Vintage Airplane 2022-01-02

JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2022
SPLISH-SPLASH FLY-IN
CESSNA 172 TIME CAPSULE
ERCOUPE REBORN
TRIUMPHANT
TRAVEL AIR
Preproduction models shown. F-150 Lightning available spring 2022. E-Transit available late 2021.
WE TO OK THE FAMILIAR.
AND MADE IT REVOLUTIONARY.
THE ALL-ELECTRIC:
F - 1 5 0 L I G H T N I N G , E -T R A N S I T, M U S TA N G M A C H - E .
B U I LT F O R A M E R I C A
Message From
the President January/February 2022
SUSAN DUSENBURY, VAA PRESIDENT
STAFF
Publisher: Jack J. Pelton, EAA CEO and Chairman of the Board
Vice President of Publications, Marketing,
and Membership: Jim Busha / jbusha@eaa.org
Letter From the President Senior Copy Editor: Colleen Walsh
Copy Editors: Tom Breuer, Jennifer Knaack
VAA President Susan Dusenbury Proofreader: Tara Bann
Graphic Designer: Erica Horst
ADVERTISING
AT THE TIME OF THIS LETTER, I A while back, Myrt Rose gifted Advertising Manager: Sue Anderson / sanderson@eaa.org
have just returned from the fall Vintage with a 1929 Ford truck to
board meetings in Oshkosh. These be driven in support of the organi-
meetings are always a review of the zation and to be displayed at times CONTACT US
previous EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, in the Rose Plaza (which, of Mailing Address: VAA, PO Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903
with some preliminary plans for the course, is a part of Vintage Village). Website: www.eaavintage.org
next AirVenture thrown into the Arthur, as Myrt named the truck Email: vintageaircraft@eaa.org
mix. It’s a time that we at Vintage when she received it as a gift from Phone: 800-564-6322
review everything we can think of, her husband, Bill, started its life on
plus feedback that we may have the Ford assembly line as a car and
received from any of you. was later converted to a truck. Visit www.eaavintage.org for the latest in information and news.
The Vintage flightline is over a mile Recently, Arthur was transported
long, and it is no secret that transport- to San Pierre, Indiana, for mainte-
ing yourself throughout the Vintage nance related to safety and
area and beyond can be a trying and reliability. The entire fuel and elec-
sometimes exhausting experience. I trical systems, as well as the
have been there and done that, so I wheels and brakes, etc., will
completely understand. The tram stop receive a thorough inspection, and
at Vintage Village, which was discon- any worn or questionable parts Current EAA members may join the Vintage Aircraft
tinued in 2021, has been reinstated for will be repaired or replaced. No Association and receive Vintage Airplane magazine for an
AirVenture 2022 and beyond. cosmetic work will be done, as additional $45/year.
Preparations are now being made Vintage will keep Arthur in its cur-
to rearrange the Vintage area, which rent cosmetic condition. EAA membership, Vintage Airplane magazine, and one-year
will shorten our 1-plus-mile-long membership in the EAA Vintage Aircraft Association are
flightline and move the southernmost available for $55 per year (Sport Aviation magazine not
vintage airplane parking areas north Preparations are now included). (Add $7 for International Postage.)
and west. The number of vintage air-
craft parking spaces available to us being made to rearrange Foreign Memberships
will remain the same as it is now. This the Vintage area, which Please submit your remittance with a check or draft drawn
will be completed by 2023 at the ear- on a United States bank payable in United States dollars. Add
liest. As an aside, the current vintage will shorten our 1-plus- required foreign postage amount for each membership.
aircraft parking area ends at Row 150
to the south. I’ll take a wag and say mile-long flightline and Membership Service
that there are about 50 or so more move the southernmost P.O. Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086
rows to the south of Row 150 that are Monday–Friday, 8 AM—6 PM CST
under EAA management. The above vintage airplane parking Join/Renew 800-564-6322
changes will not only help all of you membership@eaa.org
as you navigate through the Vintage areas north and west.
area, but it is a huge help to our flight- EAA AirVenture Oshkosh
line volunteers as they travel to their www.EAA.org/AirVenture
assigned areas on the field. CONTINUED ON PAGE 64 888-322-4636
www.eaavintage.org 1
Contents
FE AT UR E S
12
Splash-In
Family reunion style!
By Moose Peterson
20
Glenn Chiappe’s 1957 Cessna 172
If It Ain’t Broke, Don’t Fix It!
By Budd Davisson
28
A Triumphant Travel Air 6000
Revitalized by a symbiotic symphony and a touch of synchronicity
By Sparky Barnes
40
Invoking an Irresistible Intrigue
Les Gaskill’s DeLuxe 1928 Waco GXE
By Sparky Barnes
50
The Ercoupe That Wasn’t Supposed to Be
Derk Kingrey saves a little airplane from the graveyard
By Budd Davisson
2 January/February 2022 PHOTOGRAPHY BY MOOSE PETERSON

January/February 2022 / Vol. 50, No. 1
COLUM NS
01 Message From the President
By Susan Dusenbury
04 Friends of the Red Barn
06 Air Mail
08 How to?
Assemble a New Wood Wing
By Robert G. Lock
10 Good Old Days
60 The Vintage Mechanic

Engine Installations, Part 2
By Robert G. Lock
64 Flymart
COV ER S
Front
EAA photographer Connor Madison
catches Scott Glover’s Travel Air
6000 above the puffy Ohio clouds.
Back
Moose Peterson captures a Goose in
its element.
QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS?
Send your thoughts to the Vintage editor at jbusha@eaa.org.
For missing or replacement magazines, or any other

membership-related questions, please call
EAA Member Services at 800-JOIN-EAA (564-6322).
Appearance
Maintenance
Facts, Fixes & Tips FROM THE PROS

Friends of the
RED BARN
2021-2022
DEAR FRIENDS,
For one week every year a temporary city of about 50,000 people is
created in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, on the grounds of Wittman Regional
Airport. We call the temporary city EAA AirVenture Oshkosh. During
this one week, EAA and our communities, including the Vintage Aircraft
Association, host more than 500,000 pilots and aviation enthusiasts
along with their families and friends.
As a dedicated member of the Vintage Aircraft Association, you most certainly
understand the impact of the programs supported by Vintage and hosted at
Vintage Village and along the Vintage flightline during EAA AirVenture Oshkosh
every year. The Vintage flightline is 1.3 miles long and is annually filled with more
than 1,100 magnificent vintage airplanes. At the very heart of the Vintage experi-
ence at AirVenture is Vintage Village and our flagship building, the Red Barn.
Vintage Village, and in particular the Red Barn, is a charming place at
Wittman Regional Airport during AirVenture. It is a destination where
friends old and new meet for those great times we are so familiar with in our
close world of vintage aviation. It’s energizing and relaxing at the same time.
It’s our own field of dreams!
The Vintage area is the fun place to be. There is no place like it at AirVenture.
Where else could someone get such a close look at some of the most magnificent
and rare vintage airplanes on Earth? That is just astounding when you think about
it. It is on the Vintage flightline where you can admire the one and only remaining
low-wing Stinson Tri-Motor, the only two restored and flying Howard 500s, and
one of the few airworthy Stinson SR-5s in existence. And then there is the “fun and
affordable” aircraft display, not only in front of the Red Barn but along the entire
Vintage flightline. Fun and affordable says it all. That’s where you can get the great-
est “bang for your buck” in our world of vintage airplanes!
For us to continue to support this wonderful place, we ask you to assist us
with a financial contribution to the Friends of the Red Barn. For the Vintage
Aircraft Association, this is the only major annual fundraiser and it is vital to
keeping the Vintage field of dreams alive and vibrant. We cannot do it without
your support.
Your personal contribution plays an indispensable and significant role in
providing the best experience possible for every visitor to Vintage
during AirVenture.
Contribute online at EAAVintage.org. Or, you may make your check payable
to the Friends of the Red Barn and mail to Friends of the Red Barn, PO Box
3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086.
Be a Friend of the Red Barn this year! The Vintage Aircraft Association is a
¨ nonprofit 501(c)(3), so your contribution to this fund is tax deductible to the
extent allowed by law.
Looking forward to a great AirVenture 2022!
4 January/February 2022 PHOTOGRAPHY BY STEVE DAHLGREN

C A L L F O R V I N TA G E A I R CR A F T A S S O CI AT I O N
Nominate your favorite vintage aviator for the EAA Vin- day. Their contribution can be in the areas of flying, design,
tage Aircraft Association Hall of Fame. A great honor could be mechanical or aerodynamic developments, administration,
bestowed upon that man or woman working next to you on writing, some other vital and relevant field, or any com-
your airplane, sitting next to you in the chapter meeting, or bination of fields that support aviation. The person you
walking next to you at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh. Think about nominate must be or have been a member of the Vin-
the people in your circle of aviation friends: the mechanic, tage Aircraft Association or the Antique/Classic Division
historian, photographer, or pilot who has shared innumerable of EAA, and preference is given to those whose actions
tips with you and with many others. They could be the next have contributed to the VAA in some way, perhaps as a
VAA Hall of Fame inductee — but only if they are nominated. volunteer, a restorer who shares his expertise with oth-
The person you nominate can be a citizen of any country ers, a writer, a photographer, or a pilot sharing stories,
and may be living or deceased; their involvement in vintage preserving aviation history, and encouraging new pilots
aviation must have occurred between 1950 and the present and enthusiasts.
To nominate someone is easy. It just takes a little time and a little reminiscing on your part.
•Think of a person; think of their contributions to vintage aviation.
•Write those contributions in the various categories of the nomination form.
•Write a simple letter highlighting these attributes and contributions. Make copies of newspaper or magazine articles that
may substantiate your view.
•If at all possible, have another individual (or more) complete a form or write a letter about this person, confirming why the
person is a good candidate for induction.
We would like to take this opportunity to mention that if you have nominated someone for the VAA Hall of Fame, nominations
for the honor are kept on file for three years, after which the nomination must be resubmitted.
Mail nominating materials to: VAA Hall of Fame, c/o Amy Lemke
VAA
PO Box 3086
Oshkosh, WI 54903
Email: alemke@eaa.org
Find the nomination form at www.VintageAircraft.org, or call the VAA office for a copy
(920-426-6110), or on your own sheet of paper, simply include the following information:
•Date submitted.
•Name of person nominated.
•Address and phone number of nominee.
•Email address of nominee.
•Date of birth of nominee. If deceased, date of death.
•Name and relationship of nominee’s closest living relative.
•Address and phone of nominee’s closest living relative.
•VAA and EAA number, if known. (Nominee must have been or be a VAA member.)
•Time span (dates) of the nominee’s contributions to vintage aviation.
(Must be between 1950 to present day.)
•Area(s) of contributions to aviation.
•Describe the event(s) or nature of activities the nominee has undertaken in aviation to
be worthy of induction into the VAA Hall of Fame.
•Describe achievements the nominee has made in other related fields in aviation.
•Has the nominee already been honored for his or her involvement in aviation and/or the
contribution you are stating in this petition? If yes, please explain the nature of the
honor and/or award the nominee has received.
•Any additional supporting information.
•Submitter’s address and phone number, plus email address.
•Include any supporting material with your petition.
Air Mail
Letters to the Editor
I REALLY ENJOYED BUDD DAVISSON’S discussion of He’s right on all scores about the 175. I actually have a fair
straight tail Cessnas in the November/December issue. I amount of time in one, but far from stock. For a time they
learned a lot. However, he missed one: the Cessna 175. The were being reengined with 160 Lycomings, and the guy doing
175 (later given the marketing name Cessna Skylark) was the STC for that was 20 miles south of where I was going to
basically a beefed-up 172 with a bit more gross weight, 52 college in Oklahoma. His test airplane had the engine and
gallons of fuel, and a bit more engine. The engine proved to prop from an Apache, which means the prop could be feath-
be its downfall. It was a geared version of the same O-300 ered. He was offering free flying time to anyone who would
that was in the 172, but it could turn a bigger prop and make drone around in it putting required hours on it for his STC.
more power due to running at higher engine rpm and let- So, I droned around in it, as did others like me looking for free
ting the gearing put the prop at an optimum rpm. It was a flight time. Universally, every one of us would get up to alti-
great idea, but most general aviation pilots could not stand tude, shut the engine down, feather the prop, and take a photo
seeing the high engine rpm and ran the poor thing at lower of it just to prove we had done it. Never gave a thought to it
throttle settings and created unneeded engine and gearbox not restarting. — Budd Davisson
problems. The plane developed an unwarranted reputation
as a problem airplane due to the user-induced engine and
gearbox issues. I suspect that if Cessna had put the tach
drive on the prop shaft instead of the engine, the plane
would have been a wild success because it would not have CORRECTION
been so abused by the pilots. It was (and still is) a strong
and capable airplane. The engine is getting very hard to
support, however, due to a lack of gearbox parts. Regarding the Stinson 10A photo that somehow ended
Like the other variants, the swept tail got into the 175 up during the layout process with a Waco-related
line after the first few years, but a bunch of them were caption (Cruising the Vintage Line, page 34 of the
built as square tails before that pollution happened. I Vintage Nov/Dec issue)? The owner/restorer was happy
have a 1958 straight tail 175 fitted with a Lycoming O-360 to see the image of his airplane in the magazine, but
and a constant-speed prop. That is a magnificent combi- wishes the correct caption had been used with it.
nation! Great airplane. Correct caption:
The 175 lives on, by the way. When Cessna wanted to Jim Kjeldgaard of Freemont, Nebraska, restored
upgrade the 172 to larger engines and a larger fuel capacity, NC31594, and enjoys owning and flying this 1941
Stinson 10A.
the engineering/recertification to do that was going to be
considerable. Then they realized that they already had a
beefed-up 172 type airframe that could carry more fuel and
accept more powerful engines. However, that plane had a
crummy reputation and had been taken out of production
for that reason. What to do?
They ended up using the 175 type data to manufacture
the “new and improved” 172 but marketed it as a 172 in
order to avoid the bad reputation that killed off the 175 line.
Pretty much all the 172s from the Hawk XP and up are
actually 175s being marketed as 172s.
Bob Pustell, VAA 720435

