Vintage Airplane - Aug 2007

8/20/2019 Vintage Airplane - Aug 2007

1/44


2/44

G OFF

RO ISO

N

PRESIDENT VINTAGE AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION

Volunteers and

speaking

up

The big show

is

now only days away,

and I am busy preparing myself to be

gone from

the

office for

an extended

period

of

time. In fact I will be

in

Oshkosh for a total of 19 days on this

trip.

Our

annual July Vintage Aircraft

Association VAA) work party is set for

the weekend ofjuly 13-15 this year.

t

amazes me each year

the

number

of individuals who will travel hundreds

of miles to

engage

themselves in the

always-extensive efforts to prepare the

grounds at Wittman Field for each

EM

AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. The

VM will typically schedule at least three

different volunteer work weekends, and

we

will see dozens of individuals arrive

solely for the purpose of volunteering

their

personal time

to

prepare

the

Vintage area of the convention grounds.

That 's not

to mention

the

dozens

of

folks

who will arrive

as

early

as

April and

actually stay right through AirVenture,

volunteering their

time performing a

myriad of duties.

As you can imagine, a fair amount

of these folks are retired

and

find this

sort

of volunteering

rewarding.

EAA

has been

so successful in

upholding

outdoor theater was reportedly shocked

and

amazed

when the

movie

ended

and the hundreds of happy campers got

up

to leave. Typically

the owner

hires

several individuals to do cleanup of the

theater area at the end of each evening.

His amazement

was based on

the

fact

that when everyone left, typical to EM's

high

standards,

there

was virtually

no

trash or debris left behind for his crew

to clean up. In a normal evening, his

crew would work several hours policing

the area of all the trash. This gentleman

has been providing this outdoor theater

service for many years

and

had never

witnessed a phenomenon of this sort

in all that time. That certainly speaks

volumes about our fellow members

and your strong support

of

EM s high

standards of quality and cleanliness.

The issue

of

user fees for general

aviation continues

to be big news

in

most all of the aviation publications.

Are you getting the feeling,

as

I am, that

the

virtual camel has

now

successfully

managed to get its very large nose under

the tent flap by imposing a

number

of

new and more expensive user

fees?

f

the

ATA

and FAA

win, user fees are certain

for us to stay airborne. However, based

on the volume and extensiveness of the

rhetoric

we continue

to hear from th e

airlines and the current administration,

I strongly suspect that we are beginning

to see

only

a small

portion

of what

is

likely to be a large iceberg

that

is being

developed inside the beltway. Do we

really

want

to

see a fee-based system

based on a European model? Look what

it's done to limit civilian aviation on

that side of the Atlantic

The airlines are

determined to shift

as

much of the expense of the system to

as many of the hobbyist, non-revenue

aviators as

they possibly

can. What

can we "little guys" do? What should

our

reaction be ,

and

how

can

we be

as effective as possible in combating

these burdensome changes? The best

approach I can recommend is for us all

to

remain

vocal. In fact,

at

this

point

we need to do even more by turning up

the

volume

and continuing

to inform

our

representatives that these changes

are overly burdensome and expensive.

Yes, I would agree that a number of our

representatives have really done a good

job of supporting general aviation. So


3/44

G

N E

AUGUS T

VOL. 35, No 8

2 7

CONTENTS

Fe

Straight&Level

Volunteersandspeakingup

byGeoffRobison

2

News

5 Lockheed

12A

TheWhittleseyfamily's68-year-old limo

byBuddDavisson

1

TheGoldenWestEAA RegionalFly-In

Lookwhat'sgrowinginCalifornia'sCentralValley

byH.G.Frautschy

15 What Our MembersAre Restoring

8 Woolaroc

TheWinnerofthe 1929Dole

Race

by

Ed

Phillips

5

GettingYour

A&P

Rating

PartII - Long-in-the-tooth

A&P

students

byDaveClark

3 Pass

It

to Buck

Changein

the

air

byBuckHilbert

34

TheVintageInstructor

"Therearetwoemergencyexitson this

PA-12

aircraft

"

byDougStewart

ST FF

36

MysteryPlane

E

Publisher

Tom Poberezny

byH.G.Frautschy

Director of E Publications

David

Hipschman

Executive Director/Editor


4/44

V

Board Expands

Contemporary

Judging Category

The VM Contemporary judging cat

egory has been expanded to include

aircraft built up to December

31

, 1970,

from December 31,1967. This change,

made by the

EM

Vintage Aircraft

Asso

ciation's board of directors, gives EM

and

VM

members who have restored

many

of the capable personal aircraft

of the late 1960s an opportunity to par

ticipate in EAA s world-class judging

program. This distinction also allows

those aircraft to be insured

through

VAA s

aircraft insurance program, ad

ministered by

AUA

Inc.

Effective

starting

with this

year's

EAA AirVenture

Oshkosh

2007, the

VAA s

internationally recognized

judging categories are:

- Antique: Aircraft built prior to

September I , 1945

- Classic: September I, 1945 - De

cember 31, 1955

- Contemporary: January I , 1956-

December 31, 1970

Rim Roller

Pete Gorman of Lake Worth, Flor

ida, wrote to us looking for someone

who

could

form a

unique

tire rim.

Pete's building a Fokker

D-VII

replica

and

needed to make a pair of 23- by

2.75-inch rims.

As

so often happens,

as

soon

as

he wrote

us,

he

found

someone

with

the

adjustable rim

forming machine he needed,

and

he

E

Chapter

1

Makes

V Friends

of the

Red am Donation

Vintage Aircraft Association Chapter 10, Tulsa, has been a Friends

of

the Red Barn FORB) contributor since its origin, always contributing at

the top level each year

of

the program s existence. This year the chapter

is a Diamond Plus contributor. For more information on the VAA

FORB

program, please visit http: VintageAircraft.org/programs/redbarn.html

or call 920-426-6110.

The chapter is actively involved with all spor t aviation activities in the

Tulsa area. It is a co-sponsor

of

the Annual Tulsa Regional

Fly-In, www.

TulsaFlyln.com as well as strong volunteer supporters of the Biplane

Expo.

The

chapter has co-hosted the EAA B-17 Aluminum Overcast for

all

of

its Tulsa tour stops as well as the

Ford

Tri-Motor in

2006

, and it

will host the Tri-Motor on its

2007

tour on September 13-16, 2007

The

Tulsa EAA chapters are unique in that they are all Chapter 1O in

addition to VAA Chapter 10, the other Tulsa chapters include EAA Chapter

10, lAC Chapter 10, Ultralight Chapter 10, and Warbird Squadron 10.

endary Aircraft

Kft,

Gyor-Per Airport,

9099

Per,

Hungary. Cell phone: +36

20/9188009,

Phone: +3696547038,

Fax: +3696547039. E-mail:

info@War-

H-P

, which resulted in

EM

receiving a

considerable discount from

H-P

on the

purchase of 150 of the company's iPaq

handheld computers.

http://vintageaircraft.org/programs/redbarn.htmlhttp://vintageaircraft.org/programs/redbarn.htmlhttp://vintageaircraft.org/programs/redbarn.htmlhttp:///reader/full/TulsaFlyln.comhttp://vintageaircraft.org/programs/redbarn.htmlhttp:///reader/full/TulsaFlyln.com


5/44

omet

Model

News DVD

I'd bet that the vast majority of our members started out in aviation by

build ing models when they were young. Before World Wa r II , the Comet

Model Airplane

&

Supply Company was one of the most prolifi

c

churni

ng

out thousands

of

ki

ts

sold by more than 6,

000

dealers worldwide. There

were not too many million dollar businesses built during the depths of the

Great Depression , but Comet was one that made

it

big. Bill Bibich kow and

Sam

Go ldenberg began their business in the back

of

Bi ll 's father' s tailor

shop on

the near west side of Chicago. They made a pro

fi

t from the very

beginning, with innovative designs that flew well

and

could

be

construct

ed

by

youngsters of nearly all ages.

One of the

300

employees who work

ed

for Comet during t hose heady

days was Eddie Kapitanoff, who served as the company 's We st

Co

ast

salesman.

