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A I R P L A N E
Vol. 39, No. 12
2011
DECEMBER
CONTENTS
3
News
16 My First Airplane
by Lee Hurry
18
Chapter Locator
20
28
20
28
32
34
Mystery Plane
by H.G. Frautschy
STAFF
EAA Publisher
Director of EAA Publications
Executive Editor
Executive Director/Editor
Production/Special Projects
Photography
Copy Editor
Rod Hightower
J. Mac McClellan
Mary Jones
H.G. Frautschy
Kathleen Witman
Jim Koepnick
Colleen Walsh
Publication Advertising:
Manager/Domestic, Sue Anderson
Tel: 920-426-6127
Email: sanderson@eaa.org
Fax: 920-426-4828
37
Classifieds
38
by Michelle Souder
COVERS
FRONT COVER: In the days before World War II, the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA)
and its predecessor, the Department of Commerce, Aeronautics Branch, had a stable of aircraft to be used by inspectors in the field. This 1939 Waco AGC-8 was one of those airplanes.
You can enjoy the story of its history and restoration in Sparky Barnes Sargents article starting on page 5. EAA photo by EAAs chief photographer, Jim Koepnick.
BACK COVER: With a nod to longtime EAA editorial contributor Bob Whittier, who reminded
us of this cover, we bring you the seasonally appropriate cover artwork by Stewart Rouse
of the December 1933 issue of Model Airplane News, featuring a Christmastime message
stamped in the snow to greet the pilot of the New Heath Parasol.
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 1
On behalf of the ocers, directors, and the sta of the EAA Vintage Aircraft Association, we wish
each of you peace, joy, and prosperity during the holiday season and throughout the new year, with
many days of safe, enjoyable ying!
Paul Poberezny
Rod Hightower
Geoff Robison
George Daubner
Dan Knutson
Steve Nesse
Steve Bender
Dave Bennett
Bob Brauer
Jerry Brown
Gene Chase
Dave Clark
Jack Copeland
Phil Coulson
Ron Fritz
Dale Gustafson
Charlie Harris
Buck Hilbert
and the entire sta of the EAA
2 DECEMBER 2011
Jeannie Hill
Butch Joyce
Steve Krog
Bob Lumley
Gene Morris
Wes Schmid
John Turgyan
H.G. Frautschy
Theresa Books
VAA NEWS
SHARPSHOOTER IMAGING
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 3
VAA Dues
Per Section VI., Dues, of the VAAs
bylaws, the VAA board of directors
has voted to set the yearly dues of
the association at $42 per year, effective March 1, 2012.
4 DECEMBER 2011
The
Waco Model C
664. The A denotes its 300-hp Jacobs L-6 engine. Jim Clarks Waco
(NC61KS) rolled off the production
line in 1939 as an AGC-8, but was
soon converted to a model EGC-8.
The E denotes the 320-hp (supercharged to 350-hp) Wright R760-E2.
Bill McCormicks Waco (NC2279)
was originally manufactured under
ATC 665 as an EGC-8. Wacos C
Model was spry yet gentle, and pilots still appreciate it for its quick
takeoffs and slow landings, in addition to its other fine qualities. Lets
take a closer look at the septuagenarian Wright-powered EGC-8.
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 5
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 7
JIM KOEPNICK
for the panel and a stainless firewall. They restored the cowling and
dishpan, rebuilt the landing gear,
re-bushed the tail wheel support
assembly, and fabricated new fuel
and oil tanks. To facilitate flying
and communicating in todays airspace, a VHF transceiver, transponder, encoder, intercom, and Whelen
strobe system were installed.
While the airframe work was
transpiring, the engine was being
overhauled as well. Mike Connor
overhauled the Wright R760-E2 engine, says Jeremy, declaring, Hes
the Wright guru. I dare say, I dont
know if theres anybody out there
who could do a Wright as well as
he could.
In the interest of safe ground
maneuvering, Cleveland wheels
Jim Clark brought some good company with him to AirVenturehis grandson, Brody, and Brodys young friend, Patrick.
orange Cabin Waco is unmistakable, with its large Civil Aeronautics Authority (CAA) logo carefully
painted on the broad fuselage. Jim
also flew the biplane to the AAA/
APM Fly-in in Blakesburg, Iowa,
where it received the Sweepstakes
Classic (1936 to 1941) award.
Three or four years ago, I
started looking for a Cabin Waco,
says Jim with a smile, because I
wanted a big flying SUV that could
carry all my stuff! So I started going all over the countr y looking and could not find one that I
wanted to buy or restore. This airplane was located only 15 miles
from my home, and its longtime
owner, EAA member Chuck Hall,
was a friend of mine. I bought it in
September 2007, and even though
it hadnt flown for about 18 years,
it had been stored properly.
