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THE RESTORERS CORNER

Id be glad to write for The Vintage Airplane but I dont know how to use a typewriter Sure Id write for the magazine but I dont know how to write for publication You don t want me to write for The Vinshytage Airplane Im not a professional writer Have you ever heard these statements before Your editors and division officers hear these and many more similar statements all the time For some unknown reason a person who can sit around and tell a great aviation story amongst a group of fellow enthusiasts seems to get stage fright as soon as you ask him to put the story down on paper so that it can be published The psychological ramifications would be interesting to determine but the only thing that comes to mind is that he must have hated his fifth grade English teacher

Seriously writing for publication is easy Just tell the story in your own words exactly as it happened Don t worry about punctuation misspelled words or grammar Most of the time your natural instincts in these matters will be correct For the few times that you may make a mistake your editor will assume the role of your English teacher and make corrections

What is most important in writing for publication is the mechanics not the grammar or punctuation If you write for publication and do not use a typewriter it is best to use lined 812 x 11 notebook or tablet paper and to write only on every other line If you do type you should set your typewriter to type 54 characters per line and double or triple space your lines

Whether you type or write long hand there are a few more proshycedures which are considered standard practice when writing for pubshylication First you should start typing or writing your story in the middle of the first page so that the top half can be used for titling your byline and for editors notes The title which you give to the story and your name should be all that appears on the upper half of this first page

by J R NIELANDER JR

Second you should use one side of the paper only Third you should number the top of each page and also restate your title so that if the editor should happen to mix your story with other papers on his desk he will not have any bouble identifying the individual pages and putting your story back together (Editors are notorious for having large piles of papers on their desks) Fourth at the bottom of each page except the last one you should write more or continued to let the editor know that the page he holds is not the last one in case they have become separated Fifth at the bottom of the last page of your story you should write end or 30 as it is done in the newspaper world to let the editor know that he has the whole story and has not lost any of it

Well that wasnt as hard as you thought it would be was it Just a few simple rules of mechanics and layout and you are a professional wri ter already

The only other points of importance concerning stories for publicashytion have to do with the submission of photographs with the stories All photographs intended to be used along with the context of the article should be black and white glossy prints These prints can be of almost any size but generally editors like to get 5 x 7 or 8 x 10 photographs However clarity and sharpness of detail are most imporshytant and should never be sacrificed just to increase size Color pictures should only be submitted if you expect them to be printed in color such as for use on the cover or for special color features as are found in SPORT AVIATION and in this case you should submit color transshyparencies not color prints For color a 35 millimeter transparency is not too small as long as it is sharp

Now with the completion of this short course in magazine writing your editors will expect to be deluged with pictures and stories of your experiences and your restorations Please dont let them down

EDITORIAL STAFF

Publisher Editor Paul H Poberezny AI Kelch

ANTIQUE AND CLASSIC DIVISION OFFICERS

PRESIDENT J R NIELANDER JR

PO BOX 2464 FT LAUDERDALE FLA 33303

SECRETARY RICHARD WAGNER

BOX 181 LYONS WIS 53148

EVANDER BRITT PO Box 458

Lumberton NC 28358

CLAUDE l GRAY JR 9635 Sylvia Ave

Northridge CA 91324

JIM HORNE 3850 Coronation Rd

Eagan MN 55122

DIVISION EXECUTIVE SECRETARY DOROTHY CHASE EAA HEADQUARTERS

THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE is owned exclusively by Antique Classic Aircraft Inc and is published monthly at Hales Corners Wisconsin 53130 Second class Postage paid at Hales Corners Post Office Ha~es Gorshyners Wisconsin 53130 and Random Lake Post Office Random Lake Wisconsin 53075 Membership rates for Antique Classic aircraft Inc at $1000 per 12 month period of which $700 is for the publication to THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE Membership is open to all who are interested in aviation

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

VICE PRESIDENT MORTON LESTER

PO BOX 3747 MARTINSVILLE VA 24112

TREASURER GAR W WILLIAMS JR

g S 135 AERO DR RT 1 NAPERVILLE ILL 60540

DIRECTORS

AL KELCH 7018 W Bonniwell Rd

Mequon WI 53092

EE BUCK HILBERT 8102 LEECH RD UttION IL 60180

GEORGE STUBBS RR 18 Box 127

Indianapolis IN 46234

Assistant Editor Lois Kelch

Centributing Editors H N Dusty Rhodes

Evander Britt Jim Barton

Claude Gray Ed Escallon Rod Spanier

Dale Gustafson Henry Wheeler Morton Lester

Kelly Viets

KELLY VIETS RR 1 Box 151

Stilwell KS 66085

JACK WINTHROP 3536 Whitehall Dr Dallas TX 75229

OFFICIAL MAGAZINE

ANTIQUE CLASSIC DIVISION

of THE EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION

FEBRUARY 1976 VOLUME 4 NUMBER 2

The Restorers Corner 1 Stearman Fly In 75 3 Migration Of An Eaglet 7 Vintage Album 9 The Breath Of Life 14 Whistling In The Rigging 16 The US Mail 17 Calendar Of Events 18

---EDITORS NOTE

SoS Send Old Stories

PICTURE BOX FRONT COVER (Back Cover)

A beautiful Stearman to go with its owner Even the driver of a mail truck was conshyCharlotte Parish (See Stearman Story sidered an adventuresome sort for he Page 3) rubbed elbows with the AIRMAIL PILOT

- an esteemed figure of the day

Copyright c 1976 Antique ClassiC Aircraft Inc All Rights Reserved 2

Dick must have enjoyed his stay becauseSTEARMAN FLY IN 75 he also was the last Stearman to depart

The fourth annual gathering of the Stearman clan convened at Galesburg Illinois on September 5-7 1975 and the largest number of Stearmans yet were in attendance Thirty two Stearmans spread their wings over the grass at the municipal airport and a large contingent of antiques classics a few homebuilts and many modern aircraft also were presshyent throughout the weekend The large

By Thomas E Lowe

turnout of Stearmans can pay homage partly to the good weather that preshyvailed over most of the US Galesshyburg did have IFR conditions early Frishyday but in general the weather coshyoperated famously However before the weekend was over the eastern part of the country experienced deteriorating weather that forestalled the arrival of several more airplanes

By Thursday the Fly In was off to a great early start with eight Stearmans already on the field In fact the first arrival had flown in on Wednesday Airline pilot Dick Baird flew his 300 Lycoming powered MCMD Special in from Delaware Dick lives near Buf shyfalo New York but had spent the preshyvious week with friends on the east coast before starting out for Galesburg

(Photo by Dick Stouffer) National Stearman Fly In Co-Chairman Jim Leahy lifts off at Galesburg Illinois in his 1942 Stearman N2S-3

for home remaining for almost another week Late that afternoon all eight Stearshymans launched off in a formation flight a few miles to the west to Monmouth Illinois to purchase supper at the airshyport where the local Prime Beef Festival was in full sway Chuck LeMaster was busy barnstorming passengers in his Ford Tri-Motor and Jim Leahy jokingly told him that the Stearman drivers would take a ride in the Ford if he would offer a special group rate Chuck readily agreed and all the Stearman pilots clambered on board and thoroughly enjoyed the nostalgic flight backwards into history Another formation flight back to Galesburg and a couple of cirshycles over the town concluded the first day s activities