In add

ition to being

an

effective salesma

n

Edd

ie had a hobby

that served to preserve Comet's history; he was

an av

id photographer,

skilled with both a sti

ll

camera

and

movie film. This treasure trove of mate

ri

al

, do rmant in the fam ily collection for many years, served as the basis

for Nancy Kapitanoff's short documentary,

The

Comet Model

Ne

ws

now

ava ilable

on

DVD

. Ms. Kapitanoff is the daughter of Edd ie and his wife ,

Comet's former bookkeeper. Using the information from the company

newsletters

that

Nancy's mother saved , Nancy has skillfully woven the

stills and movie footage shot by both her father and Bill Bibich kow (inclu

d

us. The new units will streamline the

judging process,

and

take

what is

al

ready

the

world standard for aircraft

judging to even greater heights.

H-P is also

now

the

new

technol

ogy sponsor of the

EAA

Aircraft Judg

ing Program. AeroShell Flight Jacket

is the official sponsor of the judging.

EAA s New Video

Player

is

one for all

Perhaps you were one of the thou

sands of members who

atten

ded

EAA

AirVenture, or you missed it this year,

and you want to see what you missed.

Whichever the case, we invite

you to visit the EAA AirVenture web

site at your

earliest

convenience

and check out the new video player

there. Hosted by a company called

Brightcove

and

sponsored

by

Micro

soft and RotorWay, it's available 24/7.

The player allows aviation enthusi-

asts around the world to experience

AirVenture wherever and whenever

they want.

One of its features allows viewers to

also be producers; EAA members can

upload their own videos, providing

a potentially endless variety of per

spectives on

the

world of flight, and

naturally, we're expecting a lot of sub

missions from this year's AirVenture.

The first user submission arrived just

a few days after

the

player was made

available online at www AirVenture org

U S

Air Force

Maj

. Paul Max Moga,

an

F-22 pilot who

is

slated to

fly

one

of the advanced fighter aircraft at

Os

hkosh this year, posted a five-minute

clip showing a recent air show demon

http:///reader/full/www.AirVenture.orghttp:///reader/full/www.AirVenture.org


6/44

Reach

for

the

Sky

At

EAA

AirVenture Oshkosh

2007,

a Learn to

Fly

Center staffed

by EAA

and the National Association

of

Flight

Instructors provides inspiration

and

in

formation for those who desire to learn

to

fly

but haven t

yet realized

their

dream.

As

part

of

that outreach

EAA

produced a

new

publication

Reach for

the Sky

which explains the process

of learning to fly. The new piece also

includes a guide to

ali

of the available

special light-sport aircraft.

each for the Sky

is also

now

available in

PDF

format to download

from

www.EAA.org

so

you

can share

a copy with your friends who might

be

interested

in

learning to fly. Avia-

tion newcomers are faced with the

potentially intimidating jargon

of

fly

ing airport fences and the attitude

of

exclusivity exhibited

by

some pilots.

Reach for the Sky

is EAA s

effort

to

remove these and other barriers and

and the public are seeking richer and

more immediate multimedia content

delivered via the Internet.

Other features : The Brightcove

player has a built-in syndication com

ponent, allowing

any

EAA member or

chapter to host the video

player

on

a website, blog, or other web-based

medium.

Other

enhanced features

include an RSS (really simple syndi

cation)

feed, sharing content with

friends via

e-mail,

and

imbedding

individual clips

into your own

blogs

and websites.

It's

available

right now. All

you

need

is

a broadband Internet connec

tion and the Macromedia Flash player

installed

on your

computer.

Log on

and tune in

at

www.AirVenture arg

FAA

Issues

Young

Eagles

Exclusion to

Air

Tour

Rule Requirements

The FAA

delivered on a

promise

made earlier in the year by issuing an

amendment to the National

Air

Tour

Safety Standards rule to specifically ex

clude EAA Young Eagles flights from

the

rule's tighter requirements.

As

originally

written,

the

rule would have adversely

affected the Young Eagles program by

limiting what aircraft could be used, as

well as placing additional restrictions

on pilot qualifications and frequency of

Young

Eagles activities.

Of course,

EAA

already received

the

exclusion in February in

the

form of a

letter from FAA headquarters

to EAA

President Tom Poberezny. That letter

stated that the rule does not apply to

Young Eagles flights where

the

pilot

nal rule applies to only Young Eagles

flights that are flown for compensa

tion

or hire,

but the

rule does not ap

ply to other Young Eagles flights .

Good

01 Days

: Pioneer Airport

EAA Pioneer Airport's annual liv

ing aviation history event, Good 01'

Days,

is

August 18-19,

bringing

the

excitement and adventure of avia

tion's golden age back to life.

Good 01'

Days features a family

activity

center where

kids will

have

the opportunity to play games that

were

popular

back in the day. A va

riety of vintage vehicles

on display

add

to the

experience,

and

attendees

will have a chance to ride

around

the

EAA grounds in a Vintage, pre

WWll

vehicle. Other activities in

clude

a

time

capsule

opening,

pie

eating and Charleston dance con

tests,

and

special flightline displays

and

tours.

Pioneer

staff

and

volun

teers will be

dressed

in period cos

tume,

adding even

more flavor

to

the event.

Of course, visitors can also take an

airplane ride

in one of

EAA s

fleet of

Pioneer aircraft, including the 1929

Ford Tri-Motor,

1929

Travel Air bi

plane,

1927 Swallow biplane , and

several Young Eagles airplanes. Ad

mission to EAA members is always

free,

and

Good

01'

Days is included

with regular museum

admission

for

nonmembers.

Whodunit?

Murder and intrigue abound at Pio-

neer Airport ... can you solve the crime?

http:///reader/full/www.EAA.orghttp://www.airventure.arg/http://www.airventure.arg/http://www.airventure.arg/http://www.airventure.arg/http://www.airventure.arg/http://www.airventure.arg/http:///reader/full/www.EAA.orghttp://www.airventure.arg/


7/44


8/44

The cabin s outstanding appointments extend

to the

cock

-

pit

.

The

center

console

includes

a

nifty cover

du

plicating

the look of the

old autopilot

which

covers

th

e

modem

The stately cabin of the

Whittlesey

Lockheed is

perfectly

ap

r

adios when the

aircraft

is on display

.

and I took

both

Wacos across

the

U.S.

and barnstormed a

bunch

of Waco

fly

ins and also made it to Oshkosh, where

the ZPF won a Bronze Lindy. We called

the trip '2001, A Biplane Odyssey.' The

only thing better

than

flying across the

U.

S. in

a couple

of

biplanes is

having

your dad fly one of them.

This is a man who isn't afraid to ven

ture out in

his

old

airplanes, feeling

that, if they are properly maintained

and

were mechanically 100 percent at

the beginning, there's

no

reason

they

shouldn't rival a

modern

airplane for

both utility and reliability. Plus,

they

have the

added benefit of providing

much classier transportation.

I had always admired

the

polished

12A

owned

by Sandy and Kent Blan

kenburg, but it wasn't until '96, when I

saw serial number 1277 at the Stagger

wing Fly-In at

Bill

Allen's

on

Gillespie

Field in San Diego,

that

I saw

them

in

pointed for long-distance cruising.

wife was very reluctant in

putting

the

plane up for sale.

We

started e-mailing

back

and

forth about the plane,

and

I

finally made

an

offer

that

was rejected.

I e-mailed my best and final offer from

work before the Thanksgiving holiday

and

left for

the

long weekend. I came

back into work and checked my e-mail

and

to find

out

that she

had

accepted

my

last offer.

When

I

told my

wife, I

reassured her that this was not a proj

ect, that we had bought a flyer that just

needed a little work. She still periodi

cally reminds me of

that

conversation,

even

though

she really loves

what

we

did with the airplane.

The Lockheed 12A is an interesting

airplane, if nothing else because it has a

massive identity problem: Far too many

people

mistake it

for a Twin Beech,

which

is

frustrating for Lockheed own

ers because, to their eye, the long lines

and sleek, chopped-windshield look of

Treasury Department to become part of

a Lend-Lease package headed for Eng

land. She became part of the

RAF

and

for the balance of the war did utility and

liaison duties before being discharged in

1945. Rumor has it

that

even Winston

Churchill rode in her.

