I STRAIGHT AND LEVEL

• •

Fly-ins cover many activities including social and sured these contests are for precision aerobatic fly­ competitive fu nctions and just plain old togetherness ing, done under safe and stringent rul es, and are and relaxation. Many fly-ins are entirely social. Back separated into classifications according to the exper­ in the late Thirties we had th e monthly breakfast tis e of the individual pilot. Our hats are off to th e flights. Through word of mouth we would all attempt outstanding m en and women of the lAC. Through to gather early on a Saturday morning and pick a d es­ their organized effort to mak e aerobatics a safe, tination which was compatible with the various types recrea tional sport, we are privileged to witness some of aircraft, and away w e would go in a )-3 with an of th e finest precision flying to be seen anywhere. auto road map and a passenger who usually was also Th ere is no doubt th at THE fly-in of each year is th e a pilot. Frequently it took the contents of two pocket Annual EAA International Convention at Oshkosh. books to finance the flight including gas and food. Here EAA members and guests are able to see all Breakfast flights still ex ist today, but more often than typ es of aircraft and participate in forum s, work­ ways and though its format may not work for all other not we are loaded into a " spam ca n" and we guide shops, social activities, ca mping, etc. Also there are fly-ins, the tremendous amount of enthusiasm it gen­ ourselves elec troni ca lly to the d esti nation . all kinds of commercial displays including modern erates, its hospi tality and functional aspects should Today, w e have our type club fly-ins wh ere antique factory-built aircraft, and of course, those fabulous set an example for others. Generally the fly-in begins or classic buffs gather for an annual w eekend , to daily air shows. This convention ha s it all. on a Wedn esday and concludes on the following swap stories, have contes ts, exchange ideas and gen­ Th ere is one fly-in during the year that deserves all Sunday. A safety committee functions to control fly­ erally enjoy fun and excitement. Thes e fly-ins are the accolades it receives from its participants. It is a bys and pre-arranged formation work. Workshops both helpful and enjoyable as th e participants share a type club known as the Staggerwing Club and it is and forums are scheduled to assist the Staggerwing mutual interes t in a single type of aircraft. superbly organized and managed . Under th e auspices or Travel Air res torer , owner or pilot in bringing the We also have the " Air Shows", which have been of the Staggerwing Club is the Staggerwing Museum aircraft and individual pilot abilities up to the stan­ goin g on for some 70 years. Although not actually Foundation, Inc. The fo rmer was organized in 1962 dands desir ed . Fli g ht checks by ex perienced clas sified as fly-ins, people gather to see the partici­ and the Foundation was founded in 1974. What is so Stag gerwing pilots are offered and even FAA biennial pants demonstrate flight activities not normally seen in outstanding about the Staggerwing group is what they flight reviews can be sc heduled during the Conven­ everyday aviation. Th ese exhibitors are continually hav e accomplished, and the manner in which their tion! bringing before us new routines and demonstrations annual fly-in is conducted. Daily social ga therings are held and tours of the in­ of th e capabilities of both pilots and aircraft. Since its origin, the Staggerwing Club and Museum dustrial and manufacturing facilities of the area are What is more tun than having an EAA Chapter fly-in Foundation has managed to obtain for its members available. Evening meals and social hours are held on on a Sunday afternoon, participating with your ju st about all of the remaining parts of the various the site daily and an informal banquet concludes friends in spot landing and flour-bombing contests, Beechcraft Model 17s that exist. From th e Beech fac­ these activities on Saturday evening. Even though displaying your skill in a short cross country effi­ tory they have obtained photos and all drawings of there are over ten different models flying, the ciency contest, and th en enjoying the fine ea ting of th e various models, including th e details and specifi­ Staggerwing Convention prese nts no trophies or th e home-cooked food supplied by the wives and girl cations of each aircraft manufactured and other p erti­ awards! However, each Staggerwing or Travel Air friends of th e local fellows. This is EAA! n ent information. All of this is available to its mem­ prese nt at the Convention is presented with a unique Th en we have th e activities of the International bership for us e in restoring and operating Stagger­ plaque as recognition of attendance. Aerobatic Club, a Divi sion of EAA. The average per­ wings. Within the museum itself are static displays of In short, th e Staggerwing Club ex hibits the love for son in th e United States sees a Pitts and immediately various parts, engines, hardware, photos dating from a certain type of aircraft, together with th e expertise cla ss ifi es th e pilot as an " air show" type who tak es the 30's as well as current photographs of the flying to organize, develop, maintain, restore and fly their hi s life in hand on every flight. How wrong they are! restorations of the members . beloved machines. Th ey have es tablished and they The lAC has fly-ins which are contest oriented. We The annual Staggerwing Convention is h eld for its maintain a museum of top quality and during their won't go into the actual details co ncerning the rul es members and their gu es ts and currently is held in brief hi story hav e developed th e fellowship and sin­ and regulations governing an lAC event, but res t as­ Tullahoma, Tennessee. Thi s fly-in is uniqu e in many cere dedication we so need in sport aviation.