Friday dawned with a low ceiling and poor visibility and drizzling rain which kept the field IFR until about noon With the weather gradually improving Dick Baird and I obtained clearance from the newly installed Galesburg control tower for a two-ship formation weather reconshynaissance flight around the pattern Any excuse to get a little flying going Dick climbed into Jim Leahy s stock Stearman and we made a formation take off and several circuits around the pattern to ascertain if it was legally YFR Byaftershynoon the sun was once again shining and several more Stearmans made it in Bill McBride one of the late arrivals was quite chagrined when upon landshying he ground looped his Stearman Bill had been gone from home for a month on an extended flight all over the westshyern part of the US and had been in and out of all kinds of strips with nary a problem Bills Stearman received only minor fabric damage on one wing and he subsequently received one of the Hard Luck Awards We had been justly proud during the four years of the Na shytional Stearman Fly In that there had been no ground loops whatever but

3

(Photo by Dick Stouffer)

Illinois Governor Dan Walker talks with Walt Pierce and Jim Leahy at Galesburg during the Stearman Fly In

this year saw two such happenings Regardless of its reputation the Stearman is no more of a ground looper than any other tail wheel airplane when handled by a competent and proficient pilot However conditions at Galesburg not the piloting was the greatest conshytributing factor The NS runway had been under conshystruction most of the summer and the normally excelshylent grass landing areas alongside the runway were worse for wear and not available for use Couple the Stearman pilots normal aversion for hard surfaced runways with a very strong and gusty westerly crossshywind that prevailed throughout the three day affair and you have the formula for problems By mid-aftershynoon on Saturday the wind was such a factor that most of the Stearman pilots decided discretion was the better part of valor and sat it out awhile until the wind abated in the evening

Saturday was the usual beehive of Stearman activshyity beginning early with a mass flight dawn patrol of seventeen Stearmans and some other airplanes to Monmouth Illinois for a group breakfast at Mellings Restaurant Bob Cassens a local Galesburg pilot who usually flies my Stearman some during the Fly In each year won for himself the SNAFU Award that morning when he could not get the engine started He missed the mass take off and finally did get it going later when he decided it might require some prime on a cool damp morning Coming back to Galesburg Bob also continued in the same vein by latching on to several different forma tions being out of position and in fun generally messing up everyones pretty groups Monmouth was also the scene of another minor inshycident Neal Lydick was landing directly behind Jim Leahy in the cool dead calm air and picked up some wake turbulence just as he was touching down and scraped a wingtip in the grass It seems as though someshything always happens at Monmouth each year so

maybe we might go looking for breakfast somewhere else

That afternoon the sky at Galesburg was filled with Stearmans participating in the flying contests as well as much other fun flying The contests were hotly battled and the highlight of the day was the formation flying contest Stearman pilots pride themselves on their forshymation flying ability and when all the passes over the field had been completed the judges decided that a tie was in order and two groups of four airplanes were declared as Co-Champions That evening a mass flight of twenty-seven Stearmans paraded through the skies over Galesburg and then settled back to earth for all to enjoy the excellent steak dinner and the fun and fellowshyship of the awards ceremonies

Sunrise Sunday morning also was greeted with another dawn patrol of ten Stearmans with a subseshyquent return to the airport A large gathering met in the main hangar for a fly in breakfast and the remainder of the morning was spent in the last rounds of fun flyshying buddy hops and conversing with old and new friends alike That afternoon a fine professional airshyshow was presented featuring Walt and Sandi Pierce Jim Leahy Darwin McClure Dwain Treton and J D Hill The airshow was opened with a five Stearman formation flight led by John Hooper and John McCorshymick in their N2S-S As the group passed by the crowd Dick Baird pulled his Stearman up and out of the flight creating a missing man formation in honor of Lloyd Stearman who passed away in April Other pilots in the flight were Allen Larson Dick Hansen and myself A group of four Beech T -34s also performed a fine forshymation flying routine which was appreciated by the pilots and crowd alike

Each year the National Stearman Fly In seems to improve and gain momentum and the participants eagerly look forward to seeing the many airplanes as well as renewing the warm bond of enthusiasm and friendship that cements together the band of followers that are devoted to this great old biplane The great support of the City and citizens of Galesburg Illinois and the continuing help from Stearman people such as Bob Chambers and Hugh Wilson of Dusters amp Sprayers Supply and Don McKinnon of Agri-Air insure its conshytinued growth The annual date for the Stearman Fly In has now been firmly established as the second weekshyend of September and this year the dates are Septemshyber 10-12 1976 So early this fall everyone plan to point their machines toward Galesburg you all are welcome

N NUMBER

N44JP

N4429N

N61559

N52533

N60562

N60238

N59448

N9078H

N55626

N66740

N66417

N52143

N22JH

N64993

N53040

N54601

N49999

N53422

N55809

N51062

N61496

Nl04L

N59737

N79535

NX450EE

N58233

N61V

N9914H

N61W

N4079

N58095

N50091

STEARMANS AT THE FLY IN

PILOT

Charlotte Parish amp Bob Graves Tullahoma Tennessee

Patrick Kelley amp Jim Heinz Hazelwood amp 51 Louis Missouri

R F Johansson St Charles Missouri

Ron Jewell Manchester Missouri

John Hooper amp John McCormick New Orleans Louisiana

Bob Hood Carthage Missouri

Dick Hansen Batavia Illinois

F R amp Jeannie Griffin Minnetonka Beach Minnesota

Byron Fredericksen amp Charles Andreas Neenah Wisconsin

Dick Baird Williamsville New York

Tom Lowe Crystal Lake Illinois

Bill HUll Alexandria Virginia

Jim Harris Carthage Missouri

Peter Spear amp Bill Johnson Morton Grove amp Oak Brook Illinois

Franklin Flying Field Franklin Indiana

Wes Todd Oconomowoc Wisconsin

Tom Gordon amp Dave Lillie University of Illinois Savoy Illinois

Jarvis Knight Leland Illinois

Michael Hall Palatine Illinois

Bill Hutchinson amp Mel McGee St Clair Shores MichIgan

Edward Brockman Farmington Hills Michigan

Christine Winzer Elgin Illinois

John Travios amp Dick Schlegel Ottumwa Iowa

John Ruhlin Jr Akron Ohio

Walt Pierce Avon Park Florida

Bill McBride Birmingham Michigan

Neal Lydick Louisville Kentucky

Jim Leahy Galesburg lIinois

Allen Larson Capron Illinois

Jerry Carter Charleston Illinois

Larry Posey Bryn Athyn Pennsylvania

Loma Beaty Fort Payne Atabama

4

(Photo by Kenneth O Wilson)

Two Stearman PT-17s fly formation over the Illinois farmlands at Galesburg


Charlotte Parish and Larry Posey fly formation in their Navy marked Stearshymans during the 4th National Stearman Fly In

(Photo by Kenneth 0 Wilson)

SRA members and Stearman pilots pose with Byron Fredericksen s newly rebuilt N2S-3