For the next 17 years

she

passed

through a number of hands before be

coming part of a short-haul airline in

France being operated by a Monsieur

Chapeau. This was 1962,

and

for the

next 20 years Monsieur Chapeau con

tinued flying 1277 all over Europe.

He

would probably still be doing it but

as

he

coasted past his 78th bi rthday the

French government took an increas

ingly dim view of him continuing to act

as

chief pilot. It would be nice to know

more about characters such as Monsieur

Chapeau because he wasn't about to sit

on

the ground while other people

flew

his airplanes.

So

he

unceremoniously


9/44

plane and it was sent to Florida. In the

process, he decided to sell the airplane,

and

it was bought by Dave Swanson,

who had the work finished.

If

you've been reading closely, you'll

note that from 1939 until Whittlesey

purchased her in 2002-a period of

63

years

there

were no significant dor

mant periods in the airplane's life .

It

spent little or

no

time tied down, col

lecting bird droppings . In fact, for

the

majority of its life

S N

1277 has been a

working airplane. This might be some

kind of record.

When

Whittlesey was sitting

at

his

computer in sunny Southern Califor

nia negotiating the purchase, it was the

dead of winter everywhere else in the

country. Especially in New Hampshire,

where the airplane was based. This

caused a problem Whittlesey hadn t re-

ally conSidered,

as

it would be

one

of

the worst winters in years.

Pa

rt of the deal was to have the air

plane receive

an

annual.

When

we ce

mented the deal,

i t

started snowing in

New Hampshire and did not stop until

spring. There was

so

much snow

on

top

of the hangar, the roof sagged and the

door would

not open.

You could

not

get the airplane out to complete an an

nual, and so there she sat until the fol-

lowing spring.

"I could not go out and get her, so a

family friend, 'Captain

Kirk'

Mcquown,

a good stick (he soloed 14 planes on his

16

th

birthday), and my dad flew back

to pick her up. When they were flying

the airplane home,

they

began to get

an inkling of how tired the old girl was,

and when

we

started poking into her in

One

unique

aspect

of

the

retractable

landing

gear

is the factory addition of

a pair of

mud

guards installed on the

gear.

In the interest of

maintainabil·

ity

Whittlesey installed

Twin Beech

tires wheels

and

brakes to replace the

nearly

impossible

to find air wheels

and

original

brakes.

working with an aluminum airframe

that is more than six decades old,

an

interesting process takes place. First,

you think that most of the aluminum

is

still flyable, so you'll replace only the

panels that have corrosion

or

are re

ally beat up. So, you replace one. In

stantly the perfection of the new panel

brings out previously unnoticed im

perfections in

the

surrounding panels.

Although Whittlesey didn't say so in so

many words, the fact that he wanted to

The

nose features

a

forward baggage

compartment

but you ll need a ladder

to access it.

again if left on the bench .


10/44

were being sawed through by

the cables."

A sticking poin t for Lock

(Left

to right

Neil Whittlesey

(Les'

father ,

Jim Heinemann,

project

manager;

··Captain

Kirk

Me

Quown,

flight Instnldor and -

heed 12A owners is

the

main

gear

tires; they

aren t

easily

available, if at all. The originals

were

smooth

doughnut

types

and are no longer available.

I

didn't want to modify any

thing,

but the

tires and brakes

just weren t going

to

work on

a long-term basis. While I love

the look, the old-style tires and

brakes are impossible

to

come

by, and

the last

thing

r

wanted

to worry

about

were odd tires

and ancient brakes. So, we just

bit the bullet and went with

Twin Beech tires, wheels, and

brakes. They aren't original, but

r can service them

and don t

have to worry about them."

Totally

remanufacturing

(not restoring) an airplane like a Lock

heed 12A isn't something you take on

solo, and Whittlesey recognized that.

As

much as he would have liked to be able

median; Lindy

Whittlesey,

14); Les; his

wife

Susan;

Steve

Dotson,

aircraft Allie

Whittlesey

(12); and Dave w.anr.an_

craft restorer.

delivered over a 100 airplanes for Mc

Donnell Douglas and Boeing, so he had

plenty of experience in managing com

plex airplanes. We started this in

03

In the

decades prior

to World War II,

the Sportsman

Pilots

Association

cre-

ated

crests for use

by the members

on

their aircraft. Whittlesey

decided

that

in

the same

spirit, he'd create one for

his

family. The W

is seN·explanatory,

and the LS stand for Les and Susan,

his wife. The LA

stands

for their

daughters,

Lindy and

Allison.

Lindy

is

named for Charles

Lindbergh,

and Al-

lison for

the

great World

War II

fighter

engine of

the

same

name.

li he cowlings on the airplane were

perfectly usable, but when you're look

ing at a round motored airplane, what's

the first thing that catches your eye? The

motors, right?

So

the cowlings had to be

redone, which opened an entire can of

worms because you don't just go to your

local scrap yard

and

come up with a set

of Lockheed 12A cowlings. They were a

very specific shape, and the only way we

were going to get them was by building

http:///reader/full/w.anr.anhttp:///reader/full/w.anr.an


11/44

overstuffed, limousine

feel

to them, and

to do the Lockheed's interior any other

wa

y would be cheating

on

the experi

ence of flying in the airplane.

The original floor boards were ply

wood sandwiches with balsa cores,

which, of course,

don t

carry

much

of

a fire rating,

so we

opted to go

to

alu

minum skins

on

a balsa core

in

those

areas for safety reasons. But

for

the up

holstery and headliner

we

went strictly

1930s. We used original factory photos

for the location of changes in materials.

The headliner

is

the old mohair style,

while the sidewalls have a wooden belt

strip, like wainscoting, running around

the

interior

under the

windows

with

leather

up

to

that.

All

the

fabric was

purchased from

an

antique auto inte

rior company,

and then we

had it

fire

proofed. Yanks

had

a complete set of

plans, and we used those to rebuild all

the seats, which are all different at each

location, so

not one is the

same. The

plans were invaluable,

as we

even cop

ied where

the

welt cords went on

the

seats. We even put the hat netting back

in, as everyone wore hats back then.

Being a mini-airliner, the

12A

had a

toilet, and that's a story of its own.

Considering how old the airplane

is

and how many owners had worked it,

it

was

pretty amazing to find it still had

the original toilet. While

on

the surface

it

was

a little primitive, it was pretty ad

vanced, with spring-loaded doors and

a vent attached to the back to suck

out

any fumes . The bathroom even had

an

ashtray, which I found amazing, since

the airplanes

had

the option to have

two 50-gallon fuel tanks installed be

When Whittlesey did the

instru

ment

panel on his family liner, he had

another

of those how original do

I

go? decisions to make. He wanted to

fly

this airplane as if

i t

were a modern

twin, which meant including items that

didn't exist in 1938.

We really wanted to keep to the orig

inality of the time period of the aircraft

while also including avionics that were

provided for greater utility

and

safety.

One of the team, Dave Waterman, took

out

the entire control console

and

in

strument panel and completely rebuilt

them. We reinstalled all the old instru

ments, even down to the clock. To make

things as original

as

possible, Dave even

made a cover from the old 1939 autopi

lot that we could place over the modern

radios when

we

went to air shows. This

way we could have a functional panel

and keep it looking original.

It is amazing how small today's avi

onics are

compared to

the

old

ones.

Where the original

autopilot

was, we

were able to fit a Garmin GPS 480, an

MX-20 with satellite weather, a Mode S

transponder, a SL-40 second radio, and

the audio panel with marker beacon.

As the restoration progressed, Whittle

sey began to think about re-registering it

because it carried a personalized N num

ber applied

by

a former owner, Hilton.

The airplane came

out of the

fac

tory December 27, 1939, registered as

NC18900. A quick search showed that

number

was

now on

a Ryan SCW

and

the

owner

wasn t

going

to

give it up.

