Klemm's very
low landing speed avoided
a nose over. The pith hel
met had shielded the top of
F.K.'s
head, but the intense
In California, Baron von Koenig-Warthausen (center) poses with Tommy Tomlinson,
sunlight
unequally reflected
then chief pilot for Maddux Airlines and later prominent in the development of ma
from
the
broiling desert and
jor U.S. airlines, and Charles Spicer, builder of Grand Central Air Terminal . Ripples
the
sea
had
badly sunburned
on the fuselage below the cockpit indicate thinness of the plywood covering.
the shoreward side of his
where the consulate's mechanic made up a new bolt. face, while leaving the seaward side unaffected. He
Unfortunately, he used one of the shop's British taps didn't realize this until later when he was shocked to
and the resulting thread simply would not go into the look into a mirror and see that he now had a black
engine's metric-threaded hole. After searching all over and-white face.
Pressing on, he finally reached the large city of Ka
the plane, F.K. removed one of the propeller hub bolts
and was relieved to find that it would fit the engine rachi in India and was happy to land at a good airport
properly. He replaced the "stolen" bolt from the hub having ample facilities. Royal Air Force personnel sta
with a British one for which a suitable nut was avail tioned there made him their guest of honor at their fa
able. A test hop showed no noticeable vibration, so he cility, which was like a country club . They made him
so welcome, in fact, that he remained there for five
landed, loaded up, and took off again.
He found Cape Jask to be another godforsaken town, enjoyable weeks. As but one example of the interest
it having no car at all. This required him to quickly ing things he did, the city's mayor took him on several
learn the fine techniques of riding a donkey. The help hunting trips.
Intriguing things his RAF acquaintances told him
ful telegraph operator there advised him to follow the
telegraph line for the SOO-mile flight to Pasni in Bal then made him drop the idea of boarding a steamer,
uchistan. This would call for a longer flight but a far and instead fly across India to Calcutta in the eastern
safer one. If he were to be forced down, he could climb part of that country. He took off from Karachi on De
a pole and cut a certain wire. This would alert opera cember 17 and followed the railroad and rivers across
tors to the fact that he was down and would enable mostly desert country with stops at Uterlai, Jodh
pur, Nasirabad, and Agra. At Agra, the desert abruptly
them to ascertain just where he was.
The air was so dreadfully hot that he felt compelled changed to a lush green valley, and he landed on a
to fly out to sea a bit to escape being baked alive, but splendid turf airfield.
A two-day stopover here gave him time to see the
he kept close enough to the shoreline to keep the tele
graph poles in sight. This was one of the many times fabled Taj Mahal. On taking off later he circled to get a
when he was thankful for the Klemm's generous glid rare view of it from aloft and then followed the Ganges
ing ratio. On arriving at Pasni, he found that the air to Allahabad . In this fertile valley, he flew over a great
field was swarming with excited natives who had heard many small, crowded towns and began to understand
that a real aeroplane was coming-truly a sight not to why India at that time had a population of 300 mil
lion (now it is 843.93 million [and now 1.1 billion in
be missed!
V I NTAGE AIRPLANE

19

2008!-HGF]). He learned that the airfield at Allahabad

was at that time the only civilian one in all of India,
the rest being RAF establishments.
While sightseeing on the ground, he observed that
many people were spitting blood, and he shuddered
at how prevalent tuberculosis was in that backward
county. Then he chanced to learn that what he was
seeing was merely spittle-stained red from the natives'
habit of chewing betel nuts.
He then flew on to the holy city of Benares where
he was quickly informed that a cholera epidemic was
raging and advised that he should not stay there any
longer than necessary. Hundreds of corpses were being
cremated on the riverbank, and as he circled to gain
altitude he gagged as he flew through a pall of smoke
carrying the odor of burning flesh .
The next stop was Gaya, and
when he arrived there he circled
repeatedly trying to locate the air
field. Failing to find it, he set down
on a dried-out rice field. Someone
then informed him that the air
port was 10 miles outside the town.
He had to get workmen to make
an opening in a clay dike that bor
dered the rice field, to get enough
room to take off.
Gaya to Calcutta was a six-hour
flight, which he was obliged to
make at an altitude of only 500
feet because the engine had devel
oped a falling off of power. It ap
pears that the desert dust drawn
in through the carburetor was the
cause. But happily this flight was
over flat river valley country, and once in Calcutta, he
was glad to be offered a room in the German consul's
comfortable home.
There he observed Christmas and New Year's Day
and found it to be a strange feeling to do so in swelter
ing hot weather. He made sightseeing flights over the
country and was invited to go along on some hunts. A
railroad journey took him to Darjeeling at the foot of
the Himalayas. There he met some other young travel
ers from England and the United States, and together
they took a mule pack trip up into Tibet and Nepal.
It took a month for an engine overhaul kit to be
shipped from Germany, so altogether F.K. spent two
months in Calcutta. While there he had the honor of
being introduced to Mahatma Gandhi. By this time he
found that he greatly enjoyed visiting strange lands
and admitted to having picked up some of the East's
disregard for time and tight schedules.
During the course of his aerial wanderings, he had
kept in touch with his parents in Germany through
telegrams. When he informed them he had decided to
press on to Singapore, they replied that in their opinion

he had done quite enough of risking his neck in wild

and remote places and should forthwith come home.
But RAF personnel at Calcutta's airfield had helped him
do an excellent overhaul on the Klemm's engine, and it
now ran beautifully. So on to Singapore it would be!
On February IS, 1930, he took off and headed for
Akyab in Burma (now Sittwe, Myanmar), a SOO-mile
flight which would take at least six hours. The first
part of this flight took him over an extremely lonely
200-mile-wide muddy lowland in the region where the
Ganges and the Brahmaputra River merged. That bad
stretch behind him, he then flew over alternating jute
fields and stretches of forest . Then he picked up and
began to follow the shoreline of the Indian Ocean . He
noticed that there was no beach. The ocean and forest
met in a very distinct line with no place at all to set
down safely in an emergency.
Looking down on the forests, he
sighted many wild elephants and real
ized that even though he might make
a safe forced landing in the treetops,
getting to civilization would pose an
entirely new set of difficulties. Fortu
nately, the little Mercedes kept purr
ing steadily.
He knew he had entered Burma
when he began to spot more and more
pagodas and was glad to land on the
Fokker company's excellent field at
Akyab. That turned out to be a large,
modern city that was full of automo
biles. The funny thing was, they were
all quite unable to travel beyond the
city limits because there were just sim
ply no roads out there!
He planned to continue on to Rangoon as soon as
he had refueled, but had to accept an invitation to
stay for a few days at the home of the manager of the
British Oil Company establishment. It seems that the
only available field in Rangoon was being used for a
bog polo match, and it would be much better to arrive
there the day after.
When he did resume his journey, he had enough
confidence in his engine to give up a plan to detour
many miles around a mountain range and saved 400
miles by going over it instead. Then came mile after
mile of rice paddies. The air became steadily more
turbulent and finally became so bad that he seriously
thought of looking for a place to set down. But then
he caught a glimpse of sunlight flashing off of a bright
object on the horizon and knew it could only be the
golden dome at Rangoon.
The polo field proved to be too short for a safe take
off, so the Klemm's wings were removed and racked
onto the sides of the fuselage. With the help of four
local men, it was then trundled over the road to a race
track that offered more space. During the five days he

On the morning of
July 12, he left his
hotel and hailed a
taxi to go out to
the airport.
The next thing he
knew, he woke up at
5 p.m. in a hospital
room with doctors
hovering over him.

20

SEPTEMBER 2008

bad weather and worrying

about navigation.
He had thought he might
stay in Bangkok for 10 days
but ended up staying there
for five memorab le weeks.
A royal coronation was go
ing on, and he was intro
duced to the new king and
his family. The crown prince
had been Siam's minister in
Berlin for several years, and
both he and the crown prin
cess spoke German. They
and F.K. got along splen
did ly. The princess gave
F.K. a beautiful Siamese cat
named Tanim . A special
box was made for Tanim
This photo gives an idea of the baron's slight stature and the size of his Klemm and fitted into the Klemm's
monoplane. The ship was big but light and was really what used to be referred cockpit. From there on he
to as a "power glider. " Colors appear to have been natural varnished wood and traveled along with his new
owner. His first few flights
clear, doped fabric.
left him a bit wobbly, but he
remained at Rangoon, he noticed that the culture there soon got accustomed to ric;ling in a plane.
differed appreciably from what he had encoun tered in
An idea had been growing in F.K.'s mind . He was
some other countries he had visited. The people were then 13,000 m iles out from Germany. Why not con
much more energetic and progressive.
tinue on all the way around the world and enjoy con
Local fliers and officials painted a grim picture of the founding the "it can't be done" skeptics? Accordingly,
proposed next step in EK.'s journey, the hop from Ran he proposed to fly from Bangkok across French Indo
goon to Bangkok in Siam (now Thailand). It would be china (now Vietnam) to China itself and then on to Ja
necessary to cross high mountains and vast swamps. pan. But people in Bangkok who knew that part of the
Some regions had not been mapped, and indeed, a few world very well earnestly discouraged him from doing
had not even been explored. But by now EK. consid so. There would surely be many vexing complications
ered himself to be quite an experienced and capable and grave dangers. So again the Klemm's wi ngs were
long-distance flier. So to Bangkok it would be.
removed and the plane, pilot, and cat traveled to Hong
Leaving Rangoon, he head ed southwest over the Kong by steamer.
At Hong Kong, permission to fly over China was
Gulf of Martaban and passed over Bilugyun Isla nd.
By prearrangement, he circled twice over the city of flatly refused. So there was nothing to do but stay on
Moulmein so that his progress could be noted and the ship until it reached Shanghai. There he managed
telegraphed back to Rangoon . With six more hours to get permission to assemble the Klemm and fly 150
of flight ahead of him, he was dismayed to find that miles inland to Nanking, where he met an d talked
somehow he had lost his pocket compass! So he used with Chiang Kai-shek. Then back to Shanghai to board
the shadow of a pencil held vertically to judge direc a steamer for Kobe in Japan.
tion as best as possible. The little thermometer in the
EK. made several attempts to fly from Kobe to Tokyo
Klemm's cockpit, by the way, at that time registered but each time was turned back by fog. Finally he got off
to a good start with two Japanese military planes as es
113 degrees Fahrenheit.
Over a vast forest, a violent th understorm came cort. But then he encountered more fog and climbed to
up. Several times, downdrafts from the mountains re 6,000 feet to get above it, in the process losing contact
quired him to circle to regain lost altitude. He became with the Japanese planes. After two worrisome hours
disoriented in the downpour, and so when he chanced above the fog, he sighted a hole in it, circled down, and
to fly over a river, he followed it hoping it wou ld lead was appalled to find himself over open ocean.
Guessing at his position, he headed north and was
to a settlement. But none appeared.
After a while the storm let up and the temperature soon very much relieved to sight a volcano far ahead.
went down to a comfortable 90 degrees. Then more Reaching it, he saw that it was smoking and so he
luck: He spotted a railroad that led him to Bangkok. He circled this marvelous sight. Then it began to rain .
landed, very tired indeed, from nine hours of fighting By pure chance the Japanese escort planes came into
V INTAGE AIRPLANE