FAA ALERT BULLETIN - STEARMAN

Boeing Model 75 Series (S tearman) Wood Control Stick Assembly, PIN 75-3362

An accident occurred after the wood control stick ~/c comp;~e!2~ LI~~ in the rear cockpit broke during flight. The failure oc­ curred in the area between the retaining bolt and the upper end of the socket assembly. The broken control stick was made of walnut. Boe­ ing drawings specify that only hickory should be SHOULDER HARNESSES IN ALL CAPITOL DRIVE AIRPORT HAS 80 OCTANE FUEL used; preferably in a straight grained solid piece of SMALL AIRPLANES wood. However, 3/16 inch laminated stock is also ac­ Wally and Lois Mitchell, owners and operators of ceptable for use in fabricating a replacement control Several weeks ago the National Transportation Capitol Drive Airport on the northwest side of Mil­ stick . An aluminum control stick, PIN 75-3347, is in­ Safety Board recommended to the FAA that shoulder wau kee, Wisconsin, report that they have 80 octane terchangeable with the wood control stick. harnesses should be made mandatory and retroactive avgas for EAAers enroute to Oshkosh '80. Telephone ... from the Stearman Restorers Association News­ on all small airplanes. One of the problems is that on 414/783-4515. letter, "Outfit" older aircraft it is not possible to hook up a safe and effective shoulder harness. The FAA recognizes this problem and has been investigating what could be done in the broad area of additional cabin and seat safety. The fAA analysis has not been completed but we hope to have a report on this within a few weeks ... David H. Scott, Washington, D.C.

NO TCAs FOR ALBANY AND ROCHESTER, NEW YORK

The FAA has dropped its plans to establish terminal control areas at these locations. An analysis of traffic data and comments at public hearings has convinced the FAA that the existing terminal radar services pro­ vide adequate safety. However, new TCAs are still planned for Buffalo, Syracuse, Norfolk, Baltimore, and Dulles Airport at Washington, D.C., in the Eastern Region. Also, the existing TCAs at New York City, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Washington will be altered.

VA FLIGHT TRAIN ING IN JEOPARDY

The House Veteran Affairs Committee voted to cut off the Veterans Administration flight training benefits program, and if Congress follows suit the program (Pharo b y Gene Chase) could end on October 1 of this year. Over 15,000 per­ E. M. " Mally" Laird, EAA 10118, visited the EAA Air Museum on Jun e 17 to inspect th e Museum's Laird Super sons are enrolled in VA ftight training. General avia­ Solution replica prior to its being covered. Here he beams his approval of the project while sea ted in the cockpit. tion interests have been very vocal in opposing th e committee's action. 4 Warren Dodson, EAA 81697, A/C 685, was killed in March in th e crash of a Cessna 185 near Shaktoolik, Alaska while flying three officials of a Spanish film company while on location in the area. Warren was affectionately known as "Ace" and was one of the best known bush pilots in Alaska. His father, James by Gene Chase Dodson , Jr., was considered one of the great aviation ~itJ. eWSCompo/ ed pioneers in Alaskan history. Warren was 44 and a pilot for Wien Alaska for 23 years. His pride and joy was a restored Stinson SR-8 Reliant. Several years ago he salvaged the abandoned remains of this gullwing LUSCOMBE PART AVAILABLE which had been purchased new at the factory in 1936 by his father . Stinson aircraft were a very important AURORA, CO - Univair Aircraft Corp. has received part of Warren's life, and he helped many restorers a Parts Manufacturer Approval (PMA) from the FAA with their projects. We will sorely miss his advice and for the design and manufacture of a replacement fin enthusiasm and genuine friendship. Word of War­ To' attachment fitting for Luscombes. ren's passing was provided by the National Stinson Thi s part is applicable to Luscombe series 8 planes Club Newsletter. with round vertical stabilizers and is a 4130 steel re­ placement for the original cas t aluminum Luscombe fitting (P N 28444 or 28453) which may be required to be scrapped and replaced according to AD 79-25-05. Univair's part number is U-28444 for the fitting. The part is ava ilable for immediate shipment at a price of $49.50. Univair also stocks numerous other parts for the Lu scombes. Contact Univair at Rt. 3, Box 59 , Aurora, CO 80011, 303/364 -7661.

GREAT LAKES AIRCRAFT AVAILABLE AGAIN

The Great Lakes Aircraft Company is back in pro­ duction again, turning out those ageless classic G reat Lakes Trainers. For information, contact Great Lakes Aircraft Company, Marketing Dept., P. O. Drawer A, Eastman, GA 31023 . Telephone 912/374 -5535 .

(Photo by Ray Th ompson) Hurley Boehler on th e left , pres ident of Antique/Class ic Chapter 10 accepts th e chapter charter from Gene Chas e. This first m eeting of th e new chapter was held in Tulsa, Oklahoma on May 28 with 40 people in attendance.