AWARDS EARLY BIRD AWARD

Stearman A75 N66740 Dick Baird TIRED BUTT AWARD

Stearman N2S-5 N60562 John McCormick amp John Hooper

BEST HANGAR PILOT Larry Palmer-Ball Jr

MOST CONGENIAL Stearman N2S-5 N9078H F R Griff amp Jeannie Griffin

HARD LUCK AWARD Jack Stamer

SNAFU AWARD Bob Cassens

HERO AWARD Stearman A75 N61559 RF Slim Johansson

COWARD AWARD Stearman PT-17 N58233 Bill McBride

OLDEST PILOT AWARD Stearman A75 N54601 Wes Todd

YOUNGEST PILOT AWARD Dan Gable

SALVO BOMBING CONTEST Stearman A75 N61559 RF Slim Johansson

SHORT FIELD TAKE-OFF CONTEST Stearman A75 N79535 John Ruhlin Jr

SLIP TO A CIRCLE CONTEST Stearman PT-17 N58095 Larry Posey

AAA AWARD - OLDEST STEARMAN Stearman PT-17 N22JH Jim Harris

FORMATION FLYING CONTEST (tie) N9914H Jim Leahy N9078H F R Griffin N66417 Tom Lowe N61559 R F Johansson N61W AI Larson N79535 John Ruhlin Jr N60562 John Hooper amp N50091 Loma Beatty N60562 John McCormick

DUSTERS amp SPRAYERS SUPPLY AWARDS GRAND CHAMPION STEARMAN

Stearman N2S-5 N9078H FR amp Jeannie Griffin BEST RESTORED STEARMAN

Stearman N2S-3 N9914H Jim Leahy HARD LUCK AWARD

Stearman N2S-1 N61 V Neal Lydick

AGRI-AIR AWARDS $25 MERCHANDISE CERTIFICATES

Stearman N2S-1 N61V Neal Lydick Stearman PT-17 N58233 Bill McBride Stearman N2S-5 N60562 John McCormick amp

John Hooper STEARMAN RESTORERS ASSOCIATION AWARDS

BILL ADAMS MEMORIAL AWARD Ray McGraw Galesburg Illinois

BEST STEARMAN PT Stearman PT-17 N58233 Bill McBride

BEST STEARMAN N2S Stearman N2S-3 N55626 Byron Fredericksen amp

Charles Andreas BEST CUSTOM STEARMAN

Stearman N79535 John Ruhlin Jr BEST CIVILIAN STOCK STEARMAN

Stearman A75 N61559 RF Johansson BLOOD SWEAT amp TEARS

Stearman N2S-5 N44JP Charlotte Parish SRA SPECIAL SERVICE AWARD

John E Peters Kulm North Dakota 5

~~

(Photo by Kenneth D Wilson)

R F Slim Johansson poses with his beautiful stock Stearman


Line up of part of the Stearmans at Galesburg during the 4th National Stearman Fly In


300 Lycoming powered MCMo Special Stearshyman owned by Christine Winzer a FAA Flight Inspector at ouPage Co Airport


John Travios and Dick Schlegel N59737 and Bill McBride run up in the grass at Monmouth Illinois


SRA President Tom Lowe presents the Bill Adams Memorial Award to Ray McGraw

6

First stop Cambenton MO with Bonanza as Chase Plane

jtigration 01 an Gaglet By

Ken Morris

It seems tha t every antiquer has in his drea ms a barn not just a ny barn no t full of trac tors corn and soyshybeans for this is a dream barn a ba rn tha t no farm er could reall y love It is the on e with the barely legible No Tres passing sig n a t the mouth o f the road lead ing up th e hill The road itself choked with weed s and brush defies en try but to t)ur dreame r even travers ing th e Ho Chi Mein Tra il would be wo rth the struggle

On top of the hill is tha t wo rn out dilapidated Gold Mine First glance reveals nothing m ore ominous than sparrow nes ts in th e rusted door trac ks The n he noshytices tha t the doors a re s lig htly large r than wo uld be useful for a tractor (unl ess it had wings) It is a lso equipped with a ru sty pole ex tending up wa rd from the roof sporting ta tte red remnants of cl oth

Hea rtbea t quickens a nd a smile broa d ens as he brushes the weeds and trash awav fro m th e unmown apro n as he a pproaches the door shy

O nce the door is opened however we seem to have a difference of op inion of wha t shoul d or w ill be in the barn It coul d be anythi ng fro m a Model A to a Tri shymotor but I d o no t thin k there would be too man y comshy

plaints abo ut the fra mework o f a Jenn y comple te with a dus ty OX-5 hanging on its nose A C urtis Robin or an Aris tocra t would be nice Or m aybe

I kn ow wh ere there is a ba rn with just such a treasure It is a real barn with a real treasure Granted some of the excitem ent of the Ho Chi Mein Trail may be lackshying An Inte rs tate highway runs o ne half mile south and you do not even need a machine to get to the door you can drive right up Once inside try ing to decide wheth er to go over or under the tractor is probably the mos t exciting part of th e trip

Once pas t th e trac to r a irpl ane parts a re clea rly visible and full y cloth ed A set of ch ro me yellow wi ngs span o ne entire section as incons picuous as n ylons s trung arou nd the ba th room T he fuse lage is suspended frolll the tru sses imita ting a hammock Mi scellaneous ta il fea thers complete the decor

Thi s is the Am erican Eagle t America n Eagle Corshypo rations answer to fly ing throug h the depression for a dollar an hour (Ass uming its th ree cy linde r Szekely engine woul d ru n continuously for tha t amount of time) The Eagle t somehow seems more a t

home here for the winter amo ng th e trac tors co rn a nd soybean s on a d ir ty wood en floor tha n in a hea ted han ga r stuck be hin d a Barron w here it ca nn ot even leak o il without feeling guilty

The Eaglet was moved to its wi nter home in Noshyve mber one of those long underwear it does not want to sta rt days

My dad has known of this particular Eagle t for several years owned by Earnie Seile r of Marsh fie ld Missouri Occasional vis its noted th e slow progress as Ea rnie ably res tored it over ano ther several yea rs finis hing it in Augus t 1970 Since that time the little Eagle t sa t in its open hangar hav ing fl own only five or six times

In April 1975 a fr iend and I were enroute to the NIFA Air Meet in Sa nta Fe N ew Mex ico in our Cessna 140A O ur first ni ght sto p Wi1S Spring field Missouri and des pite o ur d isgu stin g gro und speed we we re a hea d of schedul e So I d ecided to find Erni es a irs trip a nd show Je ff Wa lter a nea t old ai rpla ne

Finding Ernies is a p roverbia l needle After finding Fairg rove Missouri fl y east down county EE and turn left on th e large r high way Whe n yo u get to th e church on th e northeast corn er of an inte rsec ti on turn right fl y about five m iles a nd pres to sim ple While ta lkin g to Ernie tha t a ftern oon he hinted a t selling the Eagshylet an d while ta lkin g to my d ad la te r I casually mentioned Ernies tho ughts A very strange look cam e over his face similar to tha t of a ca t ca ught swa llowing a canary Upon tha t trying to be no ncha la nt p en imshymedia tely me t pa per in le tte r form O h Im sure tha t he was full y aware tha t it wo uld be to say the least an expens ive toy I knew tha t he was actin g irra tiona l and Mary was no t helping things a bit since she ha d just seen The Grea t Waldo Pepper But w ho am I to criti cize bes ides I was conte nt to sit back w ith th a t pre-di scussed look on my face a nd dream abo ut Waldo (I ve seen it six times)

Afte r to ta ling nea rly a d ollars worth of postage th ey fin a lly se ttled on a p rice and in a wea k mome nt da d threw in hs se t of six US Civil Ai rcraft by Juptner These have la ter been replaced but at a much h ig her price th an origina ll y paid

Somewhere in th e middl e o f the pos tage swap ping Dad and I fl ew down to Ernies to kick tires and hopeshyfull y fly th e Eag le t (Tha t makes twice in succession tha t Ive fo un d that Airs tri p ) Re lucta ntly a nd lov ing ly Erni e un wrapped the S zekely and le t us cra nk it u p Afte r blowi ng oil a ll over Erni es new covera lls Szek se ttl ed down to the mos t bea utiful racke t [ havL ever