21

On June 19, he headed south for

sight and led him to Tokyo, where
Los Angeles. A short time out he
he landed after a nervous and tiring
heard a terrific roar approaching
six-hour flight.
from behind. His first thought was
There he was given a great wel
that the dreaded "United States Air
come by Japanese and German offi
Police" that some joker had warned
cials. During the five weeks he spent
him about was after him for some
in that city, he stayed with a Japa
unwitting
transgression. But the
nese family in their home of tra
racket
proved
to be coming from
ditional design and construction.
the
big
radial
engines
of three Ford
They all sat on cushions, slept on
Tri-Motors being flown by pilots he
the floor, and ate with chopsticks.
had met at Alameda and Oakland.
EK. was surprised at how quickly he
When these big planes came
adapted to this lifestyle and, once
alongside, people in the win
back in Germany, delighted in dem
dows flashed placards on which
onstrating to friends his proficiency
had been painted messages such
with chopsticks. While in Tokyo, a
as "Good Luck!" and "Have a Safe
fine day came along that prompted
Journey!" Ah, the camaraderie of
him to fly to and circle around
the air! Then the Fords turned
12,OOO-foot Mount Fujiyama, a ma
back, and F.K . continued south
jestic and thrilling spectacle from
feeling just wonderful.
the cockpit of his little plane.
The flight was generally pleas

Then plane, pilot, and cat boarded

ant and interesting, save for some

a shop in Yokohama and on May 25

headed for the United States. During Baron von Koenig-Warthausen and rough air over desert country. EK.

a brief stopover in Honolulu, a lo his Siamese cat Tanlm , nicknamed was amazed at the immensity of

cal pilot took him for a sightseeing Felix by the U.S. press during his agricultural operations in the Im

perial Valley. The appearance of

flight in a Waco. Just as they came visit here.
more and more palm trees, some
alongside it, Mount Kilauea decided
old Spanish missions, and then oil
it was time to erupt, providing them
with a very unanticipated spectacle.
rigs told him he was approaching the Los Angeles
The ship arrived at San Francisco on June 28. The area . He landed at dusk at Beverly Hills Airport just
press had heard all about the boyish but intrepid in time to witness a glorious sunset. After shivering
young baron, his adventurous journey over strange in the cold spring air of China and Japan, little Felix
lands, and his exotic cat Tanim. At that time the me
reveled in the balmy air of Southern California.
dia was much more air-minded than it is today, and
The flight was made on 8 gallons of gasoline, which
they lionized EK. Siamese cats were then rare in this at the prices then in effect cost EK. exactly $1.08. The
country, and they insisted on renaming his pet Felix stay in Los Angeles was another whirlwind of visits to
after a popular comic strip character. The cat became movie studios, the local German Club, and aviation
as famous as his master.
groups. Maddux Airlines made it possible for him to
The Klemm was unloaded and taken over Alameda realize a longstanding desire by allowing him to fly
for reassembly and a general checking over. Some one of its Ford Tri-Motors.
of the pilots there had flown against Germany dur
Then he paid a brief visit to San Diego and did a
ing World War I, but because airplanes have a way of short flight over into Mexico . Leaving San Diego, he
bringing people together in a common interest, ev
followed a highway leading eastward to El Centro,
at times having a bad time of it with rough air. From
eryone let bygones be bygones and got along beauti
fully. Ten hectic days in the San Francisco area went that town a black road led him straight across the
by swiftly, with F.K. attending functions and sight
white desert sands to Tucson. As he was approaching
seeing both on the ground and from the air. He was that city, he saw that a big thunderstorm was making
amazed at the size, vitality, and heavy auto traffic in up. So he opened the throttle wide and nosed down
the Bay Area.
to gain more speed. He got down just before a terrific
But there was a sad footnote to his time in the Bay cloudburst struck.
Area. While talking to him in Bushire, EK. came to re
Often EK. did not completely fill his Klemm's large
alize that his hero Baron von Huenefeld was in pain gas tank, for the sake of good climb when challenging
from a progressive illness. In San Francisco, news came mountains. But for the hop from Tucson to El Paso, a
that he had died. So EK. decided to name his plane hunch told him to have it topped. He estimated the
after this man, and that's why you see "Huenefeld" flight would take 4.5 hours, but it actually took eight
painted on the Klemm's fuselage.
because of head winds. Just after touching down at El
22 SEPTEMBER 2008

Paso, another severe storm struck, and he wondered if

thunderstorms were following him!
On the morning of July 12, he left his hotel and
hailed a taxi to go out to the airport. The next thing
he knew, he woke up at 5 p.m. in a hospital room with
doctors hovering over him. The taxi had been in a vi
olent collision that had knocked him out and caused
bad head, face, and leg injuries. The doctors told him
he had been in critical condition for a while, but was
now out of danger, yet facing a long recovery.
Terrified by the crash, poor little Felix had shot up
the nearest tree. Someone eventually got him down
and took him to the hospital, where EK. was delighted
and relieved to see that his little pal was all right.
During the two moths EK. was obliged to remain
in EI Paso, many Americans helped him with money
and legal problems arising from the accident. By Sep
tember IS, he had recovered sufficiently to resume
his travels.
A six-hour flight got him to Big Springs, where
yet another downpour soaked the field and obliged
him to wait until late in the afternoon to hop off for
Sweetwater. He somehow got the impression that the
airport there was lighted, when in fact work on run
way lighting was still in progress. So he was obliged to
land in the dark. The Klemm's left wheel rolled into
a mudhole, causing the plane to ground loop and
wreck that wheel and its landing gear vee.
So EK. telegraphed Aeromarine Klemm at Keyport,
New Jersey, for new parts. These were shipped to Dal
las, for some reason involving slow freight service
to Sweetwater. EK. hired a truck and driver, and the
plane, with its wing folded (how many times had that
feature saved the day?), set out for Dallas. The driver
had brought along a good supply of tequila and drove
accordingly on this nine-hour trip. EK. did not enjoy
it much.
Once the gear had been repaired, he flew on to
Oklahoma City, St. Louis, and Chicago more or less
uneventfully. The rotating beacon at Detroit's Ford
Airport helped him find his way to that field and land
after dark. There it was discovered that the Mercedes
engine had a broken valve. It took Aeromarine only
24 hours to express a new one to Detroit. But then fog
kept EK. grounded for four days. He accepted an invi
tation to tour the Ford factory.
Water in the gas tank forced him to land at London,
Ontario, and for the next two days it snowed. F.K.
gratefully accepted the gift of an old but very warm
overcoat. He battled head winds and more snow for
four hours to reach Hamilton. Rain grounded him
again at Little Falls and Albany.
Knowing that a big reception was planned for him
at Roosevelt Field on Long Island, he left Albany and
followed the Hudson River, flying at 110 feet while
keeping a sharp watch ahead for bridges. He almost
struck one of them. He groped past a cloud-covered

New York City and set down on the first piece of clear
land he sighted. As luck would have it, it turned out
to be Roosevelt Field!
There ensued several days of receptions and a trip
to Washington, D.C. On November IS, plane, pilot,
and cat left America aboard the steamer Bremen for
Germany and a reunion with his proud but enor
mously relieved parents. He had been gone for 15 ad
venturous months.
Baron von Koenig-Warthausen's world flight nearly
eight decades ago gives us rich food for thought. To
day's pilots will feel that he took unacceptable risks
with weather, terrain, and navigation. But it must be
acknowledged that his only serious mishap involved
a taxicab. He convincingly showed that the ability
to fly and land slowly can resolve assorted bad situa
tions. He showed what can be done by a patient flier
in a basic airplane.
The sum of aviation progress since his time, based
on preoccupation with getting from point A to pOint
B as swiftly as possible, has been to make private fly
ing so complicated and expensive that it is becoming
out of reach for more and more people who would
really love to fly. EK. dealt with his plane's modest
speed by regarding it as being an observation platform
in addition to a conveyance. Remember, today many
people greatly enjoy viewing the sights below from
even slower hot air balloons. "Man does not live by
bread alone." By not being a slave to a tight schedule,
he showed that a leisurely journey in a small plane
can add immensely to a person's "quality of life." He
returned home with a head full of grand memories
that remained with him throughout his long life.
His journey around the world gave him a postgrad
uate course in geography, the customs and cultures
of many lands, human nature, politiCS, officialdom,
self-reliance, and practical aviation unobtainable at
any university.
The 500- to l,OOO-mile flights he made using mostly
a pocket compass and landmarks underscore the neg
ative and paternalistic mindset of bureaucrats who
feel that recreational pilots should not be allowed to
cruise more than SO miles from their home fields. He
left Berlin a rank amateur pilot with 17 hours in his
logbook and returned an extraordinarily seasoned
flier with 450 hours and 20,000 varied, challenging
air miles to his credit.
Considering the worldwide political and economic
situation, some would say that no one can have such
a great adventure today. Yet we now have ultralights
that can equal or surpass the Klemm's small-field capa
bilities. Most of them can be outfitted for operation off
the water, which offers a solution to the growing prob
lem of "public" airports at which basic aircraft are not
welcome. And then there are the inspiring trans-Atlantic
flights in ultralight-type aircraft by Eppo Numan and
~
Andre Lafitte. So perhaps there's hope!
VINTAGE AIRPLANE