Jim became intrigued by the history of his new Waco, and his research revealed that NC61KS was
one of eight model AGC-8s that
were originally ordered by the CAA.
His Wacos first bill of sale was from
Waco Aircraft to the CAA and was
dated August 17, 1939. Registered
as NC-61, it was delivered to the Air
Safety Board and was based in Garden City, Long Island, New York.
Just a few years later, the CAA ordered an engine change.
The CAA had all those Wacos
converted to the supercharged 350hp Wright R760-E2 and changed
the model number from AGC-8 to
EGC-8. The aircraft records show
that a CAA Repair and Alteration
Form dated June 18, 1941, was
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 9
10 DECEMBER 2011
...interestingly,
one upper wing
assembly on this
custom Cabin
Waco consumes
more labor than
the entire wing
set on a
UPF-7.
Jeremy Redman
JIM KOEPNICK
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 11
12 DECEMBER 2011
PHILIP HANDLEMAN
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 13
14 DECEMBER 2011
Regardless of
its provenance,
the name took
on legendary
status.
The J-2 received certification on
February 14, 1936, and was marketed
as the New Cub. However, not all had
been going smoothly in the executive
echelon. Mr. Taylor couldnt stand to
see his design tinkered with. Moreover, he fundamentally disagreed
with Mr. Piper over the business plan,
which called for selling a higher volume of planes at lower prices. The
discord reached an impasse, and Mr.
Taylor left the company in December
1935. He moved to Alliance, Ohio,
where he made highly regarded sideby-side two-seaters under the Taylorcraft banner.
The Bradford factory had served
the company well, but it was rife
with fire hazards. It erupted into
flames late on March 16, 1937, and
was left a smoldering hulk. Luckily,
no one was injured, and 15 airplanes
were moved to safety.
By summer, operations and personnel began moving to an abandoned
100,000-square-foot silk mill in Lock
Haven, Pennsylvania, 85 miles from
Bradford. Roads, rail lines, and the
Further Reading
Piper Cubs by Peter M. Bowers. TAB
Books, 1993.
Mr. Piper and His Cubs by Devon
Francis. Iowa State University
Press, 1973.
Those Legendary Piper Cubs: Their
Role in War and Peace by Carroll V. Glines. Schiffer Publishing
Ltd., 2005.
Piper: A Legend Aloft by Edward H.
Phillips. Flying Books International, 1993.
Private Flying: Today and Tomorrow
by William T. Piper. Pitman Publishing Company, 1949.
The Piper Cub Stor y by James M.
Triggs. TAB Books, 1978.
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15
My First Airplane
BY
LEE HURRY
16 DECEMBER 2011
was able to
make a deal to
get my private
certificate
from a local
instructor/A&P
mechanic in his
personal J-3 Cub.
revising the rudder/fin configuration, the cabin windows, and birdcage, and bolting on a J-3 nose with
the 65 Continental engine. The result was a slightly lighter airframe
with a lower gross weight, but it
made a better-performing legal J-3,
similar to 46 J-3s that were modified
into PA-11 models with the -11 nose,
with the substitution of a 90-hp engine and the addition of a wing tank.
After awhile the slow 60-mph cruise
speed got to us, so we decided to get
something faster, like a J-3! We found
a wind-twisted fuselage for $35 and a
crashed 46 fuselage with papers. We
made one airplane out of the two and
in about a year ended up with a 46
metal spar J-3 with an electrical system, a 65 Continental, and a metal
prop. It indicated a solid 85-plus mph,
until I had the Maxwell prop shop
check the prop, and Mr. Maxwell repitched it flatter as it was supposed to
be; then it would barely make 80!
We sold the J-2 to a fellow at Fairmont who subsequently made a hard
(very hard) landing and broke the
two lower longerons at the tail-wheelmount bolt. Since most planes were
tied down instead of hangared and
were taildraggers, the snow and rain
that found their way inside the fuselage flowed downhill to the back end
and rusted the tubes. Some new tubing welded in made it like-new again.
I well remember having to dig snow
out of the rear of the L-4s, which
werent sealed off behind the back
seat like J-3 Cubs are. That is, after
we had dug the plane itself out of the
snow drifts! Cubs were fun on skis.
Wed land on the lakes by the ice fishermen. I even managed to get stuck
in the snow at Le Sueur, Minnesota,
when the wind blew me sideways and
the skis cut in. My buddy had to get
out and push, and I circled back to
pick him up on the roll (slide?).
Our continuing search for more
speed next led us to a pristine hangar queen 46 Super Cruiser with its
big 100-hp Lycoming engine, but
that was my third or fourth, so I better quit. Flying holds for us so many
great adventures, and then so many
wonderful memories!
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17
TM
, North
r 3, Roxboro
-In
Carolina Fly
Chapte
CALIFORNIA
FLORIDA
KANSAS
CALIFORNIA
Sacramento, CA, VIN 25
Meeting: 2nd Sat., 9:00 a.m.