7

Marys Eaglet Lesson No 4 No false eye lashes

hea rd As the Eaglet sat th ere po pping and choking dad yelled in my ear that the sound of tha t e ngine was more than worth the trip

Plans immed iate ly began takin g place for moving the Eagle t from Marshfield Missouri to a private s trip jus t south of Marengo Illinois The master plan consisted of flying the old bird that 420 miles using th e Bonanza as a ch ase plane ca rry ing tools spa re parts e tc

Erni e was against flying the airplane home a nd sugshyges ted trucking it He is one of the nicest guys around a real hones t an tiquer that knows his st uff Anyone who knows Ern ie and hi s wife Eli zabeth will verify that a vis itor is made welcome immediately The old er the airp lan e you fl y in and the m ore fabric and wings it ha s the speedier the welcome and as many hours of go lde n age chit- chat that each of you can spare Anyshyone who knows Erni e wi ll swear that he wi ll li ve forshyever even thoug h lis tening to him would give you the impression that forever is to morrow

Defy ing a ll rationality and despite Ernies protes ts Dad Mary myself and a very hea lth y too l box boarded the Bonanza to renavigate our way to Marshfield

Ri cha rd Bach in one of hi s books talks about tha t big briefing in the sky (the one we missed) where it is explained th at American Eaglets jus t do not like to fl y 420 miles w ithout so much as an irregul ar pop or choke once in aw hile

The American Eaglet was built in Kansas Ci ty Kanshysas with a ll its mighty horses built o ne a t a time in Holland Michigan by Szekely Together they were the firs t two place ultraligh ts to receive a n AT e from the Civil Aeronautics Adminis tra tion (No 380 on Nov 18 1931) O ur Eaglet ro lled ou t of the Am erica n

Earnest Lindy and Lizzy Seiler just past owners

Eagle factory in Kansas City weighing 450 pounds With its 30 horse Sze kely turning 1600 rpm it would cruise a t 55 miles an hour

Upon findin g Ernies and taking away the chicken w ire fence that guarded the Eaglets nes t we immedia teshyly began to un wra p a nd uns trap the littl e bird It was li ke un wra pping a gift without trying to save any paper

After adding Marvel Mystery oil to the gas oil and greas ing the rocker arms and oiling the valve s tems th e Eaglet was popping off like it was the fourth of July a nd ready to fl y

Dad clambered into the front sea t solo and off he went VI VR Within approximately 100 fee t the Eag let had accelerated to a neck stretching 30 miles an ho ur and was scra tching for altitude

The Eag let model 230 such as thi s one o rigi na ll y sported 30 horse power but thi s one was factory upshydated to 35 horse power giving it five spare horses

Afte r ha lf an hour of disrupting the air over Ernies shi p he ca m e down wearing splotch es of grease all over hi s face and a big broad smile to match

Th en having more confidence in hi s son than his son did it was my turn for a pri va te checkout Thrus ting my jaw forward and dawning o n my imaginary lea ther jacket gloves helm et and goggles I prepared to meet the no brakes a nd tails kid chall enge for the first time even tho ugh I was alrea d y fa miliar w ith them having seen Waldo Pepper so many times

Taxiing to the runwa y I gave the old Bosch mags a check hoping th ey were s till young at heart wi th tha t and check ing my seat belt the checklis t was comshyplete and th e mighty Szek bla tted to li fe I feel tha t so mething should be sa id here about imaginary density

altitude That is when you think it will fly but it would rather play see-saw After hopping and bouncshying dow n the strip I learned (American Eaglet Lesshyson Number 1)

After Dad Mary and I all had our thrill for the day we se ttled down for a good nights sleep anticipating the following morning as vi s ions of Szekelys danced in our heads

The next morning dawned bright and sunny With everyone bustling with excitement an added touch was riding out to Ernies in my Grandads 1939 LaSalle That got us in the spirit of antiquing

Within an hour my dad was off for Camdenton Missouri the first leg of the long ferry flight As he took off and flew by us he must have sensed that he had taken a long time friend away from the Seilers Within minutes Mary and I completed the loading of the Bonanza including spare propeller and grease gun and took off in pursuit

Dad and I traded off legs of about an ho ur each while th e other rested in the Bonanza as Mary flew us to the next s top

As time and pos teriors wore on it becam e apparent that we were going to have to hustle to get to Marengo before dark I got to Princeton Illinois the last s top south in la te afternoon as shadows were beg inning to exaggera te detail

I e lected to go for the las t leg and try to make ithome while Dad and Mary went on to Elgin and home to guard the phone

We had noti ced that the exposed valve lifter clearshya nce grew progressively wider as the da y and the Szekely wore on Finally ten mil es north of Princeton the clearance became overwhelming and one of the spacers between th e lifter and valve departed leaving behind a mad lifter and a closed valve The Szek manshyages to pull this littl e ultra- lite very well indeed but it does need each and every cylinder to maintain its steady racket and altitude All of thi s ha ppened right over the littl e town of La Moille Illinois The only la ndshying place tha t I could see was a small but adequate hay fi e ld on the edge of town Having just passed it I circled back squ eezing 1100 rpm out o f it and wondering what Im going to do without any tools (American Eaglet Lesson Number 2) Once the fi e ld was made I pulled the power a nd Szek began making its usual wild gyrashyti ons of popping choking wheezing and spitting

Before r even came to a s top wha t seemed like the who le town was s tampeed ing through a soybean field

(Continued on 8)

8

VintageMen and Thei

~-~~ ~--- -~~ ~~~ 1 Air Mail Delivery Minneapolis 1929 2 1934 Fairchild 22 with L-320 Wright Gipsy engine 3 English Avro Avian taken 1929 4 N wA arriving over Minneapolis

Album ~$~shyIntage Machines c-middot ~- - RI~

v ~- ~~ ~~ ~tV- ~ - ~~~

Hisso IN-4-0 with pilot Art Golbe and AI Johnson on e bicycle P-1 OX5 at Parks Airport (East St Louis Illinois) J29 Parks

FOKKER F-32 (1930)

SIKORSKY S-38A AMPHIBIAN (1929)

AIR EXPRESS _ ~ - _~gtrL shy

FOKKER SUPER-UN IVERSAL (1 932)

W4pound reglb ~poundSt Submitted By Claude Gray

Western Air Lines is the only survivor of a handful of airlines that pioneered commercial air transportation in the Us in the mid-twenties

Western was incorporated on July 13 1925 with headquarters in Los Angeles

The first flight took place on April 17 1926 leaving Los Angeles for Salt Lake City via Las Vegas Western which was then ca lled Weste rn Air Express used openshycockpit Douglas M-2 aircraft powered by a single Liberty engine

KEYSTO NE-LOENI NG C2H AMPHIBIAN (1 929)

11

Tha t firs t rou te gave Los Angeles its first transcontinental air service and put Southern California on the air mail map

Aviation was in its infancy in those days and the re was a certain amount of br~vad o attached to facing the eleshyments in the open-cockpit planes Standard equipment for passengers was a flying suit goggles gloves parashychute and lots of courage

Much to everyones surprise when 1926 came to a close Western had a net profit of $2867419 And by October 1927 Western became the first airline in hi s tory to pay a cash dividend to its s tockholders