23

BY ROBERT GLOCK

Part One: Maintenance and

troubleshooting-ignition systems
First, let's review the entire igni
tion system as installed on a typical
seven-cylinder radial engine. The
magnetos provide the spark; the
switch either grounds one or both
magnetos or opens the circuit so
both magnetos operate via the pri
mary (P) leads. The harness carries
high-tension voltage to the spark
plugs, and the ensuing arc that
jumps the gap between the spark
plug's electrodes ignites the fuel/air
charge in the cylinder combustion
chamber. Simple enough. When ev
erything works properly the engine
runs smoothly and produces rated
power. If one component causes a
problem, the outcome is anything
from an rpm drop to a complete
loss of power. I've had 'em all!
Let's start with the magneto and
cover some problems from rough
running to not running at all. First
we'll look at timing of the magneto
to the engine. The manufacturer
specifies the full advanced firing
position in relation to crankshaft
position and specifies the number
of degrees before top dead center of
the piston in the number one cyl
inder. The number one cylinder is
always on the top of the engine (for
radials), and it mayor may not be
the master rod cylinder. The Wright
R-760 uses 25 degrees, the Lycom
ing R-680 uses either 30 degrees or
34 degrees for front plugs and 30
degrees for rear plugs, the Pratt &
Whitney uses 25 degrees, the]acobs
L-4 uses 30 degrees, and the Conti
nental W-670 uses 32 degrees for
24

SEPTEMBER 2008

the right magneto and 29 degrees

for the left magneto.
If the magneto is not properly
timed to the engine, then the drop
will be excessive (greater than 75 rpm)
but the engine will run smoothly.
If the magneto has a shorted
lead or if a spark plug is fouled, the
drop will be 150 rpm and the en
gine will run roughly. In this case,
leave the magneto switch on the
roughly running magneto, even
though the engine doesn't want to
run well. After about 2-3 minutes,
shut the engine off and check the
spark plugs to find the one that is
cold. Remove that plug and inspect
it for fouling. If the plug doesn't
appear fouled, put the plug in the
opposite side of the cylinder and
run the engine again. If the mag
neto drop changed to the opposite
magneto, then the plug is not op
erating. If the problem stays with
that particular magneto, then the
lead is bad.
If a magneto has some excess

drop beyond the 75 maximum allow

able but the engine runs smoothly,
the cause might be the point open
ing. The point gap should be checked
every 100 hours of operation. To
check the pOint gap opening (Figure
I), assure that the magneto switch
is in the OFF position and always
treat the propeller as if the magne
tos were HOT. Rotate the propeller
until the point cam follower is on
the highest part of the cam lobe. At
this moment the points should be
opened to the maximum. Insert a
feeler gauge to check for clearance.
It is normally 0.012-0.014 inch for a
Scintilla VMN magneto. If this clear
ance does not exist, carefully open
the points and check for pitting or
burning. If the pOints are good, us
ing a small open-end wrench, loosen
jam nut A and turn the points
at B until the proper clearance is
achieved. Hold the points at B with
a wrench and tighten jam nut A to a
snug torque. Rotate the propeller so
the magneto moves through all four
lobes, checking the point gap open
ing at each lobe. You should always
check the magneto-to-engine timing
after adjusting the point gap open
ing. If the adjustment was small, it
may be possible to retime the mag
neto simply by loosening the three
retainer nuts on the pad and then
moving the magneto in the slot. If
the magneto timing cannot be reset
by this method, it will be necessary
to remove the magneto and retime it
to the engine.
Figure 2) Checking the point

gap on a Bendix SF7 magneto. The

point opening should be 0.010 inch
minimum, 0.012 inch desired, and
0.014 inch maximum.
Closely inspect the felt wick
that lubricates the phenolic plas
tic point cam follower as it rides on
the hardened steel cam. Points that
slowly lose their gap opening can
be traced to non-lubrication of the
felt wick. Carefully apply a couple
of drops of oil to the wick at every
100-hour inspection to keep the
wick lubricated and pliable .
Check the points for burning or
pitting. This is normally caused by
a faulty condenser assembly. The
condenser keeps the points from
arcing when they open, and exces
sive arcing will eventually destroy
the platinum surface by creating
pits and valleys. If this happens,
both the pOints and condenser
should be replaced .
If the magneto suddenly fails to
operate, first check the connections
to the unit. Occasionally a P-lead
will chafe and cause a ground, so
the problem is not in the magneto,
but in a wire that connects the mag
neto to the switch. (This commonly
occurs as the P-lead passes through
the firewall.) Or the switch may be
faulty. I have had both problems
on occasion, so it is worth the time
to inspect the magneto switch and
P-lead and associated connections.
I once advised on a 300-hp Lycom
ing R-680 installed in a Stinson Re
liant. The Lycoming engine uses a
dual magneto, which is essentially
two magnetos incorporated into a
single unit with a single drive shaft.
One magneto worked and the other
did not. To remove the magneto
was a major job, just about requir
ing partial removal of the engine
from the airframe. I suggested the
owner check the magneto switch,
instructed him on how to use an
ohmmeter, and turned him loose .
A phone call came indicating that
the magneto problem was in the
switch. He saved a lot of money and
labor by doing this simple check.
However, if the magneto is the
culprit, it is best to remove it and

send it out for an

overhaul. I know of
no mechanic who
will disassemble a
magneto and try to
troubleshoot it. I
replace points and
condenser, but that
is just about all.
. If the magneto
drop is around 150
rpm and the en
gine runs roughly,
the problem is most
Figure 2
likely a fouled spark
plug. Conduct a cold cylinder check
to locate the plug. As explained
above, run the engine on the rough
magneto to isolate the plug. Remove
and replace, or clean, gap, test, and
reinstall. I usually keep a couple of
spare good spark plugs in the bag
gage compartment with necessary
tools to remove and replace them.
With lOOLL fuel, spark plug fouling
in these old engines is a continual
problem . I'll address that in a fu
ture column on maintenance.
. Once in a great while a harness
lead will break down, causing an
indication of a fouled spark plug.
You can trace this by removing the
cold plug and swapping it to the
other bank of plugs. Run the en
gine and if the problem moved to
the other magneto, the problem
is the plug. If the problem stayed
with the initial magneto, the prob
lem is the lead. Sometimes mois
ture will manifest itself in the
terminal end (sometimes called the
"cigarette end" of the lead) . Porce
lain Cigarettes were used on all old
shielded harnesses and are remov
able. If you suspect moisture in the
lead, that is the most likely place
to find it. Remove the cigarette and
dry the lead; then reinstall the cig
arette. On newer harnesses the cig
arettes may not be removable. You
can gently pull the lead while hold
ing the cigarette end to check for
contaminants. Sometimes I have
found engine oil in that area. Fig
ure 3 shows the older-style shielded
harness with a removable cigarette
(terminal sleeve) and elbow. It is

Term inal
sleeve

Figure 3

this area just above the shielding

and cigarette where moisture can
cause problems. I remember when
I was young (probably around 17
years old), it was necessary to hand
prop the 450-hp Pratt & Whitney
engines. In the wintertime it was a
real drill because the oil was thick
and the engine very stiff. If the pi
lot didn't keep the engine running
once it fired , you could hand-prop
until you were exhausted. The pi
lot, who also was my flight instruc
tor, had been flying for years, and
VINTAGE AIRPLANE

25

average drop in rpm,

Figure 6
the plug not firing will
be cold. In the military
we used a grease pen
cil touched to the ex
haust pipe to check for
a cold cylinder. Another
easy method is to tape
a small cloth ball to a
pencil, drop the cloth in
water, and move to each
cylinder, touching the
exhaust pipe with the
wet cloth. If it is hot, it
Figure 4
will sizzle; if it is cold,
the moisture will remain on the
pipe for a short period
of time. The plug will be
so cool that you can grab
on to it. You have just
Correct
found the faulty plug!
When removing a plug,
should it be dropped to
the floor it should be dis
carded, so be very care
ful. At the price of spark
plugs you should ex
ercise extreme caution.
Look into the firing end
M - - Round wire
of the plug (Figure 4) for
clearance gauge traces of carbon or chemFigure 5
ical deposits that bridge
between the center elec
trode and the plug body;
you may be able to detect
a small carbon or chemi
Spark plug
cal deposit from the fuel
burn bridging the gap. If
this is the case, clean the
I recall him saying that the spark plug, check the gap, and reinstall
plugs were "frosted over." I main the plug. To equalize wear, the spark
tained that since there was fire plugs should be removed every 50
inside the combustion chamber hours of operation, the gap reset,
there was no way there could be and the plugs reinstalled, moving
moisture on the plugs. He made the front plugs to the rear and the
me remove the front bank of rear plugs to the front. I normally
plugs, and sure enough, there was get at least 500 hours or more of
a little water all over the firing end operation from massive electrode
of the plugs. I took them into the spark plugs using this method. The
hangar, blew them dry with com rear bank of plugs will wear greater
pressed air, and reinstalled them. than the front bank, and the rear
After a few more turns the engine plugs will tend to foul quicker than
finally started. Amazing!
the front, so this automatically
Conducting a "cold cylinder" cleans the plugs and equalizes the
check can easily isolate spark plug wear. I set the gap in massive elec
problems. If the engine runs on trode spark plugs to around 0.016
the magneto that shows an above inch to 0.018 inch at each 50-hour
26

SEPTEMBER 2008

oil change. I use a special gapping

tool that can be purchased from
all suppliers. I slowly and carefully
bring the tangs to the correct gap,
making sure not to overshoot and
make the gap too narrow. Always
use a wire gauge and never a flat
feeler gauge . Figure 5 shows the
correct method to reset the gap in
a spark plug.
.On a trip east, the Continental
R-670-5 engine began to have in
termittent rough operation. I tried
everything to determine what was
happening-carburetor heat, power
changes, etc., but the problem per
sisted . We made a precautionary
landing at a nearby airfield and dis
covered that the left magneto was
running roughly, with a large drop
in rpm. I installed a spare mag
neto, and we went on our way. I
later opened the bad magneto and
discovered the rotor assembly was
broken in two, thus causing the
magneto to go in and out of timing
to the engine.
Recently the rpm drop of a Scin
tilla VMN7DF magneto continued
to exceed the 75 rpm maximum,
so an investigation was conducted.
The point gap opening was within
limits, and the points were in good
condition. There were no contami
nants on the points, so the mag
neto was removed from the engine
and a spare installed. Upon inspec
tion of the magneto I found the
point return spring had failed and
the points were not closing prop
erly. Interesting! You can see the
broken spring in Figure 6.
.....,..