West Ossipee, New Hampshire
6 January/February 2022
The Vintage Aircraft
Association is celebrating
the 75th anniversary of
the Beechcraft Model 35
Bonanzas built between
1947 and 1970.
Forums and other events hosted by the American
Bonanza Society held in their tent located just to
the north of the Theatre in the Woods.
EAAVINTAGE.ORG
EAA AirVenture 2022 | July 25th - July 31st

How To?
ROBERT G. LOCK
Assemble a New Wood Wing

BY ROBERT G. LOCK
WE BEGIN THIS COLUMN with some sound advice from an

“old timer.” If you have purchased a basket case and the air-
plane is in a thousand pieces, begin by assembling the major
structural components to see if they fit together. I know of
several people who just took the pieces, farmed some of them
out and when the airplane was ready to assemble, the new
wings would not fit the fuselage. Alas, time and money wasted.
Above, my Command-Aire 5C3 the first time the pieces
went together. This turned out to be a very smart move
because there were 3C3 and 5C3 struts and wires mixed
together—they looked the same but were different lengths, so I
separated those parts so they would not get mixed again. This
airplane is interesting because it does not have a center sec-
tion—the upper wings bolt together in the center line of the
fuselage, so precise fit is most important. Which brings up
another important point. When constructing new wings,
make sure they fully fit their respective attach points. If the
aircraft has a center section, restore it first, then build the
wings to fit the center section. When building new lower
wings, bolt each wing to the fuselage, then glue in the com-
pression member and wing ribs in the first bay.
8 January/February 2022 PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF EAA ARCHIVES

The upper wings were built one-at-a-time—I
built the left wing first, trammed it and glued in all
the ribs. Everything was complete except the ply-
wood leading edge skin and trailing edge metal.
Then I assembled the right wing, bolted it to the
right wing, trammed it and then glued the ribs in
place. By doing this I was assured that the bolts
would fit in the attach fittings upon assembly. This
is how the upper wings bolt together. The bolt load Univair Has Kept Luscombes
is in tension rather than shear. The left wing has
one coat of varnish while the right wing is bare In the Air Since 1946
wood. Both front and rear spar attach fittings are We have hundreds of quality FAA-PMA approved parts
similar in construction.
specifically for the Luscombe 8 series aircraft, plus
It has been many years since these wings were
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and then built the right wing to fit. In the photo- Call us or visit our website to request your free Univair
graph left the upper wings are bolted together to catalog. Foreign orders pay postage.
check fir of root ribs, leading edge and trailing edge.
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and lower leading edge was skinned with Birch ply- Shop Online: www.univair.com
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several coats of varnish to assure penetration into
wood grain and completely seal it. Failure to do this
will eventually lead to shakes, which are cracks
between annual growth rings, and checks, which
are cracks across grain lines. This happens when
moisture enters poorly sealed wood, the wood
swells because of the moisture and shrinks when
moisture leaves, stressing growth lines so they
crack. So use plenty of sealer on end grains.
Good Old Days
From the pages of

what was ...
Take a quick look through history by enjoying
images pulled from publications past.
FAMILY REUNION STYLE!
BY MOOSE PETERSON
PHOTOGRAPHY BY MOOSE PETERSON www.eaavintage.org 13
A
viation
viiatiion has been, from the The gathering
gatheriing of aircraft
aiircraft for the sheer enjoyment
enjjoyment of
beginning,
begiinniing, about folks get- flying
ffllyiing to talk with wiith friends
friiends is is very much a part of our avi- avii-
ting
tiing together with wiith other ation
atiion heritage.
heriitage. The fly-in
fflly-iin today isis your typical
typiical
folks. On January 1, 1914, a gathering:
gatheriing:: several aircraftaiircraft on a tarmac and folks in in a
biplane
biiplane flying ffllyiing boat made hangar having haviing pancakes while whiile discussing
diiscussiing life.
liife. You know
the first fiirst scheduled passen- what I’m talking talkiing about, because you have done that
ger flight
ffllight in in Florida.
Floriida. While
Whiile more than a few times tiimes yourself. You’ve been to EAA
the flight
ffllight across Tampa Bay AirVenture
AiirVenture Oshkosh, which whiich isis the greatest fly-infl
fly-iin on
was slow, and the return earth and a gatheringgatheriing of those who simply siimply love flight.
ffllight.
flight
ffllight always a question questiion And those waterdogs, well, they gather, too, but it’s it’s not
mark, getting gettiing folks around a fly-in
fflly-iin — it’s
it’s a splash-in!
splash-iin!!
by air,
aiir, using
usiing water to There is is a tight-knit
tiight-kniit gang of aviators
aviiators in in the
launch and recover, was the Northwest who share a love for flying ffllyiing boats, amphibi-
amphiibii-
wave of the future. ous and amphibian
amphiibiian aircraft,
aiircraft, new and old. They are in in
In the decades to come, piloting piilotiing massive
massiive flying
flyiing many ways a family, famiily, though not related, who love flying fl
flyiing
boats around
aarround the world becamebecam ame commonplace (for and the water. They have met informally informally over the years
those who could afford it). it). The emphasis
emphasiis on flying
flyiing at thisthiis lake or that river,
riiver, but this
thiis year they decided
deciided to
boats was in in part
par
art because runways, as we know them try their
theiir first
fiirst splash-in,
splash-iin, whichwhiich turned out to be a huge
today, were rare rar
are to nonexistent
nonexiistent prior priior to World War ar II. success. The invite inviite went out to the “family,” “famiily,”” and Petrels,
That all changed
chananged after
aft
fter 1945. The war ar brought with
wiith it
it Gooses, a Mallard, a Cub, and a Cessna arrived arriived at Lake
massive
massiive airport
aiirport
rt construction
constructiion with wiith long runways. And Mary Ronan for a glorious gloriious day of food, family, famiily, and fun!!
with
wiith that, traveling
traveliing in
in flying
flyiing boats came camame to an
an end.
Aviation,
Aviiatiion, though, continued
contiinued to bring briing folks together.
With
Wiith ease (backed
(backked with
wiith great skill),
skkill), Larry Teufel
powers his
hiis Turbo Goose up the ramp at Polson.
Stuart Fenwick (left seat) and Loel Fenwick
bring their Mallard to rest on Lake Mary Ronan
and taxi to where they anchor.
Organizing the
Party
“The
“The Montana Splash-In was a vision
Priest
Priiest Lake, Idaho, in
viisiion of Dennis
in 2019. The Buehns did
Denniis and Tamii Buehn at a splash-in splash-iin at
diid a lot of groundwork for us and were won-
derful hosts,”” Addison
Addiison Pemberton said. saiid.
Tamii said,
saiid, “Dennis
“Denniis asked Addison
Addiison to fly his hiis Cessna 185 over to Polson to check out
the awesome opportunity
opportuniity of organizing
organiiziing a splash-in.
splash-iin. Addison
Addiison was as excitedexciited as Dennis,
Denniis,
with
wiith the perfect location
locatiion on the Flathead River Riiver with
wiith a seaplane ramp.””
Addison
Addiison and Buehn were the spirit spiiriit of the reunion,
reuniion, being
beiing very active
actiive inin the flying
flyiing
boat community,
communiity, and in in many respects they are responsible responsiible for so many having haviing their
theiir
single-engine
siingle-engiine sea (SES) or multiengine
multiiengiine sea (MES) ratings. ratiings. The plan was simple: siimple:: Fly to
Polson on Friday,
Friiday, splash in in to the river,
riiver, and then on Saturday, splash in in to Lake Mary
Ronan for a day of food, flight, fliight, and fun.
“The
“The [Flathead] river riiver adjacent
adjjacent to the Polson Airport Aiirport is
is ideal
ideal for seaplanes, with wiith safe
approaches and adequate water distance, diistance, even with wiith performance concerning
concerniing density
densiity
altitudes.
altiitudes. The widewiide concrete 50-foot seaplane ramp is is really nice,
niice, with
wiith great parking
parkiing
for up to 10 Grumman amphibs amphiibs in in the grass,”” Addison
Addiison said
saiid of the Friday
Friiday meetup locale.
Buehn went on to say, “It’s “It’s the best of all for seaplanes, ramping, rampiing, anchoring,
anchoriing, dock-
ing,
ing, splashing
splashiing good time!”
tiime!!”
The folks at Polson AirportAiirport (8S1) were huge supporters of the splash-in, splash-iin, bringing
briingiing in
in
fuel for the Turbo Goose and courtesy cars for all!! That was important important for the huge,
magnificent
magniificent dinner
diinner hosted for everyone at The Shoe, a mile miile from the airport.
aiirport.
While
Whiile the planning
planniing was spot on, one thing thiing you can’t plan on months in in advance is is the
weather. The wildfires
wiildfires of the West filled the skies skiies with
wiith nasty smoke!! “Pemberton
“Pemberton Goose
N95467 had to fly a TFR-dodging
TFR-dodgiing IFR ride riide from Spokane Felts Field Fiield (KSFF) to Polson,
Montana, because of 1-1/4-mile
1-1/4-miile smoke vis viis in
in Spokane. The 1.3-hour flight fliight was unevent-
ful, with
wiith good VFR flight
fliight 20 minutes
miinutes out from Polson and a river riiver landing
landiing in in perfect water
adjacent
adjjacent to the airport.
aiirport. We were unable to top the smoke even at the 10,500 (MEA) in in
route with
wiith no ground contact until untiil we hithiit Montana,”” Addison
Addiison recounted.

Jay Pemberton negotiated with ease around the watercraft, bringing the Pemberton G-21 Goose in on Flathead River.
For Dennis,
Denniis, the flight
fliight inin “was
“was a short 30-minute
30-miinute Stuart Fenwick,
Fenwiick, piloting
piilotiing the Mallard, said, saiid, “We
“We woke
flight
fliight from Kalispell,
Kaliispell, Montana, north end of Flathead up early Friday
Friiday morning
morniing at Tanglefoot Seaplane Base on
Lake. Cruising
Cruiisiing at a leisurely
leiisurely 90 mph in in Tami’s
Tamii’s Super Priest
Priiest Lake and stayed busy preflighting
prefliightiing Mallard N811G
Cub, Tweety, on Wipline
Wiipliine amphibs
amphiibs — VFR.”” while
whiile we kept an eye on the smoke. By 2:00 2::00 the smoke
But for Mike
Miike Rinker,
Riinker, the flight
fliight was much lon- had thinned
thiinned enough for a VFR flight. fliight. We taxied
taxiied down
ger. “N600ZE
“N600ZE departed Union Uniion City,
Ciity, Tennessee, the ramp, took off to the north on the water, and flew 15
with
wiith cousin
cousiin Jerrod Callis Calliis and son Connor minutes
miinutes to Sandpoint,
Sandpoiint, Idaho, where we picked piicked up Helga
Rinker,
Riinker, who are both flight fliight instructors
instructors and Sallmon, who’s a Grumman Albatross check airman aiirman and
Goose lovers!! We stopped in in Cape Girardeau,
Giirardeau, legend. From there it it was an hour flight fliight down the Clark
Missouri,
Miissourii, picked
piicked up Dean Houseman, mechanic mechaniic Fork River
Riiver to Polson. We had previously previiously decided
deciided to land
extraordinaire
extraordiinaiire and medevac pilot piilot and another on the Polson runway because of concerns about den-
Goose lover. We made our way VFR to Billings, Biilliings, sity
siity altitude
altiitude and boat traffic on the river. riiver. After
Montana, for our overnight,
overniight, with wiith smoke becom- overflying
overflyiing the river
riiver and noticing
notiiciing how long, pretty, and
ing
ing an issue
issue around Rapid Rapiid City,
Ciity, South Dakota. uncongested it it was, we briefly
briiefly second-guessed our deci- decii-
Eight
Eiight hours of flyingflyiing the first
fiirst day. Ate a great sion
siion but stuck to the plan and landed on the runway.””
breakfast at Billings.
Biilliings. We flew for another 1:45 1::45 to With
Wiith all safely parked at the seaplane ramp at Polson
land at Polson with wiith nice
niice VFR weather. We may Airport,
Aiirport, the excitement
exciitement of getting
gettiing there and anticipa-antiiciipa-
be the first
fiirst Goose to have ever come up the ramp tion
tiion of the next day’s event, you can imagine imagiine all the
at Polson, according
accordiing to Dennis Denniis Buehn, who conversation
conversatiion during
duriing dinner!
diinner!! And afterward it it continued
contiinued
directed
diirected us in in with
wiith a handheld radio. radiio. Hung out outside
outsiide on the restaurant’s deck overlooking overlookiing Flathead
on the shore as the other Gooses made their theiir way Lake. Though smoke lingered liingered in in the skies,
skiies, the excite-
exciite-
up the ramp and met some very nice niice people.”” ment cut right
riight through it. it.
The launch from Polson went wen nt
nt smoothly at 10:15 10::15 a.m. The flight ffllight
time
tiime over the hillhiill was short but gorgeous,
gorgeous, even with wiith the veil
veiil of
smoke in in the air.
aiir. Buehn flewffllew in
in early toto Lake Mary Ronan in in the Cub,
double-checking
double-checkiing that the Zodiac Zodiiac water taxii was was all set for our arrival. arriival.
Larry Teufel in in Turbo Goose N640 was assigned assiigned to launch from Polson/Flathead
River
Riiver and land, scouting
scoutiing Lake Mary Ronan approach and water water for the rest of the
waterdogs to follow.
waterdogs
Launching
Launchiing next was Turbo Goose N642 piloted piiloted by owner Doug DeVries. DeV Vries.
Vriies. In the process of circlingciircliing
th
the
he lake and checking
checkiing out conditions,
condiitiions, Doug caught up with wiith Larry, so naturally,
naturally, a little
liittle formation
formatiion flying
flyiing
was in
was in order. This
Thiis gave the large crowd that had gathered on the shore shorrere of Lake Mary Ronan a really
n
niice
ice show!!
Coming
Comiing in in next was Mike. Miike. “The
“The Grumman Goose is is the most
most versatile
versatiile and coolest airplane aiirplane
deesiigned, in
designed, in my opinion.
opiiniion. I have owned mine miine since
siince 2016, and an
nd
nd since
siince have flown ffllown it it to Alaska three
tim
times
tiimes and California
Caliiforniia once to land on Lake Tahoe. My airplane airplane is is a 1943 version
versiion that spent time tiime
in
in the
th
he Coast Guard before being beiing decommissioned
decommiissiioned and and sold to the civilian
ciiviiliian market in in the mid
miid
’50s. ItIt then went to work commercially
commerciially for a few few different
diifferent airlines,
aiirliines, including
includiing Chalks in in the
Bahamass and and Kodiak
Kodiiak in in Alaska. It was involved
invo olved
olved in in a crash on a lake on Kodiak Kodiiak Island in in 1975,
and went to Vancouver
Va
Vancouver to be rebuilt rebuiiltlt with
with several McKinnon
McKiinnon mods, and sold to a private priivate indi-
indii-
vidual
viidual inin 1981. After three
three private
priivate owners, I became the lucky caretaker, and together we have
traveled North America.
Ameriica. So glad that Addison Addiison invited
inviited us to the splash-in,
splash-iin, because with wiith COVID
we haven’t gone anywhere in in two years. We were needing neediing a break!”
break!!”
“The
“The piston
piiston Goose, with wiith two each 450-hp supercharged Pratt & Whitney Whiitney engines,
engiines, provides
proviides
safe performance for the water ops,”” Addison Addiison said.
saiid. “We
“We only used one-third
one-thiird of the 8,900-foot-
long Lake Mary Ronan, even with wiith a nearly 6,000-foot density densiity altitude
altiitude and six siix pax on board. We
anchored to the lake bottom, which whiich was 20 feet deep, with wiith 500-foot separation
separatiion between the
four Gooses and one Mallard. This Thiis distance
diistance prevented a bumper car show if if the wind
wiind picked
piicked
up. The lodge provided
proviided a Zodiac
Zodiiac boat to shuttle the 27 of us in in the group to the lodge, which whiich
was easy and exciting.
exciitiing. The Lake Mary Ronan Resort is is beautiful,
beautiiful, and a wonderful background
live-music
liive-musiic venue lunch was offered, with wiith covered deck seating seatiing overlooking
overlookiing a sea of Grumman
‘ironworks’
‘iironworks’ seaplanes floatingfflloatiing inin the bay.””
The Buehns in in their
theiir Cub simply
siimply docked at the floatplane-parking-only
fl
floatplane-parkiing-only dock. “We “We love the
simplicity
siimpliiciity of the PA-18 amphib,amphiib, as well as having haviing the option
optiion of landing
landiing at a runway and being beiing
able to put her away safe in in a hangar. Finding
Fiindiing a secluded lake just just to have a swim swiim and a picnic piicniic is
is
the best.””