In 1928 the Guggenheim Foundation chose Western to set up a model airshyway betwee n Los Angeles and San Francisco (then served through the airshyport a t Oakland) It was to incorporate th e la test in technical p erfec tion and passenger safe ty and comfort

With a loa n from th e Foundation Weste rn purchased th ree Fokker F-10 trimotor aircraft This permitt ed passhysengers to si t in co m fortable wicker chairs insid e the cabin and be served meals by a stewa rd (the f ir st flight attendants in US dom es tic service) No longer did they have to bear the

burden of a sack of mail in th ei r laps or have to worry about not being allowshyed aboard because there was too much mail which took priority over passenshygers

A series of weather stations was set up along th e route the first time any airline had eve r done so

Because commercial aviation was a new industry much of the improvement in th e state of the art was up to the airlines th e mselv es Western was a leader It contributed many firsts to the industry - some of them technological developmentc soon adopted as standard by other airlines and the government

Under the guidance of H e rbert Hoover ]r son of the president Westshyern developed the first air-to-ground radio in cooperation with Thorpe Hisshycock of Boeing That was in 1929

A year later Western introduced the Fokker F-32 aircraft to commercial airshyline opera tions It was a four-engined plane capable of carrying 32 passengers - by far the largest airliner in the world at that time Though the plan e didnt prove economical and was soon reshyplaced it did give the public a glimpse o f things to come

A young Wes tern cargo clerk with a yen for weather forecasting joined the

company His name was Irving Krick He d eveloped the air mass analysis sys tem of weather foreca s ting which proved re markably accurate Soon Western was known as The Airline With Perpetual Tailwinds

During the first five years of the airshyline s existence it grew steadily A series of mergers finitlly made it the worlds largest airline in 1930 with routes stretching 15832 miles

One of the most important contribushytions Western made to commercial aviashytion was the use of the directional radio compass for air navigation This instrushy

ment became the prime navigation instrument for nearly 30 years and is stili used today

But the air line had its ups and downs In 1934 the Post Office Departshyment cancelled all airmail contracts Many airlines went out of business Western which in 1930 had consolishydated all but its first route (Los AngelesshyLas Vegas-Sa lt Lake City with a San Diego spur added) managed to keep going The other half of the consolidashytion went on to become todays TWA

Slowly things got better The DC-3 aircraft came on the scene and pas-

NORTHROP ALPHA (1930)

FOKKER F-14 (1930)

LOCKHEED VEGA (1930)

12

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STEARMAN MODEL 04 (1927)

BOEING MODEL 40-B-4 (1930)

sengers replaced mail and freight as th e prime source of revenue To refl ect this change Wes tern changed its n ame from Express to Air Lines in 1941

Wo rld War II stripped the company d own to three DC-3s and a couple of Lockhe ed Lodestars But Western was given two important war missions to train pilots for th e military and to fl y m en and material to Al aska in the fam ous Sourdough Operati on

In 1944 a merge r with Inland Air Lines ex pa nded Western in the Rockies a nd into South Dakota

It was al so the yea r Wes tern ju st applied fo r ne w

DOUGLAS M-2 (1926) GENERAL DESCRIPTION

Built in 1925 Passenger Capacity Pilot plus one or

two passengers Cargo Capacity 1000 Ibs Fuel load 180 US gals Cruising speed 115 mph Engine 415 hp Liberty (one) Cruising range 600 miles Ceiling 15000 ft Cost $11 500

Western Airlines first passenger aboard the Douglas M-2 was Ben Redman who flew to Los Angeles from Salt Lake City via Las Vegas on May 23 1926 First woman passenger Maude Campbell

Fi rst WAL pilots Fred W Kelly AI DeshyGarmo Jimmy James and Maurice Graham

routes to Hawa ii to compete w ith Pa n America n O n Ja nuary 1 1947 Terrell C Drinkwater becam e

pres ident o f Wes te rn A lawyer from Colorado Drin kshywa ter was also educa ted in H awaii a nd hoped tha t hi s airlin e would secure rights to the Islands

But the company was in fin a ncial difficulty Drinkshywa ter accepted th e chall e nge and bega n a po li cy o f cons tructive contractio n At o ne stage th e company had to se ll a ircraft tires to mee t the payroll It worked a nd soon the airline inched backed into the black

The ea rl y Fifti es saw th e introd ucti o n of th e Doug-

BOEING MODEL 95 (1928)

WACO EQC-6 (1937)

las DC-6B Western eventually bo ught 31 of them The comp a nys ro utes s t re tch e d al on g th e e ntir e W es t Coas t a nd in 1957 we re ex tended to Mexico City They went as fa r east as Minnea poli sS t Pa ul

In 1960 Wes te rn e nter ed th e Je t Age w ith th e leasing of two Boeing 707s It was also the year tha t a White H o use d ec is io n to d e lay inte rna ti o na l ro ute awa rd s in th e Pac ific prevented Wes tern from ope ratshying new do mestic routes to H awa ii tha t the company had been awa rd ed by the Civil Aeronautics Boa rd in the firs t Tra nspacifi c Route case (Continued on Page 16)

13

The Breath of Life By Dick Wagner

Through the dedicated efforts of many the EAA s Northrop Alpha NC11 Y has been given a new lease on life A group of TWA craftsmen have undertaken the painstaking restorashytion of a last remaining Northrop Alpha The aircraft is being prepared

for presentation to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum where it will be displayed in their transporation exhibit for millions to view

The aircraft was originally delivered to the assistant secretary of commerce

Alpha Project technical coordinator Dan McGrogan right leads TWA volunteers in extricating N11 Y from the barnin Burlington Wis last March for the ride home by truck to Kansas City

14

for aeronautics Colonel Clarence M Young as NS-1 in November 1930 Subsequently the aircraft was owned by the Ford Motor Company of Dearborn Michigan and later was sold to National Air Transport of Chi shycago where it received its current registration NC11 Y It joined TWA Airlines on November 27 1931 when National Air Transport sold her to Trans Continental and Western Air Inc NC11 Y performed able service until February 1932 when she went to Wichita for conversion to a Model 4A She flew the line evidently as a 4A until April 26 1935 when Mr Fredeshyrick B Lee of New York acquired her By this time the majority of the 13 original Alphas had been retired It was Mr Lee s desire to fly NC11 Y around the world and have her outshyfitted with floats as a seaplane The feat was never accomplished and the aircraft was again resold to a Mr Harry Spalding of New York who converted it back to a land aircraft Some point late in 1937 the aircraft was sold again to a Mr Connoley of Richfield Conshynecticut From that point until the acquisition by Mr Foster Hannaford Jr of Winnetka Illinois in 1946 no records exist It was Mr Hannaford s dream to preserve at least the last reshymaining example of the Northrop Alpha however this dream was not realized by his untimely death

Mr Hannaford Sr donated the

Upper Left N11 Y awaits installation of engine Mid-December 1975

Lower Left N11 Y sits on the ramp at Wichita in 1932 following conversion to Model 4A for TWA The Alpha will be in this configuration when delivered to the Smithsonian February 2 1976

Alpha and the additional material to the Experimental Aircraft Assoc iation where it was moved and stored in 1972 at their site of the future proposed world aeronautical center adjacent to the Burlington Municipal Airport Burlington Wisconsin It was here that representatives of the Smithsonian and the TWA volunteers came and viewed the remains after 39 years Headed by Dan McCorgan the inspecshytion team determined the feasibility of restoration and the aircraft was moved from its resting site to the TWA overhaul facilities at Kansas City It took several months just to dismantle for cleaning and inspection but in July of 1975 the corner was turned and the aircraft began to regain much of its former stature There are many interesting stories regarding the operashytion of the Alphas while they served TWA It s alleged that the Alphas hold the all-time record for number of ground loops per model of aircraft