See chapter website for
location.
Robert Opdahl, President
Phone: 530-273-7348
E-mail: bopdahl@sbcglobal.net
Website: www.vaa25.eaachapter.org
CAROLINAS, VIRGINIA
Walnut Cove, NC, VIN 3
Meeting: Contact President
Susan Dusenbury, President
Phone: 336-591-3931
E-mail: sr6sue@aol.com
Website: www.VAA3.org
18 DECEMBER 2011
ILLINOIS
Lansing, IL, VIN 26
Meeting: Contact President
Peter Bayer, President
Phone: 630-922-3387
E-mail: c180bayer@comcast.net
INDIANA
Auburn, IN, VIN 37
Meeting: 4th Thurs., 7:00 p.m.
DeKalb County Airport (kGWB)
Hangar AVAA 37 Clubhouse
Drew Hoffman, President
Phone: 260-515-3525
E-mail: drewhoffman@vaa37.org
Website: www.VAA37.org
LOUISIANA
New Iberia, LA, VIN 30
Meeting: 1st Sun., 9:00 a.m.
LeMaire Memorial Airport (2R1)
Hangar 4
Roland Denison, President
Phone: 337-365-3047
E-mail: vaa30@cox.net
MINNESOTA
Albert Lea, MN, VIN 13
Meeting: 4th Thurs., 7:00 p.m.
Albert Lea Airport FBO (AEL)
Steve Nesse, President
Phone: 507-373-1674
NEW HAMPSHIRE
North Hampton, NH, VIN 15
Meeting: 2nd Sat., 11:00 a.m.
Hampton Airfield (7B3)
Robert Drake, President
Phone: 603-942-9242
E-mail: flyer172h@comcast.net
OHIO
Delaware, OH, VIN 27
Meeting: 3rd Sat., 9:00 a.m.
Delaware Municipal Airport (DLZ)
Terminal Building
Woody McIntire, President
Phone: 740-362-7228
E-mail: wjmcintire@cs.com
Website: www.EAAdlz.org
Chapter 25, S
acramento, C
alifornia, Gee
Bee Racer
OHIO
Zanesville, OH, VIN 22
Meeting: 2nd Fri.; 6:30 p.m.
Perry County Airport (I86)
John Morozowsky, President
Phone: 740-453-6889
OKLAHOMA
Tulsa, OK, VIN 10
Meeting: 4th Thurs., 7:00 PM
Hardesty South Regional Library
No meetings in July, Nov. & Dec.
Joe Champagne, President
Phone: 918-257-4688
Email: geeimjoe@yahoo.com
er ra.
lifornia, at Alta Si
amento, Ca
Chapter 25, Sacr
TEXAS
WISCONSIN
Brookfield, WI, VIN 11
Meeting: 1st Mon., 7:30 PM
Capitol Drive Airport Office
Donald Hyra, President
Phone: 262-251-1778
Email: phs1@ww.rr.com
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19
REMEMBER
THE
BY
AVRO AVIAN?
BOB WHITTIER
EAA 1235
odays typical aviation enthusiast has encountered the name Avro many times in the
course of his reading. Literature on World
War I aviation makes frequent mention of
the Avro 504 general-purpose and training biplane,
and literature on World War II has much to say about
the Avro Lancaster, Lancastrian, and Lincoln four-engine bombers used by the RAF.
After World War II there were the Avro York and Tudor airliners, and the Vulcan military jet.
But mention an Avro model called the Avian today
and more often than not youll get a Whats that?
response. Only an occasional antique airplane enthusiast will show a glimmer of recognition, but it would
be more realistic to say that his face will probably
light up as much as yours does upon encountering a
good friend!
Editors Note: The Light Plane Heritage series in EAAs Experimenter magazine often touched on aircraft and concepts
related to vintage aircraft and their history. Since many of our members have not had the opportunity to read this series, we plan on publishing those LPH articles that would be of interest to VAA members. Enjoy!HGF
20 DECEMBER 2011
English aviation pioneer, Alliott Verdon Roe. The name of the eventually large and famous firm, which he
founded, was A.V. Roe & Co. Ltd.,
and Avro was the obvious contraction. As time went on and his aeronautical accomplishments mounted,
Roe was knighted, so his name in literature on aviation history appears
as Sir Alliott Verdon Roe.
While still a young man, Roe was
an officer in the British Merchant
Marine and had ample opportunity to observe and marvel at the
graceful soaring of the albatrosses,
which followed the ship on which
he served. The more he watched
them, the more his interest in human flight grew. He obtained and The young A.V. Roe displays his prize-winning rubber-powered model of
eagerly read the literature on air- 8-foot wingspan.
craft design and construction,
which was becoming increasingly available in the wings rather than stabilizers, and so were tempted to
call it a sextuplane. It was powered by a J.A.P. mofirst decade of this century.