I

didn t want the

personalized license

plate look, so I searched the FAA web

site for available N numbers

and

came

Steve Dotson

and

Lefty McGluck

ian, two very good sheet metal men at

Chino, worked

on

those wingtips right

up to the

first flight. I

think the paint

on

the bottom of the wingtip was even

still tacky when they were put on. That

is

one thing

we

don't want to ever have

to do again, and I think the guys would

agree with me.

The Whittlesey family

is

now enjoy

ing their aerial limo. The trip back from

Oshkosh was the first trip

the

family

had made in the plane, as she had only

seven hours

on

her when she left Chino

for her first air show

at

Oshkosh. The

whole family participated

on

the return

trip back, with Susan, his wife, and his

girls, Lindy (14)

and

Allison

(12)-yes,

they were named after Charles Lind

bergh

and the

Allison engine helping

from the copilot seat in flying her back.

In fact, all

of

the kids' stick time has

been in either the Wacos or the Lock

heed. Since then, SN/1277 has won the

prestigious Paul E. Garber Trophy at the

National Aviation Heritage Invitational

at the Reno Air

Races.

Still, as perfect as

the

airplane ap

pears,

is

there anything that Whittlesey

still feels

isn't complete?

I'm still looking

for

an original lens

that

the red warning light on the nose

used, he says. I had to make one out

of acrylic

and

it looks right,

but

it isn't

right. I have the Lockheed part number

for the lens, which is cast glass, but still

haven't come up with one.

Also,

the air

plane originally came with hat clips

for

the interior, like

on

the back of chairs at

old diners.

We

would love to get some

of

those. And lastly,

an

original sales


12/44

The

Golden

West

EAA

Fly-In


13/44

Dan

Schurph

of Placerville, California,

has owned

his Aeronca

Sedan

since

the early 1970s.

Equipped

with a

seaplane

door

on

the left

side and

supplemental type

certificated

metal

fuel tanks, he's hoping it will go to a family interested

in

a classic airplane, as

he

has it up

for sale. It won the

Champion

Classic trophy.

The best of the bunch

in

the

antique

category is Jerry Impellezzeri's

masterful restoration of a Travel Air

E-4000. We'll have

an

article

on

this

outstanding restoration

in

a future

issue of Vintage Airplane

It

was

the

winner of

the Antique

Grand

Champion of the Golden West EAA

Regional

Fly-In.


14/44

The

newest

of the EAA regional

fly-ins has moved around abit in

the Central Valley

of

California, an

area

known

as

one

of

the

most

fertile vegetable- and fruit-

growing regions of the

United

States. The

weather

and

hos

pitality is

conducive to the

growth of Fly-Ins,

too,

if the

Golden

West

fly-in is any in

dication. The event seems

to

have found agreat home in

Marysville,

a

small

city

near

the

state

capital of Sacra

mento. Insulated from

the

Pacific maritime climate

by

the mountains

to

the west, the valley

seems

to

have perpetual V R weather. As

I m

a

confirmed

northern

Midwesterner,

the dry

summer

weather is

a

bit

of

cui

ture

shock

for

me,

but it s easy

to

get

used to. I always enjoy a

trip

out west

to

visit

with

members and

friends who

I

don t

see

nearly enough, and

to

mar

vel at

their fantastic restorations.

Our

thanks

to members Rand Siegfried,

Kent

and Sandy Blankenburg, Paul Price, and

Golden West

President John

Gibson for

their

hospitality and

help during our

all

too-brief

visit to

the Golden West.

The

11th Golden West EAA Regional Fly-In is

scheduled for June 6-8, 2008.


15/44

These four family

members

were just a

few

of the thou

The

older Aeronca-styIe

oleo

landing gear is a

clue

that this is

an early

sands of people who passed through the

gates

of the Champion

Citabria_ It was

flown to the

Golden West

Fly-In by Don Johnston

Golden West

Fly-In_

of Davis, California and took home the

Contemporary

Champion award.

The

Reserve Grand

Champion

Clas

sic of the Golden West was Brett

Scheidel s

Cessna

195.


16/44

Ben Mueck and

his

family gather

next

to Ben s

re-

cently

completed restoration of this rare

Curtiss-

Wright Travel Air Speedwing. Ben s had the project

for

more

than 35 years. Hwas originally owned by

Casey Lambert in

St.

Louis. Last

year

at

the Reno

National Championship

Air

Races,

EAA

Founder

Paul Poberezny

presented

Ben with a photo of the

plane

taken

when

Lambert

owned it.

Lambert

and

Poberezny became friends when Lambert retired to

the

north woods of

Wisconsin,

and

Lambert

buiH a

Baby Ace

on

flo ts that now resides in the

EAA

Air-

Venture Museum.

The photo

helped

Mueck finalize

his

restoration s details.

The

Mueck family s CoW

Speedwing

won

the

Antique

Reserve

Grand

Cham-

pion

trophy.


17/44


18/44

MISSOURI CHAMPION

This

Champion 7FC

(L-16 replica) was one

of the

last

greenhouse models built by

Champion

in 1963. Don

Miles did a

complete restoration with new

wood, glass,

and Poly-Fiber fabric. t was finished in AN yellow as an

L-16. This aircraft was an instrument trainer

and

has a

full gyro panel. Dave says it now has a zero-time Con-

tinental

C90-12F and a new Sensenich propeller and

Airtex interior. Don extends his

thanks to

G J Aircraft

in

Boonville, Missouri, for

providing rebuilding

advice

and inspections.

Donald Miles, EAA 161653

Columbia, Missouri

BRAZIL

LUSCOMBE

Here's

what Joao

Moura

of

Santa Catarina, Brazil, wrote con

cerning his Luscombe:

I bought

my

project in

March 2003. After hours and

hours of pleasure working

in the


19/44

NEW

HAMPSHIRE

PIPER

TRI-PACER

Complete with a functional Piper autoflight system, this

is

David Adams' Piper Tri-Pacer, which he restored with the

help of

EAA

Chapter 51, with additional help from Steve

Grant

for

the

re-cover

and

Gene Rebielo for

the

engine

overhaul and certification.

This shot was taken after the first flight

on

May 5, 2006.

The restoration was

done

in a garage

in Dighton

Massa

chusetts. Dave has owned this airplane for 35 years and

wouldn 't recommend taking that

long

to restore an air

plane.

It

took so long because of all those wonderful inter

ruptions in life: kids, family, work,

and

flying

and

keeping

another aircraft. He's certainly happy he stuck with

it

David Adams

EM 230967

West Ossipee, New Hampshire

KENTUCKY CUB

According

to

the

note sent in

by Steve Trutschel, this

Cub was ready for

the

scrap yard. Seven years

went into

bringing this 1940 Cub back to life.

As

you can see in this

shot,

the

short field performance with just 90

hp

is unbe

lievable,

with

a takeoff

run

shorter

than

200 feet.

When

you add Super Cub controls, trim system, baggage com

partment, 26-inch tundra tires, balanced elevators, PA-ll

front

seat,

wing

tanks,

and the

vortex generators, you

have

the

original recipe for

the

yellow smiley face.

Steve thanks Susan Bell, who helped push him through

the tough times and who would dig right into the nastiest

jobs.

He

also expresses many thanks to Cub Stewart of Red

Stewart Airfield (40I) for the use of his time, buildings, tools,

and knowledge of the little Piper Cubs. Also thanks to Cathy

Stewart for the extremely nice fabric work

on

this Cub. Steve

says, Without the help of these very close friends, I would

never have finished this delightful little airplane.

Steve Trutschel

EAA

0387707

Alexandria, Kentucky


20/44

The winner of the 1929 Dole race

ARTICLE

AND PHOTOS Y ED

PHILLIPS

5

~ l f t ; ~ e c ~

his

pipe and

•thought

about

all

that

money. Relaxing in his office at

the

Travel Air fac

tory, he had heavy responsibilities on his shoulders. He had

Now Dole

had

offered another tidy sum of

money

for

someone to make the Pacific crossing to Hawaii. Beech really

couldn' t see how the company could afford to interrupt cur

rent production to construct special racing ships for the Dole

contest. But it was very tempting, indeed.