In future issues we hope to cover some of the pilot comments and other interesting anecdotes of the operation and history of the Northrop Alphas in their operating career

The EAA and their members can be quite proud of the contribution they are making through their efforts and the efforts of the dedicated crew of TWA in preserving a piece of aviation history

E XPERIMENTA L bullbullbullbullbullbullbullbullbullAIRCRAFT AS SN

15

3 2 1 Jj

Whistling In The Rigging By

Paul H Poberezny EAA President

The preservation of aviation history and the proshymotion of aviation education is something that we are all vitally interested in Effort in these areas is esshysential in order for aviation to prosper and grow It is important that we use lessons learned from the past as a mea ns of educa ti ng presen t and fu ture avia tion enthusiasts

It is in this setting that your Board of Directors held their first 1976 meeting at the EAA and EAA Air Museum Foundation Headquarters complex amidst aircraft such as a Curtiss Pusher a Jenny Curtiss Roshybin Monocoupe and other well known names of yesshyterday Your Board spent over eight hours in session discussing the problems and programs of the Antique Classic Division

Over the years EAA and the Foundation have proshyvided a home for sport aviation enthusiasts a place where all can gather to discuss problems proshygrams and just plain exchange stories Away from the hub-bub of Washington which has become the home of many national organizations it allows us all to think clearly and get together on a grass roots basis

The Experimental Aircraft Association provides th e umbrella under which all of us work In last months column I mentioned that if we did not have an organization and the backing of a reasonably large membership our voice would not be heard and many aeronautical advancements will come to a standstill

In our enthusiasm to move ahead and develop our own special interests we must not lose sight of the overall big picture We are all EAAers interested in promoting sport aviation - whether we fly a homeshybuilt an antique classic or a warbird - EAA is YOUR organization

If each of us were to go off alone we would have nothing It is important that the Directors and Ofshyficers of all EAA affiliates work closely together with the EAA Board to insure continuity in policy and proshyduction To coin a cliche - United we stand shydivided we fa ll

Since the EAA Air Museum Foundation was foundshyed in 13 many have questioned its value I have heard comments from those who live thousands of miles away saying What good does it do for me I am too far away to visit it Why not move it to Calishyfornia or Texas or Florida or the east coast Unforshytunately no matter what physical location we may select there will always be those who geographicshyally are not close

The EAA Air Museum Foundation is preserving and telling sport aviations story The display of historical aircraft engines and artifacts is only one small part of the work that the Foundation is doing In addition to the displays which were visited by over 50000 people in 1975 the Foundation publishes over 25 educational manuals on the constructiDn and restorashytion of sport aircraft These manuals are used not only by EAAers but numerous educational institushytions

Project Schoolflight has become a very important program with over 100 high schools and technical schools participating We have learned that the buildshying of an aircraft does a great deal in developing skills and pride in accomplishment for todays young people

One of the greatest benefits that he Foundation provides is an intangible one It provide~ a setting for important meetings that cannot be dupicated Over the years we have held numeroLltS Directors meetings and aviation conferences To a gceat extent the sucshycess of each of these conference has been due in part to the work of the Foundation The aura of aviashytion permeates through the walls and gives each attendee that added incentive to get the job done

Your Board of Directors kicked off our Bicentenshynial year with an excellent meeting Many subjects ranging from your publication The Vintage Airshy

plane to the upcoming EAA International Convention and Sport Aviation Exhibition were discussed Each one of you OWL debt of gratitude and thanks to these gentlemen who are spending their time effort and finances on your behalf The surface has only been scratched and there is a great deal to be done Bu t if this meeting was any indication I feel confishydent that your Board of Directors will meet the chalshylenges put before them

I would like to commend all those who have inshydicated their willingness to serve as contributing editors for The Vintage Airplane AI Kelch has taken on a tremendous task in pu tting together this monthly publication I know he will greatly appreciate any and all assistance he can receive in the way of articles photographs or just plain moral support

- L -

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THE OLD WEST (Contlned from Page 13)

After years of litigation the entire case was set aside and Westerns awards withdrawn A new case was started and the whole transpacific route pattern was re-investigated

On Jan 4 1969 Western once again won routes to Hawaii and finally 25 years after first seeking the Hawaii routes links the Islands with direct service to major cities throughout the West

Western also brings Hawaii its first direct air link with Alaska - to Anchorage Western secured routes to Alaska by merging with Pacific Northern Airlines in 1967 thus extending the carrier north of Seattle Tacoma to nine cities in the 49th state

From that first 600-miles route to Salt Lake City flown with open-cockpit biplanes Western now serves 42 major cities - from Anchorage in the North to Acapulco in the South and Honolulu in the West to the Twin Cities in the East All of its planes are jets with the most recent jet being the wide-bodied Dougshylas DC-lO

Western has written a proud heritage in aviation history across the skies of America

16

November 4 1975

Hi Nick I thought that you may like some informashy

tion on the airplane shown on page 23 of Vintage Airplane Sept-Oct 1975

It was a homebuilt 3-place Swallow that was put together by Bruce Raymond in 1930 A Hisso was the powershyplant and the airplane serial number was 1-R

The wings were built in the old Silver Plate factory in Elgin by Bruce which was also the same building that the TA-Ho-MA was built At that time Bruce worked for ASampT at Midway Airport and he built the fuselage in the back of their hanger The maiden flight was on Nov 1B 1930

This aircraft was still registered to Bruce in 1936 with the registration expiring on April 1 1936 He could have owned it for some time after this but he later sold it to a Smoky Balser of Sacramento

Bob Baker 1040 Valewood Rd Bartlett IL 60103

Jan uary 7 1 976 Dear Sirs

I would like to join the Antique amp Classic Division of the EAA

I saw your advertisement in the August 1975 issue

For the past 5 years I have been bui Id ing an exact replica (as near as possible) of a Nieuport 2B I have a Gnome 9er which I have overhauled and had in a test stand (Runs beautifully)

Thanking you A R Quinney RR1 Ladysmith BC Canada VOR 2EO

17

January 4 1976 Dear Sirs

Enclosed is my check to join the EAA Antique amp Classic Division This is something I should have done long ago but just never did

My interest and participation goes back to the early 50s when the planes were junkers and not antiques The first was a YKS-6 Waco which I rebuilt and then traded for a RNF Waco The RNF was later traded for a 200 Warner engine cowling and prop which I put in my 0-145 Monocoupe It has been seen around the country as Big Red - N11733 I flew it up here in 195B Tried to give it to the EM Museum about 1964 it was apart in a garage in Raleigh NC at that time but could not get anyone to get it to the museum It is now in VA or NC

In 1957 I flew a UIC Waco up through Canada and into Alaska

Over the years I have owned 5 Wacos and about 4 Monocoupes a Dart a Staggerwing Airshymaster L-13 and a few odd nonshyantiques

At this time there is a L-5 on wheels skis and floats presently flying and an old J-3 and PA-12 to restore There are still a few bits and pieces of Airmaster and Monocoupes around the storage area

Am looking forward to receiving your magazine

Best regards Syd Stealey (EM 164) 937 Bth Ave Fairbanks AK 99701

Gentlemen In Re Yackey Sport The Yackey Sport was a conversion

of the Thomas Morse Scout originally equipped with a nome or LeRhone rotary moror shymanufactured for a purlluit plane during WWI for the US