perfect
perfect lake!!
perfect
perfect hosts.
“While
“Whiile the Goose was originally oriigiinally designed
dessigned for
sportsmen to explore remote lakes, bac backcountry
ckcountry
airstrips,
aiirstriips, and the rugged North, the M Mallard
allard was
designed
desiigned as an executive
executiive transport and an sold to
private
priivate individuals
indiiviiduals and corporations,”
corporatiions,”” said saiid
Stuart, the owner and pilot piilot of the Mallard.
Mal
Maallard. “The“The
Mallard fliesfliies with
wiith finger-light
finger-liight controls
controlls and is is
immensely
immensely refined and well-balanced d on the
runway, water, and in in the air.
aiir. Our Mallard
Malllard has
original-spec
oriigiinal-spec R-1340s, producingproduciing 600-h
600-hp hp a side,
siide,
and the original
oriigiinal nine
niine passenger with wiith twotw
wo crew The two Turbo Gooses left leeft
eft first, as they had some dis- diis-
cabin
cabiin configuration.
configuguratiion. While
Whiile the Goose foun foundnd a tance to travel. The two piston piston Gooses had some more time. tiime.
role in in military
miiliitary service
serviice and eventually as a Addison,
Addiison, being
beiing thee soul
soul he is,is, wanted to thank folks at the
lifeline
liifeliine to remote Alaska villages, viillages, most Mallards Lake
Lake Mary
Mary Ronan
Ronan Resort by giving giiviing them rides
riides in
in his
hiis Goose.
were eventually repurposed into into airline
aiirliine trans- On one of the flights,
fliights, he had a reporter for the local NBC
port aircraft.
aiircraft. Our Mallard is is one of few that has affiliate,
affiliiate, who later produced and broadcasted a great piece piiece
never been used in in commercial
commerciial service,
serviice, and as a on the splash-in.
splash-iin. With
Wiith this
thiis opportunity,
opportuniity, the folks at Lake
result has never been in in saltwater. We love the Mary Ronan Resort provided proviided a pontoon boat and expert
smooth and quiet quiiet ride
riide the Mallard gives giives us to captain
captaiin for the photo crew (still (stiill and video).
viideo). Addison
Addiison gave
amazing
amaziing and remote destinationsdestiinatiions — or to his
hiis passengers brilliant
briilliiant flights,
fliights, taking
takiing off and splashing
splashiing back
wherever our friends friiends are.”” onto Lake Mary Ronan. Their Theiir smiles
smiiles were so big,
biig, they had
The Lake Mary Ronan Resort was an amazing amaziing issues
issues getting
gettiing through the hatch and back onto the Zodiac Zodiiac
host for the splash-in!
splash-iin!! The gorgeous view viiew from water taxi.
taxii. Mike
Miike inin his
hiis Goose provided
proviided the folks on the
its
its deck provided
proviided a spectacular locale for a deli- delii- shore with
wiith a spectacular flyby as he departed. Then the
cious
ciious lunch, as well as ability abiiliity to keep an eye on Mallard departed, moving moviing out a ways so it it had plenty of
the fleet floating
floatiing just
just offshore. As you can imag- imag- water to launch.
ine,
ine, the conversations
conversatiions were full of hands acting actiing
out flights
fliights and laughter of past events and fun.
Nobody wanted to leave, but the smoke was mak-
ing
ing some of the flightsfliights out more challenging
challengiing than
if
if there were blue skies. skiies. After
Afteer hours
hou
hours on the th
he ddeck,
eck
k,
the move was being beiing made.
made.
All pilots and crew gather as Addison Pemberton briefs the flight
into Lake Mary Ronan and the fun that’s coming.
The splash-in was all about the family
gathering and getting caught up. Where else
but under the wing of the Turbo Goose?
Wing-waving to all the new sea-

plane fans now on shore, Addison
Upgrade to
was the last to launch. He and
Stuart landed back on the runway
at Polson to fuel up, checked on
Reliability
flight plans in the pilot room, and
then waited out the band of smoke
moving through for an hour. The
Buehns landed and rejoined the
group. And as pilots do when they
gather, even if only a heartbeat of
time goes by, conversation contin-
ued about flight, water, and family.
Stuart summed it up. “Dennis STC/PMA
and Tami Buehn have been talking
about doing this splash-in for
years. Addison did an amazing job The BC400 Alternator system is now FAA-approved for
of pulling together the details and
emailing out updates to the group.” Piper J-5C, PA-11, PA-12, PA-14, PA-16, PA-18, PA-20, and
Hours later, when all had gotten
back to home base safe and sound, the
PA-22 aircraft. Includes brackets for Wide- or Narrow-deck
emails started coming in. They could engines ... with NO change of oil cooler location required!
all be summed up by saying, “That
was great; when’s the next one?”
There is simply nothing as good as a
splash-in, family reunion style!
316-283-8000 • BandC.com
IF IT AIN’T BROKE, DON’T FIX IT!
BY BUDD DAVISSON
PHOTOGRAPHY BY JACK FLEETWOOD www.eaavintage.org 21
It just caught
caug my eye in Barnstormers,” said Glenn Chiappe,
of Lago Vista,
V a, Texas. “I wasn’t actually looking for a vintage
airplane In fact,
airplane. fact I wasn’t really looking for anything in par-
ticular. However, apparently
pparently I was in the mood for another
polished airplane, which shows I had forgotten what it was
like to own one. That’s when I saw the little ad for the 1957
Cessna 172 N8686B. It was described as being bare alumi-
num and only had 2,400 hours on it, even though it was
nearly 65 years old at the time. That being the case — and
the photos made it look really good — I decided it was
worth a trip to Fairmont, Minnesota, 90 miles southwest of
Minneapolis, to take a look. So, I stuffed some cash in my
pocket and bought an airline ticket.”
This was not to be the first airplane Glenn had bought. In
fact, it was around number 28. Or possibly number 30. He’s
not sure because he was born into an aviation family and air-
planes constantly came and went. His father was an electronic
entrepreneur and, in fact, was a partner in Skytech, whose
lightweight, high-torque starters are well known.
“I have long loved airplanes (haven’t we all!),” he said, “so,
as a teenager I was learning to fly. I soloed during my junior
year and had my PPL by the time I graduated high school.”
Glenn’s history of buying and owning airplanes is
unique in that, rather than having marriage and kids cause
a hiatus in his aviation interest, which is a very common
story, he said, “It wasn’t until after I got married that I got
really serious about owning airplanes, the first being a
Cessna Cardinal. A couple of dozen followed that one.”
For a time, Glenn was involved in electronic sales, pri-
marily chips, but that developed into what he does today,
which is electronic consulting and contract flying, usually
in King Airs and TBM series of aircraft.
Is this the look of a happy man or what? The originality of Glenn
Chiappe’s 1957 C-172 suits him.
“I WAS REPEATEDLY THINKING, ‘THIS

IS SUCH A NICE LITTLE AIRPLANE!’ I
COULDN’T GET THE MONEY INTO HIS
HANDS FAST ENOUGH!” — GLENN CHIAPPE
“When I got out of the car in Minnesota and Denny had the A&P who had maintained the airplane
met Denny Larson, who had owned 86B for there, and the A&P mechanic gave Glenn a guided tour.
20-plus years, I’m not certain what I was expect- Then Denny took Glenn for a ride in the plane, and it was
ing,” Glenn said. “He showed me around the “love at first flight,” Glenn said.
airplane, and the situation felt as if it was 1970 “As far as that goes, considering how old it was, the air-
and I was simply looking at a used airplane, not a plane itself was almost flawless,” he said. “It had really
far older vintage time capsule. I found the air- straight metal, zero corrosion, and had spent most of its life
plane really interesting because it didn’t begin to indoors. I had a difficult time finding anything wrong with
look 65 years old. It still had its original interior it. Yes, it needed a little cleaning and a little rehabbing here
(which was well worn and covered with some and there, but it definitely was not a candidate for a full res-
automotive sheepskin covers), and the panel was toration. It was fine the way it was. It sounds silly, but as I
totally vintage, etc. Everything was true to the poked around inside the airplane, I had to suppress giggles.
period and almost nothing had been changed. I was repeatedly thinking, ‘This is such a nice little air-
You almost never see that anymore.” plane!’!’ I couldn’t get the m
money into his hands fast enough!
PHOTOGRAPHY BY BRETT BROCK AND JACK FLEETWOOD www.eaav

TOP: Glenn said, “The panel had its share of extra holes and butchered metal,” which
forced him into building a new one. It retains the feel of old even thought it’s new.
BOTTOM: Originally the airplane used new old-stock 1956 Chevy upholstery, and Glenn
replaced it with new old-stock 1956 Chevy upholstery. He substituted old for old.
“Denny took me to Walmart that afternoon,” he queen. It took only a little research to find that in 1957,
continued. “It was a Sunday, and in preparation for the Cessna used 1956 Chevy upholstery, and I found some
flight the next morning, I bought some oil, a CO2 actual, new old-stock: original ’56 upholstery material
detector, and a fire extinguisher. I knew it looked like a that was left over from Chevy’s production and exactly
really good airplane, but I had a long flight ahead of matched the upholstery 86B still wore. Exactly! I got
me and I wanted to be prepared. the original welting too. So, when I took it to a local
“I launched the next morning, and nine hours later upholstery guy for sewing and installed it myself, it
landed at home in Texas, with absolutely zero prob- was very satisfying knowing that I wasn’t replacing
lems,” he said. “If it had been a brand-new airplane, it old with new. I was replacing old with old … and I like
couldn’t have made the trip any better. Plus, it didn’t that. When doing the carpet, we weren’t so lucky and
burn enough oil to even measure because it had a couldn’t find original material, but we did get stuff
fairly recent top overhaul. Like I said: It was really a that you can’t tell from the original.”
nice little airplane.” Glenn said the firewall, however, proved to be a
As soon as Glenn got the Cessna 172 home, he much bigger challenge.
decided to have his local A&P/IA mechanic go “At some time in its life an owner decided to cover
through it. the engine side of the firewall with foil insulation,” he
“He found a broken motor mount, and I had him said. “That wouldn’t be too bad, but it was of the ‘peel-
install the BAS shoulder harnesses,” he said. “I felt and-stick’ variety and was pretty much baked in place.
naked flying without them. That started what I It was a mess to try to remove. I wound up using a gal-
thought would be a two-week period of cleaning and lon of MEK and dozens of rubber gloves and scrapers.
gentle rehabbing, but [it] turned into a six-month This was a one-man show. I couldn’t ask anyone else
drive to make it as original as I could make it. There to do such a miserable job, but when finished, I’m so
was nothing major to be done, and the stuff that did glad that I did it. It really dressed the old girl up!”
need fixing or cleaning up was fairly minor. However, Glenn did need to redo the instrument panel.
it all took time. Among other things, instrument panels of 65-year-old
“The airplane is the 2,386th one built — eventually, airplanes have holes for AN gyros that are not really
over 44,000 were built — but the seats still had the useful anymore. The Genave nav/comm also needed
original fabric,” Glenn said. “Unfortunately, that was an upgrade. It had its share of extra holes and butch-
worn enough that it really wasn’t usable. It was easy to ered metal, so he enlisted the help of his son, a
tear, and I would have loved to leave it as is, but I mechanical engineer, and created a new panel. He said
wanted this to be a usable airplane, not a hangar it only took two tries to get it just right!
PHOTOGRAPHY BY BRETT BROCK www.eaavintage.org 25