Chalies and Sue Stites

Chapel Hill, NC

_ Charles received his pilot's

certificate in 1980
_ Aviation writer/photographer
for u.s and European aviation
publications
_ Has owned Ryan Navion N4891 K
for over 10 years
_ Oshkosh award winner
_ Executive Director of Able Flight

"1 wouldn't entrust my '49 Ryan Navion to just any insurance

company. For the past seven years, I've been a very satisfied
customer of AUA and their EM Vintage Program. AUA
understands what a classic means to an owner, and that care
shows in their rates and their customer service."

- Charles Stites

AUA is Vintage Aircraft Association approved. To become a member of VAA call 8oo84336J2.

Aviation in.urance with the fAA Vintage Program oHers:

lower premium$ with payment options - Additional coverages - Flexibility on the use of your aircraft - Experienced agents

AUA is lic,nsed in all staIeI

Serial number 842, NC3 24 12

BY RANDALL KRYSTOSEK

his particular aircraft was

completed on Decem
ber 10, 1940, at the Por
terfield factory in Kansas
City, Missouri, and en
tered service on December 22 at
the Springfield Flying Service in
Springfield, Missouri. Almost cer
tainly, it was initially used in the
Civilian Pilot Training Program. In
1943 it was turned over to the De
fense Service Corporation, where it
remained for about one year. It was
then returned to the Springfield fa
cility, perhaps as war surplus. Over
the next 30 years, serial number
842 had at least 14 owners, most of
them in Missouri and the surround
ing states.
In 1972, Tom Crane, the former
owner/manager of Skylane Airport
in Evansville, Indiana, purchased
the Porterfield. He acquired it for
nostalgiC reasons, as many years
previous he had soloed in a Por
terfield. Mr. Crane sold the aircraft

28 SEPTEMBER 2008

in 1976. It changed hands several

times, but it always remained based
at Skylane.
On June 8, 1982, a tremendous
thunderstorm downburst with
winds of 100 mph struck the Evans
ville area. At Skylane, several air
planes were completely destroyed.
The hangar roof collapsed on 842
but, amazingly, only minor dam
age was inflicted on the airframe.
Three left wing ribs were broken,
the fin and rudder were bent, and
the wooden turtledeck was frac
tured. Due to the damage, the air
plane was taken out of service and
stored in pieces in an old barn.
In 2003, the Porterfield and vari
ous accumulated spare parts were
purchased by Fred Williams and
me; both of us are from Evansville.
The plane was extricated from the
barn, and minor repairs were made
at a rather slow pace. Then in 2005,
Bud Sherretz and Hank Meador
joined the project, with the goal

being a full and complete restora

tion of the Porterfield.
This combination of individuals
worked well, as both Fred and I are
experienced amateur woodworkers
and model airplane builders. Bud
has been in the auto-body repair
business for more than 40 years,
and he's an expert at complicated
sheet-metal repair and in refinish
ing using traditional materials, as
well as the modern finishes. Hank
is a retired Xerox field engineer; he
can repair or service anything elec
trical or mechanical that's smaller
than a locomotive . Bud and Hank
are also veteran tailwheel pilots.
As most of you know, there are
many disciplines involved in re
storing an old airplane. We initially
(a lthough inadvertently) divided
the work into several imaginary
"shops" (i.e., wood, mechanical,
sheet metal, fabric, and paint).
Actually, these all occupied the
same floor space. As work became

necessary in a particular discipline

or shop, the individuals most com
fortable with that task would step
up and complete the work with
any needed assistance from the
others. Thus, we were able to pro
ceed with the project on several
fronts simultaneously.
We began with the wings, aile
rons, rudder, and horizontal tail
surfaces . These were completely
stripped and all necessary metal
repairs were performed. The aile
rons required considerable wood
repair about the hinge-attachment
structures. The wings were carefully
cleaned and inspected. The three
previously mentioned ribs required
extensive repair and partial replace
ment, while several others needed
minor repair. Extensive areas of
leading and trailing edges were re
placed. After a thorough sanding,
all the wooden structures were

coated with epoxy varnish, and the

steel structures were coated with
epoxy primer. New aileron control
cables were installed. The rudder
was straightened profeSSionally.
With the blessing of our airframe
and powerplant mechanic with an
inspection authorization (A&PIIA),
all these surfaces were then cov
ered using a modern Dacron poly
ester aircraft fabric. A finish of two
coats of primer followed by a fi
nal finish of silver was applied to
the wings, ailerons, and horizontal
tail surfaces. The original-style NC
number was carefully stenciled on
each wing at the standard 24-inch
height, then taped off and sprayed
a very dark blue, the same color as
the fuselage.
In February of 2007, we initi
ated work on the fuselage. It was
completely stripped to the bare
tube steel airframe, which was then

professionally bead-blasted. A few

minor repairs were made to the
steel tubing, and after an applica
tion of epoxy primer, reconstruc
tion of the fuselage was initiated.
In the "woodshop area," the en
tire turtledeck was replaced uti
lizing 1/4-inch aircraft five-ply
plywood and beautiful straight
grain white cedar stringers. This
structure was firmly attached to
the airframe will all new stainless
steel fasteners. Two coats of epoxy
varnish were applied. New side and
bottom stringers, floor boards, seat
panels, and various wooden spac
ers were similarly fashioned and
finished. We were able to obtain all
wood locally, including a stunning
piece or burled walnut veneer. This
became our new instrument panel
fac;ade. After multiple coats of ep
oxy varnish and lots of sanding, it
looks great!
VINTAGE A I RPLANE

29

The instrument panel diverts just a bit from original - who The spartan interior of the LP-65 underscores its mission
could resist using such a beautiful piece of burled walnut? as a primary trainer in the days just prior to WW-II.

Fred Williams, Bud Sherretz, Hank Meador,

and Randall Krystosek.

The "mechanical shop" was

also very busy during this time
frame. Several steel components
of the landing gear were severely
corroded and beyond repair. These
were exactly duplicated utilizing
4130 steel tubing and sheet metal,
as well as tungsten inert gas (TIG)
welding. We were pleased to see the
fit was perfect. Utilizing a water jet
cutter, a new set of shock biscuits
was cut from I-inch rubber sheet,
and new shock spacer washers
were cut from thin stainless steel
sheet using an electrical discharge
machining (EDM) machine. The
original wheels and mechanical
brakes were rebuilt and refinished,
with the wheel bearing and races
refreshed as needed. New tires and
tubes were fitted. We needed re
placements for the heel brake pads
and found the reproduction Model
A Ford accelerator pedal footrest
30 SEPTEMBER 2008

to be an ex
act d u plicate.
The control system,
including the u nique
trim mechanism, was
completely restored. All
new cables were fitted . Several pul
leys we re beyond salvage, so new
duplicate p ulleys were machined
and properly bushed. The tail wheel
and sp ri ng assembly was com
pletely disassembled, bead-blasted,
rebushed , epoxy-primed, painted
black, and then reassembled. All
instru men ts were tested, serviced,
and, amazingly enough, found to
be in good working order.
Meanwhile, in the "sheet metal
shop" t he gas tank was cleaned
and pressure-tested and the firewall
carefully restored with hammer and
holly. Th e u pper and lower cowl
panels were deemed irreparable,
and since they were basically flat

stock
start with,
they were readily duplicated in new
sheet aluminum. New windows and
window frames were fashioned, and
new stainless steel foot pads were
cut with the EDM machine and fit
ted to the floorboards.
Most everyone who examined
the nosebowl was of the opinion
that it best belonged in a dump
ster. It was in frightful condition,
with innumerable large and small
creases, dents, and cracks as well
as various ancient repairs, some of
which were quite crude. After con
siderable planning, the nose bowl
restoration commenced. Many

full days of work were required to

straighten and properly repair and
reinforce the piece to the point of
being ready for final finish. All who
observed the effort involved and the
skill required in this transformation
agreed that the once-shabby nose
bowl was now a worthy addition to
the aircraft. Thank you, Bud!
At this point, the "fabric shop"
was reactivated. The job of properly
fitting the rather complicated in
terior fabric was found to be time
consuming, but it went well. The
"paint shop" then took over, and
after two coats of primer, the inte
rior fabric was finished in a dusky
medium blue, and the exposed tub
ing in the cabin was painted silver.
The entire bottom of the fuselage
was then covered . We made our
own envelope. Two large pieces of
fabric, each the entire length of the
airframe (including the fin), were
temporarily clamped in place on
either side of the fuselage. These
pieces were then adjusted so ev
erything seemed to drape properly.
Each piece of fabric was then cut
vertically from the top down to the
junction of the fin and turtledeck.
The two large overlapping portiOns
of fabric forward of the fin were
carefully trimmed, leaving several
inches of overlap over the center
stringer. Everything was then tri
ple-checked to make sure we had
enough fabric in all areas and that
there would be no difficult-to-man
age wrinkles.
When all were well satisfied, the
center stringer was covered with Sa
ran wrap, and the two side pieces
of fabric were tack-glued together
using the center stringer as a guide.
When the glue was dry, a line was
penciled on the overlapping fab
ric directly over the center stringer.
That line was used to have an ap
proved double seam professionally
sewn from the top of the cabin to
the base of the fin. This method
worked well, with the rest of the
fuselage-covering job progressing
nicely in standard fashion . After
heat-shrinking the fabric, all rein
forcing tapes, inspection panels,

cable lead-out fairings, etc. were

glued in place.
The fuselage was then trans
ported to the actual body shop for
priming, sanding, and painting.
This went well, with the finish color
being the previously chosen dark
blue with contrasting silver trim.
The airframe was then transported
back to Skylane Airport, where final
assembly began with enthusiasm.
The seats were professionally
upholstered and the coordinating
headliner installed. The newly fin
ished instrument panel was bolted
in place, and a freshly rebuilt Ly
coming 0-145-B2 was fitted to the
motor mount. After completing
the firewall-forward mechanical
work and instrument connections,
the cowl and nosebowl were in
stalled. That part of the project
was considered complete when we
bolted our gorgeous old Flottorp
69-by-44 prop in place. We then
retrieved the wings and horizon
tal surfaces from storage, and in a
few brief days, the project began to
resemble an airplane once again.
The control systems were con
nected and functionally checked
for proper, smooth operation.
The Porterfield Company had
two unique company logos affixed
to the airplane. All we had to go on
were rather poor copies of the lo
gos on old company literature. We
were able to find a small local sign
shop with the capability (and inter
est) necessary to make new replicas
of the decals using vinyl materi
als. Using its computer system, the
company was able to develop beau
tifully re-created, full-color rendi
tions just as crisp as the originals
must have been.
At this point, time was taken to
review everything that had been
done. Every nut, bolt, washer, fit
ting, and safety wire was checked
and double-checked until all were
satisfied with the airworthiness of
the Porterfield. Weight and bal
ance went well, with the empty
weight being 793 pounds. With
the addition of gas and oil, the
engine was propped to life and