If

a Travel Air won, there would be terrific publiCity. But if a


21/44

Lead:

The

new o

laroc

as

it

appeared in Nove

mbe

r

19

28,

ready to

assault the transcontinental

speed record.

The cock

-

p t

was in

center fuselage, making visibility nearly impossible.

A

Pratt Whitney radial of 400

hp

is installed, and

fuel

tanks

totaling 600 gallons capacity inhabit folWard fuselage.

in the West Douglas plant ,

but

the new factory would greatly

reduce problems associated with normal production.

Fifty men labored long hours to build Travel Air airplanes,

and Beech knew

that

few could be spared for any special proj

ects.

He

consulted with factory manager Bill Snook. From

Snook's viewpoint, it would be possible to build two ships for

the race, but they would have to be built in the new factory.

By June everything was settled. The four NAT monoplanes

would be finished in

the downtown facility, the Dole rac

ers would be built

out

at

the

East Central location. Men and

equipment began the move in June, and the production line

was hardly interrupted in the process.

By

June 30 the new

fac-

tory was

humming

with activity.

Walter Beech, Bill Snook, Horace Weihmiller,

and

the

board of directors perused the Dole race situation. The only

type of airplane suitable for the modifications necessary for

the race was the Model 5000 monoplane.

This design was originally drawn

up

for competition

and

a production contract at the request of NAT in October 1926.

Clyde Cessna

had

designed, financed,

and

built his

own

monoplane, completely free of Travel

Air

control, in March

1926. Walter Beech liked it. Lloyd Stearman and Cessna rede

signed it to meet NAT requirements in the

fall

of 1926.

By December NAT had flown

the prototype and

issued

a production contract to Travel Air for eight ships

on

Janu

ary 7, 1927. Seats for four passengers in a heated cabin with

wicker chairs was

not

too bad for those days Even the large

cabin windows could be slid

open and closed for environ

mental comfort.

But the cabin would

not

house seats and windows for the

Dole racers. Instead, large fuel tanks would inhabit

the

area,

with a navigator's station provided farther aft i f necessary.

Travel Air engineers handled

the

changes

required to make

the

Model 5000 into a long

distance flyer. Weihmiller was chief engineer,

assisted but Herb Rawdon, Walter Burnham,

and C B Bennett.

Finally, on une 18, 1927, Travel Air con

tracted for

the first of two Dole race airplanes.

A tall,

handsome young man by the name

of Art Goebel signed his

name on the

order

and

discussed modification with Beech

and

the engineers. Goebel had been flying mostly

in California, where he worked for National

Pictures, Inc. He was well-liked and respected

as

both

a pilot and a bUSinessman, and these

two points were well-taken by the board of

directors of Travel

Air

They interviewed and

Travel Air s first product was the Model A, an example shown here being

questioned Mr Goebel for five days before

flown

by

Walter

Beech

in

the

summer of

1925.

This

mod

el fir

ml

y

estab

-

deciding

to

let

him

sign. Goebel

had

flown

lished Travel Air s reputati

on

as

a builder of high-quality,

dependable

com

other ships in California but came to Wichita

mercial

airplanes.


22/44

because he wanted a Travel Air. A $5,000 deposit was placed

on

the airplane and work began immediately.

Hot

on

Goebel

s

heels were

Al

Henley and Benny Griffin,

Wright J-5CA of 200 hp powered the Woolaroc across

the

Pacific

to

Hawaii.

The engine

shown

here

is

the original

powerplant.

Note

the

pressure grease fittings

on

the rocker

box assemblies. These were special

fittin

gs

that,

once

grease

was injected into the box

cavity

, would keep pres-

sure feeding

the lubricant

to

the

valve mechanism. These

units were considered standard equipment

for

any

long-di

s-

tance

flight.

Lindbergh

also

had them

on

his

Wright radial .

The sunken exhaust ring shown here was developed by

Travel Air engineers and was used only on the Woolaroc

Magnetos are hidden behind

bumps

forward of cylinders

.

who ordered their ship on June 28 after surviving the same

scrutiny from

the

board of directors. Their $5,000 deposit

was

placed and the factory began work

on

Dole racer #2.

Soon after these orders were placed, the original Travel

Air

Model 5000, sold

to

Pacific

Air

Transport in 1927, was

about to

take off for Hawaii piloted

by

its new owner, Ear-

nest Smith.

Walter Beech was aware of this attempt and wrote a letter

to Smith recommending he allow Travel Air to suitably mod

ify the ship for such a flight,

but

Smith refused. Smith and

his navigator Carter had to turn back not long after they took

off from Oakland's new airport because of a broken wind de

flector. A second attempt was successful

on

July 14-15, 1927.

Smith had a new navigator named Emery Bronte, and they

were the first commercial pilots flying a commercial airplane

to reach Hawaii. The Army had beaten them, though. Mait

land and Hegenberger

flew

their Atlantic C-2 from Oakland

to Wheeler Field

on

June 28-29 to become the first airmen to

fly that route.

As July drenched Wichita in typical Kansas heat, Frank

Phillips of the Phillips Petroleum Company entered the Dole

race picture. He decided to sponsor both Goebel and Henley

in the race, partly because of promotion for a gasoline named

Nu-Aviation.

But Frank Phillips also cared about aviation. His cash en

abled Art Goebel and Griffin to enter the race as their finan

cial backers did

not

have all the necessary funds. Because of

Phillips' help, Goebel named his ship the Woolaroc a word

meaning woods, lakes

and

rocks,

the

topographical features

of the Phillips ranch in Bartlesville, Oklahoma.

The Woolaroc was ready for test flight by August 2. Clar

ence Clark, Travel Air s chief test pilot, made the uneventful

hop. Weighing in at 2,200 pounds empty, the Woolaroc was

well-dressed for the rave in her colors of Travel

Air

blue fu-

selage and orange wings. Wingspan was 52 feet and power

came from a Wright Whirlwind of 200 hp. Wing and fuselage

tanks carried 425 gallons of fuel,

the

fuselage units being spe

cially made for this purpose.

Travel Air workers rushed to get the Woolaroc completed

as

the date of the race, August 17, was not far away. Goebel

accepted the airplane, paid the balance of the $18,000 price


23/44

code position reports to passing ships.

By

midnight Goebel

had climbed

the

Woolaroc to 6,000 feet atop a stratus layer

of clouds. They held to course

and

waited anxiously for the

dawn to greet them. Only

then

could they check their drift

from the night wind.

When

sufficient

daylight

existed,

Davis and Goebel

dropped smoke bombs to check drift. As

an

aid, Travel Air

workers

had painted

angular drift lines on the Woolaroc s

horizontal stabilizer. Calculations showed a groundspeed of

nearly 100 mph ,

with the

predicted northeast winds aloft

helping them out.

A course change was made to 230 degrees for

the

final

hours into Wheeler Field. The wind was shifting to the east

and southeast, so Goebel held the new course despite his dis

agreement with Davis over the heading change.

Hours went by. The Wright

droned

on perfectly. Both

With

mannequin

removed

more

can

seen.

men were getting tired

but

felt good. Then Goebel noticed

the stabilizer trim wheel on left cockpit sidewall

mounted

what

seemed to be a cloud on

the

distant horizon. But it

at left

of pilot

seat

. uel

l n s from tank to selector assem

-

didn t

move as they got closer. Mauil thought Goebel. It

bly pulleys fo

r

control surfaces are

also

visible

.

was MauL

Soon the Woolaroc flew past Diamond Head, met there

were experts at both, so the idea was a wise one.

by a Boeing

PW-9

pursuit ship from Wheeler Field.

As

Goebel

D. W. Tomlinson, a lieutenant in the

Navy,

knew someone and Davis watched, the Boeing pilot nestled in tight forma

Goebel could depend on for his navigator: Lieutenant Wil tion with the Woolaroc. He held up one finger and was grin

liam

V Davis. Goebel and Davis already knew each other, so ning from ear to

ear

They were

first

the team was formed and the race date closed in. Goebel flew inland

and

landed at Wheeler Field 26 hours,

Brice Goldsborough

and]. D.