The conversion was to install an OX5 power plant instead of the rotary - some people in making the conversion used 4 upper wings because of the added OX5 weight

Though the T-M could be bought new and complete for a token amount none of the configurations offered much in flying qualities

Best Regards Jack N Rose PO Box 32 Ingleside IL 60041

February 2 1976 Gentlemen

Please enter my subscription membership to EAA AntiqueClassic Division

I would appreciate a listing of back issues of The Vintage Airplane if such is possible I presently own a DeHaviliand Tiger Moth DHB2A Serial Number 734B N-B2GS This aircraft has been completely restored and is presently based at Montgomeryville PA Airport

Thank you for your corporation Gerald F Schwam 1021 Serpentine Lane Wyncote PA 19095

EDITORS NOTE List is published on inside back cover

February 4 1976

Dear Sirs Enclosed you will find a check to cover

the fee to join the Antique and Classic Division of the EAA It is our hope that we can be of some help to this group since repeated attempts to be of assistance within the homebuilt and museum groups here in Milwaukee have failed

We have not returned our registration cards concerning our aircraft before since we were not building a homebuilt Now I would feel it would be fair to state we are restoring a C-37 Cessna Airmaster cn3B4 NC1B599 In addition to this we own a Cessna 120 N19B5V and part interest in a J-3 and a Corben Jr Ace (All of which we have restored or helped restore)

Thank you for your time and keep up the good work for the little guy

Sincerely Paul Walter (EM 90997) 107 Concord PI Apt 5 Thiensville WI 53092

EDITORS NOTE We need help A list of chairmen will be published later Call or write the one of your choice

January 1B 1976 Gentlemen

Please find attached an extra dollar for which I will appreciate you sending me a sample copy of The Vintage Airplane I have been flying since 192B and flew OX5 Wacos Robins Krieder-Reisner Challengers

Stinson 5MB-As LeBlond Powered Arrow Sports etc

Thank you for the extra trouble of sending me the single copy of the magazine I was a World War II Glider Pilot but never crossed paths with Paul P

Yours truly A T McDonough 9 Lennon PI Whitesboro NY 13492

January B 1976 Dear Sirs

Enclosed please find cheque for Twenty Dollars ($2000) to cover membershyship for the year 1976 for the following new members

Tom Dietrich 633 Krug Street Kitchener Ontario Canada N2B 1 L9

and Frank D Evans 100 Kenora Drive Kitchener Ontario Canada N2A 2BB We are members of the EAA and

wish to join the AntiqueClassic Division Please start ou r subscriptions to The Vintage Airplane with the January 1976 issue

As a matter of interest my current project is rebuilding and restoring a Thruxton Jackaroo which is a modified DH-B2A to make it into a four-place aircraft

Thanks for this opportunity to join with others of similar interests

Yours very truly Frank D Evans 1()() Kenora Drive Kitchener Ontario Canada N2A 2BB

111 MEMBERSHIP DRIVE

One for one for one If each memshyber would take it upon himself to get one new member a year each year the compounded effect would result in a ve ry successful organishyzation Take pride in your activity - make it grow

Calelldar of Events May 1middot2 - Corona Californiamiddot Southern

California Regional EAA Flymiddotln sponsored by EAA Chapters 1 7 11 92 96 448 a nd 494 For information contact Terry Davis 13905 Envoy Ave Corona Ca 91720 Phone (714) 735middot8639

bull May 28 29 30 - Watsonville Ca liforniamiddot

12th Annual Antiquer Fly-In Air Show

bull Ju ne 4middot6 - Merced Ca liforn ia - Merced West

Coas t Antiqu e Fly-In For information contact Jim Morr Director Box 2312 Merced CA 95340 or ca ll (209) 723-0929

bull June 13 - Weedsport New York - Fly In

Pancake Breakfast 800 AM to 100 PM Spon sored by Chapter 486 Whitfords Airport Weedsport NY

bull July 3middot4 - Gainesville Georg ia - 9th

Annual Cracker Fly-In Sponsored by North Georgia Chapte r of AAA Antiques Classics Homebuilts and Warbirds welcome Contact Bill Davis 2202 Willivee Place Decatur GA 30033

bull July 31 August 8 - Oshkosh Wisconsin shy

24th Annual EAA Interna tional Fly-In Convention Start making yo ur plans NOW

bull August 22 - Weedsport NY - 3rd Antique-

Classic and Homebuilt Flv In Pancake breakfas t - trophies - Air Show 100 PM Sponsored by Chapter 486 Whitfords Airport Contact Dick Forger 204 Woods pa th Rd Liverpool NY 13088

bull August30middot September 3- Fond du Lac Wisconsin shy

11th Ann ual EAAIAC Inte rna tiona l Aerobatic Championshi ps Sponsored by In ternational Aerobatic Club

bull Flo rida Sport Aviation Activities - The very

active Florida Sport Aviation An tiqu e and Classic Association h as a fly-in almost every month So we recommend to all planning a Florida vacation that they contact FSAACA Preside nt Ed Esca llon 335 Milford Drive Merritt Island Florida 32925 for fly-in details

MIGRATIO N OF AN EAGLET (Cont inued from Page 8)

to see this s trange machin e The people of that town were g rea t I was offered eve rything from h elp to a place to stay the night I settled for a 7116 wrench and a screw driver Within half an hour I was on a take-off roll escorted by th e to wns people who were running along both sides Kicking the Eaglet around I made a low pass trying to rock my wings in goodby and thanks but s ucceeded more in bruising my knees with the stick

With th e forced landing I los t half an hour and my chances of making it home before dark dimmed as did my precious sunlight I d ecided DeKalb would have to be my destination and corrected course accordingly It was nea r dark a t DeKalb but w ho needs naviga ti on lights with three very healthy blue exha ust flames and an occass ional spark from the tailsked on the concrete

We let the Eaglet rcst that nigh t re turning to DeshyKalb early in the mornin g to complete the 15 mile trip After completing the usual grcase and oil routine Dad decided to do the honors and complete the trip After all what could happ en in 15 miles Well numshy

ber one AampP son saw to it that dear old Dad would have some excitement because I inadvertantly left th e va lve lifter jamnuts loose after adjusting them (American Eaglet Lesson Number 3)

Shortly after becoming airborne in the Bonanza fly in g behind the Eaglet I watched as my Dad set up an a pproac h to a young soybea n fi eld He was about to execute his first forced landing in 31 years of flying I w ill no t go into how I happened to arrive in the same field with the tools but after the re pairs it was decided that my 25 pounds less weight might be beneficial in cultiva ting as few beans as poss ible The rest of the trip was about as uneventful as could be expected flying this typ e of airplane

So after 420 low altitude miles 8 hours fl ying withshyout a much needed eleva tor trim and eight s tops inshycluding two forced landings the Eaglet was home This began an era of fl ying for me that I had only bee n able to dream about in the pas t Its too bad that so much of the joy of fly ing is smo thered by todays speed and complexity

- MORE LESSONS TO FOLLOW shy

Back Issues Of The Vintage Airplane

Limited numbers of back issues of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE are available at $1 00 each Copies still on hand at EAA Headquarters are