5 Lady Peace /I on th e grass runway at Shannon Airport. the Vultee airworthy is really much too mild a phrase. by Merton A. Meade, Jr. It is, to paraphrase the Rolls Royce folks, not so much an aeroplane - more a way of life. fAA # 112009, A /C # 2994 a fellow named Sam Wilburn, and it was repaired and just a very brief history of this machine reads better 2009 Victoria Drive used by the Government. Later it was sold to TACA than most novels. It was delivered to its original Aquia Harbour airlines and was landed , wheels-up , unfortunately, in owner, William Randolph Hearst in April of 1937, and Stafford, VA 22554 Mexico. TACA didn't figure the ship was worth fixing, was used by Mr. Hearst at his ranch at San Simeon, so they sold it to the Kane Products Company in New Photos by the author California from that time until he disposed of it in England. july of 1940. The pilots of the "big" Hearst Vultee Kane sent a man named Tony Ross down to repair ("big" to differentiate it from the other Hearst Vultee it and fly it back to New Haven, which he did. Kane that crashed at San Simeon and burned), were AI kept the aeroplane for a couple years and then sold it A great deal has been written about this most fan­ Russell and H. R. Earnest. These two men thought to Welker Airways in Detroit. When Welker owned tastic old aeroplane, but not a lot about flying it. I' m NC16099 was the most fantastic flying machine they the Vultee, it was flown once in a while by Tony Bar­ certain that just about every EAA and Antique/Classic had ever encountered. And they were quite right. num . Division member knows the machine still lives, and In the middle of '40, Mr. Hearst sold the machine Welker sold the machine back into Panama , and it that it was restored by a singularly brilliant craftsman to Marcos Gallabert who took it to Panama where he stayed in Central and South America until the late named Harold W. johnston who now resides in used it on a little airline he had going at the time. ' 50s. It was flown from San jose, Costa Rica by Texas. It is well known that Harold spent several The day after Pearl Harbor, " Tito" Gallabert tangled " jungle" jody Gooding and " Charmin'" Charlie Hud­ years of his life, all of his money, and God-only­ with a U. S. Army truck in Panama, and all but de­ son with a load of monkeys and other exotic beasts in knows how much pain and suffering to get the stroyed the aeroplane. A year or so later, however, the back. The story of the trip back to California will machine back in an airworthy condition. just to call the machine was rescued from the breakers torch by almost fill a book, but that story will have to wait. 6 Back in the States and re-registered with her origi­ nal number, NC16099, it passed through a few own­ ers before ending up sitting, in an absolutely junked condition, in the back lot of Johnston Automotive, Pueblo, Colorado. Harold decided to restore the Vul­ tee, and devoted almost seven years to the project, finishing with the test flight on May 1, 1971. For the next six years, Harold used the Vultee, now named ,the Spirit of Pueblo, as his personal aero­ plane. He took it to Oshkosh where it was enthusias­ tically received, and also to Antique Airfield at Blakes­ burg, Iowa, where she looked like a mother hen , tow­ ering over the smaller aeroplanes. For several years Sidney Shannon, owner of the Shannon Air Museum, had been watching with in­ terest the movements of the Vultee, and finally, in very early 1977, he and Harold Johnston ca me to an agreement, and Harold flew the machine to Virginia. The name was changed to Lady Peace II, in honour of Museum Curator, Captain H. T. "Dick" Merrill, who flew a similar machine across the Atlantic in Sep­ tember of 1936. The big Vultee now sits in the center The Vultee's front office. The Vultee as she sits today - surrounded by other an­ of the Museum, on the green Astro-turf hangar floor, tiques, watching over her brood of smaller an tiques. But, on to flying the ship. A walk-around inspection to be trifled with. It is an airliner, and an old one at but outside it is painful. In just a few seconds the is about like you 'd expect on a DC-9. It's big! Also, that. airspeed is nudging 80, and a slight tug on the big, there are a couple of things that are quite unusual. It When the pressures have all settled down to where round wood-rim wheel will unstick her and up you'll must be remembered to turn on the brake shut-off they belong, and the oil temperature has started up, go. valves located on each landing gear leg. These valves you can start to taxi to the runway. The old Goodyear Holding an initial 37" for a few seconds, retract the prevent fluid from running through the big multi-disc brakes let out the most delightful moans and groans, wheels and the speed will jump to a hundred or Goodyear brakes and out onto the ground. If you which serve to remind you that they are not to be more right away. After the wheels are up, pull in the forget to tu rn on these valves, you obviously have no over-used . Run-up isn't unusual; about what you'd flaps if any are out. To do this means moving the brakes, and since the tailwheel n either steers nor expect for a big radial. With the run-up complete, transmission shift lever from "Gear" to " Flaps", and locks, you have a big, wiggly salamander and no way switch on the " No Smoking" and "Fasten Seat Belts" then moving the motor switch from its normal place to control it. signs, and you're ready for a real experience. in neutral to "Up". After the flaps are in, move the Once inside, more interesting things take place. Normal take offs are made without flaps, but up to motor switch back to " Neutral", and then put the The oil shut-off valve must be opened to allow the oil ten degrees can be used for short fields or particu­ shifter back down to the " Gear" position. Sound from the 19-9allon tank to get to the engine. Prime­ larly heavy loads. I always let the Vultee roll forward a complicated? You darn well better believe it! wobble-prime-wobble is the next order of business. few feet before coming up with the power, just to I like to reduce manifold pressure just as soon as When the down-draught carbureter is properly make certain the tailwheel is absolutely straight. To possible, and pull it back to 30" and 2,000 rpm. As primed and the fuel pressure is up, the starter switch have an 8,000 pound lizard go squirming off into the soon as a little altitude is on, a further reduction to is pushed over to the " Engage" side and a long, toolies just doesn 't sound like this old man 's idea of a about 25" and 1800 is made, and if you then want to laboured whine begins as the inertia wheel starts to lot of fun. Anyway, up with the power to 37" of man­ climb more, just pull the nose up to 120 miles per turn. When it's wailing like a banshee, and the throt­ ifold pressure (this isn't anywhere near wide open ­ hour and go on up, being ever-mindful of the oil tle is set right and the mags set to the booster side, red line is 41"), and if the rudder trim is set right temperature. The oil cooler is mounted inside the the switch is flipped to the " mesh " side and the big she'll track just about straight down the strip. If