Roes steadily growing knowledge of the principles torcycle engine delivering a pathetic 9 hp. The enof mechanical flight led him to enter a rubber-powered gines name is derived from the initials of its maker,
model airplane in a contest held in March of 1907 by J.A. Prestwich.
To fly with such feeble power, Roe went to extremes
the prominent Daily Mail newspaper of London. A canard (tail-first) biplane of 8-foot wingspan, it managed to save weight, and even covered the wings with comto fly the then-creditable distance of a little more than mon brown paper. He was an intelligent and persistent
100 feet. That was good enough to win the first prize of man, and in 1913 demonstrated his well-designed and
able model 504 biplane to British military officials. It
75 pounds sterling.
Roe used this money to construct a full-size, man- was a fairly large but light and capable aircraft that was
carrying airplane patterned after that model. Unable to docile and easy to fly. Orders were soon coming in to
afford the high price of a real aero engine, he rented a the Roe establishment.
The 504 was used for many purposes, including comFrench-built Antoinette engine and installed it in this
creation. In July of 1908 he managed to make a flight munications, reconnaissance, light bombing, and even
of sorts at the aerodrome, which by then existed inside as a fighter. More than 7,000 of them were built between
the circuit of the famous Brooklands auto race track in 1913 and 1931, and a variety of engines were fitted.
This vast production effort taught the Avro people
Surrey to the south of London.
A score of years later the Royal Aero Club appointed much about aircraft design and mass production. A.V.
a committee to decide once and for all who officially Roe was different from many high-ranking aircraft inmade the first powered airplane flight in Britain. They dustry executives in that he retained a keen interest
decided that the uncertain skips and hops that char- in small, economical airplanes suitable for training
acterized the Roe machines performance could not be and sport flying. He had his people design and enter
considered as proper sustained and controlled flight, various small planes in the lightplane trials held at
the southern England town of Lympne (pronounced
so he lost out on that great honor.
Most of the early European aviation pioneers were Limm) from 1923 onward.
Early Lympne competitions were for very light airmen of means, which Roe definitely was not. His underfinanced messing about with flying machines did planes powered by fuel-stingy little engines of from 750
not make him particularly welcome at the elite Brook- to 1100 cc displacement. Nobody was manufacturing
lands drome, so he transferred his activities to some real aircraft engines of such small size, so various moopen space at a place called Lea Marshes. In July of torcycle engine conversions were used instead. A motor1909 he did manage to win fame as the first person in cycle able to reach 80 mph on a suitable track or open
road actually spends most of its service life doing 30 to
his country to fly an all-British aircraft.
The machine he built was what we today might call 40 mph on average roads, so it is seldom highly stressed.
a contraption. While generally called a triplane, its But to get even very light aircraft off the ground and
triple-tail surfaces were so large as to look more like up to cruising altitude, the motorcycle engines used at
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21
22 DECEMBER 2011
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23
Note carefully the stub wing on this Avian III of 1928. Wheels moved aft as wings were folded to compensate for
aft shift of center of gravity. Thin wing airfoil prompted use of thicker auto fuel tank mounted in center section.
But these qualities also appear to make keeping
a steady course in long cross-country flights an attention-demanding and therefore tiring proposition.
Wing dihedral and vertical tail work together to provide whatever directional stability a particular plane
might or might not have.
Visualize a plane flying in turbulent air, and suppose
that a gust comes toward the plane from the right. Dihedral on that side thus tries to raise the right wing, so,
of course, the left one goes down and the plane then
wants to turn to the left. But the same gust also presses
on the right side of the vertical tail and pushes the tail to
the left. That, of course, will tend to turn the nose to the
right, thus countering the planes turning to the left.
A plane with rudder only must wait for the pilot to
sense what is happening to the plane and then feed
corrective pressure into the controls.
A vertical fin of any useful size will, on the other
hand, come into automatic and immediate action to
do the same thing. As soon as Avro Avians begin to
This is a Whittelsey Avian manufactured in 1929 at Bridgeport, Connecticut. American models did not have the
wing-folding feature, so straight landing gear shock struts passed through holes built into wings. Handley Page
automatic slots are clearly seen on top wing.
24 DECEMBER 2011
Top left - wings were made to easily fold back for storage; dashed line indicates folded position. Lower left - note
generous gap between lower and upper wings. Upper right - easily built subassemblies went together to form
fuselage. Lower right - dotted line shows aft movement of landing wheels that took place automatically as the
wings were folded.
quire a total of eight spars, compared to the four required
for a pair of monoplane wings, each one could be made
from raw stock of modest and therefore easily obtained
and economical dimensions. So again the biplane configuration made sense. Although homely looking to modern eyes, the squared-off wingtips of the original Avian
also made production sense, since they avoided the need
to make special tip rubs and four wingtip bows. And it
was considered that on so slow a plane, their aerodynamic dirtiness would not be a serious drawback.