“I was able to reposition the compass and correc- old bird was born? I did repaint the gear legs and
tion card from the original panel overlay, and it just wheel hubs, and balanced the prop, but it still has a
gives it that old look it needs,” he said. generator and pull-starter. I also kept the old rotating
Beyond that, Glenn really tried not to change beacon. That is a real kick because, when you have it
too much. on, you can hear it not-so-quietly grinding away. Even
“The vacuum instruments are still powered by the more amazing, all of the windows are original.
original Venturi that gives 5 or 6 inches of suction. I “There was so much of the original equipment that
also wasn’t tempted to put in some sort of space-age I didn’t even think about replacing because it still
nav/comm unit; I installed a fresh KX-170B, because worked fine,” he said. “Just because something can be
worked
that seemed to fit the style of the airplane better than a updated, that doesn’t mean it should be. I was looking
fancy GPS. I have a good compass and a clean wind-
wind for original, and in this case, original
riginal works just as
shield; what else do I need to go cross-country? IIf I good as new but really connects
nect me to the past. Every
want to go space-age, I always have an iPad with
wi time I pull the T-handlee to start
st it, I grin. It is such a
ForeFlight. Can you imagine what Cessna eng engineers kick to own. And muchuch more
m important:
ant: It’s a useful
would have thought seeing an iPad in 1957, when
w this airplane and I doo use it.”
it
To you young ‘uns out there, this is a venturi and generates

the suction that runs a couple of instruments.
And use it he does, for himself and for others. Glenn, everyone who saw you at EAA AirVenture
“I’ve lost track of exactly how many Young Oshkosh 2021 liked it as much as you do. Congrats! You
Eagles I’ve flown,” Glenn said, “and I’m keeping my clearly proved that to have fun with old airplanes, it’s
CFI active, giving primary instruction in it. In fact, not necessary to strive for restoration perfection or
at one point, one of my students was taking a check- spend money by the bushels. The trick is to find a “nice
ride in it, and the examiner, in an awed tone of voice little airplane” and keep it that way.
asked, ‘Where did you get an airplane like this?’
That kind of reaction makes the effort, some of
which was nasty and time-consuming, ming, well worth it.
Of course,
cou when I took it to Oshkosh inn ’21, it was
real fun because the airplane obviouslyy isn’t
really
restored, and people seemed to recognize
restored, gnize and
nd
appreciate its originality. It gives them the sameme
glimpse into the early days of postw
postwar aviation as it
does me. Yet another thing I like about the airplane.”
ane.”
It is seldom that 65-year-old aluminum is this unblemished. All post-war Cessnas, including the 1957 172, used Steve
Wittman’s patented spring gear or his tapered rod variation.
PHOTOGRAPHY BY BRETT BROCK www.eaavintage.org 27

REVITALIZED BY A SYMBIOTIC SYMPHONY
AND A TOUCH OF SYNCHRONICITY
BY SPARKY BARNES
POISED ELEGANTLY IN FRONT of the

VAA Red Barn during EAA AirVenture
Oshkosh 2021, NC8112’s glistening black
fuselage, glowing orange wings, and
lustrous mahogany interior attracted a
continual throng of admirers. Yet the
most exceptional aspect of this exqui-
sitely restored Travel Air 6000 couldn’t
be perceived by the eyes alone; it’s the
way in which it has resonated in dozens
of lives, past and present.
PHOTOGRAPHY BY CONNOR MADISON www.eaavintage.org 29
irplanes aren’t
merely flying
machines that pro-
vide the means by
which we ascend
from the earth; they
can also facilitate
opportunities to HISTORICAL CONTEXT
transcend our indi-
vidualism and thrive One of 160 manufactured and eight flyable today
as a larger entity. With minds and hands working rhythmi- (according to volunteer Larry Furrow), this
cally toward a purpose-driven goal, a cohesive team Travel Air 6000’s story begins in Wichita, the
ultimately relied upon more than 600 fingers to complete the “Air Capital of the World.” The now-legendary
restoration, all of which left their unique fingerprints on this Clyde Cessna, Walter Beech, and Lloyd Stearman
Travel Air. Owned by Scott Glover’s Mid America Flight started the Travel Air Manufacturing Co. in early
Museum (MAFM) at Mount Pleasant, Texas, NC8112’s resto- 1925 in a 30-by-30-foot building. Just prior to the
ration took place at Mid America North at Grimes Field in Great Depression, their company was thriving,
Urbana, Ohio, due to Scott’s good friend, Jim Bob White. and NC8112 was completed on March 18, 1929.
Orchestrating this symphonic restoration was master Priced around $12,000, the Travel Air 6000
airplane restorer Doug Smith of Ohio. One of Doug’s inher- was designed as an executive transport and air-
ent gifts is possessing the global vision of all that needs to liner, whose reliable and dependable performance
be accomplished, the timing of the tasks, and the finest would comfortably transport six passengers. To
details. He delegated tasks to a cadre of volunteers as they that end, the company touted the monoplane as
came and went, keeping them purposefully engaged in har- being “the last word in Performance,
monious efforts. That is how this rare Travel Air became Dependability and Comfort,” with a “spacious
the beautiful symmetry of function and form that it is. cabin permitting passengers to exchange seats at
will with the relief pilot while in flight.”
Purchased new by Pittsburgh Airways, NC8112
was based at Bettis Field and flew scheduled pas-
senger service connecting Pittsburgh, Philadelphia,
and New York City. It was later owned by Atlantic
Airways and then in 1934 by Queen City Flying
Service at Lunken Field near Cincinnati, Ohio,
where it flew passenger and cargo charters.
“People look at the Travel Air and see a beauti-
ful airplane, but it’s more than that. You’ve got to
put it back in the context of the times. It wasn’t
made to be beautiful; it was made for a purpose, a
function. It was an airliner, and people would pay
money to go fly from Pittsburgh to New York on
this airplane — it was a big deal, and they were
wearing coats and ties and hats. It was an airliner
back when there were very few airplanes and air-
ports. But people wanted to go places, so there
were lots of challenges to air travel, including
weather,” Scott said. “The Travel Air 6000’s pur-
pose was to help lead the way for the birth of a
brand new industry in the 1920s — and we’re try-
ing to keep the history of that functionality alive.”
NC8112 just happened to be instrumental in
the birth of another new industry as well: drop-
ping firefighters by parachutes to fight forest
fires, known as smokejumping.
30 January/February 2022 PHOTOGRAPHY BY CONNOR MADISON AND MID AMERICA FLIGHT MUSEUM
NC8112 was flown by Dick Johnson on the
historic first jump. “In 1940, the Moose Creek
Ranger Station airfield was chosen to serve as the
base for the new smokejumper program. … On
July 12, 1940 a fire call came through, requesting
the new jumpers to make their first jump to a fire
located on the Moose Creek District of the Nez
Perce Forest. Travel Air NC8112 was dispatched
to pick up the jumpers. Rufus Robinson of
Kooskia, ID and Earl Cooley of Hamilton, MT
made the first fire jump in the history of the
Forest Service on the Rock Pillar Fire in the
Marten Creek drainage.” (United States
Department of Agriculture brochure,
Smokejumpers — Firefighting’s Elite.)
By 1965, Johnson Flying Service had sold
NC8112 to Dolph Overton for his Wings & Wheels
collection in Santee, South Carolina. In 1979,
NC8112 was re-covered with cotton and painted
Doug Smith orchestrated the harmonious restoration efforts of dozens of volunteers. in Delta Air Service livery as a representative
example of one of Delta’s three Travel Airs. As
such, it participated in Delta’s 50th anniversary of
SMOKEJUMPERS passenger service. Then in late 1981, it was sold to
Richard Holbert, owner of Central Flying Service
The Johnson Flying Service of Missoula, in Little Rock, Arkansas, but was rarely flown.
Montana, acquired NC8112 in 1939; it was its sixth Next in the chain of owners was Scott Glover.
Travel Air 6000. Powered by a 300-hp Wright
Smokejumpers boarding NC8112 at Lolo National Forest.
engine, it could haul 1,500 pounds of freight while
operating on short, unimproved fields, and “was
just what the Forest Service needed to compete
with pack mules in supplying the many remote
areas in the mountains. The Johnson brothers
developed air freight and the air drop procedures
used in delivery. … Bob Johnson, assisted by [his
brother] Dick, as well as Frank Derry — an old
head at exhibition parachute jumping — then per-
fected the smoke jumper technique, which
revolutionized the whole firefighting proce-
dure.” (Montana and the Sky: Beginning of
Aviation in the Land of the Shining
Mountains, by Frank W. Wiley.)
RESTORATION BEGINS
On March 18, 2018, precisely 89 years after it
rolled out of the Travel Air factory, NC8112’s res-
toration began — after one last day of ride
hopping, of course. New and old technologies
were skillfully blended to restore the Travel Air
to its Antique Grand Champion Gold Lindy
award-winning status over a period of three-and-
a-half years, during which Doug Smith and 60
volunteers, ranging in age from 13 to 85, logged
approximately 30,000 hours.
There’s a time capsule, of sorts, which is now
hidden by the fuselage fabric, but when someone
restores this airplane again, they’ll discover a panel
that has the signatures of nearly every volunteer who
touched this project.
One of the volunteers was Jim Buxton, a certifi-
cated A&P mechanic and mechanical engineer who
had built a lot of models but had never worked on
an airplane. “He’s been coming to Oshkosh with his
family for over 40 years,” Doug said, “and it was
really providence that brought us together. The
airplane would not look like it does without Jim
Buxton and his engineering skills. He even hand
carved the curved ‘V’ balsa fairing where the land-
ing gear legs join the axle. His 15-year-old daughter,
Jocelyn, along with sister and brother-in-law Jamie
and Tim Moeller, and brother Jay Buxton with wife
Roxanne, came with him and put a lot of hours into
the restoration, too.”
Balsa formers on the longerons. The synchronicity that occurred during the proj-
ect was remarkable. “Volunteer Leroy Lynn said it
best: ‘Throughout the entire restoration, whenever
ACQUIRED BY MAFM we got to a point where we were kind of stuck, some-
body would walk through the door that had the
Scott has a personal history with this Travel Air that dates answer.’ That happened time and time again, just out
back to the late 1990s. “My parents had a feed mill when I of the blue!” Doug said.
was growing up, and I ended up buying a feed mill in Little
Rock in 1997. We had a Cessna 210, and I rented a hangar Jim Buxton masking and prepping for the Travel Air logo to be painted.
space from Central Flying Service in a community-type
hangar — this Travel Air was in the back of that hangar and
hadn’t flown in many years. I didn’t know anything about
the Travel Air 6000 but I just loved the airplane, but the
owner wouldn’t sell it,” Scott said. “Fast-forward to the
mid-2000s, when I was a corporate pilot, occasionally fly-
ing back in to Central Flying. I would take my captain back
to see the old Travel Air there, and I was finally able to
acquire the airplane in 2008. Radial Engines of Guthrie,
Oklahoma, overhauled the Wright R-975, and then we had a
new exhaust made. We flew it for about 10 years, giving
rides, going to a few fly-ins, and even a local Antique
Airplane Association event, where it won an award for the
best vintage airline aircraft.”
FUSELAGE STRUCTURE
Hank Galpin of Kalispell, Montana, kindly provided
the team with information he accumulated while
restoring his own Travel Air (NC9038), including
drawings for the steel components. But there were
no drawings for the wood stringers and formers, and
the old wood was only partially usable for patterns.
Fortunately, Doug had the proverbial ace up
his sleeve — Larry found a March 1929 Travel Air
factory photograph of a fuselage on its gear, with
all the wood structure visible. They could see
where all the pieces went but couldn’t quite
determine the precise shapes. “After making and
installing the pieces, we used strings and lasers
and even masking tape to simulate the fabric cov-
ering, but it wasn’t until we pulled fabric over it
in February 2021 that we knew we had it just
right,” Doug said. “What a feeling that was!”
Volunteer Price Smith helped make the balsa
formers on the four longerons, which consisted
of a long, rounded block of balsa with spruce on
The Travel Air is taking shape. the ends as attachment points. The 16-foot-long
bottom stringer was scarfed together from Sitka
spruce — that was the easy part.
CNC AND 3D PRINTING “Then we had to put the curve in it, so we built
a jig with PVC tubing and slid the stringer inside
The throttle quadrant was in poor condition, but fortu- it,” Doug said. “I filled the PVC with steam, using
nately, Jim digitized it so a CNC maple mold could be made. my wife’s pressure canners — we put hoses on the
Doug formed each half of the aluminum quadrant in the little stem that comes out the top — and after
female molds, and the halves were then welded together. about an hour of steaming the wood, we pulled it
Volunteer John Nance took on the task of making new out and let it sit on the table for a day. That created
wooden control wheels, and as a master furniture crafts- a smooth, constant curve for that stringer.”
man, he also taught woodworking to young volunteers.
John made the maple wheels from scratch, routing out Cowling sheet metal work is underway.
teeth in the wood and overlapping them in the same man-
ner the originals were made. The finishing touches were
sanding and 17 coats of shellac.
As with other early airplanes, the landing gear and wing
strut fairings are made of balsa wood and wrapped with fab-
ric. “One of our volunteers, Dan Kafka, who is a captain for
Jet Blue, had a 3D printer in his basement, and he 3D-printed
sanding blocks for the different airfoils,” Doug said. “So the
fairings are made in two halves, and the volunteers were able
to sand the balsa into the correct airfoil shapes after the balsa
was spliced together around the steel tubing.”
PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF MID AMERICA FLIGHT MUSEUM www.eaavintage.org 35

SPECS
NC8112, Serial No. 884
1929 Travel Air 6000
ATC No. 130
Not eligible to be flown by a sport pilot.
WINGSPAN: 48 feet, 7 inches