ran quite smoothly. After break

in, fast taxi work revealed no
unusual ground-handling tenden
cies . During this time all the nec
essary paperwork was completed
and submitted. Then, on May 22,
2008, NC32412 flew again for the
first time in 26 years. Bud was
given the honor of being the pilot
of the first flight.
No control-system adjustments
were required. With time, only two
small problems were encountered
and corrected. The door latch re
quired a stronger spring, and the
carburetor needle and seat needed
to be replaced, with a slightly lon
ger needle being necessary.
The first cross-country was flown
about a month later, on June 21,
2008. The project reqUired almost
exactly two years from start to fin
ish, with the four partners meet
ing on a regular schedule of at least
three workdays per week. As with
most projects of this magnitude,
there were plenty of onlookers, visi
tors, and critics. These individuals
seemed to be generally divided into
two camps. On one side were the
supporters who enjoyed watching
the progress and were always eager
to lend a hand. On the other side
were the skeptics and detractors
who thought the four of us to be
quite nuts and that we should never
have started to work on "that piece
of junk." One of the fun things was
observing the attitude of the latter
group gradually change to mirror
that of the former!
Special thanks to:
Dave White-lots of beautiful ma
chine work.
Mike Williams-delicately bead
blasting many small parts.
Ralph Traunetter-Ianding-gear fab
rication, general supervision.
Greg MCMichael-sewing-machine
guru.
Bud Fritchley-voice of experience,
spedalized tools.
Russell Goad-sage advice, design,
and machining of specialized con
trol surface hardware.
Ron Johnson-A&P mechanic.
Mike Vieke-A&P/IA mechanic~
VINTAGE AIRPLANE

31

BY DOUG STEWART

Maintaining proficiency

On Sunday evening I taxied up to

the pumps and filled the tanks of my
Super Cruiser with 100LL after a day
of enjoying flight with my best friend
and not having to engage in any in
struction. The next morning I went
to those same pumps to meet a client,
who had just arrived for two days of
intense instrument flight rules train
ing. I gulped in astonishment as I got
there. The fuel had risen 65 cents,
quite literally, overnight.
Everyone of us has had to deal
with rising fuel prices. Much has
been written about the numerous
ways we can reduce our fuel usage,
including simple actions like us
ing a handheld transceiver to get
a clearance and the ATIS or AWOS/
ASOS before starting the engine.
That can yield significant savings
over a year's worth of flying. And if
the engine is equipped with a mix
ture control, leaning for all ground
operation as well as any time you
are carrying less than 75 percent
power aloft will produce consider
able savings in fuel. And speaking
of power, most of us flying vintage
and antique aircraft are not flying
them to travel anywhere; we're fly
ing for the pure joy of being aloft
in aircraft of an earlier era. So why
fly at high power settings? Fifty-five
percent power will do quite well,
extending the time we are up in the
air for any given amount of fuel.
But what of the pilots who are
dealing with the rapidly rising costs
of fuel by cutting down on their
flying? What are the effects and
32

SEPTEMBER 2008

implications of taking that less lofty

approach? To be certain, the over
all proficiency level of the average
pilot will suffer. It is quite possible
that we will see a slow rise in acci
dent rates, and concurrent with that
will be a rise in insurance premiums.
Sounds like a nasty Catch-22 to me.
Now we will have a hard time not
only affording the fuel, but also the
costs of higher insurance.
However, there is a way we can
ensure that our flight proficiency
levels don't slip, even if our flight
hours might suffer from the in
creased costs of flying. And that way,
quite simply, is to spend as much
time in the air as we pOSSibly can, in
endeavors that will sustain or, even
better yet, increase our proficiency.
As an example, if you choose to
fly to get a hamburger that once
upon-a-time cost only $100, make
every effort on that flight to main
tain your altitude at plus or minus
50 feet. I've worked my way to try
ing to achieve a standard of plus or
minus 20 feet. I haven't succeeded
in accomplishing that target on a
long flight, but it makes me a better
pilot as I strive to realize that goal.
While you are on that burger
run, fly from one navigation sta
tion (VOR) to another doing your
utmost to keep the course devia
tion indicator (COl) centered, par
ticularly whenever you are within
5 miles of the VOR. Oh .. .you say
you don't have a navigation radio
in your airplane? Well, I'd be will
ing to bet you have a handheld GPS

on board. In that case, I challenge

you to set the COl scale to 1/25th
of a mile and then never let the
COl go to full-scale deflection. An
other good challenge would be to
leave the GPS behind and fly the
entire route by pilotage. When was
the last time you tried that?
At some pOint during the flight,
why not practice some slow flight?
Try to achieve the standards set
forth in the practical test standards
(PTS) for virtually every certificate,
and by that I mean flight at a speed
that will yield a stall if either the
power is reduced or the angle of at
tack is increased. If the winds aloft
are blowing at a speed that exceeds
the slowest speed at which you can
fly your airplane, see if you can
"hover" or, better yet, fly backward.
That's one of the more fun things I
like to do, and I can't help but won
der what air traffic controllers must
think when they see my ground
speed slow to zero, and then slowly
increase a few knots in the opposite
direction, and then as I add a little
power again slow to zero, and then
increase in the direction I was origi
nally flying. I chuckle as I wonder
if the person behind the radarscope
thinks my target is a helicopter
rather than the beautiful PA-12 that
it is. And all the while this exercise
is making me a better pilot.
If you have taken the effort to
fly at your slowest possible speed,
why not also use this opportunity
to practice some stalls . Use the
techniques I described a couple of

issues ago. In fact, why not take it a

few steps further, and on one of the
power-off stalls, hold the airplane
in a stall and wake your feet up as
you perform a falling leaf" stall,
keeping the wings level with the
use of rudder alone.
Once you have regained cruise
speed, why not practice some steep
turns? After looking for traffic, roll
into a bank of 50-55 degrees, and
as you fly through 360 degrees of
heading, endeavor to maintain bet
ter than plus or minus 50 feet. (If
you can do that, you will be exceed
ing the current standards for a com
mercial pilot certificate.) Then, to
kick it up a notch, as you complete
360 degrees, immediately roll into a
360 in the opposite direction. Will
you still be able to maintain that
altitude standard through the tran
sition? If you can't, then practice it
until you can!
If the wind is blowing on the day
you choose to fly, don't let it deter
you from flying. In fact, seek out
an airport where the wind will be a
crosswind to practice takeoffs and
landings. If the wind exceeds your
personal minimums, then it would
behoove you to find an instructor
who is qualified in your aircraft to
help you gain proficiency in cross
winds that would normally keep
you on the ground. Remember that
there might be a time when you
will need those skills, even though
you might not choose to normally
fly in those conditions. As an ex
ample, what if the gust front of the
thunderstorm you are racing home
gets to the airport at the same time
that you arrive? Having taken the
time to practice in similar condi
tions will have you prepared.
If you are instrument-rated, and
your airplane instrument-equipped,
be sure to spend some time practic
ing approaches-preferably in in
strument meteorological conditions,
but if not, then with the Foggles on
and a safety pilot on board. If your
vintage pride and joy has an autopi
lot, then practice those approaches
both coupled as well as hand flown.
Fly the approaches to minimums
1/

before you "look," and then be sure

to practice not only landing out of
the approach without going below
the glide slope, but "going missed"
as well. Both skills require practice
to remain profiCient.
Please remember one other valu
able tool to maintain proficiency.
That tool is a flight simulator. No,
you don't have to go to FlightSafety
or SimCom. Your home computer
can certainly suffice. There are nu
merous programs available (and
they're not all that expensive) that
can serve as excellent tools in main
taining your proficiency. It is true
that you cannot log any of the time
spent on most home computers, es
pecially if there is no flight instruc
tor present to conduct the training;
however, the time spent-especially
if you set up challenges such as
winds, turbulence, and minimum
ceilings (if you're practicing instru
ment approaches)-will be worth
every moment, as it can definitely
serve to increase your proficiency.

It might be virtually impossible to

land that simulated airplane on the

centerline (yet alone on the run
way) when you've created high,
gusting crosswinds, but if you can
achieve it on the simulator, espe
cially repeatedly, I can guarantee
that you will find it a piece of cake
when you do it in a real airplane.
So, as you can see, there are many
ways to ensure that we maintain
our proficiency, even if we cannot
afford to fly as frequently as we did
before the price of fuel went into
the stratosphere. Please endeavor
to do something on each and ev
ery flight that will help to sustain
or, better yet, improve your profi
ciency. Even when there are ... blue
skies and tail winds.

Doug Stewart is the 2004 National

CFI of th e Year, a NAFI Master In
structor, and a designated pilot ex
aminer. He operates DSFI Inc. (www.
DSFlight.com) based at the Colum
bia County Airport (lBi ).
....

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VINTAGE AIRPLANE

33

BY H.G. FRAUTSCHY

THIS MONTH'S MYSTERY PLANE COMES TO US FROM THE

EAA ARCHIVES.

Send your answer to EAA, Vintage

Airplane, P.O. Box 3086, Oshkosh,
WI 54903-3086. Your answer needs
to be in no later than October 15
for inclusion in the December
2008 issue of Vintage Airplane.
You can also send your response
via e-mail. Send your answer to
MysteryPlane@eaa.org. Be sure to
include your name plus your city
and state in the body of your note
and put I/(Month) Mystery Plane"
in the subject line.

JUNE'S MYSTERY ANSWER

Professor A.A. Merrill's 1927

C.I.T. 9, with Walter Clavery as
the pilot. The photo Is dated on
the back as October 1927. It
had adjustable decalage (the
angular difference between
the wing's and horizontal tall's
angle of Incidence).