Peace

of

the

Pioneer In-

strument Company

were on hand

to

check

equipment.

The

Woolaroc

compasses were calibrated

and the

earth in

ductor

unit

checked. Accuracy of these components across

2,500 miles

of

open

ocean was well appreciated by all

15

entrants, and Goldsborough and

Peace were busy men

prior to take-off day.

On August

8,

all pilots drew take-off slots. Goebel ended

up number 7. Benny Griffin was

number one in the

kla-

homa.

On race

day,

August

16,

1927, both the

Woolaroc

and

klahoma took off safely

and

were

on

their way. The kla-

homa returned to Oakland after only one hour en route

and

was

out of the race due to an overheating engine.

Now Travel

Air

and Phillips Petroleum were down to one

airplane and two airmen, winging their way toward Hawaii.


24/44

Close-up

view of throttle quadrant on left cockpit sidewall.

Three

levers

a

re

throttle

top)

spark

advance/retard cen

ter), and mixture

bottom)

.

Right fuselage

view,

looking forward.

Notice

that entry door

no longer has large window as

original

door did.

when

Goebel ordered his airplane in June, he

didn t

even

specify any colors Goebel had put everything in the care of

Travel Air

From August to October, the

Woolaroc

flew

more than 10,000

miles attending tour stops in celebration of the Dole win.

When she returned to Travel Air in October, it was time for

a complete re-cover and overhaul. And it was time for a sec-

ond chance at glory.

Art

Goebel had a plan for the endurance

record, using the Woolaroc He instructed Travel Air to install

525-gallon fuel tanks, strip all excess weight from the Dole

race configuration, and beef

up

the landing gear to handle

the

higher gross weight.

But Goebel had company. Griffin brought the

klahoma

back to Travel

Air

for the same modification for the same pur

pose. He and Goebel discussed making a two-airplane endur

ance attempt, but the idea was scuttled later.

Goebel intended to use Wichita for the attempted flight .

The grass runway at Travel Air Fie ld was not long enough at

2,500 feet to safely take off with all that fuel, so preparations

were made to use

the

California section south of

the

Travel

Air

factory.

A one-mile-long runway was prepared, but after t

he

modi

fications were

done to both

airplanes, both pilots began to

have second thoughts about basing the attempts at Wichita.


25/44

planned to

fly

the ship to Los Angeles, where it would be on

display while Goebel would be winging his way across the

U.S. in a Lockheed

Vega

,

attempting to

set a cross-country

speed record. It was a nice bit of publicity work indeed.

Pete Hill and Goebel flew to Arkansas City

but

couldn't get

the Wright started. The magnetos were dead. Another set was

installed and the Woolaroe was soon off for Los Angeles.

On

August 20, Goebel set a record from Los Angeles to

New York in 18 hours, 58 minutes . He averaged 150 mph .

Goebel began serious consideration of an east-west trip in the

upcoming months. But there was no

Vega

for such a flight .. .

the only ship readily available was the Woolaroc

Phillips wanted more publicity

out

of

the

Travel

Air,

and

he discussed the idea of using the Woolaroe for the east-west

speed dash. Goebel knew it wasn't designed for pure speed,

but maybe Beech and Travel Air could do something about

that.

Beech listened along with Herb Rawdon, Walter Burnham,

and other workmen who would be involved in modifications

to the airplane. They didn't like what they heard. Goebel pro

posed removing

the

cupola, gutting

the

front cockpit,

and

fairing it over for

less

drag. The pilot would sit in the aft com

partment, where side vision out of two windows would suffice

for flight viSibility. The engineers immediately discounted that

idea. They told Goebel the airplane would be so "blind" with

that 52-foot wing obstructing nearly all forward vision that it

would be unsafe to fly. But Goebel insisted, after some heated

But Goebel wasn't worried. He got in, fired up the radial,

and performed some preflight checks. The stacks of the Pratt

& Whitney engine were barking loudly

as

it idled and then

ran up, whipping the chilly Kansas air.

Ready for takeoff, Goebel lined up, fed in the throttle, and

experienced a rapid acceleration

as

the Woolaroe gathered speed.

But

he couldn't see He

was

making the takeoff without raising

the seat, relying only on the side windows

for

visibility. Goebel

just looked outside

as

best

as

he could and kept on going

Once airborne everything was normal. But visibility was

very poor at best from his aft perch in the Travel Air. Beech took

off in a J-5 Model 4000 biplane and tried to catch up with the

Woolaroe

He

just couldn't keep

up

with Goebel. A full-throttle

speed check disclosed

an

indicated airspeed of 160 mph! Not

bad, but not good enough for a cross-country attempt, and

Goebel

was

discouraged.

He

needed to average more than 160

mph to better the existing record, but the Woolaroe wouldn't

be able to make that kind of speed and he knew it.

Throttl ing back to cruise rpm of 1,900 yielded a paltry 135

mph . There was

no

use continuing the flight. Performance

was just

not

good enough. Art Goebel

hadn't

bargained for

what happened next. As he approached for landing, he could

barely see the runway area. Judging the flare was tough, and

the ship hit hard, bounced, and Goebel had to feed in bursts

of power to keep her flying. Then the ship hi t again, bounced,

hit, bounced, and finally came to a controlled stop.

Goebel got out of the airplane and started looking for

discussion with Travel Air personnel, that he could handle the r r = = = = i = = ~ = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = ; -

airplane just fine and he wanted the change made.

Beech agreed to all the modifications and the

Woolaroe

dis

appeared inside the Travel Air factory. Deadline for all work

was November 20, the night Goebel wanted to make the

flight west, using the full moon as an aid to navigation.

The front cockpit was dismantled and the area faired over.

Additional fuel tanks were installed there, bringing the total

fuel capacity to 600 gallons. A new instrument panel was in

stalled in

the

aft compartment, where Davis

had

sat during

the Dole race.

All

new flight instrumentation was included,

with full capability for "blind" flying in use at the time.

A special seat arrangement had to be worked out for Goe

bel.

He

would be able to raise or lower his seat

as

required to

ERO

CL SSIC

COLLECTOR SERIES

Vintage Tires

New USA Production

Show off

your pride and joy

with

a

fresh set of Vintage Rubber. These

newly minted tires are FAA-TSO'd

and speed rated

to 120

MPH.

Some

things are better left the

way they

were, and

in

the 40's and 50's, these tires were perfectly

in

tune

to

the exciting

times in

aviation.

Not only do

these tires set your vintage plane apart

from


26/44

The NAT airplanes were

larger

than Model

5000

prototype, and most were

powered with newer Wright

J-5 series

engines of

225-230

hp

.

Cabin was

heated and

featured sliding

side

windows

for

inflight

ventilation. Avomit

tube was standard equipment

...

visible under fuselage.

he came in for landing

without

the ben-

efit of landing lights. The Woolaroc touched

down

safely but then

hit

an

unseen ditch

that caused

the ship

to lurch to a stop, her

main

landing gear damaged, her pilot a lit-

tle upset.

Goebel

decided to

repair the

airplane

and return

to Wichita. Even

he now

agreed

it was just

too

unsafe for flight . After a few

days making repairs,

he took

off for Travel

Air.

But

the Woolaroc had one

more scare in

store for her pilot.

Flying

in

a foggy mist, seeing

ahead

was

impossible.

Nearing the west side of

St.

Louis a tall

water tower

flashed by the side

window,

barely clearing the

wing

. Goebel

just kept flying,

thinking

how

close

that

one was and

wondering

why he modified a docile

machine

into one that almost

killed him

The

Woolaroc

landed at Travel

Air

Field

on December

1,

and Goebel

told Walter Beech

and

Frank Phillips

he

could

not

safely fly

the ship and

i t should be retired permanently.

Beech

and Phillips agreed com-

pletely with Goebel.

Located on the Phillips ranch, the

museum

would be a

permanent

leg-

acy to Travel Air and the feats of the

Woolaroc Art Goebel

and

William Da-

vis as well as the

many

men

who

de-

signed

and

built the ship.