WING CHORD: 78 inches
TREAD: 9 feet
LENGTH: 30 feet, 10 inches
HEIGHT: 9 feet, 3 inches
EMPTY WEIGHT: 2,788 pounds
GROSS WEIGHT: 4,420 pounds
USEFUL LOAD: 1,632 pounds
SEATS: 1 pilot, 6 passengers
ENGINE: 440-hp Wright
Whirlwind R-975
FUEL: 80 gallons Close up view of the tail wheel assembly.
OIL: 7 gallons
MAX SPEED: 130 mph
CRUISING SPEED: 90 mph WING STRUTS
LANDING SPEED: 60 mph
STALLING SPEED: 60-70 mph The wing struts were in sad shape due to water seeping into
balsa wood at the jury struts, so the damaged areas were cut
RATE OF CLIMB: 800 fpm
out, and new tubing was spliced per FAA Advisory Circular
SERVICE CEILING: 16,000 feet
43.13-1B. The front wing struts weren’t adjustable, however,
CRUISING RANGE: 400 miles so their length had to be precise to retain the correct dihe-
dral. The team built jig tables just to hold the struts prior to
cutting out and replacing the middle sections.
LANDING GEAR
Doug took the landing gear parts and wheel spokes to Lori
Galovics at her shop, G & M Precision Machining in Tipp City,
Ohio. Lori machined brass gland nuts for the oleo struts (as well
as many other parts), and sourced new spokes from Buchanan
Spokes in California. It made the slotted nuts for the spokes and
even replicated the stamped “S” (which designated Indian
Motorcycles) on the heads of the spokes, per the originals.
“That’s one of those things when you’re restoring an air-
plane and you’re trying to get the details just right,” Doug said,
“and you can pull off something like that, it just makes it!”
Jim digitized the outer wheel cover, and an oak buck
was made and taken to a shop in Columbus, Ohio, that spun
new covers. The Travel Air had suffered half a dozen acci-
dents in previous years, which affected the geometry of the
landing gear, making both wheels pull to the left. The team
straightened the gear and was delighted later to hear that
the airplane tracked perfectly down the runway.
“Volunteers John Lynn and Rich Snell spent countless hours
overhauling the wheels and brakes,” Doug said. “Snell has now
moved on and is working in the restoration department at the
National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.”
SHEET METAL
All of the Travel Air’s sheet metal is new; shaping the tail
cone’s tapered radius was a bit of a challenge. The team glued
a hefty chunk of oak together, and Al Schmidt, an experienced
woodworker, turned an oak taper pin on his lathe. That was
used as a buck to form all four radii on the tail fairing.
The instrument panel completes the top of the firewall,
and that presented another challenge. The firewall (originally
aluminum) is composed of separate pieces sans fasteners —
the pieces are folded over and crimped onto themselves. “I
recruited the guys that are helping restore Champaign
Aviation Museum’s B-17 here at Grimes to make the firewall
from galvanized steel, and they did a great job.”
DUELING PAINT GUNS

When it was time to paint, an inflatable paint booth was set
up inside the restoration hangar. The booth had a compart-
ment that served as a mixing room, but it was opened so the
entire 29-foot length could be used. Local high school stu-
dents welded rotisseries to hold and rotate the fuselage and
wings, which facilitated the entire painting process.
Doug and master craftsman Bill Knisely (who is now on
staff ) became “dueling paint gun” partners. “We sprayed with
high-volume low-pressure systems, and we each had guns
going at the same time. We used Air-Tech Coatings, which
cure slowly, so everything stayed wet,” Doug said. “We’d start
at opposite ends of the wing and meet in the middle, rotate,
spray the leading edge and trailing edge, and rotate. When
we’d get close to meeting in the middle, either he or I would
stand back and let the other one finish that middle section.
There’s very little difference in who painted what.”
They took turns painting the fuselage instead of painting The throttle quadrant and control wheels are newly made by hand.
simultaneously. One held a light in the booth to make it easier to
see the fresh paint, while the other painted. “Bill painted the top INTERIOR
and the bottom, and I painted the sides. It’s exhausting, both
physically and mentally, to paint something that big,” Doug said. The interior panels are made of 1/16-inch mahogany veneer
“Our volunteers Bruce Larson and Mark Curtner were in the plywood, which received several brush coats of varnish, with
booth too. One’s sole purpose was to crank the rotisserie when we each coat being sanded. The final coat was smoothed down by
were ready, and the other supplied us with paint when we needed just a couple of light passes with 4-ought steel wool.
a refill. We had another set of volunteers, led by Christine Paul Workman of Bedrock Aero in Zanesville, Ohio, did a
Detwiler and her daughters, outside the booth who were contin- beautiful installation of the carpet and the wool headliner, and
ually mixing and agitating the paint. It was a huge team effort.” he used his exceptional sewing skills to create the leather seat
upholstery. The original seat frames were entrusted to Helen
Cribbs of Delaware, Ohio, for wickering. But after a bit of
research and taking one of the old seats apart, Helen realized
that what was thought to be wicker was actually fibre rush,
which is paper twisted into a cord. “So the laterals are simply
that, and the verticals have a wire core in them for support,”
Doug said. “You can still buy that today; it comes on a spool.
Helen did a wonderful job on the seats.”

This image reveals the vitality of the restoration volunteers as they
swarm the Travel Air with towels to make it spotless.
THE HOMESTRETCH
With the goal of flying NC8112 to AirVenture, Doug
found himself deeply discouraged two weeks prior
to the convention. There was a seemingly insur-
mountable list of things that still needed to be done.
But help was on the way, in the form of MAFM
mechanic-pilots Kelly Mahon and Denzil Charles,
who were flying up from Texas to get the Stinson
Model A Tri-Motor (NC15165) ready for Oshkosh.
Almost miraculously, everything was finished
one week later, thanks to the symbiotic relationship
between Mid America’s southern and northern
locations. Kelly made the first flight on July 15, and
there were no squawks — and there was still a week
until Oshkosh.
“It was just surreal, how insurmountable it felt, and
then it became complete,” Doug said. “Kelly and Denzil
were a little bit apprehensive to help us, because we
have all these volunteers who have such ownership in
the Travel Air. But the volunteers were happy that Kelly
and Denzil were there, and welcomed them as they all
teamed up to finish the airplane. When we were about
done, I looked at Kelly and said, ‘Two locations, one
team!’ That’s what we are.”
VOLUNTEER
VITALITY
Doug conducted the harmonious
complexity of the restoration and
its growing team of volunteers with
gratifying results — much like a
maestro leading a symphony in a
great performance. He kept the vol-
unteers, of all ages and walks of life,
engaged in the project by instilling
purpose-driven focus, while mak-
ing sure they realized their work
was vital to the overall success.
“Doug is an inspirational teacher.
As one example, he showed high
school kids how to burnish engine
turning, gave them a few practice
pieces of aluminum, and then he’d
say, ‘Okay, here are the pieces we
want to do for this airplane.’ He’d
just walk away and let them work on
their own, and the engine turning
you see on the airplane was all done
by high school kids,” Scott said.
“Doug has led this team and helped
it evolve into something absolutely
amazing. I think we all have grown a
lot in learning each other and what
each other’s skill sets are. We also
have each other’s back, and I think
it’s really become an amazing family.
I don’t know of another airplane
restoration that has a story like this
Travel Air 6000. Here we land at
Oshkosh, and it’s like a NASCAR
team gets around that airplane to
clean it. You don’t even have to tell
them what to do. They just know
because they have already touched
every piece of that airplane. I’m tell-
ing you, the people behind this
Travel Air restoration are way more
impressive to me than the airplane!”
To learn even more about
NC8112’s history and restoration
team, visit TravelAir6000.com.
Learn more about Mid America
Flight Museum at
MidAmericaFlightMuseum.com.
PHOTOGRAPHY BY SPARKY BARNES AND CONNOR MADISON www.eaavintage.org 39

U E
T R IG
I N
LES GASKILL’S DELUXE 1928 WACO GXE
BY SPARKY BARNES
BASED IN OTTUMWA, IOWA, Les Gaskill enjoys

flying his Waco GXE the short distance over to
Antique Airfield, and as he flies overhead, the
distinctive chuckling of the Waco’s old water-
cooled OXX-6 engine brings the past to audible
reality. Descending for a flyby, his Waco is silhou-
etted in an otherworldly golden glow from the
late-summer sun sinking low on the western
horizon. These sounds and images invoke an
irresistible intrigue — what role did this model
Waco fulfill in history, was it innovative for its
time, and who were the pilots who flew them?
PHOTOGRAPHY BY G R DENNIS PRICE www.eaavintage.org 41
ack in 2016, Les wasn’t looking for
an antique Waco. He already had a
40-horse 1938 Piper J-2 Cub
(NC20161), a 1946 Piper J-3 Cub
(NC70895), and a Model A powered
Pietenpol Air Camper (N3535) that
he finished building in 2018. But his
fellow antiquer comrades, in the
form of father and son Forrest and
Vaughn Lovley of Minnesota, kindly
thought of him when Forrest began selling a collector’s air-
planes in Minnesota.
“I didn’t want the airplane,” Les said, “but Vaughn called
me and said, ‘You need to come up and get this Waco 10.’ So
I drove up with Brent Taylor (Antique Airplane Association
president), and we looked it over, and I decided to buy it.”
LINE KID
Les came into aviation via his father, who learned to fly
after World War II. “But then he had a bunch of kids and
quit flying. I was next to the youngest, and when he got
back into flying in the 1970s, I was a teenager. So I did like
everybody else — I built model airplanes, and then I worked
at the airport as a line kid when I was 15, and he paid me
like $2 an hour trade. I made about $900 that summer to
get my private pilot license.”
He soloed a Cessna 150 on his 16th birthday, and forged
ahead to earn his instrument, commercial, and multiengine
ratings when he was in his early 20s. “But I liked flying the
Cub better, so I never got a flying job. I became an electrician
instead so I could afford to buy airplanes and fly them,” Les
said. “I love the freedom of flying, and it’s relaxing to me. I
have about 5,000 hours’ total flight time, and most of that is in
my yellow Cub — I’ve owned it for 39 years. I’ve owned the J-2
since 2006, and it’s got about 400 hours on it now.”
LEFT: This Waco GXE has a tail skid as opposed to a tail wheel.
CENTER: Les Gaskill, happy Waco GXE pilot.
RIGHT: This ad from Aviation (May 1927) features the Ten prototype.
WACO HISTORY HIGHLIGHTS
The three-place Waco Ten received its approved type certificate in October
1927. It was known as the “Ten” or “10” before Waco changed the designa-
tion to GXE the following year. (The first letter denotes powerplant, in this
case a 90-hp Curtiss OX-5 or 102-hp Curtiss OXX-6; the second letter, the
airframe design; and the third letter, the series.) The finish color coats were a
light and a dark shade of the greenish Berryloid Benz Gray on the fuselage
and cowling, with silver wings, and Les’ GXE wears a similar livery.
Waco historian and author Fred O. Kobernuss, in Volume 2 of his WACO
Symbol of Courage and Excellence, wrote about the significance of this
biplane: “This new Model Ten, would be the catalyst that would increase the
awareness of the existence of the WACO acronym on a global basis and leave
an indelible mark on the pages of American aviation history.”
The popularity of the Ten continued throughout its seven-year
production run. This model incorporated a number of significant
improvements from the Model Nine, and the frame was built to
enable the installation of a variety of engines larger than its standard
90-hp OX-5. The Ten featured an in-flight adjustable horizontal stabi-
lizer, included a passenger entry door, and introduced “the hydraulic
shock-absorbing landing gear to the personal aircraft industry. The
Waco 10 was the first Waco to use a center section airfoil between the
upper wings” (excerpted from “The Waco Story” by Ray Brandly, EAA
Sport Aviation, August 1969).
An Aero Digest March 1927 ad succinctly detailed the innovations fea-
tured in the Ten: “Landing Gear — wide tread, split type, hydraulic shock
absorbing — heretofore found only on costly military types. Cockpits —
large and roomy — as easily entered as any roadster. Seats — scientifically
shaped for relaxation — properly cushioned for comfort. Windshields —
correctly inclined — affording maximum protection. Cowling — fully
enclosing motor with graceful curves — each piece accurately stamped
— quickly removable and interchangeable. Adjustable Stabilizer — conve-
niently operated in flight — affording perfect balance trim with any load.
Four Narrow Ailerons — individually and differentially operated without
wires or pulleys — insuring ample and reliable lateral control at all speeds
and with little effort. Structural Strength in excess of requirements for
Class 1 U.S. Air Commerce regulations. Designed for and available powered
with OX5 – OXX6 - Hisso or Whirlwind motors. Truly a $3,000 airplane
but priced considerably lower. Popular demand made it possible — that’s
what WACO VALUE means.”
Additional details included a streamlined headrest for the pilot, a
tubular-braced fuselage, a push-pull tube for the elevator control, and
gently curved wingtips and tail feathers. The horizontal stabilizer could
be adjusted in-flight with a lever left of the pilot’s seat, and a leaf spring
(as opposed to shock cord) was used for the tail skid, which was fitted
with a replaceable hard steel shoe.
Another company ad enticed potential aviators to make the leap and
buy their own Waco: “The New WACO Ten surpasses all previous mod-
els in style, performance and safety. Its quick take-off, fast climb, high top
speed and ease with which it does all that you ask of it in the air makes it
the talk of Pilots everywhere. Its split-type, hydraulic shock absorbing,
landing gear takes all the unpleasantness out of landings. Its sturdy fuse-
lage and wing sections, engineered to withstand motors from 90 to 250
horse power, give you more safety than ever before.”
PHOTOGRAPHY BY SPARKY BARNES AND KYLE SHAWVER www.eaavintage.org 43

CHAIN OF OWNERS
This Waco has flown through time from 1928 to 2021, thanks
to nearly two dozen owners and partners who played a role in
its airworthiness through the decades. At least four different
OX-5 engine serial numbers are listed in the aircraft records,
with at least as many different propellers.
The GXE mostly resided in Iowa and Minnesota, and for
a short time in North Dakota, per the aircraft records.
C-4465 was manufactured February 14, 1928, by the Advance
Aircraft Co. of Troy, Ohio, under Type Certificate No. 13.
Equipped with a 90-hp Curtiss OX-5 and Hartzell wood
prop, the Waco’s equipment and instruments included an oil
pressure gauge, altimeter, Fahrenheit meter, tachometer, fire
extinguisher, and first aid kit.
Les’ antiquer friend, Steve Adkisson of Hammond, Illinois,
says this Waco “was originally bought by Johnny Livingston of
the air show and air race fame. He ran the airport in Monmouth,
Illinois. He was a Waco dealer, and Waco would ship him air-
planes by rail car. He’d assemble them and then sell them.”
TOP: Dan Neuman works on the fuselage.