1973 - MARCH APRIL MAY JUNE JULY AUGUST SEPTEMBER OCTOBER NOVEMBER DECEMBER

1974 - JANUARY FEBRUARY MARCH APRIL MAY JUNE JULY AUGUST SEPTEMBER OCTOshyBER NOVEMBER DECEMBER

1975 - JANUARY FEBRUARY MARCH APRIL MAY JUNE JULY-AUGUST SEPTEMBER-OCTOshyBER NOVEMBER-DECEMBER

1976 - JANUARY

18

EDITORIAL STAFF

Publisher Editor Paul H Poberezny AI Kelch

ANTIQUE AND CLASSIC DIVISION OFFICERS

PRESIDENT J R NIELANDER JR

PO BOX 2464 FT LAUDERDALE FLA 33303

SECRETARY RICHARD WAGNER

BOX 181 LYONS WIS 53148

EVANDER BRITT PO Box 458

Lumberton NC 28358

CLAUDE l GRAY JR 9635 Sylvia Ave

Northridge CA 91324

JIM HORNE 3850 Coronation Rd

Eagan MN 55122

DIVISION EXECUTIVE SECRETARY DOROTHY CHASE EAA HEADQUARTERS

THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE is owned exclusively by Antique Classic Aircraft Inc and is published monthly at Hales Corners Wisconsin 53130 Second class Postage paid at Hales Corners Post Office Ha~es Gorshyners Wisconsin 53130 and Random Lake Post Office Random Lake Wisconsin 53075 Membership rates for Antique Classic aircraft Inc at $1000 per 12 month period of which $700 is for the publication to THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE Membership is open to all who are interested in aviation

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

VICE PRESIDENT MORTON LESTER

PO BOX 3747 MARTINSVILLE VA 24112

TREASURER GAR W WILLIAMS JR

g S 135 AERO DR RT 1 NAPERVILLE ILL 60540

DIRECTORS

AL KELCH 7018 W Bonniwell Rd

Mequon WI 53092

EE BUCK HILBERT 8102 LEECH RD UttION IL 60180

GEORGE STUBBS RR 18 Box 127

Indianapolis IN 46234

Assistant Editor Lois Kelch

Centributing Editors H N Dusty Rhodes

Evander Britt Jim Barton

Claude Gray Ed Escallon Rod Spanier

Dale Gustafson Henry Wheeler Morton Lester

Kelly Viets

KELLY VIETS RR 1 Box 151

Stilwell KS 66085

JACK WINTHROP 3536 Whitehall Dr Dallas TX 75229

OFFICIAL MAGAZINE

ANTIQUE CLASSIC DIVISION

of THE EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION

FEBRUARY 1976 VOLUME 4 NUMBER 2

The Restorers Corner 1 Stearman Fly In 75 3 Migration Of An Eaglet 7 Vintage Album 9 The Breath Of Life 14 Whistling In The Rigging 16 The US Mail 17 Calendar Of Events 18

---EDITORS NOTE

SoS Send Old Stories

PICTURE BOX FRONT COVER (Back Cover)

A beautiful Stearman to go with its owner Even the driver of a mail truck was conshyCharlotte Parish (See Stearman Story sidered an adventuresome sort for he Page 3) rubbed elbows with the AIRMAIL PILOT

- an esteemed figure of the day

Copyright c 1976 Antique ClassiC Aircraft Inc All Rights Reserved 2



By Thomas E Lowe






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By Thomas E Lowe






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VintageMen and Thei



v ~- ~~ ~~ ~tV- ~ - ~~~


FOKKER F-32 (1930)









11



















FOKKER F-14 (1930)


12

LINes- ---- shy

















WACO EQC-6 (1937)



13






14









15

3 2 1 Jj
















- L -

j ~ c r$ ltsscent

J~ ~ DIYISIDN

Ii

II _~o)----==c-







16

November 4 1975












17



















February 4 1976





















































1976 - JANUARY

18



Ken Morris
















7



























8

VintageMen and Thei



v ~- ~~ ~~ ~tV- ~ - ~~~


FOKKER F-32 (1930)









11



















FOKKER F-14 (1930)


12

LINes- ---- shy

















WACO EQC-6 (1937)



13






14









15

3 2 1 Jj
















- L -

j ~ c r$ ltsscent

J~ ~ DIYISIDN

Ii

II _~o)----==c-







16

November 4 1975












17



















February 4 1976





















































1976 - JANUARY

18



























8

VintageMen and Thei



v ~- ~~ ~~ ~tV- ~ - ~~~


FOKKER F-32 (1930)









11



















FOKKER F-14 (1930)


12

LINes- ---- shy

















WACO EQC-6 (1937)



13






14









15

3 2 1 Jj
















- L -

j ~ c r$ ltsscent

J~ ~ DIYISIDN

Ii

II _~o)----==c-







16

November 4 1975












17



















February 4 1976








































MIGRATIO N OF AN EAGLET (Cont inued from )













1976 - JANUARY

18

VintageMen and Thei



v ~- ~~ ~~ ~tV- ~ - ~~~


FOKKER F-32 (1930)









11



















FOKKER F-14 (1930)


12

LINes- ---- shy

















WACO EQC-6 (1937)



13






14









15

3 2 1 Jj
















- L -

j ~ c r$ ltsscent

J~ ~ DIYISIDN

Ii

II _~o)----==c-







16

November 4 1975












17



















February 4 1976





















































1976 - JANUARY

18


v ~- ~~ ~~ ~tV- ~ - ~~~


FOKKER F-32 (1930)









11



















FOKKER F-14 (1930)


12

LINes- ---- shy

















WACO EQC-6 (1937)



13






14









15

3 2 1 Jj
















- L -

j ~ c r$ ltsscent

J~ ~ DIYISIDN

Ii

II _~o)----==c-







16

November 4 1975












17



















February 4 1976





















































1976 - JANUARY

18

FOKKER F-32 (1930)









11



















FOKKER F-14 (1930)


12

LINes- ---- shy

















WACO EQC-6 (1937)



13






14









15

3 2 1 Jj
















- L -

j ~ c r$ ltsscent

J~ ~ DIYISIDN

Ii

II _~o)----==c-







16

November 4 1975












17



















February 4 1976





















































1976 - JANUARY

18



















FOKKER F-14 (1930)


12

LINes- ---- shy

















WACO EQC-6 (1937)



13






14









15

3 2 1 Jj
















- L -

j ~ c r$ ltsscent

J~ ~ DIYISIDN

Ii

II _~o)----==c-







16

November 4 1975












17



















February 4 1976





















































1976 - JANUARY

18

LINes- ---- shy

















WACO EQC-6 (1937)



13






14









15

3 2 1 Jj
















- L -

j ~ c r$ ltsscent

J~ ~ DIYISIDN

Ii

II _~o)----==c-

THE OLD WEST (Contlned from )






16

November 4 1975












17



















February 4 1976





















































1976 - JANUARY

18






14









15

3 2 1 Jj
















- L -

j ~ c r$ ltsscent

J~ ~ DIYISIDN

Ii

II _~o)----==c-







16

November 4 1975












17



















February 4 1976





















































1976 - JANUARY

18









15

3 2 1 Jj
















- L -

j ~ c r$ ltsscent

J~ ~ DIYISIDN

Ii

II _~o)----==c-







16

November 4 1975












17



















February 4 1976





















































1976 - JANUARY

18

3 2 1 Jj
















- L -

j ~ c r$ ltsscent

J~ ~ DIYISIDN

Ii

II _~o)----==c-







16

November 4 1975












17



















February 4 1976





















































1976 - JANUARY

18

November 4 1975












17



















February 4 1976





















































1976 - JANUARY

18
































1976 - JANUARY

18

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