she's cowling, behind the row of cylinders, so the Vultee is Hamilton-Standard 3D40 jerks through. The R-1820 light, the tail will hop up just like a Cub, but if she's very sensitive to pitch attitude. Cyclone comes to life with all the clouds of smoke slrghtly aft-loaded, you'll have to help it up with a lit­ In cruising flight, the machine is a delight. She's and intoxicating smells associated with big radials , tle forward stick. fast; at about 50% power she'll indicate right around and all the dials spring into their proper places. With The prop govenor will settle the rpm in at the red­ 150 miles per hour at, say, 8,000 feet. Sure, she'll go the Wright running - sitting there throbbing and line of 2,200 and the Wright will make more noise faster, but you sure pay the penalty in 100 octane. My sending powerful vibrations through the entire than any, and I mean any, propeller driven aeroplane good friend General Ben Kelsey accompanied me machine, you are reminded that this is not a machine I've ever heard. Inside the sound isn't really too bad, from Shannon Airport to Antique Airfield last year, 7 and he described the Vultee as a "drifter". She just Wheel landings are easiest, mainly because you can Shut down is fairly simple; just turn off the fuel won' t sit there absolutely hands off and perfectly see. I've three-pointed her several times, but the big and let it run out of gas. All switches off, firewall oil hold a heading. No great deal of effort has to be fuselage has a way of blanking out the rudder. She shut-off turned off and then get out and shut off the made, but you've got to pay attention. She's basically slows down so quickly once on the ground, wheel brake fluid . You're now all done. very stable, and incredibly strong. It's hard to believe landings just seem to work out best. I remember There is no doubt in my mind that the Vultee V-1A an airliner stressed 12 positive and 4 negative, bu't landing at Blakesburg last year with the General in Special is the most fascinating aeroplane I've ever them's the numbers for the Vultee V-1A Special. the right seat. I must say that little runway looked been involved with. If ever an aeroplane has been. short. As we rolled onto final and I started to really destined to survive, it's this very one. It has had more Landing the big Vultee is sheer delight, if your idea slow her down, General Kelsey leaned over and opportunities to " die" than most ships and has side­ of sheer delight is being as busy as a one armed asked me if I wanted him to call our airspeeds. I al­ stepped all of them. Remember, it crashed in Panama paper hangar with the hives. On downwind, slow her lowed that as slow as I THOUGHT I'd have to bring back in the early forties, but survived. It ran out of down to around 130 or 140 and put out the wheels. her in, I didn't even want to hear what the airspeed gas with a load of monkeys on board back in the fif­ That' s easy; just make sure the shifter is in the indicator was saying. The General courageously re­ ties, but just happened to be right over an airport. "Gear" position, and move the motor switch to mained silent, and after we were on the ground and The pilot got her on the deck without tearing any­ "Down". With almost no effort from the pilot, the taxiing in, he told me the thing was just about a nee­ thing up, even though the wheels were still winding airspeed will settle at about 120. Make certain the dle width under 70 mph over the fence. As I said, I down as he rolled them on the runway. It was sitting wheels are out by checking the indicator gauge, the didn't even want to know how slow it was! As a mat­ on a field in Central America one time when a hor­ green light, and also by peeking out the window to ter of fact, though , the aeroplane felt just as solid as rendous hailstorm came through. The hail beat up see if you can see the " weedcutter" gear door. If you it looks, with complete control. every aeroplane on the field except one, and I don' t happen to have the wireless turned on and ear­ Once you 're on the ground with the V-1A, just sit have to tell you which one that was. It wasn't even phones on your head, you 'll know when the wheels there and leave things alone until you 're off the run­ touched, though it was sitting right with the rest of are out. The old motor makes such a horrible way and ready to taxi in. Make absolutely certain the them. Why didn't Harold Johnston just let it die after screeching and shrieking through the headset, the re­ motor switch is in neutral, move the shifter to the sitting in his back lot for a few years? It has had a few lief is so great when it stops you just know the flap position and retract them. When they're all the problems over the years that would have " killed" les­ wheels are down. way up again, put the motor switch in neutral and ser ships, but NC16099 has survived, and I believe it Next move the shifter up and the motor switch move the shifter back to the gear position. If you're always will. down to start the flaps out. I usually don't worry with not extremely careful, you can pull the wheels up looking at the flap indicator. When I start getting a while taxiing. Sitting still, with the full weight of the (Ph o to b y Chris Sorensen) A large cumberso n airplane. its eng ine th e p o w erful pronounced pitch change, I stop the flaps, set the ship on the gear, the micro switches won 't allow the Wright Cyclone 1000 hp gives it a speed of well o ver 780 airspeed on about a hundred, and begin the ap­ undercart to come up, but taxiing lightens the load mph . It made histor y when Dick M errill flew it to England proach . Fairly close in, 100 is a good number, and on enough , what with the long oleo travel, that the with Harry Ri chman. It was res tored to its present condi­ short base or long final I put out the rest of the flaps. switches will not do their jobs and you can actually tion b y H aro ld Johnsto n of Pueblo, Col orad o . Now As soon as all the flaps are out, make certain the bring in the wheels. That could be a very embarras­ owned by Sh annon Air Muse um, it is the only one of its motor switch is in neutral and the shifter back in the sing and expensive situation. kind. landing gear position. This is done so that if you have to make a go-around, you can get the wheels in first. With the shifter in the gear position, you can crank in the flaps with the hand crank, and with the shifter in the flap position, the same crank works the undercar­ riage. Sort of like rubbing and patting at the same time, ain't it? Remember, no more than 30" if the airspeed is less than a hundred; the rudder just won't hold direction. Here we are, now, on short final , wheels down, flaps down, shifter down and the runway coming up to you. A touch of power holds the rate of descent just right and the speed should be about 80. As the runway comes up to you , just ease up the nose a bit, reduce the power and she'll settle nicely onto the main trucks with a little squeak. No need to keep watching the airspeed indicator; she'll tell you every­ thing you want to know. 8 . by Wa lt A hlers, Pres ident f AA Antique/Class ic Chapter # 7 fAA # 92795, A /C # 3974 60 Main Street Flanders, NJ 07836