CENTER: Dan Neuman with the Waco and engine.
RIGHT: Dan Neuman works on the fuselage.
44 January/February 2022 PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF LES GASKILL

Livingston and his company, Mid-West Airways Corp., Daniel F. Neuman was born in 1918 and earned his private
bought the Waco for $2,585. It was then sold to F.C. and mechanic certificates in his teens. Early on, he worked for
Anderson of Des Moines, Iowa, in March 1928. Stinson Aircraft Co., Warner Aircraft Co. and instructed for
The chain of owners is highlighted as follows: Anderson Floyd Floren Airlines. He started flying for Northwest Airlines
sold it to Yellow Cab Airways Inc. of Des Moines, replete with a in 1942, and as senior captain on 747s, retired from a 36-year
set of standard motor tools. Yellow Cab sold it for $1,500 to C.H. career with Northwest in 1978.
Cordes of Gilmore City, Iowa, and by October 1929, the Waco Dan then plunged headlong into his antique aircraft resto-
was in poor condition. It needed new fabric; new gas, oil, and ration hobby at his hangar at the Anoka County-Blaine Airport
water lines; new valve assembly; and the Supreme wood prop in Minnesota. He and his wife, Vona Jean, had previously
was in poor condition — the biplane failed inspection. Cordes re-covered their Beech Staggerwing and restored a Jenny. They
sold it to Iowa Airways Corp. in January 1930, and it sold the also restored a Waco 125, which he later donated to Northwest
aircraft two months later to Stanley Fuller of Milford, Iowa. By in her memory. Dan’s meticulous restorations won awards,
April 1930, the Waco’s prop tips were “somewhat battered” and including the Antique Airplane Association’s 1968 Grand
the engine was in “fair” condition; nonetheless, the ship passed Champion for the Curtiss JN4-D (N2404), and the Oshkosh
inspection. Fuller sold the GXE to Mary A. Howe of Estherville, 1980 Grand Champion Antique for his 1931 Buhl LA-1 Pup
Iowa, the next month. She kept it more than a year, selling it to (N348Y). He also won the Oshkosh 1981 Antique Pioneer Age
Fred Fox of Fairmont, Minnesota, in September 1931. Champion for the 1917 JN4-D Jenny (N2404). Both aircraft
By October 1932, the Waco had flown into the hands went on display at the EAA Aviation Museum.
of Leon R. Alsworth of Sherburn, Minnesota. A year
later, the GXE was once again in sore need of repairs,
and records show that John Walatka “repaired or
remodeled” the Waco with factory-built parts and
re-covered it with Grade A Flightex. New cap strips
were installed in the wings and center section, and the
diagonal brace in the lower front portion of the fuselage
was reinforced with a “double F fish weld.”
In May 1934, Alsworth sold the ship to Grand Forks
Air Transport Inc. in North Dakota. The aircraft inspec-
tion in May 1935 reported that the ship was in good
condition with a total aircraft flight time of 800 hours.
The recorded chain of ownership ended rather abruptly, 1928 Waco 10 (GXE)
and lasted for an extended period of time, after Lloyd ATC No. 13
John Neubauer of Hannaford, North Dakota, purchased Not eligible to be flown by a sport pilot.
the Waco for $250 in May 1939.
WINGSPAN: 30 feet, 7 inches
NEUMAN RESTORATION
Perhaps the most noteworthy in the long line of owners is
LENGTH:
HEIGHT:
23 feet, 6 inches
9 feet
EMPTY WEIGHT: 1,200 pounds
the gentleman who restored the GXE to its current and
beautiful state of airworthiness. Antiquer Forrest Lovley GROSS WEIGHT: 2,025 pounds
recalled, “It was a project by Dan Neuman Sr. of Minnesota. USEFUL LOAD: 825 pounds
He restored a bunch of airplanes, and this Waco was the SEATS: 1 pilot, 2 passengers
last airplane he restored before he passed away.” ENGINE: 90-hp Curtiss OX-5 or 102-hp Curtiss OXX-6
FUEL: 37 gallons
OIL: 4 gallons
MAX SPEED: 96 mph
CRUISING SPEED: 85 mph
STALLING SPEED: 37 mph
RATE OF CLIMB: 500 fpm
SERVICE CEILING: 13,000 feet
CRUISING RANGE: 380 statute miles
The Neumans acquired the GXE project in the early 1960s. Dan did some preliminary research by sending a
letter in February 1963 to Berry Brothers Inc. of Detroit, inquiring as to the “availability of Berryloid ‘Benz Gray’
(almost a green) aircraft nitrate dope and lacquer. We are restoring a Waco 10 airplane, manufactured in 1928,
which originally was finished in a light and a dark shade of the above color. Please advise if you can supply this
particular special order in the quantity of two gallons of lacquer and six gallons of nitrate dope. The lacquer
should be several shades darker than the nitrate dope. If you should be unable to supply the above, we would
very much appreciate a color sample of Berryloid ‘Benz Gray.’ Very truly yours, Midland Aviation Company,
Daniel F. Neuman, Owner.” A reply was promptly sent by I. Morton of Berry Brothers, which stated: “We no lon-
ger manufacture aircraft finishes and have no color chips.”
Eleven years later, Dan’s ongoing background research focused on the GXE’s registration, which had been
canceled in July 1948. The aircraft records reveal a January 1974 affidavit from Daniel F. Neuman stating that
the last registered owner, Lloyd John Neubauer, couldn’t be found. “A diligent effort, covering a period of many
months, consisting of letters, long distance phone calls, and interviews with various persons, has not provided a
clue to the whereabouts of this person. It is further acclaimed that the subject aircraft was extensively cannibal-
ized many years ago, and the remaining components were acquired from a scrap pile. (Actual photograph
attached hereto.)” The black and white photocopy in the file depicts a basket case project with a damaged prop,
an engine still bolted to the fuselage framework, and wing struts.
Dan clearly did his due diligence, not only with research, but with the restoration. He had patiently worked
from the ground up, breathing new life into the Waco GXE relic by doing most of the hands-on work himself. He
was in the midst of actively restoring the GXE in his mid-80s and served as an inspiration to others simply by
still doing what he loved to do — fly and restore aircraft. He was inducted into the Minnesota Aviation Hall of
Fame in 2007 — the same year he passed away.
“Dan Neuman put so much into this restoration — oh my god, I couldn’t have done what
he did!” Les said. “I like woodworking and covering, but I don’t know how to weld, do
metal work, or overhaul engines. The engine works perfect; it was overhauled by
a master mechanic who knew what he was doing. Now I just have to take
care of it, and that’s what scares me about it — the engine’s kind of fin-
icky, but the airplane’s easy. My mechanic, Steve Adkisson, helps me
out with all that stuff.”
The GXE’s original identification number, 4465, wasn’t avail-
able when Dan was restoring the Waco, so he chose 4495. But
thanks to Forrest’s keen attention to such things, he discovered
that 4465 was available again. Forrest mentioned it to Les,
and Les reserved it. Hence, should the Waco be restored
again or repainted, it may revert to its original number.
LEFT: The roomy pilot’s cockpit, with minimal instrumentation.

RIGHT: Passengers’ view of the Tasco Gauge and the horizon on climb-out.
RECORDS AND RACES
Much to the delight of Advance Aircraft Co., the
pilots who flew this model Waco were quite favor-
ably impressed with its performance and handling,
and they enabled the Waco Ten to make its mark as
a competitive air racer in the late 1920s, thereby
receiving national recognition. Additionally, there
were four Waco Ten entrants in the 1927 Ford
Reliability Air Tour.
Advance Aircraft test pilot Charlie Meyers flew
to a first-place finish in the 1927 Class B National Air
Derby from New York to Spokane with a standard
production model OX-5 powered Waco 10. Riding in
the passenger cockpit was Tom B. Colby, a represen-
tative for Berry Brothers Progressive Aircraft
Finishes. Berry Brothers’ company name and infor-
mation was emblazoned on the fuselage, and the
ship was named The Wings of Progress. Meyers won
a $5,000 purse; the total flying time was 30 hours,
23 minutes, and 15 seconds. After the derby, the
Berry Brothers company bought the biplane to help
market their Berryloid aircraft finishes.
The following year, John Livingston flew a Waco TOP: Note the slot for the adjustable horizontal stabilizer.
10 to a first-place finish in the 1928 Class B CENTER: The Waco GXE has four ailerons, roomy cockpits, and a
Transcontinental race from New York to Los passenger door on the front cockpit.
Angeles. His total flying time was 22:56:59, and he RIGHT: The streamlined cowling encloses the 102-hp OXX-6 engine.
won a $7,000 purse. Charlie Meyers flew a Waco 10
as well, finishing fifth with a flight time of 25:04:13,
for a purse of $700.
PHOTOGRAPHY BY SPARKY BARNES www.eaavintage.org 47

LEFT: 1928 Waco GXE flying by Antique Airfield, enjoying the golden rays of the setting sun.
RIGHT: Dan Neuman restored this Waco and painted it in the original Benz Gray colors.
A few months after the transcontinental race, pilot Ed Hedeen set After treating the author to an early-
a world record in an OX-5 powered Waco in November 1928. morning flight, Les evaluated his landing
Accolades for the accomplishment were focused, of course, on the technique. “See, I’m still learning. That
strength of the airplane in this company ad: “… He made 283 con- wasn’t bad; that was a lot better landing
secutive barrel rolls at Air City Airport, Wisconsin … exceeding the than my first one,” he said. “It’s com-
former record by 203 rolls! And yet, after this record flight, official pletely blind as far as forward visibility! I
inspection revealed that no adjustments whatever were necessary. was flying around here yesterday evening
His WACO was a regular stock model with more than 330 hours to and couldn’t easily keep track of all the
its credit. Of this time, some 250 were student training hours in airplanes. In a Cub, you’re like one, two,
which the plane was rolled more than a thousand times, not to men- you can see them all. I always thought air-
tion hundreds of loops and spins. Once more it is proven by planes were cool and wanted to fly — and I
performance that WACO planes, built for commercial and pleasure love it!”
flying, are unsurpassed in safety, strength, and all-round utility.” And there were plenty of folks who
loved seeing it and watching it fly during
FLYING THE WACO GXE

Though Les hasn’t put his Waco GXE through such strenuous
the 2020 Antique Airplane Association
Annual Invitational Fly-In. Its presence on
the flightline, tied down “shoulder to
paces as Hedeen or 1920s flying students, he’s nevertheless quite shoulder” with the “modern” Wacos,
pleased with his aerial steed. With his feet on the GXE’s rudder bar served as a remarkable reminder of the
(as opposed to rudder pedals), hand grasping the solid wood con- progression of airplane design and techno-
trol stick, ears attuned to the OXX-6 engine, and eyes trying to peer logical advances.
around its visibility-blocking radiator, Les can count on each and NC4495 was the 2020 AAA/APM
every flight invoking the intrigue and nostalgia of the golden age. Grand Champion Antique, and previously
“It’s just so cool; you look around when you’re flying — you won the 2019 Sweepstakes for the Antique
see that big radiator hanging down from the center section and (pre-1936) category. All due credit is given
all the wing struts and bracing — and you go, ‘Wow!’ Then you to its current caretaker, Les Gaskill, for
go to land and you go, WOW… what am I doing in this thing?! keeping this antique flying. Les, in turn,
Don’t break it!” Les said with a wry smile. “Someone told me heartily attributes all credit to the late
it’s probably one of the most original Model Tens around, and Dan Neuman for the beautifully detailed
all the pictures I see of other ones, they all have tail wheels and restoration of this 1928 OXX-6 powered
brakes; this one doesn’t.” Waco 10 GXE.
48 January/February 2022 PHOTOGRAPHY BY SPARKY BARNES AND MEGAN VANDE VOORT

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The Ercoupe
That Wasn’t
Supposed to Be
Derk Kingrey saves a little
airplane from the graveyard
BY BUDD DAVISSON
Dirk Kingrey was looking for a C-182 when an Ercoupe in serious
need of TLC grabbed his heart. It proved to be a perfect match.
PHOTOGRAPHY BY JIM
CHRISTINA
BUSHA BASKEN www.eaavintage.org 51
“ACTUALLY, I WASN’T LOOKING for an Ercoupe,” said Derk Derk came to be a little-airplane owner in a different
Kingrey, of Brookville, Ohio, EAA 1012592. “In fact, I was manner than most. His background doesn’t include hun-
actually looking for a 182 to rebuild. The only reason I was dreds of model airplanes hanging from his teenage
looking at the Ercoupe was because the owner asked me to bedroom ceiling. Nor did he solo on his 16th birthday. In
give him an idea of what it was going to cost him to get it fact, he didn’t learn to fly until he was in middle age. This
back in the air and whether I, being an IA, would be inter- even though almost every minute of every day for the 20
ested in fixing it. Before our meeting, he had described the years right after high school he could be found with his
damage to me in some detail, but even so, it was much worse hands and tools inserted well into the bowels of a variety of
than I expected. To outsource the work was going to cost airplanes. However, most of those airplanes were F-5
him far more than the airplane was worth. While we were Tigersharks, F-4 Phantoms, C-141s, and C-5s.
going through all of that, at no point did I even consider “Before I graduated high school, I filled out the paper-
rebuilding it myself. No matter how you rationalize it, an work at my local USAF recruiter, not with any urge to be a
Ercoupe can’t possibly provide the utility of a 182. Still — and pilot but to be a mechanic,” Derk said. “And that’s exactly
I’m not exactly sure how this happened — by the time we what I did. For 20 years I worked on, and was crew chief
were done talking, I wound up being the owner of a badly on, a wide variety of aircraft, from the little F-5 to the C-5.
bent Ercoupe. I guess the 182 is going to have to wait.” When I retired from the Air Force in 2005, I returned to
Like so many others, Derk had just found out how easy it where I was born and raised in Ohio and went to work as a
is to find yourself being sucked into a project, seemingly general aviation mechanic on the little airport at
incapable of resisting it. It’s a well-known aviation affliction. Phillipsburg. I had gotten my A&P while I was still the Air
Force. In doing work there, owners would often ask me if I
had test flown the airplane I had just worked on, and I had
to say, ‘No, but I’ll ride along with you while you fly it.’”
No one ever complained about Derk not having a pilot cer-
tificate, but he felt it was silly for him not to know how to fly.
It’s hard to believe this was once a nearly destroyed airplane.
“The guy I worked for, Mr. Miller, had built up a

pretty good little business buying and selling older
aircraft from the ’50s and ’60s,” he said. “Often, when
he went out to pick up an airplane, I’d go along, and
with him being a CFI, the trips would be long lessons
where I did most of the flying. Because of that, when
I finally got my license, I had flown quite a variety of
general aviation aircraft. Then, for three or four
years, I owned a Cherokee 140 with a friend.
“Beginning in 2013, I set up my own busi-
ness where I was doing annuals and minor
repairs on whatever aircraft the local pilots
owned, which typically were older aircraft,”
Derk said. “That’s when a gentleman dropped
in and told me of his woes with what he said
was a damaged Ercoupe. I inspected it, and as
I was explaining the complications of the
needed repairs and it was obvious the insur-
ance company was going to total it, I suddenly
found an unexpected train of thoughts racing
through my head. I hate to see any airplane go
to the graveyard, especially one that I knew I
could breathe life back into. So, I wound up
with an Ercoupe in need of TLC.”
PHOTOGRAPHY BY JIM BUSHA AND MIKE ULLERY www.eaavintage.org 53