Here's our June Mystery Plane

answer. It was a Roy Russell photo
from the Ted Businger collection.
"The June 2008 Mystery Plane
is Albert Adams Merrill's 1927
Stagger-Decal age Biplane (Aviation.
34

SEPTEMBER 2008

March 7,1927. An Approach Towards

the Fool Proof Airplane: Professor Mer
rill, of California Institute of Technol
ogy, Develops Airplane Which Will
Takeoff, Flies and Lands Itself, p 473).
A 1931 article from Time magazine
states that it was built in 1926.

"Merrill had a very long and in

teresting career going back to his
days with the Boston Aeronauti
cal Society in the mid-1890s un
til his death in the early '50s. His
correspondence with the Wrights,
and articles on early control sys

terns, are particularly amusing .

He thought th e Bolands (in fact,
h e put the Wrights on to the Bo
lands before they appear to have
visited them) nailed the problem
of adverse yaw (even though he
didn 't call it that) on the head,
and o ffe red a conversion to do
th e same to the Curtiss ailerons
by disconnecting the balance ca
ble, allowing them to droop like
those on a Farman, but with more
droop on the highest aileron (he
n ever explains how to accomplish
that one). All this stems from his
stall and spiral accident with the
Burgess and Curtis Model F (li
cense-built Wright Model B-with
some significant dimensional dif
ferences ). He had trouble transi
tioning from using one hand to
control the warping lever to the
other when he switched from the
Mod el F to the Model B. Oddly
e n ough , he ex plains wh y one
wi ng of the Model F stalled in a
detailed letter showing his calcu
lat ions. He blames W.H. Bonney
for teaching him to fly at too high
an angle of attack.
"An amusing incident occurred
with the 1931 Safety Plane designed
by Merrill. It was wrecked right in
front of reporters and Admiral Mof
fett during one of the so-called au
tomatic landings . And, of course,
there was the 1928 Dill Pickle, so
dubbed because of the bright green
color. If nothing else, the guy had
an imagination. The lower wings
moved aft via the struts, and the
angle of incidence changed up to
14 degrees on the 1931.
"Merrill had a very long and in
teresting career dating back to his
days with the Boston Aeronauti
cal Society in the 1890s. I have a
lot of correspondence from Mer
rill, and information on several of
his design s, which is not generally
availa ble. His papers are held at
the California Institute of Tech
nology at Pasadena, but there are
only abo ut O.S linea r feet in the
entire collection ."
Wesley Smith
Springfield, Illinois
~

GET THE SKILLS

TO GET IT BUILT

GET YOUR HOMEBUILDING PROJECT OFF THE GROUND

BY SIGNING UP FOR EAA'S SPORTAIR WORKSHOPS

BEGINS

DURATION

COURSE DESCRIPTION

LOCATION

September 1214

2 ~ days

Repairman (ELSA) Inspection-Airplane

Oshkosh, WI

September 19-21

2 ~ days

Repairman (ELSA) Inspectian-Air~ane

Riverside, CA

September 26-28

2 ~ days

Repairman (ELSA) Inspection-Airplane

Lantana, FL

September 27-28

2days

CompositeaConstruction, Fabric
Covering, ectricol Systems,
Basic S6eet Metal, Test ~ng,
What's Involved in KitbUI ing

Noshua, NH

October 4-5

2days

Composite Construction, Fabric

Cover~, Electrical Systems,
Basic eet Metal, Test ~ng
What's Involved in Kitbui ing

Riverside, CA

October 18-19

2days

Basic Sheet Metal, Electrical

Involved in
uilding

Arlington, WA

October 2426

2 ~ days

1IG Welding

Griffin, GA

November 12

2days

Composite Construction, Fabric

Coveri!!ll, Electrical Systems,
Basic S6eet Metal, Test ~ing,
What's Involved in KitbUI ding

IndianapotlS, IN

~ems and What's

Complete 2008 Schedule onlne

VISIT WWW.SPORTAIR.COM OR CALL 18009675746 FOR DETAILS

EA A

WORKSHOPS

EAA SportAir Sponsors:

.~.

---~-VINTAGE AIRPLANE

35

Wanna be Fal11ous?

Write an article for Vintage Airplane

H.G.

FRAUTSCHY AND SCOTT SPANGLER

What Makes a Good Article?

VAAers are hands-on participants, active in all facets of
vintage aviation. That's why, whenever possible, how-to is
a common theme in each issue's mix of feature stories and
departments. EAA and its divisions are also about people.
This means a successful article doesn't tell what someone
did in recreational aviation-it shows how he or she did it.
No matter the subject or whether it is a feature or department, a good article is a narrative with a story linea beginning, middle, and end-that
engages the reader. For example, anyone can write "My First Flight to EAA
.
AirVenture," and the articles would all
sound pretty much the same. A writer
with vision would look at EAA AirVenture and see "200 Miles a Day for Operation Thirst" or "Camp Scholler: How
the Neighborhood Has Changed Over
25 Years."
Always look beyond the obvious. Be
specific. Focus on one part of the whole.
In how-to articles, teach by example, not
by a chronological monologue or lecture.
It's not a textbook. And it's not numbers
connected by words foreign to the vocabulary of the average pilot. Naturally,
the story involves a VAAer, and to get a
feel of what we're looking for, study the last few issues.
Ultimately, every article must in some way enrich the
reader's aviation interest. VAAers are ordinary people of ordinary means with an extraordinary passion for aviation.
Connect with them by being their eyes, ears, fingers, and
nose. Avoid jargon, but don't talk down to them; more
than 96 percent of all VAA members are rated pilots, 20 percent of you are airframe and powerplant mechanics, and 77
percent of VAAers own at least one airplane. Explain new
terms concisely, or include a glossary. If the article is math
heavy, include a spreadsheet that allows readers to plug
in the variables. We'll post the spreadsheet on the Web so
folks can download it for their use.

topic. It is specific. Like a good story, it should have a headline that captures our attention and suggests what the
story is about, a subhead that expands on the headline,
and a strong lead paragraph that shows what the story is
about-and why it's important to EAAers who love these
great old airplanes.
If you've already written the article, in lieu of a query
you may submit it as a file (preferably a Microsoft Word
document) attached to your e-mail. Make sure all of your
contact information-name, address,
phone number, and e-mail address-is at

the top of the Word document. We cannot assume responsibility for the loss or
return of unsolicited manuscripts, and
we will not consider queries or manu
scripts submitted to more than one pub
lication at the same time.
We will acknowledge receipt of your
query or manuscript immediately and
will do our best to let you know whether
it's been accepted or rejected within 60
days. (Expect a delay if you submit a
query or manuscript six weeks before or
after EAA AirVenture Oshkosh.) Upon ac
ceptance, all articles are subject to edit
ing. Please indicate whether we may print
your e-mail address so readers can contact
you about the article. Submissions are published at the discretion of the publisher and may appear in any EAA publi
cation or on its website.

Have you ever

consIdered bemg
th.?
an au or.
It's not as hard
as you might
think, and you'd
be helping out
your fellow
b
mem ers.

How to Propose/Submit an Article

Time is everyone's most valuable resource; to make the
best use of it, please submit a query rather than a completed
manuscript. Because the editorial staff is few in number,
we don 't accept phone queries. Instead, e-mail them to
VintageAircraft@eaa.org, and to avoid the spam folder, use
"Vintage Aircraft Article Query" in the subject line.
A good query focuses on just one feature or department
36 SEPTEMBER 2008

Feature Articles
Each issue includes four or more features , which run
between 1,500 and 3,000 words on average, that fall into
these broad categories:
- Aircraft (antique, classic, or contemporary-if you
need help understanding the categories, visit www.
VintageAircraft.org and click on Judging Information at the
top of the web page)
- Equipment/innovations (that make flying safer, eas
ier, or more affordable)
- Training/techniques (that make flying safer and ex
pand pilot skills and capabilities)
- Lifestyle/personality (of a VAAer known or unknown
who has an interesting story)

Photography
Photos help tell the story, and they are essential to nearly
every submission. They must be of the highest quality and

must help tell the story. On rare occasions, we may assign a

photographer to illustrate your article.
What images to select depends on the story, but like
a good movie they establish the scene and provide nec
essary details. If someone is quoted often in an article,
include several photos of the person doing something
related to what he or she is talking about. When writ
ing about a restoration, photos of its construction are
often more important than photos of the finished proj
ect. Whenever pOSSible, provide a wide selection (within
reason-typically, 20 photos would be plenty!), and make
sure you include caption and photo credit information for
each one.
Never send original slides or prints with an unsolicited
manuscript. We cannot be responsible for lost slides or
prints. Generally, we keep the images, but if you would like
them returned, please let us know.

Digital Photos
Digital photos are great and in fact make up 9S percent
of the images we now use in the magazine, but unless they
are of sufficient resolution and quality, what looks good on
your computer screen may not work well in print. When
requested to submit final versions of the photos, send the
biggest image file aPEG or TIFF) your camera is capable
of creating. Generally, a full-resolution picture from a
2-megapixel camera or better is required, or images 300 dpi
or higher. Please do not "adjust" images in a digital photo
graph program before sending them to us.
Do not send printed digital photos. They do not have the
quality necessary for reproduction in the magazine.
Please send digital photos as individual JPEG or TIFF files.
Do not place them in a Word document or make a PDF of
the document or photo.
Rename your digital photos so they are related to the
manuscript filename. For example, if the story is SmithAir
plane.doc, the photos should be named SmithAirplanel.
jpg, SmithAirplane2. jpg, etc.
If your photo files are too big to e-mail, burn them to a
CD and send them via snail mail. If you have a high-speed
connection to the Internet, please let us know; we can sup
ply you with a link to a download site for the images.

Submission Checklist
Before submitting your query or manuscript, ask yourself
these questions:
Does it fit the mission of Vintage Airplane?
Has the magazine addressed this topic in the last 18
months or so?
In what feature category or department does it best fit?
Is it unique, and does it show not tell?
Does it include information on the availability of pho
tographs and/or art?
Does it include all author contact information?
Thank you for your interest in Vintage Airplane. It's great
when VM members pitch in to help one another. We look
~
forward to seeing your work!
.........

~-----------------------------------------------

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Not only do these tires set your vintage plane apart from
the rest, but also look exceptional on all General Aviation
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VINTAGE AIRPLANE

37

..