Ph otos courtesy of th e author

A project, a project - Antique/Classic Chapter 7 Upon our arrival, we located our contact who On the way home we discussed the pros and cons needed a project! During its first four months of exis­ showed us the engine and instruments. The engine of taking on the PT-26 as a chapter project. W e were tence, Chapter 7, based at Flanders Valley Airport in looked good, and the instruments looked like new trying very hard to maintain our objectivity. Our New Jersey, had managed to get itself chartered, which aroused our interest more than ever. We asked biggest question was " would the chapter be willing to started a newsletter, hold a square dance, plan a our contact to take us to the aircraft. Once we as­ undertake a project of this magnitude?" Just then , fly-in and recover a Stinson 108-1 . Yet , our ambition sured him that we had brought plenty of warm cloth­ our discussion was interrupted by the weather fore­ was to get our teeth into a full scale project; a com­ ing, he , agreed to lead us on. It seemed as if we cast which added a sense of urgency for reaching a plete restoration. With some of the funds collected had left civilization behind as we moved higher and decision . The five day forecast called for a warming from our previous efforts, the Chapter was ready to higher into the mountains and further and further trend and rain - a January thaw? Once the ice search seriously for such a project. into the woods. Finally, we were signaled to pull over thawed, the PT would sink deeper into the swamp. If The original organizers of Chapter 7 were fortunate to the side of the road. " She's down there," he said, that happened she would be impossible to retrieve, in being able to attract some fifty individuals, both as he pointed to some trees. "Down there?", I asked. and our search for a project would have to start men and women into membership by their en­ " Ya , right on the other side of the trees, there's a anew. W e returned to Flanders Valley Airport and thusiasm and willingness to work. This provided a swamp and a pond." met with some of the members we had left behind in pool of talent, energy, and interest which found the We bundled up and took off in the direction he the coffee shop. opportunity to flow together upon discovery of the had pointed. About 100 yards from the road we saw The more we talked, the more excited we became. Reluctant Lady. the pond and swamp; we still had another 50 yards to We didn't want to let this opportunity slip through go. And then, we spotted her, glistening in the sun our hands. If we were to do it, we needed' a work It all started with a phone call one Friday evening. despite being partially submerged in ice. We ap­ party the next morning, but more importantly, we The voice of one of our members sounded like a 33 proached for a closer inspection. One wing was bro­ needed at least the tacit consent of the membership rpm record played at 45 rpm speed. He had located a ken at the center section and folded under; the lead­ to follow through . We cranked up the telephone wrecked Fairchild PT-26 which had flown only 23 ing edge of the other wing showed evidence of hav­ chain and by the end of the evening more than half ,hours since a complete restoration. The fuselage and ing taken some nasty blows on the way down. With of the members had agreed to go dig her out. other handy parts could be ours with the purchase of the exception of some broken stringers, the fuselage The first crew was to leave at 5 A.M. with a second !the instruments. There was only one catch; the fuse­ looked good, but we were unable to determine the crew following at 7 A .M. It takes some kind of dedi­ Ilage was in a swamp near Ellenville, New York. But, extent of damage to the underside. cation to get up early on a Sunday morning in the the price was only $800! This was certainly worth A project? In our excitement we were afraid to middle of January. Mother Nature, fickle as usual , looking Into, and immediate action would be neces­ voice the question. We trudged back through the had decided that instead of a warming trend she sary. I was able to get in touch with two other mem­ packed snow to the truck and left word with our con- ' would send a record cold, bone chilling -200 F. temp­ bers, including a mechanic, and by 7 A.M. the follow­ tact that we would be in touch as soon as we re­ eratu reo ing morning, we were bound for Ellenville. ceived an answer from the membership .