As is the case with just about every project
airplane anyone has ever towed into their work-
shop, two usually predictable things happened at
the same time. First, Derk found that the damage
was more extensive than he originally thought
and would require parts that were difficult to
find. Second, he found himself playing the same
game every other well-meaning aircraft builder
has run into: As a particular component is
brought back to flyable and then new condition,
Derk found he was talking to himself and saying,
“Well, if I’m going to clean up and fix this part, I
might as well do the ones next to it.” As is almost
always the case, that kind of thought pattern,
coupled with the damage repair and parts sourc-
ing, took a little longer than expected.
“When I first looked at the airplane,” he said, “I
was pretty sure I could get it flying again in about
six months. If anyone had said it was going to take
me two and a half years, I would have said they
were nuts. Now, I’m glad I did it the way I did it.
“One of the sort-of fun things that hap-
pened, depending on how you define ‘fun,’ was
when my wife came to see our ‘new’ airplane,”
he said. “She took one look at the battered
hulk, which was totally disassembled and look-
ing very woebegotten, and said, ‘Are you
kidding me? That’s our new plane? I’m never
going to fly in that!’ Now, of course, she loves
it, but it wasn’t until I’d made it look more like
an airplane that she warmed up to the project.”
When the nose gear collapsed and the nose was stuffed into the grass, “This was unfortunate, because among other
everything ahead of the windshield was crushed beyond saving. things, the airplane I had bought was actually quite
clean,” he said. “Very little corrosion anywhere! So, I
The nose gear had folded on the sod field on couldn’t just rivet the newly acquired section in place.
which it had landed. Perhaps, the airplane simply I wound up drilling out almost all of the rivets from
stubbed its toe in a low spot. The resulting sud- both front sections and using the best components
den encounter with the ground drove everything from each. It was a jigsaw puzzle, but at least I knew
ahead of the firewall back into the fuselage and what it was supposed to look like. Some pieces I could
slammed one wing into the ground. So, what straighten out, but others, like the entire top skin sec-
Derk carted into his workshop was a fuselage tion between the firewall and instrument panel,
that looked really good, except that everything required making an entirely new piece.
instrument panel forward was badly wadded up. “The cowling, of course, was heavily damaged,” he
“When the nose gear was driven back- said. “Most of it was flat sheet and fairly easy to dupli-
wards,” he said, “the lower part of the firewall cate, but the bottom skin is compound, which was well
was slammed back into the fuselage, and beyond my skills. As it happens, my EAA chapter, 1335,
everything ahead of the windshield was was part of this project from the beginning. For instance,
pulled down. Lots of wrinkles and buckling. during one meeting, we got together and stripped the
There really wasn’t enough to repair by just wings down, getting them ready for re-covering.”
replacing panels and parts. One of the chapter members even had an English
“The good news about Ercoupes is that they wheel, so they tried repairing the bottom skin them-
were built in sections,” he explained. selves. Derk said that didn’t turn out too good, but
“Compartments, if you will, that were probably they had a lot of fun ruining some aluminum sheet.
assembled in separate jigs, and then the compo- “The matter of finding specific parts for the
nent sections joined together to form the Ercoupe was made somewhat easier because Univair
fuselage. Fortunately, all of the fuselage damage owns the tooling and type certificate, so you can just go
was confined to that front section. As I was to to their website, and in most cases, they’ll have what
find out, that’s a common Ercoupe form of dam- you need, but not everything,” he said. “However, if
age, so although all I needed was that front you’re trying to do this on a budget, as I was, I leaned
section, from the back of the windshield forward, heavily on Vernon Gregory in Swansee, South Carolina.
finding that front section took some time.” He and his company, Precision Services Inc., salvage
Derk finally located a salvageable fuselage in airplanes in general, but specialize in Ercoupes. He had
Texas, but when he got it home, he found it was a good lower cowl piece that, while it wasn’t perfect, it
severely corroded in some areas. was close enough that I could straighten it out.”
PHOTOGRAPHY BY JIM BUSHA AND MIKE ULLERY www.eaavintage.org 55

In a departure from originality, Derk’s friend, Mike Kiamy, covered the instrument panel in leather. It looks as if it came from the factory that way.
The Ercoupe wing is unique because it is cantilevered, so there “Fortunately, one of the smartest things I’ve done
are no struts, but most of each panel is fabric covered, which is in my life was marrying the right woman, Amy,” he
unique for a cantilever wing. It has no flaps, and the full-length said. “Even though she initially thought I was crazy
aileron is metalized. All flight loads are carried by the section for- for trying to breathe life back into an aluminum
ward of the main spar, which is a torque box. The ribs behind the cadaver, she quickly came around and supported me
spar go in a diagonal zigzag pattern rather than going fore and aft, every way she could. Not only was I trying to reuse
as is usually the case. Fortunately, the wings on Derk’s Ercoupe what was usable, but my main goal was to make it a
were not heavily damaged. Three ribs and some leading-edge skin really reliable, VFR, sunny-day driver. I was not try-
on the left one was it, although they did need re-covering. ing to build an award winner, but I wanted an
However, as he started work on the airplane, he quickly realized airplane my wife and I could enjoy and be proud of,
this was not going to be a case where he could throw a Band-Aid and she was a vital part of actually finishing it.”
on a bunch of parts and call it good. Derk said the interior was an area he wanted
“As I’ve said, I really didn’t start this project with the intent of to rebuild.
doing a full restoration,” Derk said. “The airplane didn’t really need “The instrument panel had been modified, but it
it. In fact, I didn’t even repaint the main part of the fuselage because hadn’t been butchered,” he said. “Some stuff that
the paint was so good. However, when I was rebuilding the forward wasn’t needed had been added, but I was able to
section, I’d see something that wasn’t quite right, and some part of repurpose some of the slots rather than building an
my brain couldn’t ignore it, even though it was probably completely entirely new panel. For instance, I put an intercom
airworthy as is. So, one thing led to another, and pretty soon the full into the hole where the VOR had been. The radio, an
restoration I wasn’t going to do turned into a full restoration. It was old Terra, still worked, so I couldn’t find a reason to
the old ‘I’ve gone this far; I might as well do this.’ For instance, I replace it, as I did with an AT-150 transponder. One
wound up rebushing the landing gear and going through the com- thing I did do, which was a definite departure from
plete control system, cleaning up and rebushing pulleys and original on the panel, is that I had my friend Mike
rod-ends. It took two and a half years because there was so much of Kiamy cover the panel with leather. It looks stun-
it and because it was an ‘after work’ project. I would stay at the shop ning, and I’m told it looks like it should have come
after hours and work on it until 10 p.m. many a night. out of the factory that way.
56 January/February 2022 PHOTOGRAPHY BY JIM BUSHA AND MIKE ULLERY

“When it came to the upholstery, Mike, “Of course, the baffling was crushed, but the real chal-
who does custom car upholstery, helped lenge was the oil pan,” hee said. “The small Continentals
me,” Derk said. “We used the original seat — the 65, 75, and 855 — all have an oil pan that is a metal,
cushions, and Mike stitched up the covers in roundish, nearly balloon-looking thing, and this one had
a scheme that was as close to original as we been
een squashed close to being flat. I searched everywhere I
could find. The floorboards were destroyed could search but couldn’t find a usable one. So, my friend
in the accident, so I built new ones using Mark Runge and I decided to try to save this one via a
12-ply aircraft-grade plywood and finished method neither of us had ever seen anyone try. It was
them like furniture, as if they were going to an experiment.
be visible, but they are covered.” “We capped off the flange with a plate and installed a
Obviously, when an airplane decides Schrader valve in it so we could put air pressure into the
to dig a hole in the dirt with its nose, tank,” he said. “We had no idea what we were doing but
using the Continental C85 as the primary figured I had nothing to lose. We didn’t know how much
digging tool, the engine suffers. pressure to use, but through experimentation found that
“The propeller was trashed, but the 12 psi would do the trick. We carefully heated 3- or 4-inch
engine itself didn’t look that bad, and I sections of each crease to a dull red, being careful not to
thought we could salvage most of it,” Derk get it too hot. In short order, we found the creases bal-
said. “However, when I took it down to a looning into shape. The more we did, the more we
local engine shop, the take-down revealed fine-tuned the heat and pressure to the point that the
a cascading series of problems. It started result was a perfectly usable oil tank. We couldn’t believe
with a cracked crankshaft. Then the cam how well the procedure worked.”
was badly spalled, and, to quote the engine Derk added that anyone who wants to try the same
guy, the lifters were all junk. What we thing should keep in mind that the mounting flange is
ended up reusing was the case and two brazed in place, so heat has to be kept away from that
cylinders. That was it. area or the joint will open up.
The leather work in the cockpit extended to the new seats.
Not many airplanes offer the joy of open cockpit aviating
combined with closed cockpit cross country comfort.
“When it came time to cover and then paint the wings “Now that it’s finished and we’re flying it regularly, it is
and the new nose section,” he said, “I was scared to exactly what my wife and I were looking for, and we’re
death. In the first place, I’d never done any serious fabric enjoying it [to] no end,” Derk said. “It’s a good flying air-
work and had never painted anything. I used Super plane, comfortable for the two of us, and better yet, it gets
Flight’s System 7 and sent them a couple of color samples us where we’re going on a minimum of fuel and overall
for them to match the color. Fortunately, I had friends expense. This little airplane fits us and our lifestyle much
Mark Runge and Sean Saddler for help. They both knew better than a C-182 would have. It’s funny how things work
fabric and paint, and Sean was in the middle of building out, but sometimes they just do.”
his Just Highlander, which is featured in May’s EAA And that, folks, is what flying and saving vintage air-
Sport Aviation. Between the three of us, everything planes is all about.
worked out better than I could have imagined. I was so
happy. And, yes, it’s purple but it’s a tasteful purple. Not
one of the goofy purples!
58 January/February 2022 PHOTOGRAPHY BY JIM BUSHA AND MIKE ULLERY

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under is supported in part by
The Vintage Mechanic
ROBERT G. LOCK
Engine Installations, Part 2

BY ROBERT G. LOCK
IN THIS ISSUE we’ll continue our discussion of

engine installations and look at other areas of
concern. I’ve been asked to continue this subject
and expand to cover magneto switches, booster
coils, primer systems, care of air filters, and
whatever else comes up.
MAGNETO SWITCHES AND BOOSTER COILS

So first let’s tackle magneto switches and booster
coils, because they are interrelated. The purpose
of the mag switch is to open or close an electrical
circuit, causing the magnetos to be either hot or
cold. The purpose of the booster coil is to provide
a hot spark for engine starting purposes.
The magneto switch has a common ground
with a rotary switch inside to cause a ground or
open circuit to the P-lead. The P-lead connects the
mag switch to the magneto primary windings. It is
recommended that P-leads be shielded wire, usu-
ally 18 gauge. The wire is connected directly from
a terminal on the switch marked “L” or “R” to the
left and right magneto. The shielding connects
from the magneto case directly to the “G”
(ground) terminal on the switch. The “G” termi-
nal is connected to a ground on the airframe. This
completes a positive grounding circuit from each
magneto to the airframe. FIGURE 1
A few engines are mounted with rubber shock
assemblies, which means there would be no direct
path to electrical ground between the engine and Figure 1 shows a magneto wiring layout. The sketch shows a com-
the airframe. If this were the case, then there would plete wiring schematic for magneto switch, ignition leads, P-leads, and
be no ground circuit for the magnetos if non- booster coil installation. Note that this sketch shows both magnetos
shielded P-lead wire were used. Thus the need for connected to the switch with a ground lead to the engine crankcase.
shielded wire. However, most engines are now Keep in mind that the magneto fires 1-2-3-4-5-6-7 and the engine fires
equipped with electric starters; therefore, there will 1-3-5-7-2-4-6, which means the No. 1 spark plug lead goes to the No. 1 cyl-
be a complete ground circuit from the starter to the inder, but the No. 2 spark plug lead goes to the No. 3 cylinder. Using the
airframe. Thus a nonshielded wire could be used. above magneto/engine firing order, one can easily see that the No. 7 mag-
All of my airplanes use nonshielded wire. neto ignition lead goes to the No. 6 cylinder. Refer to Figure 1 . . . it’s easy!
60 January/February 2022 PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF ROBERT G. LOCK