The Woolaroc

was the

Model

5000

built,

and

posed here are some of the

men who

I t

was decided

to

return the

designed,

built, and

flew her to victol}'. (L-R) Howard Baccus,

Walter

Burnham,

Herbert

Woolaroc to its original configu-

Rawdon

William

Hauselman, Pinky Gromes, Ted Cochran

Art Goebel,

Ralph

Morton

ration

of

the

Dole race,

and

this

Harold

Brooks

Horace Weihmiller, and

Clarence Clark.

Photo

taken prior

to

Dole

race.

work

was

carried

out under the

Note

wind drift

eye-cup and sight wires on cockpit

door,

Pioneer magnetic compass di

able workmanship of Carl and Guy

rectly behind

windscreen.

Walter Beech. He told Beech that the windows needed to be

Winstead, two of Wichita's

early

aviation

personalities. I t was re-

painted Travel Air blue and

orange

and flown

on

a 15-


27/44

Getting our A&P Rating

Part

II

- Long-in-the-tooth

A&P

students

Vincennes

University Avi

ation

Technology

Center

(A&P school) in

Indianapo

lis

is

the home

of a

number

of

senior

A P students.

A

state law allows Indiana

re

tirees

60

and

older to attend

this

state-supported school

tuition-free. Yes,

that's

right,

FREE.

This

is

made

possible

through the

Indiana Senior

Scholarship

Program.

This is the tale of four seniors'

wish-a longtime goal for some,

a more recent one for others-to

earn

an

A&P certificate. All four

are pilots

and

EAA

and/or

VAA

mem

bers

who

wanted to know more about

the planes

they

fly.

As a kid, I think I

built

almost

every kind of model airplane

in the

known world. But Mr. Piper's Cub was

the first real plane I ever flew, back in

1958. Forty fun-filled hours later

in

the

Cub, I

had my

Single-engine

land

pilot's certificate.

In 1969, I bought a 1946 Aeronca

Chief (NC-9726E) for $1,450.

I t

was

even in flying condition In about 1971,

Y

D VE CL RK

cover of the magazine

in

December

1985.

In 1985 I was

"recruited"

by Dale

(Gus)

Gustafson

to help judge

an

tique aircraft at Oshkosh

and

I have

been judging every year since

then.

My

family

and

I

attended the EAA

fly-in two

times

in Rockford

and

since

then

I have missed only two

of

the

events

at

Oshkosh,

both

times for

business reasons.

1995 brought a tornado to our lit

tle Indiana airport

that

the weather

bureau called "straight-line winds."

Gehrich, the department

head,

said

that

I

could,

but

it was

not given until

the

next semester. He then

handed me

a brochure

which

contained all of the

classes offered

in the A&P

school

and

asked if there

were

any other classes

that might

be of

inter

est.

I

picked the sheet metal

class,

and

I was

hooked!

The classroom work and

the labs were

excellent

and made me want more

I got along famously with

all of my "much younger" classmates

and

seemed

to

fit right in.

The FAR class was put out of

the

way next.

By

the time the fall classes

started, I

had signed

up for all

of

the airframe

classes

and

I thought I

would

get the airframe

certification

and leave it at that.

After th

A" was

in my back

pocket,

I

missed

the

classes

and the

interaction with

professors

and

stu

dents, so

I

enrolled

for

the

second

year. Now

it

was

time to

take all

of

the

powerplant

classes. Two semes


28/44

right aileron of the Chief was de

stroyed and I decided to "make one"

with this shiny new A&P certificate.

It is under construction at the time of

this writing and

is

looking good

The Chief's fuselage welding repairs

were done by A&P/IA Mike Girdley.

During the past two years, I over

hauled the Continental A-65-8, the

two magnetos, the carburetor, and

many other pieces and parts. The in

struments were sent out to Keystone

Instruments in

Lock

Haven, Pennsyl

vania, and they look fantastic. The

wood-grain instrument

panel

was

hand-painted by

Hot

Brush in Bird

City, Kansas, and looks beautiful. Tail

feathers are covered with

Ceconite

102 through

nitrate with

Randolph

Dope to follow. The rest of the cover

ing

is

waiting for better weather.

Before I

started

the

A&P

classes,

and having worked on several of

my other planes, I thought I knew a

fair amount about small airplanes,

E members

all,

in the back

row

we

have

Joe

Kokes,

A P·IA,

Tim

LeBaron,

A P·IA

and Gary

Zeller,

A P·IA.

The

students in

front are

Dave

Clark and Paul

Vogel

quote a famous tiger, "It's grrreat."

Dave Clark EAA 71411 VAA

9581)

is a retired pharmacist,

professional speaker, and associ-

ation

management

executive. He

is also a member

of

EAA Chapter

1311. Dave uses

his

new expertise

to teach new A P

students,

and

to

work on his

Aeronca

Chief.

A few of Dave's fellow A&P stu

dents weigh in

on

the benefits of

earning

an

airframe

&

powerplant

mechanic's certificate:

John

C. Broyles

My

retirement from Delta Air Lines

as

a

customer

service

agent

became

official in November 2000. Today I

work

part-time as

a handyman and

attend Vincennes University Aviation

Technology Center pursuing and

A&P

certificate.

At

the age of 13, I got

my

first ride

in an airplane when my dad's cousin

diana Community College Network

website, I read about

the

Indiana

Se

nior Scholarship Program. Since Vin

cennes University's A&P school was

only 15

minutes

from our home,

bells went off in my head I debated.

Should I go back to flying and rent an

airplane once or twice a

month, or

should I earn

an

A&P certificate and

put

off flying for a while? I decided

to earn the A&P certificate and I am

really glad I did I am having a great

time learning

the

vast array of skills

necessary to graduate from the uni

versity and earn an A&P certificate.

By

the

time you read this, I will

have earned my A&P. I never realized

it

would be so enjoyable to go back

to school Being

around

the

much

younger folks makes you actually feel

younger yourself. The professors at

Vin

cennes University are terrific and have

been very helpful and patient. I would

recommend going back to college and

earning an A&P to anyone,

but

espe

cially to any retired person who has an

interest in airplanes. Go do it

John

C. Br

oyles, EAA 135502, is

an

A P

a nd a

gr

a

duate

of Vin-

cennes

University in

Indianapo-

lis and a

member of

EAA Chap

ter

1311.

Eastwood

Herin

As most

of you know, achiev

ing your dream in aviation can mean

many different things, and

we

are

for

tunate to have choices.

However,

when

the dream eventually becomes the

ca

reer, the career seems

to

take us away

from the basics that led us to the dream


29/44

John Broyles and Eastwood Herin,

now A P mechanics,

in the

small engine overhaul class at Vincennes

University

Paul

Vogel, with over

14,500

hours

of

flying, earned his

in

Indianapolis

.

ways linger in

my

Technicolor brain.

However, since acquiring one

in fly-

ing

condition

is

not

possible

on

the

average aviator's paycheck, I

began

what

is

called

delusion planning.

That's when

the

average Indiana trac

tor mechanic thinks

he has enough

smarts to

put

together

an

antique air

plane from a basket of parts.

Smarts

and

parts are

the only

two

items flying

in formation with

that

planning

program. It takes e-d-j-i-k

a-s-h-u-n Speaking with experienced

Stearman rebuilders, I met

many who

started

out

with enthusiasm

but

soon

tired of the time and expense of track

ing down parts all over the country

side to

fill the

voids in their "basket."

Most of

the

success stories came from

individuals who started with at least

a complete carcass and,

most

nota

bly, these were the smart ones who

took the time, at some point in their

A&P after

retirement.

ages senior retirees over

the

age of 60

to

return

for vocational and degree

oriented retraining with a substantial

assistance incent ive of fully paid tu

ition. I have found that this program

is offered

in some other

states, so

i f

you

are thinking about expanding

your ability to maintain your own or

someone else's aircraft, check

out the

continuing education departments in

your state.