9 Upon rea ching th e PT all hands se t to - not dig­ started out as a lark was turning into a lot of hard, The remaining parts of th e center section was digging ging out th e aircraft, but building a fire. First things cold, fruitless work. Th e pump was set up and im­ into th e ice. About that time, a strange face appeared first. All th e chain saws , pick ax es and other assorted mediately a petcock was broken. No sooner was the in the crowd. He was the former owner of our Lady. equipment were then put into se rvi ce cleaning th e problem overcome than the pump froze up. It was Disbelieving what he saw, he offered us a piece of brush and ice around the aircraft. By noon, the fuse­ ju st too cold. What seemed like a good idea had sim­ plywood to use as a sled. Once positioned, we then lag e was clear of ice, and it wa s determined that th e ply fi~zled . W e figured that w e'd give it one la st ef­ had little trouble dragging her to the roadside and center section was damaged beyond repair. W e chose fort. It would b e back to muscle power. Th en if secured her. We had succeeded in retrieving her to cut it clear of th e fuselage at th e inboard fuel tank. things did not work out, well, at leas t, we' d given our from the swamp before the thaw, but she still would Th e water around the fu selage w as getting churned best try. have to lose some weight before we would be able to up and what wasn 't muddy wa s freezing, so it was A couple of saplings were cut down and placed transport her to Flanders. hard to tell what was being done. It had been a long under the fuselage where it appeared to be stuck An exhausted, but happy crew returned home. All time since breakfast and all of us were tired and hun­ fa st. One e nd was attached to a Bronco, and all had worked hard and it had taken the combined ef­ gry. A break was declared and some scouts were sent hands grabbed on and pulled . Every ounce of com­ forts of each and every person, with the help of some back to civilization for food . bined energy was exerted. Th e Bronco's front wheels new found friends to free our Reluctant Lady. How­ But what to do about th e freezing water? Perhaps, w ere clear off the ice and those men hanging onto ever, the se nse of well being we felt that night was if it could be kept circulating, it would not freeze, the poles looked like so much laundry hung out to replaced by sore and aching muscles in the morning. and the fu se lage could b e freed ; but a pump would dry. Then ca me the shout, " It moved! " Had we really Our chapter meeting was held two weeks later, and be n ee ded. Where to find a pump at noon on Sun­ freed the fuselage or ju st damaged it further? Then naturally, the Reluctant Lady was discussed at length. day? Why at a fire house of course. W e stopped at slowly, ev er so slowly, the Bronco returned to earth. The suggestion was made to bring her back that very Napanoch Fire Company and those tru sting folks At th e same time, an old tree stump revealed its roots day. Within fifteen minutes, twelve members volun­ w ere agreeable to lending us a pump. No qu es tions as th e PT was freed from the icy grip of the swamp. teered, called their wives, and were off. This time a asked. I guess th ey figured that if we were crazy With the PT free, we got our second wind . All that tilt-body truck, donated by a chapter member, was enough to go to the top of a mountain to chop out remained was to drag her to high ground. A simple part of the equipment. The ice-laden fuselage was an airplane in the dead of winter , we could be process! But , w e had not reckoned with the added pulled aboard, and by ten o 'clock that evening, the tru sted with a pump. w eight of the fu se lage full of ice. With ropes at­ Relu ctant Lady was in her new home, basking in the Upon our return we found the spirits of th e group tach ed, w e attempted to move our Reluctant Lady warmth of two space heaters. It was more than two w ere lagging. People were beginning to have second with the Bronco. She would not move. The Suburban days later that the last of the ice was cl ea red from her thou ghts about our salvage operation. Wh at had was attached to the Bronco and still no movement. fuselage. 10 Res toration o f th e Relu ctant Lady w as th e program Arriving at th e fi eld, w e spotted a pi ck-up tru ck and at the n ex t Chapt er 7 m ee ting. Sh e w as uncovered approach ed it o n the o ff chan ce th at th e driver was and it was determined that h er fu se lage h ad su stained o ur "contact". Sure en o ug h , m essages h ad b ee n o nly mino r damage. But, w e n eeded parts. Now th e scra mbled , and he had been w aiting for u s. H e first sea rch was to b egin in ea rn es t. took u s to a hangar wh ere th e o nly th ings w e found At this time, the Relu ctant Lad y consisted o nly o f a w ere a set o f wings. damaged fu se lage, an engine, and so m e instrum ents. " I th o u g ht w e we re supposed t o pi c k up som e Cl ea rly much m o re would b e necessary b efore sh e oth er p arts," I said . " Is thi s all you h ave?" " Yeh , could becom e air born e o n ce m o r e . Earl y in o ur th er e's m o re," h e drawl ed . " Th ey' r e o v er at th e sea rch , w e located an en gine cowling, fl aps and som e barn ." W e pulled out th e wings and fo llo w ed him to mi scellan eou s ite m s o n Lo n g Island , whi ch w e th e barn. H e o p en ed th e door, and th ere b efore our p ro mptly acqu i red . In th e mea ntime, o ur "exp erts" eyes w as paradise. Th e barn w as ju st packed to th e h ad also locat ed a set o f wings, tail surfaces, and rafters wi th assorted odds and ends o f all ki nds o f o th er parts. Th ese were in W akeman , O hi o, but as aircraft. W e pi cked and ch ose w hat we wanted , plac­ u su al , th e re w as a stri ng ti ed to th e b argain . W e ing all