This VAA Calendar of Events is a fraction of those posted on the newest page on
the EAA website. To submit an event, or to view the most up to date list, please visit
the EAA website at www.eaa.org/calendar. During 2008, we'll publish this calendar
as we transition to an all-web based calendar for 2009. This list does not constitute
approval, sponsorship, involvement, control or direction of any fly-in, seminar, fly
market or other event.
September 12-14 - Hammondsport, NY - Glenn H. Curtiss Museum's Annual Seaplane
Homecoming. Featuring the first flight of the Curtiss "America ". Seaplane rides , The
Glenn Curtiss Salute seaplane parade, boat cruises on Keuka Lake, vendors and
exhibitors, period dress contest, and much more . "Dining with Glenn" dinner Saturday
evening. Registration includes access to the museum all weekend . Contact: Glenn H.
Curtiss Museum , Phone: 607-569 -2160, Email : info@glennhcurtissmuseum .org
September 13-14 - Auburn, IN - Midwest Stinson Fly-in. VAA Chapter 37 (GWB). Pancake
breakfast and Young Eagles in the morning with a Midwest fish and chicken fry on
Saturday evening. Visit one of the 3 local museums (Auburn, Cord, Duesenberg
Museum/ WW II Victory Vehicle Museum/ Hoosier Warbirds Museum) for a great day.
Vintage cars and motorcycles will also be on hand . Camping/ local motels available.
Contact: Tim Fox, Phone: 260-437-7702 , Email: tim @flyingshepherds.com
September 13-14 - Weirwood, VA - Great War Aerodrome WWI Fly- in . Campbell Field
(9VG). A WWI themed fly-in. Come see WWI replicas , models and re-enactors. Meet
historians and collectors . Repl ica owners and vendors should ontact: Robert Waring,
Phone: 703 309-7596, Email: greatwaraerodrome@yahoo.com
September 1921 - Troy, OH - WACO Field (lWF) Annual WACO Fly-in at Historic WACO
Field 8 -5 Saturday and 9-4 Sunday. Pancake Breakfast Sat. , WACO rides all 3 days ,
Parade of WACOs Sat., Museum tours, food and fun. Benefits the WACO Historical
Society. For more information conta ct John Sch illing atjohn.schillingwaco@yahoo.com
or Karen Purke at karenpurke@woh.rr.com
September 1920 - Bartlesville , OK - 52 Annual Tulsa Regional Fly-In, Contact 1-918-622
8400, www.tulsaflyin.com
September 1921 - Coffeyville, KS - Funk Aircraft Owners Association Reunion. Coffeyville
Aviation (CFV). Gathering of Funk Aircraft from around the country. Buddy rides , Balloon
Burst, Bomb Drop, Spot Landing Contests (weather permitting) and lots of 'hangar
flying". Free admission. Contact: LaNell Brown, Phone: 903-461-1304, Email : brownrl@
geusnet.com
September 1921 - Coffeyville, KS, USA. Funk Aircraft Owners Association Reunion .
Coffeyville Aviation (CFV). Gathering of Funk Aircraft from around the country. Buddy
rides , Balloon Burst, Bomb Drop, Spot Landing Contests (weather permitting) and lots
of 'hangar flying ". Free admission . Contact: LaNell Brown , Phone: 903-461-1304, Email:
brownrl@geusnet.com
September 20 - Delaware, OH - EAA Vintage 27 Fly In Breakfast. (DLZ) . Fly In Breakfast
Start Time: 08:00 End Time: 10:00 Contact: Woody Mcintire, Phone: 6145652887,
Email: wjmcintire@cs.com
September 20 - Delaware, OH, USA. EAA Vintage 27 Fly In Breakfast. (DLZ) . Fly In
Breakfast Start Time: 08:00-10 :00 am . Contact: Woody Mcintire, Phone: 6145652887,
Email : wjmcintire@cs.com
October 35 . Camden, SC , USA. VAA Chapter 3 Fall Fly-In. (CDN ). All Classes Welcome!
BBQ on field Friday evening. EAA judging all classes Sat. Awards Dinner Sat night.
Contact: Jim Wilson, Phone: 843-753-7138, Email: eiwilson@homexpressway.net
October 35 - Oshkosh , WI. The Golden Era of Aviation/ EAA Vintage Biplane & Spirit of
St Louis Fantasy Flight Camp. Have you ever fantasized about flying a certain airplane
or dreamed about becoming a part of history? Here is a once in a lifetime experience
for aviation enthusiasts . Learn about great vintage aircraft and take a ride you 'll never
forget. Contact: bcampbell@eaa.org, Phone: 920-426-6880, Email : museum@eaa.org
October 4 - Syracuse, KS. Syracuse Antique and Classic Fly-In. Syracuse Hamilton Co.
Airport (3K3). Lots of antiques, classics, warbirds , experimentals and powered 'chutes.
Chamber sponsors ch ili cookoff and burgers and brats at noon . Great time always had
by all ! Contact: Steve Phillips, Phone: 620384-5835, Email: 3K3@pld.com
October 4 5 - Hagerstown , MD, Washington . EAA Chapter 36 Fly-In and Fairchild Reunion .
Hagerstown Regional Airport (HGR). This event held on Papa Ramp at Hagerstown
Aviation Services , Hagerstown Regional Airport (KHGR). Great fun for young and old .
Excellent food, all day long. Start Time: 8 am-4 pm . Contact: Joseph Boyle , Phone:
301-797-1875, Email : joeboyle@myactv.net
October 1719 - Oshkosh, WI. Ford Tri -Motor Fantasy Flight Camp. EAA's weekend program
gets flight enthusiasts up close and flying in this airplane . Contact: bcampbell@eaa .org,
Phone: 920-426 -6880, Email : museum@eaa.org

38 SEPTEMBER 2008

Something to buy,
sell, or trade?
Classified Word Ads: $5 .50 per 10 words,
180 words maximum, with boldface leadin on
first line.
Classified Display Ads: One column wide (2.167
inches) by 1, 2, or 3 inches high at $20 per inch.
Black and white only, and no frequency discounts.
Advertising Closing Dates: 10th of second
month prior to desired issue date (i.e., January
10 is the closing date for the March issue). VAA
reserves the right to reject any advertising in
conflict with its policies. Rates cover one insertion
per issue. Classified ads are not accepted via
phone . Payment must accompany order. Word
ads may be sent via fax (920426-6845) or e-mail
(classads@eaa.org) using credit card payment
(al l cards accepted). Include name on card,
complete address, type of card, card number,
and expiration date. Make checks payable to
EAA. Address advertising correspondence to
EAA Publ ications Classified Ad Manager, P.O.
Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086.

AIRCRAFT
D. Trone Aircraft Collection - Thunderbird
W-14, WACO 050, Challenger KR-31 ,
Command-Aire, Bird, Uncoln5port, Polson
Special (Daugherty), Snyder Baby Bomber,
Corben Super Ace, Nieuport 11. Photos
at www.dtroneaircraftco/lection.com.
Sales: eftrone@dtroneaircraftcollection.
com, 217~-7501

ENGINES
D. Trone Aircraft Collection - Engines: Gnome
Rotary, Harroun, Sturtevant, Curtiss OXX-6,
Curtiss V2-C3, Curtiss K-12, Wells-Adams,
Michigan Rover, Kemp, LeRhone Rotary,
Globe Aero, Milwaukee Skymotor, Lenape
Chief, Lenape, Lawrence WWI, Cleone, Long
Harlequin, Lincoln Light. Photos at www.
dtroneaircraftcollection.com. Sales: eftrone@
dtroneaircraftco/lectlon.com, 217-632-7501

MISCELLANEOUS
Vintage Heath Aircraft Skis - Model 725,
ATC 138, Max Load 1450#, $500 plus
S&H. Bud Hill 518-283-5459.
Flying wires available. 1994 pricing. Visit www.
f/yingwires.com or call 800-517-9278.

SERVICES
Always Flying Aircraft Restoration, LLC

A&P I.A.: Annual, 100 hr. inspections.

Wayne Forshey 740-472-1481

Ohio - statewide.

promising a ride to, or get involved in

your local chapter. All you have to do
is knock on the door.
The 2008 event was more suc
cessful than any of us ever dared
to anticipate.
The weather was unbelievably ex
ceptional, and it was a safe event in
our area. I had to laugh when it began
to rain at 5:20 p.m. on the last day,
Sunday, 20 minutes after the final air
show act of the week. It was as if ev
eryone was given 20 minutes to get
to his or her vehicle without getting
drenched. That will always make me
glance toward the heavens and wink
at the big guy for playing such a large
part in such a wonderful event.
Across the board, the VAA experi
enced an awesome event with many
VAA members in attendance. The Tall
Pines Cafe, the VAA retail sales in the
Red Bam, the type club tents, return
ing past Grand Champions, lemon
ade and popcorn contributions, the
VAA picnic, and the Shawano Fly-Out
were all successful. We'll have more
news about next year's event in the
coming months. Do you have a sug
gestion or comment about your ex
perience? We'd like to hear from you.
You can send them directly to the
VAA office at vintageaircra(t@eaa.org
or by regular mail at Vintage Aircraft
Assoc., PO Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI
54903-3086.
And all of you wonderful volun
teers. We again had more than 500
individuals sign in to volunteer with
the VAA. That's fantastic! The preci
Sion, devotion, and long hours. How
can we ever properly thank you for
your undying devotion to the VAA?
You are truly awesome.
Please do us all the favor of invit
ing a friend to join the VAA, and help
keep us the strong association we have
all enjoyed for so many years now.
EAAAirVenture Oshkosh 2009, The
World's Greatest Aviation Celebration,
is July 27 through August 2, 2009.

A~

o ItIJ. oft e 1 9 f 9 - 1 949

atlollal ofllt tfi.sr.c.ej

e only comprehensive DVD Story of the National Air Races available today!
"Aviation fans will enjoy the year-by-year storytelling about the airplanes, and
the pilots who flew them"RoJt Do"oy, EAA Sport
.... a positive addition to the aviation historian's
video collection."
J~rri B~,g~n ,

Amerlct:m Aviation Historical Society

.. [ highly recommend this interesting video."