The magneto switch will have the
posts on the back side lettered G for
ground, R for right mag, L for left mag,
and B for booster coil. Note that when
the magneto switch is OFF, the booster
coil is grounded.
There aretwo types of booster
coils—manually activated and electri-
cally activated. Figure 2 shows a sketch
of a manually operated crank-style
booster coil and associated installa-
tion diagram.
The manually operated hand-crank FIGURE 2
booster coil are mounted in the cockpit,
and when the engine starting procedure
was initiated, the pilot cranked the han-
dle, thus creating a high-tension
current that was introduced into the
magneto. On the magneto distributor
block there is a hole that is marked H;
that is where the high-tension lead
from the booster coil is inserted. When
using a booster coil system, it is import-
ant to start the engine on the magneto
that has the high-tension lead installed.
In the sketch in Figure 2, it would be
the left magneto.
The electrically operated booster
coil has only a push switch in the cock-
pit, which is engaged by the pilot during FIGURE 3
starting. The circuitry is the same as the
manually operated system, but the coil
can be mounted in the engine compart-
ment. Refer to Figure 3. AIR FILTERS
Now let’s look at air filters, particularly for
FIGURE 4 radial engines. In Figure 4 is an illustration
of a Wright R-760 carburetor air scoop,
heater, and air filter. The air filter is a
series of heavy-mesh wire screens. These
original air filters will not screen out small
particles of dirt as well as a paper or foam
filter. Thus it is imperative to keep these
filters clean. Remove filter, blow from
inside to outside with compressed air, clean
in mineral spirits, blow dry again, then
spray with thinned oil. The oil will help
trap small particles of dirt. The time
between cleanings will depend on where
the aircraft operates. If the aircraft oper-
ates from a grass strip or areas where dirt
can be ingested, the filter should be
cleaned every 25 hours, concurrent with an
oil change. These air filters were originally
manufactured by the Air Maze Company
and were a standard aircraft item. While
lengths of air filters may differ, the diame-
ters are mostly the same.
Figure 5 is a sketch of a Boeing PT-13/17 air
intake system. The air maze filter is item No.
11, and its part number is 5AWA, taken from
the Boeing parts manual.
ENGINE PRIMERS
Engine primers (see Figure 6) come in sev-
eral different sizes. Some have a
small-diameter piston and others have a
large-diameter piston. The primer intake
will be connected directly to the fuel screen
assembly or gascolator. All primers have a
locking mechanism to keep the engine from
sucking fuel through the primer during oper-
ation. Radial engines will always prime the
upper three or four cylinders. Primer leads
with either can be ported directly into the
intake valve chamber or into the intake pipe.
The primer is nothing more than a simple
hand pump. The primer shown on the right of
Figure 6 has a locking arm that covers the
pump and shuts off the fuel to the primer
assembly. The piston and cylinder have a small
diameter, thus requiring several strokes to
force fuel to the upper cylinders of the engine.
Lunkenheimer and Parker were the largest
manufacturers of aircraft engine primers.
When the plunger is pulled out, fuel is
sucked into the barrel through a check or one-
way valve. When the plunger is pushed in, this
valve closes and the fuel is forced out through
another check valve to the distributor valve on
the engine. Primer lines from the distributor to
the cylinders are usually hard-soldered stain-
less-steel tube 1/8 inch in diameter.
Care must be taken to secure all primer
lines with suitable clamps. Normally the
distributor (1) clamps to the No. 1 cylinder
intake pipe. Some engines attach the dis-
tributor directly to the accessory case, as in
FIGURE 5
the Wright R-760.
FIGURE 6
62 January/February 2022 PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF ROBERT G. LOCK

FUEL SCREENS
Fuel screens (refer to Figure 7), commonly called gas-
colators, are normally located in the lowest point of the
fuel system. Inside the housing is a screen that strains
particulate impurities from the fuel before entering the
carburetor. Fittings will be marked “IN” and “OUT,”
thus indicating fuel entering and exiting the unit. A
drain valve will be found at the lowest point in the unit
to clear it of the particles and any water that may have
settled at this low point in the fuel system.
OIL COOLERS
I now would like to discuss oil temperature prob-
lems, particularly my experience with the Wright
R-760. I’ve never been around a Continental W-670
that has high oil temperature problems. I have had
discussions with representatives from AeroShell
lubricants, and the information I have is that its Oil
W will operate to temperatures up to 250ºF (113ºC).
You may have some control over oil temperature by
the size of the oil tank. The New Standards have
8-gallon oil tanks, and we normally carry 5 gallons of
oil. The hottest I’ve seen the oil is 88ºC, and that is
on a very hot day. In the same type of heat, the
Wright in my Command-Aire would run at 95ºC.
To control oil temperature, an oil cooler can be
installed. (Refer to Figure 8.) A brass oil cooler may be
placed in the return line from the scavenge pump to
the oil tank. If the aircraft was never equipped with an FIGURE 7
oil cooler, then placement and mounting issues will
have to be resolved. A suggestion would be to find an
identical aircraft that has an oil cooler installed and I have been around oil systems on Pratt & Whitney
copy the installation. That will make the engineering R-985 engines installed in Boeing Stearman agricultural air-
work a bit easier to swallow. The sketch in Figure 8 planes. When plumbing an oil system in an antique airplane
shows a typical oil system with a cooler installed. In where no data is available, I always refer to my trusty
small-engine installations, the temperature control Boeing PT-17 Stearman manuals. Oil tube sizes are 1-inch
valve is an integral part of the cooler assembly. diameter, and since the lines are low pressure, they are con-
nected with Mil-H-6000-16
hose. The ends of all tubing
sections are beaded using a
beading tool. Maximum
spacing between tubing at
connections is one tube
diameter, and the tubing
should never touch because
vibration will cause chafing
and introduce small alumi-
num flakes into the oil
screen. Use suitable clamps
on each end of the hose and
tighten to an oil-tight fit. Do
not overtorque.
Well, friends, that ends
our discussion of engine
installations. Now go out
and have some fun!
Message From the President
SUSAN DUSENBURY, VAA PRESIDENT
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

DIRECTORY
Many thanks to Dave and Maxwell ceremony to unveil this beautiful and OFFICERS
Wenglarz for volunteering to take meaningful statue — named “Morning
PRESIDENT SECRETARY
on this task. You may remember Mission” and created by artist Susan Dusenbury Dan Wood
that Dave and Max chair the sheet Clayton Coss of Wagoner, Oklahoma 1374 Brook Cove Rd. 75 Walton Place Dr.
Walnut Cove, NC 27052 Newnan, GA 30263
metal shaping shop in the Vintage — at AirVenture 2022. 336-591-3931 678-458-3459
Hangar during AirVenture. The Lastly, I would like to recognize sr6sue@aol.com fly170@gmail.com
Wenglarzes own and operate an five new advisers to the Vintage board VICE PRESIDENT TREASURER
upscale sheet metal shaping shop of directors. They are Charlie Dan Knutson Paul Kyle
(Wing’s Metal Works) in San Pierre. Waterhouse, Jesse Clement, Kathy 106 Tena Marie Circle 1273 Troy Ct.
Lodi, WI 53555 Mason, OH 45040
They are highly respected for the McGurran, Luke Lachendro, and 608-354-6101 262-844-3351
high-quality parts they produce for Maxwell Wenglarz. All are very tal- lodicub@charter.net paul_e_kyle@hotmail.com
both automobiles and airplanes. ented. In the future, the vintage
Also, many thanks to Ray and aircraft movement will thrive under DIRECTORS
Judy Johnson for trailering Arthur the stewardship of individuals such Jerry Brown Ray L. Johnson
to San Pierre. You probably remem- as these young people. Greenwood, IN 46143 Marion, IN
317-627-9428 765-669-3544
ber that Ray serves on the Vintage Blue skies! lbrown4906@aol.com rayjohnson@indy.rr.com
board of directors and is chairman
George Daubner Steve Nesse
of Vintage in Review. Ray and Judy Oconomowoc, WI Albert Lea, MN
are always up for a road trip and 262-560-1949 507-383-2850
have stepped forward many times Flymart gdaubner@eaa.org stnes2009@live.com
over the last few years to transport MISC. Jon Goldenbaum Earl Nicholas
items for Vintage. Whether it is Riverside, CA Libertyville, IL
951-203-0190 847-367-9667
books, pedal planes, or trucks, Ray Aviation Gear! Hundreds of Exclusive t-shirts, jon@conaircraft.com eman46@gmail.com
and Judy are always the first to step mugs and more @ https://gomarks.us/flying
forward and volunteer their time. John Hofmann Joe Norris
Columbus, WI Oshkosh, WI
Also, gifted to Vintage last year 608-239-0903 920-688-2977
was a life-size statue of a World john@cubclub.org pilotjoe@ntd.net
War II pilot. Before I left Oshkosh Tim Popp
last week, arrangements were made Sun City, AZ
269-760-1544
to display this beautiful work of art tlpopp@frontier.com
in Charlie’s Park. (Charlie’s Park is
also a part of Vintage Village.) We ADVISERS
have tentatively scheduled a
Jesse Clement Kevin McKenzie
jesseclement1@gmail.com kevinamckenzie@yahoo.com
Luke Lachendro Joel Meanor

COPYRIGHT © 2022 BY T HE E AA VIN TAGE AIRCR AF T A SSOCIAT ION. avidaviator98@gmail.com joelmeanor@gmail.com
ALL RIGHT S RESERVED.
Kathy McGurran Charlie Waterhouse
VINTAGE AIRPLANE (USPS 062-750; ISSN 0091-6943) is published and owned exclusively by the EAA Vintage Aircraft kmcgurran@aol.com charles.e.waterhouse@gmail.com
Association of the Experimental Aircraft Association and is published bi-monthly at EAA Aviation Center, 3000 Poberezny
Rd., PO Box 3086, Oshkosh, Wisconsin 54903-3086, email: vintageaircraft@eaa.org. Membership to Vintage Aircraft Maxwell Wenglarz
waco20900@gmail.com
Association, which includes 6 issues of Vintage Airplane magazine, is $45 per year for EAA members and $55 for non-
EAA members. Periodicals Postage paid at Oshkosh, Wisconsin 54902 and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER:
Send address changes to Vintage Airplane, PO Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086. CPC #40612608. FOREIGN AND DIRECTORS EMERITUS
APO ADDRESSES — Please allow at least two months for delivery of VINTAGE AIRPLANE to foreign and APO addresses via
surface mail. ADVERTISING — Vintage Aircraft Association does not guarantee or endorse any product offered through David Bennett Phil Coulson
the advertising. We invite constructive criticism and welcome any report of inferior merchandise obtained through our antiquer@inreach.com rcoulson516@cs.com
advertising so that corrective measures can be taken.
Robert C. Brauer Ronald C. Fritz
EDITORIAL POLICY: Members are encouraged to submit stories and photographs. Policy opinions expressed in articles are photopilot@aol.com itzfray@gmail.com
solely those of the authors. Responsibility for accuracy in reporting rests entirely with the contributor. No remuneration is
made. Material should be sent to: Editor, VINTAGE AIRPLANE, PO Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086. Phone 920-426-4800. Dave Clark Robert D. “Bob” Lumley
davecpd@att.net rlumley1@wi.rr.com
EAA® and EAA SPORT AVIATION®, the EAA Logo® and Aeronautica™ are registered trademarks, trademarks, and service Gene Morris
marks of the Experimental Aircraft Association, Inc. The use of these trademarks and service marks without the genemorris@charter.net
permission of the Experimental Aircraft Association, Inc. is strictly prohibited.
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Amy Lemke
alemke@eaa.org
© 2021 Experimental Aircraft Association, Inc.
THE N E W S TA N D A R D IN ANTIQUE
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special coverage options VAA Members require for hand propping, tailwheel,
grass strips, and unique aircraft. Visit EAA.org/Insurance today
for the right coverage at the best price for you.
Aircraft | Personal Non-Owned | Powered Parachute & WSC Trike | Accidental Death & Dismemberment | Flight Instructor | Hangar | Airport
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JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2022

2 January/February 2022 PHOTOGRAPHY BY MOOSE PETERSON

04 Friends of the Red Barn

10 Good Old Days

60 The Vintage Mechanic

For missing or replacement magazines, or any other

Facts, Fixes & Tips FROM THE PROS

4 January/February 2022 PHOTOGRAPHY BY STEVE DAHLGREN

Bob Pustell, VAA 720435

EAA AirVenture 2022 | July 25th - July 31st

Assemble a New Wood Wing

WE BEGIN THIS COLUMN with some sound advice from an

8 January/February 2022 PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF EAA ARCHIVES

From the pages of

PHOTOGRAPHY BY MOOSE PETERSON www.eaavintage.org 15

PHOTOGRAPHY BY MOOSE PETERSON www.eaavintage.org 17

Wing-waving to all the new sea-

“I WAS REPEATEDLY THINKING, ‘THIS

PHOTOGRAPHY BY BRETT BROCK AND JACK FLEETWOOD www.eaav

PHOTOGRAPHY BY BRETT BROCK www.eaavintage.org 25

To you young ‘uns out there, this is a venturi and generates

PHOTOGRAPHY BY BRETT BROCK www.eaavintage.org 27

POISED ELEGANTLY IN FRONT of the

PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF MID AMERICA FLIGHT MUSEUM www.eaavintage.org 35

WINGSPAN: 48 feet, 7 inches

DUELING PAINT GUNS

PHOTOGRAPHY BY CONNOR MADISON www.eaavintage.org 37

PHOTOGRAPHY BY SPARKY BARNES AND CONNOR MADISON www.eaavintage.org 39

LES GASKILL’S DELUXE 1928 WACO GXE

BASED IN OTTUMWA, IOWA, Les Gaskill enjoys

PHOTOGRAPHY BY SPARKY BARNES AND KYLE SHAWVER www.eaavintage.org 43

TOP: Dan Neuman works on the fuselage.

44 January/February 2022 PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF LES GASKILL

LEFT: The roomy pilot’s cockpit, with minimal instrumentation.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY SPARKY BARNES www.eaavintage.org 47

FLYING THE WACO GXE

48 January/February 2022 PHOTOGRAPHY BY SPARKY BARNES AND MEGAN VANDE VOORT

“The guy I worked for, Mr. Miller, had built up a

PHOTOGRAPHY BY JIM BUSHA AND MIKE ULLERY www.eaavintage.org 53

PHOTOGRAPHY BY JIM BUSHA AND MIKE ULLERY www.eaavintage.org 55

56 January/February 2022 PHOTOGRAPHY BY JIM BUSHA AND MIKE ULLERY

The leather work in the cockpit extended to the new seats.

58 January/February 2022 PHOTOGRAPHY BY JIM BUSHA AND MIKE ULLERY

Free youth admission ages 18 and

Engine Installations, Part 2

IN THIS ISSUE we’ll continue our discussion of

MAGNETO SWITCHES AND BOOSTER COILS

60 January/February 2022 PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF ROBERT G. LOCK

62 January/February 2022 PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF ROBERT G. LOCK

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Luke Lachendro Joel Meanor

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