The reason only a small amount of stagger was used
between upper and lower wings had to do with the
fact that one of the contest rules required each entrant
to pass through a dummy garage door for storage.
Wings of small monoplanes could quickly be made
detachable, but thats not so easy to do with biplane
wings because of their struts and tie rods. So obviously
the new Avian would have to have folding wings. Very
little stagger could be used for the sake of keeping top
and bottom wing root pivot pins in line with one another. But the small amount of stagger that was used
did have the effect of keeping the tips of the lower
wings from touching ground when folded back and
also keeping them clear of the horizontal tail surfaces.
To help compensate for the loss of lift caused by air
being compressed slightly between upper and lower
wings, plenty of gap, or separation, was used. As the
Avian was not a particularly large plane, the somewhat
high mounting of the upper wing also facilitated entry
and exit from the front cockpit.
Lindberghs memorable flight from New York to
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VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25
Top left - aircraft have used both stationary and automatic-opening wing slots. Note track and rollers in the automatic installation here. Lower left, careful design and testing goes into tailoring sot action to suit a particular
planes needs. Above right - Airflow at high angle of attack without and with slots.
Paris in 1927 boosted aviation enthusiasm in Europe
as much as it did in America. By early 1928 Avro had
upgraded the Avian to make it less of a contest entry
and more of a general-purpose ship. The Genet engine
was replaced with the 80-hp, four-inline Cirrus engine. Wingspan was reduced from 32 to 28 feet, which
brought wing area down to 244 square feet to increase
wing loading and reduce skittishness on windy days.
Some Avians were fitted with Handley Page automatic slots on the leading edges of their upper wings.
At high angles of attack they would pop open, maintain
smooth airflow over a substantial proportion of the top
sides of the upper wings, and thus get away from the
often vicious and crash-causing stall characteristics of
many planes of the 1920s. A lot of engineering and test
flying went into designing slots of this type to get them
to open at the right time. During more severe maneuvers, the slot on one wing would pop open while the
one on the opposite wing remained closed. The resulting unbalance could give a pilot a bad time. So most of
these installations were fitted with slot-locking devices
for use when deliberate aerobatic flight was planned.
Some Handley Page slot installations made use of
track-and-roller arrangements, while others used parallelogram-linkage arrangements. The fixed slots seen on
a few American light aircraft of the 1940s were simpler
and cheaper to manufacture and were used to maintain even airflow over aileron top surfaces or to cure
vicious tip-stall tendencies.
The new Avian strongly resembled the de Havilland Gipsy Moth, but it was not a copy. Remember, it
originated as a Lympne contest entry. There were other
British light biplanes that closely resembled the Moth
and Avian. And its easy to find look-alikes in books
on American airplanes. The Moth-Avian look-alike
situation is probably the outcome of various designers
thinking about how best to design a light training biplane to use the Cirrus engine.
Where the improved Avian had nicely rounded wing-
26 DECEMBER 2011
tips, the Moth had World War I style raked tips. These
had been shown to be aerodynamically poor, but had
the practical advantage of putting as much aileron area
as far out on the wings as possible. So strong roll control
could be had even though there were only two ailerons.
Mounting them on the lower wings simplified connecting them to the cockpit controls in folding-wing planes.
The Moth had the familiar de Havilland kidneyshaped tail surface outlines. The Avian had a triangular-shaped vertical tail with rounded rudder top, and
rectangular horizontal surfaces. Because the leading
and trailing edges were parallel to one another, all ribs
were alikeprobably another production economy.
An Avro employee devised an improved wing-folding
system. An accompanying photo shows an Avian with
its right wings folded. The stub wings, which sprouted
from the bottom of the fuselage, were of triangular
shape. Rear landing gear struts were attached to rear
spars outboard from the root fittings. The resulting
geometry caused the wheels to move aft as the wings
were folded, so the planes tail end would not then be
so objectionably heavy to lift for handling when on
the ground. At the same time, the fuselage nose was
lowered enough to afford much better access to the engines exposed overhead valve mechanism.
Although less numerous than the de Havilland
Moths, Avians were well-known and often seen in
England. Many were shipped abroad and were thus
common in such places as Canada and Australia. In
1929 Avians were built under license in America by the
Whittelsey Manufacturing Company at Bridgeport,
Connecticut, but this company soon folded under the
growing impact of the Depression, which followed the
stock market crash in October of that year.
Studying old airplanes is both fun and educational.
We gain a new respect for the intelligence and cleverness of old-time designers. And now, get your leather
jacket, helmet, and goggles out of the closet, because
next month were going flying in an Avro Avian!