th e parts on th e gro und outside. Wh en w e fi­ wo uld first have to identify th e p arts, and th ey were nally quit, th e barn loo k ed as if n o thing had b een stored wi th o th er d isasse m bled aircra ft - and noth ­ r e m oved , but an yo n e l ookin g d o wn f r o m above ing w as m ark ed. w o uld h av e ass u med th at a m ajor aviati o n disas ter Again th e requ es t for voluntee rs was m ad e and had taken p lace. mo re th an enough stepped forward . It w as d ecided We w e re finally rea dy for th e loa ding, but th en th at three of u s w o uld make th e trip. W e left o n a M o ther Na ture d ecided to do h er thing . Th e ski es Fri day even in g, dragg ing a trail er , and pl ann ed t o d ark en ed , and h eavy, threa t ening clouds m oved in drive straig ht thro ug h th e night. O ur very under­ p elting u s with a downpour of rain and hail. Th ere stand in g w ives supplied u s w ith plenty o f brownies we re little w hite marbl es of ice all over u s, all over and fried chi cken. W e reach ed Ortner Fi eld in O hio the ca r , and all o ver th e parts. Yet, 30 minutes later , it by 4 A. M . and grabbed ab out three h o urs o f sleep . w as all over , and the sun was shining. At this p o int all I aw o ke at daybrea k , and m y first view o f th e field we could d o was laugh , pack our treas ures and hea d i ncl uded th e silhou ettes of some very large aircraft. back to th e airport for our wings and the final loa d­ W ithin sight of our vehi cle was a C-46, two D C-7's, ing. beyond repair , but could be u se d as patterns. Th e Re­ three Convairs, and an A- 26 . Th ere w ere also th e re­ As we load ed and reloaded , it beca m e o bviou s that luctant Lad y w as badly in n eed o f th ese parts if sh e mains of two o r three Beech D-18s and a D C-7 ce nt er news of our activities had tr'aveled . A gentlem en ap­ w as to fly o n ce again. W e surveyed th e pile and es ti­ sec ti o n . Th is w as n o o rdinary country airport ! Th ere p roach ed u s, i ntro du cing himse lf as Leon. I f w e mat ed that it w ould take several h ours to dislodge th e th ey sa t, in th e mist, like so m any crea tures fro m a w ould b e interes ted , h e'd like to sh o w u s his collec­ necessa ry pi eces. In additio n , w e w ere sure that we p rehistoric age. M uch like th e dinosaurs o f old w hose ti o n of ai rcraft pa rts and pi eces. By that time, we had wouldn't have enough room to ca rry any mo re back. ex tin cti o n w as p red es tined by climati c changes, th ese disca rded o ur sc h edule. " Why no t, w e'll follow you . At th at p o int, w e d eci ded th at w e w o uld have to pro u d craft, o n ce rulers of th e sky, h ad sunk into How far is it?" scro unge th e parts cl oser to ho m e; so w e th anked techno logica l obsolescen ce. " Ju st down th e roa d a pi ece," w as th e reply; and o ur h ost and returned to th e airpo rt. By this time, it By 6:30 A .M. everyone w as up, and we h ea d ed into so for twenty miles w e follow ed him , finall y turning w as ge tting dark , so w e completed th e loading pro­ town for som e b rea kfas t. W e return ed to th e f ield onto a dirt roa d . Th ere, in a fi eld w ere three jet fi ght­ cess in th e illuminati on o f our headlights. We th en on ce m o r e ass uming that o ur "contact" would b e e rs, a Yal e, a n e n o rm o u s radial e n g ine and any sought o ut th e nea res t m otel fo r some much needed wai ting. W h en th ere was no sign o f him by 9: 00 A.M . number o f fu se lage skeleto ns. In th e midst o f all this res t. we ca lled. His fi rst comment w ent as follows, " You sa t a white pole building. Leon gave us a guided to ur Twenty- fo u r ho urs b e hind sc h edule, w e arrived w er en 't supposed to b e here this w eek end . W ell , I' ll of th e field , but in my amazem ent, I h ea rd little o f ba ck in Fl anders w ell satisfi ed with the results of o ur meet you at th e coffee sh op in 15 minutes. " So back w h at h e said. Closer insp ecti o n revea led that th ose adventure. W e took invento ry (wh en we finally un­ into to wn w e w ent. W e w ai t ed , an d w ait ed , and skeleto ns w ere PT fu se lages, b ut th ey w ere in roug h load ed) and found that w e had 9 ail erons, 3 flap s, 3 wai ted. N o o n e. "Was th ere ano th er coffee sh op in sh ape, many h av ing bee n ravaged . I w o ndered why wings, 5 rudders, 2 elevato rs, 2 ho rizontal stabilizers, town ?" " N o t since about three yea rs ago," th e wait­ th ey w ere b eing saved . O ur h os t led u s into th e 4 verti ca l st abilizer s, 2 turtl e d~cks and assorted ress replied. Aga in w e hea ded for th e airport. Con­ building. Ju st inside th e door sa t three o r fo ur Rolls pu sh-pull tubes. versa ti o n was at a minimum as we w ere beginning t o Royce M erlin e ngines. N ext , I sp o tt ed an AT-6, a W e are still in need of a center secti o n and th e think that we h ad p laced a $200 dep os it and driven h elicopter, m o re engines and ano th er pil e o f PT fuse­ landing gear h ou sings, but resto ration should b egin 565 mil es fo r no thing. Aviati o n lore is full of sto ri es lages. Th ese, too, had b een bad ly ca nnibalized , but in ea rn es t after o ur fly-in in Jun e. W e feel that much ab out p eople w ho have been had, and it looked as if at th e bo tt o m of th e hea p w as a fu se lage complet e has alrea dy been accomplish ed and we know that the w e may h ave jo ined the ra nks. w ith its ce nter secti o n and gea r housing. Th ey w ere Relu ctant Lady will fly on ce again . 11 by Robert G. Elliott Part I of the J. O. Dockery story appeared in th e JESSE ORVAL DOCKERY ... EAA #8514 5, AIC #3296 July, 1980 iss ue of The VINTAGE A IRPL ANE. 'A FLYING SILVER EAGLE' /227 Oakwood Avenue Edi tor Daytona Bea ch, FL 32014 PART II Ph otos from th e Collection of I. O. Dockery