One major regret is that more

good

might

have

come

from obtain

ing

the

license

at

a younger age. Once

you

are

actively

employed

in

avia

tion, there is virtually no way to at

tend the FAA-approved curriculum,

and the only way to do it

then

is to

gain

the

actual experience working

with a A&P/IA, logging 30 months

of apprentice experience in order to

qualify for the written and practical

exam. (See Kathie Ernst's article in

and an A P s tudent t

Vin-

cennes

University.

Paul

Vogel, A&P

After more than 50 years and more

than 14,

500 hours of

flight time , I

could

not

separate myself from the

ex-

citing field of aviation. Having spent

lots of hours listening to

the

hum of

engines, I was always

amazed

that

they performed so faithfully during all

kinds of weather and at altitudes where

the

temperatures were more than 80

degrees colder than

the

ground below.

I would watch

the

glow of

the

turbo

chargers under

the

cowling

hour

after

hour during night flights and marvel

at how dependable

they

were. With

most of

the

passengers asleep

and

all

the gauges, dials, needles, lights, and

instruments telling me that all was

well, it was very relaXing, though a bit

boring at times. Still, it was the way


30/44

cleo

Improvements never cease.

After

my

days of flying for

oth-

ers, I wanted

to

know more about

these

flying

machines

that

never

stop evolving

into

ever-more-excit

ing means of travel.

I had attended many factory train

ing

seminars and

classes for flight

crews

to

familiarize them

with

the

latest and best aircraft

we

were flying.

t was,

however, a cursory, quick cov

erage of the systems that would be at

my disposal

to

make

the

flight safe

and enjoyable. There

was

still a sense

that I wanted to know more of

what

was

going on under the hood.

When

I discovered

that the

Vin

cennes University

A&P

program was

in my own backyard, and

was

shown

all of

the

planes I would be able

to

work on, I

couldn t

resist giving it a

try. With

both

recip

and

turbine en

gines there to be taken apart, put back

together, and finally taken to the test

cell for the moment of truth, you can

see that it doesn't get much more ex

citing

than

that. Although you never

leave Mother Earth, there are a lot of

anxious moments before

that

engine

bursts into life. Thankfully, the all

knowing instructors were always close

at hand with a lot of patience for the

neophyte would-be mechanics.

Being a

senior citizen

among a

bunch

of college-age young folks may

seem a bit awkward

at

first. But that

only lasts until

the

first lab assign

ment;

then everyone

is in

the same

boat, checking

ADs,

verifying compli

ance with type certificate data sheets,

searching through maintenance

manuals, microfiche, computers, ad

visory circulars, etc. Working closely

with

the next

generation

has

been

a rewarding experience

and

it gives

me a feeling of

encouragement

for

the future of aviation. On occasion I

couldn t

help

but

tell a few hangar

stories

that most

seemed

to

enjoy,

and

some said

they benefited

from

my experience. Just like way back in

my

college days,

there

were

those

brainy few who

had

all the answers

and

were always

helpful

to

me

on

some of

the

fuzzy parts. Overall, it

was

a great experience.

Now

that

I

have completed

my

training for the

A&P

certificate,

and

passing the oral and practical exams,

I'm going to have to find something

else to do in the field of aviation.

After shopping the market for the

right kit, and making arrangements to

clean out the garage to have a place to

work on a project, I have begun build

ing a Son ex. Now I feel a bit

more

comfortable in doing it

"A&P"

right.

f

you have ever considered taking such

training, I would highly recommend

you take a look

at what

Vincennes

University has to

offer. f

you're

not

in

Indiana, check out your state techni

calor vocational schools. I hope you

will enjoy it

as

much

as

I

did

Paul

Vogel EAA

412992

is

a

retired

Indiana State Police

chief

pilot and was a professional

cor

porate

and charter pilot He has

owned

several

small GA aircraft

and

has

attended

Vintage work

parties as

weU

as

many EAA ir -

Venture

Oshkosh

fly-ins. He s a

member

ofEAA

Chapter

1311.

Since this article was written, Tom

Chapman, also an

EAA

and Chapter

131 member, has also earned an A &

P

thought the

seniors program. Tom

is

a retired physics teacher

and

now

teaches physics at Vincennes Univer

sity A & P school.

Vincennes University website:

http://www vinu edu

r A i L W ~ e e L

http://www.vinu/http://www.vinu/http://www.vinu/


31/44


32/44

BY

BUCK H

IL ERT

hange

in

the

air

A few issues back I

had written

a

bit about flying becoming too compli

cated. This article has fostered ques

tions from some of the membership .

Questions

like,

You

flew a

restored

open-cockpit Varney Airlines Swallow

(Varney later merged into United Air-

lines); what was it like? How does it

compare with the later airliners like the

DC 3 through the transition to jets?

Good questions. And it gave me

food for thought .

The open-cockpit Swallow was

the

typical biplane of the late '20s. Not

too

stable, four ailerons that gener

ated a lot of adverse yaw,

and

it just

wouldn't fly hands-off.

It

would wan

der all over the sky,

and

it kept you

on the

edge of

the

seat all

the

time. It

was work even

though

it was exhila

rating

and

sometimes fun .

I didn t get to

fly the

de Havilland

DH-4 or the Curtiss Carrier Pigeon,

with

the

400-horse Liberty

engines

,

but

the

sheer size of them probably

their schedules better than 90 percent

of the time.

I did get a chance

to

fly the later

twin-engine airplanes, like the Lock

heed

10

and the

Boeing 247. I found

them

to be just great for stability and

handling. They do require attention

in

ground handling. That rudder be

comes an important factor in keeping

it going straight down the runway

The

DC

·

had

about reached the

end of its

big

airline

career

wh

en

I began

flying

it

. . .

The experience flying

the

military

Twin Beech AT-

lIs,

C-45s,

and

B-17s

pressurized for passenger comfort.

I did like the DC-3. I t was stable,

good for short-field operations, reli

able, and actually almost indestruc

tible.

It

was somewhat limited, being

unpressurized. Most of our flying was

done at

minimum en

route altitudes,

in

visual flight rules, and never above

10,000 feet. We became intimately ac

quainted with the terrain and towns

along

the routes, avoided thunder

storms, if

at

all possible,

and made

many

radio range

and automatic

direction

finder approaches when

we had to. There were

times when

we

sometimes

traversed the same

weather front three times

in

one day.

We earned our pay.

Passenger

comfort

was always a

problem. Very little heat in

the win

tertime, sweltering

in the

summer,

along with plenty of noise, vibration,

and sometimes turbulence made

the

trip

very interesting. Flying was still

an adventure, and people really

had

a


33/44

Plus they

had

air conditioning. It was

a great improvement

as

far

as

passen

ger comfort was concerned.

The simplicity of the DC-3 was

all

but

forgotten.

The systems

that

provided

the

convenience and com

fort were becoming

complicated;

airline flying was becoming a

bit

more professional.

I almost left out

another

Douglas

product. The

DC-4. Also

unpressur

ized, heavy on the controls, and ex

tremely reliable, it was the airplane

that, now looking back, was the be

transportation. The "red eye" era had

arrived. The systems and flying were

much like the DC-3, except now we

had two more engines

and

carried a

much heavier load of people and/or

cargo.

It

had

a

much

longer

range;

the passengers still

sweltered

and

froze, and since it wasn't pressurized,

most of the flying was done below

10,000 feet.

The DC-4s did yeoman duty as mil

itary and civilian airliners and freight

haulers. They were the saviors

in

the

Berlin Airlift saga

and

proved

them

selves again

and

again even

through

the Korean War days hauling cargo

and troops all over the world.

Enter

the

DC-6. The first

to

"dis

cover"

the

DC-6

and

its

almost

im

mediate follower,

the

DC-6B was

the

entertainer

Bob Hope. Even before

the

airline

introduced them into

daily schedules, Hope used

the

early

models right off the Douglas assem

bly lines for his usa tours.

Now we had all

the

systems

the

the capsule

and

asked

him how it

went, it's

been

reported

that

he said,

Another

500 feet and I'd have been

on top "

The DC-6 and especially

the

DC

B model were my favorite. I firmly

believe they were the turning poi

Vintage Airplane - Aug 2007

Documents

Transcript of Vintage Airplane - Aug 2007