Drive one.
The Ford Explorer, the vehicle that dened an entire segment, delivers
best-in-class fuel efficiency with the standard V6 and new 2.0L EcoBoost engines *. Voted the 2011 North American truck of the year for its
on-road dynamics, safety, technology, design and craftsmanship, the
three-row, seven-passenger SUV is once again at the head of the class.
EAA members are eligible for special pricing on Ford Motor Company
vehicles through Fords Partner Recognition Program. To learn more
on this exclusive opportunity for EAA members to save on a new
Ford vehicle, please visit www.eaa.org/ford.
*20/city; 28/highway
Vintage
Mechanic
THE
BY ROBERT G. LOCK
ILLUSTRATION 1
28 DECEMBER 2011
In this aircraft the tailskid was simply a steel leaf spring, hardened by
heat-treating and attached to a cross
member of the aft fuselage. On the
end of the skid a shoe was attached
that had a rib welded fore and aft
through the middle to aid in keeping
the aircraft in the desired direction
on the runway. This arrangement was
widely used until hard-surface run-
ILLUSTRATION 2 (above)
ILLUSTRATION 3 (left)
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 29
ILLUSTRATION 4
30 DECEMBER 2011
ILLUSTRATION 5
ILLUSTRATION 6
critical to good performance. The Scott installation on
my Command-Aire is shown in detail in Illustration 7.
It is extremely important that, with the aircraft at gross
weight, the tail wheel assembly is mounted so the steering arm is parallel to the ground.
Modification of the tail wheel assembly requires a
FAA Form 337 asa field approval of a major alteration.
Owners and restorers need to pay close attention to
the tail wheel to make sure it is installed and operates
correctly. If it doesnt work properly, the results can
be catastrophic.
ILLUSTRATION 7
ment because of spring pressure.
Some aircraft use cables or an adjustable push-pull
rod for steering. The check is the same to make sure
the tail wheel follows the rudders movement.
Tail wheels are made from solid rubber or are pneumatic. Because there is a certain amount of give to it,
the pneumatic assembly is more forgiving on rough surfaces. However, if air pressure is allowed to get too low,
the tire can spin on the wheel, shearing off the inner
tube valve stem. Maintaining proper pressure is a must
when it comes to the pneumatic tail wheel. Illustration
6 shows the early restoration stage of my Command-Aire
5C3. The tail wheel installation was made using a Scott
3200 assembly as found on the Cessna L-19 Bird Dog.
Steering should always be accomplished by using a
rudder arm attached to the lower portion of the rudder.
Never attach steering cables to the rudder horns. Most
tail wheels incorporate springs, so the sensitivity of
steering can be adjusted. The more pull on the springs,
the more sensitive the steering as the pilot moves the
rudder pedals. Steering should be adjusted to be positive but not overpowering. With the Scott system, this
adjustment is easy.
The Scott 3200 tail wheel should be installed in accordance with data supplied by the factory. The angle
at which the assembly is mounted to the leaf spring is
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VINTAGE AIRPLANE 31
Vintage
Instructor
THE
32 DECEMBER 2011
How many
times have you
read an NTSB
accident report
stating that
while flying
in VMC, the
pilot attempted
to land on a
friends private
airstrip?
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 33
by H.G. FRAUTSCHY
MYSTERY PLANE
This months Mystery Plane comes to us courtesy of Wes Smith.
It is of North American origin.
Send your answer to
EAA, Vintage Airplane, P.O.
Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI
54903-3086. Your answer
needs to be in no later than
January 10 for inclusion
in the March 2012 issue of
Vintage Airplane.
You can also send your response via e-mail. Send your
answer to mysteryplane@eaa.
org. Be sure to include your
name plus your city and
state in the body of your
note and put (Month) Mystery Plane in the subject
line.
34 DECEMBER 2011
hydravion was 300 kilometers, while the HD.1 had an endurance of 2.5 hours (cruise speeds unknown).
Page 98 of Lucien Morareaus Les Aeronefs de lAviation
Maritime 1910-1942 has a photo of an HD.2 landplane (terrestre) of lecole de chasse de Frejuis, taken at St. Raphel in
1926, which has a modified vertical fin and rudder (or an
HD.1 replacement). Page 22 of Bruces Windsock has a photo
of Francis Lombardis Italian HD.1, fitted with a Fiat A.50 radial (I-PASO). It was flown as late as 1944. The caption goes
on to state that the design evolved into the CANSA (Costruzioni Aeronautiche Novaresi S.A.) FL.5 (later, C.5) trainer. There
is an HD.1 in the Royal Air Force Museum at Hendon. It was
flown to England from Belgium by Richard Shuttleworth in
1937 and was fully restored by Marvin Hand in the United
States. Several other HD.1s survive. Two examples exist in the
United States, one at the National Naval Aviation Museum
at Pensacola, Florida. Other HD.1s survive in Belgium, Italy,
Switzerland, and Ecuador.