Tim SavlIge, Warbi,d Digest

2008

EAA AIRCRAFT AWARDS

continued from page 5

Outstanding Mooney, Outstanding in Type
Donald McGettigan, Mesa, AZ, 1962 Mooney M20C, N6242U
Outstanding Piper PA22 TriPacer, Outstanding lin Type
Donald Bartlett, Carterville, IL, 1957 Piper PA22150, N7409D
Outstanding Piper PA24 Comanche, Outstanding in Type
Ray Fey, Middleton , WI , 1966 Piper PA-24260, N8897P
Outstanding Limited Production, Outstanding in Type
Roger Baglien, Saddlebrooke , AZ, 1966 Alon A2, N6529Q
Best Continuously Maintained, Outstanding in Type
Joseph Judge, Bailey, CO, 1959 Piper PA24180 , N5433P

SEAPLANE AWARDS
Gold Lindy
Dick & Patsy Jackson, Rochester, NH, 1930 Sikorsky S-39, NC50V
Silver Lindy
Roxanne Newman, Fargo, ND, 1956 Piper PA-18 Super Cub, N6792B
Bronze Lindy
Bernie Ness, Fargo, ND, 1956 Piper PA-18 Super Cub , N7174B
Outstanding Amphibian
Richard Springer, Fargo, ND , 1970 Piper PA-18 Super Cub, N7949
Outstanding Metal Seaplane
Bob Steneman, Aspen, CO, 1980 Cessna 182Q, N300BS
Outstanding Fabric Seaplane
Craig Young, Hudson, WI, 1940 Piper J-3 Cub, NC32562

VINTAGE AIRPLANE

39

Membershi~ Services
VINTAGE

AIRCRAFT

ENJOY THE MANY BENEFITS OF EAA AND

ASSOCIATION
EAA's VINTAGE AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION

OFFICERS
President
Geoff Robison
1521 E. MacGregor Dr.
New Haven, IN 46774
260-493-4724
cilie(7025@aol.com

Vice President

~~~r~~:~t;~~

Hartford, WI 53027
262-673-5885
gdaubner@eaa.org

Treasurer

Secretary
Steve Nesse

Charles W. Harris

2009 Highland Ave.

Albert Lea, MN 56007
507-373 -1 674

7215 East 46th St.

Tulsa, OK 74147
918-622-8400

stnes@deskmedia.com

cwh@hvsu.com

DIRECTORS
Steve Bender
85 Brush Hili Road
Sherborn, MA 01770
508-653-7557

Dale A. Gustafson
7724 Shady Hills Dr.
Indianapolis, IN 46278
317-293-4430

sst 100comcast.1let

dalefaye@msn. com

David Bennett
375 Killdeer Ct
Lincoln, CA 95648
916-645-8370

j eannie Hili
P.O. Box 328
Harvard, IL 60033-0328
815-943-7205

QlItiqller@inreach,com

di"ghao@owc,lIet

j ohn Berendt
7645 Echo Poin t Rd.
Cannon Falls, MN 55009
507-263-2414
fchld@bevcomm.net

Espie "Butch " joyce

704 N. Regional Rd.
Greensboro, NC 27409
336-668-3650
windsock@aoi .com

jerry Brown
460S Hickory Wood Row
Greenwood, IN 46143
317-422-9366
Ibrown4906@aol.com

Dan Knutson
106 Tena Marie Circle
Lodi, WI 53555
608-592-7224

/odicub@charter.llet

Dave Clark

Steve Keog

635 Ves tal Lane

Plainfield, IN 46168
317-839-4500

1002 Heather Ln.

Hartford, WI 53027
262-966-7627

davecpd@att.net

sskrog@aol.com

j ohn S. Copeland

Robert D. "Bob" Lumley

1265 South 124th St.
Brookfield, WI 53005
262-782-2633
illmper@execpc.com

1A Deacon Street

North borough, MA 01532

508-393-4775
copeland l @ilmo.com

Phil Coul son

28415 Springbrook Dr.
Lawton, MI 49065
269-624-6490
rcou lson5 16@Cs.com

S.H. " Wes" Schmid

2359 Lefeber Avenue
Wauwatosa, WI 532 13
414-771 -1545
shschmid@milwpc.com

DIRECTORS

EMERITUS

Robert C. Brauer

9345 S. Hoyne

Ch~~!_~8~9~f43
photopilot@aol.com

E.E. "Buck" Hilbert

8 \02 Leech Rd.
Union, IL 60 180
815 -923-4591
buck7ac@gmail.com

Gen e Chase

Gen e Mo rris

2159 Carlton Rd.

Oshkosh, WI 54904
920-23 1-5002

5936 Steve Court

Roanoke, TX 76262

817-491-9 1\0

GRCHA@Charter.llet

genemorris@Clrarter.llet

Ronald C. Fritz
15401 Sparta Ave.
Kent City, MI 49330
616-6 78-50 12

Directory

EAA Aviation Center, PO Box 3086, Oshkosh WI 54903-3086

Phone (920) 426-4800

Fax (920) 426-4873

Web Sites: www.vintageaircraftorg, www_airventure.org, www.eaa_orglmemberbenefits

E-Mail: vintageaircra(t@eaa.org

EAA and Division Membership Services

800-843-3612 .. .. ...... . _.FAX 920-426-6761
(8:00 AM-7:00 PM
Monday-Friday CST)
- New/renew memberships: EAA, Divisions
(Vintage Aircraft Association, lAC, Warbirds),
National Association of Flight Instructors
(NAFI)
-Address changes
-Merchandise sales
-Gift memberships
Programs and Activities
Auto Fuel STCs .... . . ... . .... __ 920-426-4843
Build/restore information . ... . . . . 920-426-4821
Chapters: locating/organizing . . .. 920-426-4876
Education...... .. _........... .888-322-3229
- EAA Air Academy

- EAA Scholarships

Flight Instructor information _. __ .920-426-6801

Library Services/Research ...... __ 920-426-4848
Medical Questions .. ... . ..... ... 920-426-6112
Technical Counselors ... ..... ___ 920-426-6864
Young Eagles ... . . __ _____ ..... .877-806-8902
Benefits
AUA Vintage Insurance Plan __ .. .800-727-3823
EAA Aircraft Insurance Plan ... .. 866-647-4322
Term Life and Accidental ... ..... 800-241-6103
Death Insurance (Harvey Watt & Company)
___ ..... ... . .... _.......... 1-800-JOIN-EAA
EAA Platinum VISA Card .. 800-853-5576 ext. 8884
EAA Aircraft Financing Plan . _. . 866-808-6040
EAA Enterprise Rent-A-Car Program
......... . . . . . ... . _..... _. 877-GA1-ERAC
Editorial. _..... . _____ _...... . . 920-426-4825
VAA Office ..... .. _........ FAX 920-426-6579

MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION
EAA
Membership in the Experimental Aircraft
Association, Inc. is $40 for one year, includ
ing 12 issues of SPORT AVIATION. Family
membership is an additional $10 annually.
Junior Membership (und er 19 years of age)
is available at $23 annually. All major credit
cards accepted for membership. (Add $16 for

Foreign Postage_)

EAA SPORT PILOT

Curre nt EAA members may add EAA
SPORT PILOT magazine for an additional
$20 per year.
EAA Membership and EAA SPORT
PILOT magazine is available for $40 per
year (SPORT AVIATION magazine not in
cluded). (Add $16 for Foreign Postage_)

VINTAGE AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION

Current EAA members may join the
Vintage Aircraft Association and receive
VINTAGE AIRPLANE magaZine for an ad
ditional $36 per year.
EAA Membership, VINTAGE AIRPLANE
magazine and one year membership in the EAA
Vintage Aircraft Association is available for $46
per year (SPORT AVIATION magazine not in
cluded). (Add $7 for Foreign Postage_)

lAC

Current EAA members may join the

Internationa l Aerobatic Club, Inc_ Divi
sion and receive SPORT AEROBATICS
magazine for an additional $45 per year.
EAA Membership, SPORT AEROBAT
ICS magazine and one year membership
in the lAC Division is available for $55
per year (SPORT AVIATION magazine
not included ). (Add $18 for Foreign

Postage.)

WARBIRDS
Current EAA members may join the EAA
Warbirds of America Division and receive
WARBIRDS m agaZine for an additional $45
per year.
EAA Membership, WARBIRDS maga
zine and one year membership in the
Warbirds Division is available for $55 per
year (SPORT AVIATION magazine not in
cluded). (Add $7 for Foreign Postage.)

FOREIGN MEMBERSHIPS
Please submit your remittance with a
check or draft drawn on a United States
bank payable in United States dollars. Add
required Foreign Postage amount for each
membership.

Membership dues to EAA and its divisions are not tax deductible as charitable contributions
Copyright 1:)2008 by the EAA Vintage Aircraft Association. All rights reserved.
VINTAGE AIRPLANE (USPS 062-750; ISSN 0091-6943) is published and owned exclusively by the EAA Vintage Aircraft AssociaUon of the Experimental Aircraft AssociaUon and is published monthly at EAA
Aviation Center, 3000 Poberezny Rd., PO Box 3086, Oshkosh, Wisconsin 54903-3086. e-mail: vintageaircraft@eaa.org. Membership to Vintage Aircraft Association. which includes 12 issues of Vintage Airplane
magazine, is $36 per year for EAA members and $46 for non-EAA members. Periodicals Postage paid at Oshkosh, Wisconsin 54901 and at additional mailing offICes. POSTMASTER: Send address changes
to Vintage Airplane. PO Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086. PM 40083731 Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to Pitney Bowes IMS, Station A, PO Box 54, Windsor, ON N9A 6J5_ FOREIGN AND APO
ADDRESSES - Please allow at least two months for delivery of VINTAGE AIRPLANE to foreign and APO addresses via surface mail. ADVERTISING - Vintage Aircraft AssociaUon does not guarantee or endorse
any product offered through the advertising. We invite constructive criticism and welcome any report of inferior merchandise obtained through our advertising so that corrective measures can be taken.
EDITORIAL POLICY: Members are encouraged to submij stories and photographs. Policy opinions expressed in articles are solely those of the authors. Responsibility for accuracy in reporting rests enUrely
with the contributor. No remuneration is made. Material should be sent to: Edijor, VINTAGE AIRPLANE, PO Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086. Phone 920-426-4800.
EAA and EAA SPORT AVIATlON, the EAA Logo and Aeronauticaare registered tradernarl<s, tradernarl<s, and service marks of the Experimental Aircraft Association, Inc. The use of these tradernarl<s
and service mar1<s wijhout the pennission of the Experimental Aircraft Association, Inc. is strictly prohibijed.

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SEPTEMBER 2008

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MERCURY

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