Nungessers HD.1 was brought to the United States in 1924
and was registered as N5934. He flew it in the 1925 film The
Sky Raider. In 1927 it was flown in Wings by James Granger
(Nungesser had since disappeared during his trans-Atlantic
flight attempt). It was used again in Hells Angels in 1930. In
1951 it was rediscovered by Ed Maloney at Clover Field, Santa
Monica, California, where it had been stored. Currently, it resides at the Planes of Fame Museum and is painted with Nuncontinued on page 37
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VINTAGE AIRPLANE 35
VINTAGE
AIRCRAFT
ASSOCIATION
OFFICERS
President
Geoff Robison
1521 E. MacGregor Dr.
New Haven, IN 46774
260-493-4724
chief7025@aol.com
Vice-President
George Daubner
N57W34837 Pondview Ln
Oconomowoc, WI 53066
262-560-1949
gdaubner@eaa.org
Secretary
Steve Nesse
2009 Highland Ave.
Albert Lea, MN 56007
507-373-1674
stnes2009@live.com
Treasurer
Dan Knutson
106 Tena Marie Circle
Lodi, WI 53555
608-592-7224
lodicub@charter.net
DIRECTORS
Steve Bender
85 Brush Hill Road
Sherborn, MA 01770
508-653-7557
sst10@comcast.net
Dale A. Gustafson
7724 Shady Hills Dr.
Indianapolis, IN 46278
317-293-4430
dalefaye@msn.com
David Bennett
375 Killdeer Ct
Lincoln, CA 95648
916-952-9449
antiquer@inreach.com
Jeannie Hill
P.O. Box 328
Harvard, IL 60033-0328
920-426-6110
Jerry Brown
4605 Hickory Wood Row
Greenwood, IN 46143
317-422-9366
lbrown4906@aol.com
Dave Clark
635 Vestal Lane
Plainfield, IN 46168
317-839-4500
davecpd@att.net
John S. Copeland
1A Deacon Street
Northborough, MA 01532
508-393-4775
copeland1@juno.com
Phil Coulson
28415 Springbrook Dr.
Lawton, MI 49065
269-624-6490
rcoulson516@cs.com
DIRECTORS
EMERITUS
Robert C. Brauer
9345 S. Hoyne
Chicago, IL 60643
773-779-2105
photopilot@aol.com
Charlie Harris
PO Box 470350
Tulsa, OK 74147
918-622-8400
cwh@hvsu.com
Gene Chase
2159 Carlton Rd.
Oshkosh, WI 54904
920-231-5002
GRCHA@charter.net
Ronald C. Fritz
15401 Sparta Ave.
Kent City, MI 49330
616-678-5012
rFritz@pathwaynet.com
Gene Morris
5936 Steve Court
Roanoke, TX 76262
817-491-9110
genemorris@charter.net
John Turgyan
PO Box 219
New Egypt, NJ 08533
609-752-1944
jrturgyan4@aol.com
TM
TM
airventure@eaa.org
sportpilot@eaa.org
stc@eaa.org
airacademy@eaa.org
scholarships@eaa.org
slurvey@eaa.org
membership@eaa.org
membership@eaa.org
vintage@eaa.org
tbooks@eaa.org
MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION
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Membership in the Experimental Aircraft
Association, Inc. is $40 for one year, including 12 issues of SPORT AVIATION. Family
membership is an additional $10 annually. All
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(Add $16 for International Postage.)
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IAC
Membership dues to EAA and its divisions are not tax deductible as charitable contributions
Copyright 2011 by the EAA Vintage Aircraft Association, All rights reserved.
VINTAGE AIRPLANE (USPS 062-750; ISSN 0091-6943) is published and owned exclusively by the EAA Vintage Aircraft Association of the Experimental Aircraft Association and is published monthly at EAA Aviation Center, 3000 Poberezny Rd., PO Box 3086, Oshkosh, Wisconsin 54903-3086, e-mail: vintageaircraft@eaa.org. Membership to Vintage Aircraft Association, which includes 12 issues of Vintage Airplane magazine,
is $36 per year for EAA members and $46 for non-EAA members. Periodicals Postage paid at Oshkosh, Wisconsin 54901 and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Vintage Airplane,
PO Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086. CPC #40612608. FOREIGN AND APO ADDRESSESPlease allow at least two months for delivery of VINTAGE AIRPLANE to foreign and APO addresses via surface mail.
ADVERTISING Vintage Aircraft Association does not guarantee or endorse any product offered through the advertising. We invite constructive criticism and welcome any report of inferior merchandise obtained
through our advertising so that corrective measures can be taken.
EDITORIAL POLICY: Members are encouraged to submit stories and photographs. Policy opinions expressed in articles are solely those of the authors. Responsibility for accuracy in reporting rests entirely with
the contributor. No remuneration is made. Material should be sent to: Editor, VINTAGE AIRPLANE, PO Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086. Phone 920-426-4800.
EAA and EAA SPORT AVIATION, the EAA Logo and Aeronautica are registered trademarks, trademarks, and service marks of the Experimental Aircraft Association, Inc. The use of these trademarks and
service marks without the permission of the Experimental Aircraft Association, Inc. is strictly prohibited.
36 DECEMBER 2011
VINTAGE
TRADER
S o m e t h i n g t o b u y,
sell, or trade?
Classified Word Ads: $5.50 per 10 words,
180 words maximum, with boldface lead-in
on first line.
Classified Display Ads: One column wide
(2.167 inches) by 1, 2, or 3 inches high at
$20 per inch. Black and white only, and no
frequency discounts.
Advertising Closing Dates: 10th of second
month prior to desired issue date (i.e.,
January 10 is the closing date for the March
issue). VAA reser ves the right to reject any
advertising in conflict with its policies. Rates
cover one insertion per issue. Classified ads
are not accepted via phone. Payment must
accompany order. Word ads may be sent via
fax (920-426-4828) or e-mail (classads@
eaa.org) using credit card payment (all cards
accepted). Include name on card, complete
address, type of card, card number, and
expiration date. Make checks payable to EAA.
Address adver tising correspondence to EAA
Publications Classified Ad Manager, P.O. Box
3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086.
BOOKS
Spitfire WingmanCol. Jim Hauns Life in Love
with Flight. $14.95 + S & H. 1-87-SQUADRON.
www.spitfirewingman.com
Iowa Takes to the Air Volumes I, II, III
apellegreno@yahoo.com
MISCELLANEOUS
www.aerolist.org, Aviations Leading
Marketplace.
REALESTATE
Green Lake, WI! 100 feet of Lake Frontage for
sale on beautiful Green Lake. Great fishing
and swimming. 30 miles from EAA grounds.
Call Dan 608 212 9556
Florida keys Tavernaero Airpark 2/2 up and
1/1 down. CBS Construction, Central Air,
screened pool, marina, air pad. $750,000
owner/agent 305-304-8393
SERVICES
Always Flying Aircraft Restoration, LLC:
Annual Inspections, Airframe recovering,
fabric repairs and complete restorations.
Wayne A. Forshey A&P & I.A. 740-4721481 Ohio and bordering states.
Restoration, fabric, paint, fabrications,
paperwork. With 53 completed projects,
Wacos, Moths, Champs, Lakes, Pitts etc.
Test flights and delivery. Indiana 480-2092680 sales@wildcataviation.com, www.
wildcataviation.com
WANTED
Wanted for Warner 165 installation. One
control Box Type 318 for Eclipse 15V 15A
Generator Model 1, Type 308. Contact
robert.bishop@ns.sympatico.ca or 902584-3511
Dupont, the last name of the designing engineer that contributed to the rebirth of the
company from 1916. Bibliography refers
to 1,200 of them built with many finding
their way after the war into civilian use in
Europe, North America, and South America; only six genuine survive today.
A number of HD.2 versions were built
for the French and U.S. Navy primarily
as hydroplanes, but they were often retrofitted to wheels; their engine, a Clerget 130 hp rotary instead of a Le Rhone
9J of 110 hp, a different machine gun
arrangement, and different cowling
face were the main external difference
between the HD.1 and HD.2; unfortunately, the Mystery Plane picture does
not show these details. For instance the
Hanriot preserved at Planes of Fame in
Chino, California, is a HD.2 model.
Other correct answers were received
from Wayne Muxlow, Minneapolis,
Minnesota; Jim Gevay, Circle Pines,
Minnesota; Roger Baker, Carlsbad, California; and Renald Fortier, Ottawa,
Ontario, Canada, who reminded us
that another photo and a brief history of the HD-2 for use by the Navy is
shown on the website www.NavSource.
org/archives/01/57k3.htm.
708-267-7111
13221 WINDWARD TRAIL
ORLAND PARK, IL. 60462
uni-tech@earthlink.net
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 37
38 DECEMBER 2011
EAA members are eligible for special pricing on Ford Motor Company
vehicles through Fords Partner Recognition Program. To learn more
on this exclusive opportunity for EAA members to save on a new
Ford vehicle, please visit www.eaa.org/ford.
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 39
Wooden Puzzles
Three delightfully designed puzzles to build with the family
for an enjoyable, fun activity. Can be decorated with paint,
stickers or any imaginative idea that strikes you. For ages ve
and up, instructions included.
Bi-Plane
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40 DECEMBER 2011
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This hat, scarf,
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Black color is perfect
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Telephone Orders: 800-843-3612
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