from Chicago and build th e Laird Swallow. H e had h adn 't been o n the run but two or three days Lloyd Stearman and W alter Be ech working for him wh en Clyde ca lled and sa id ... " Wh en you gonna then . Th ey wanted to build a steel fuselage but h e in­ get back up h ere? " , t o which I r espond ed .. sisted on wooden longerons. So th ey ju st quit after " Clyde, I've already agreed to work with Paul and I several ships were built. Buck W eaver was tes t pilot had quit wh en I left you." for M atty and when asked how the first model flew, "Oh , no ... Major Worley sh o uld h ave let you go he sa id ... 'F li es like a Swallow! ' home to visit your mother," ... and th en he sez ... " It looked a great d ea l like a Jenny o nly it had a " Who else can I get ?" nose radiator. Late r Matty r eturned to Chicago, where The previous year I had taught Penny Rogers to fly. he continued to build th em with steel fuselages pow­ H e was a good pilot so I recomme nded him by say­ e red by OXs, C-6s, and Hissos and became quite suc­ ing , " I'm goin' to be off tomorrow. I'll bring h im up." cessful. As it worked o ut , we went t o Wichita a nd got " When the first TP Swallow, a training plan e, was Penny ch ecked o ut o n the Cess nas. H e found things built I w e nt up and flew it. Nuthin' fan cy, no up­ agreeable w ith Clyde and h e b ecame th eir test pilot, holste ry, stripped down. I looped it , spun it, played remaining th er e a number of years." around and ca m e down and got g rounded for testing In going throu g h a few of Doc's records I found without a parachute. that in 1928 h e received his Federation Aeronautique " Th e inspector had come arou nd ju st as I h ad Int ernati o nal li cense number 440, sig n ed by Orville landed and got out. You weren't supposed to do that. Wright. " In the Fall of 1928, whil e on a demonstration tour ' 'I'm gettin ' ahead of my story," said Doc, as we re­ I ca m e back throu g h Oklahoma City, sh owing the sumed the documentation of his f lying experiences. Cessna with a 10 cylinder A nzani , which was a m od­ " My first barnstorming with new production ified WW I engine. It used to have a su ction intake airplanes was with littl e two-pl ace OXS Waco 9's, valve, no rocker arms, kind of a crude d ea l but a Travel Ai rs, Swa llows, Eagle Rocks ... and later I got lively engi ne. Th e airplan e flew well, but you never into th e big six place Travel A ir in which we carried as kn ew when it would quit. When I got to Oklahoma many as we could get in . We kept one little plane to City, I m et Paul Braniff who was flying a J- 5 Eaglerock put o n a sh ow with which would bring ou t the crowd in the 1928 Ford Reliability Tour. H e h ad just won in f rom town . Of course, th e parachute jumper would his ca tegory . ' Doc: he sa id ... 'I'm starting an airline do his act daily." and I want you to come back h ere and work with m e.' Well, late r that winter while we were snowed in , From the left - Doc, tes t pilot, Earl Rowland, chief test I approached Majo r Worl ey who was general manager pilot, and Jack Pryor, assistant c hief engineer at th e whil e Clyde Cessna was away, and told him I'd have Cessna factory in Wichita , Kansas , after winning approval to go home to Corpus Christi where my folks lived, for use of th e Warner engine on th e Model AW in 1928. as my moth er was hav ing a seriou s operation. H e sa id . . . ' You ca n't do that , you can't leave, w e've got airplanes that need to b e tes ted and th e backlog mu st Employees of Braniff Airlines Corporation p osed for this Doc continued telling about his bri ef experience be delivered.' I sa id ... ' M ajo r Worley, I' m goin' photo on April 29, /929 at Mcintyre Airport, Tul,a, Ok­ working with Clyde Cessna in Wichita, Kansas. home to see my m o th er' ... so I quit. I went h o m e, lahoma on th e opening of the run between Tulsa and "Earl Roland was Chief Pilot for Cessna, I was Test got m y wife and baby into th e car and drove to Cor­ Se minole, Oklahoma. Also, the occasion wa, th e con ­ Pilot and Chief Bowhand was Tes t and Ferry Pilot. pus Christi. Mom ca me thro ugh it all ri g ht, and in th e solie/alion with Universal Airlines Sys tem, becoming th e During this time I also flew for Jak e Mullendick out at meantime I stopped to see Paul. H e again sa id he was Braniff Airlincs Division. Originally fJVing 15-/ Ryans, anel Swallow and Travel Air. It all depended on where th e startin ' his airline, so I jo ined up with him. Tipp six pla ce 1-5 Travel Airs, th e n ew compan y wa;. now job was on a particular day. Mullendick was the oil Scheer, M aurice Mars and I were the first three pilots equipped with Hornet-powered H amiltons, Fords, Fokkers man who encouraged Matty Laird to come to Wichita with Braniff. dn(1 Fairchilrl 7ls. 12 During that period of time I'd flown tri-motors two 6-place Stinsons. Shortly after starting Braniff Air­ merce could accuse you of something if they could quite a lot, including Fords, Bachs , Keystones, Fok­ lines, Paul consolidated with Universal Airlines Sys­ prove it." kers, and Stinsons. Mid-South Airways, started by tem. It was then that we started getting in the Fords, Doc joined the famous Caterpillar Club on May 8, Captain Vernon C. and Phoebe Omlie in Memphis Fokkers, Hornet powered Hamiltons, Fairchild 71s, 1930. He was stunting a Fleet Model 1, which was in bought E. L. Cord's private custom built 'T' Model Flamingos ... all of which were 'THE' planes of the an intentional inverted spin. It wouldn't recover, so Stinson. Vernon was killed riding as passenger on day. he left the plane at about 500 feet. The accident was Chicago-Southern at St. Louis, when the plane took during an air show. Also during the year 1932, Doc's off with the control locks on. I barnstormed a J-5 Ford for the Kenyon Air Trans­ log book showed an accumulation of about 8000 portation Company. Then I bought a Stinson and put hours, most of it recorded in precision aerobatics, The 'T' Model was the first Stinson Tri-motor. Later about 1300 hours on it. Back in those days 90 % of my barnstorming, instructing and dusting. they made the 'U' Model, a much heavier, bulkier tri-motor passenger carrying time was at night." Olin 'Pappy' Longcoy, a flying buddy of Doc's, re­ airplane which didn't handle as well or get in and out " People who were working during the day couldn' t called the time he and Doc were in Gulfport, Missis­ like the 'T' Model. The 'T' got off well, landed short get out except at night. During what we called the sippi with a high wing Stinson Tri-motor. As 'Pappy' and carried a good load . It was supposed to carry 'hamburger days', we had to turn hand springs for tells it ... " I was standing near the gate talking with twelve passengers plus pilot and co-pilot. The last any work at all. In the early Thirties I flew in Florida a CAA inspector. Doc had just landed after a pas­ Tri-motor Stinson was the 'A' Model, a low wing job during the winter months. Folks who were working senger hop. The inspector was one of the good guys with retractable gear. Delta bought a few from Ameri­ all day, would go home, clean up some, eat, and we knew. He turned to me and said , "Pappy, who's can Airways back in those early days. come out to the field for a ride. I'd put a quart can of flyin' that Tri-motor?" I sez ... "J. O. Dockery, The Ford compared only in its ability to get in and gas with rags in it at each end of the grass strip run­ Stuttgart, Arkansas," . .. he sez . .. " Who, Doc?", .. out and carrying a load. But it wouldn 't go anywhere. way, put a match to them and they were my landing . I sez " Yep" ... he said ... "I've got to turn my At 80 to 90 mph , it was slow. The Stinson would use a lights. I'd fly all night some times. Then .. . they head" . . . I sez .. . " What's the matter?" . . . he sez little more room getting off, but after airborne, it'd would sign up for tours .. . Zephyrhills, Tampa, St. . .. " I've counted eighteen people coming out that carry the load cruising at 130 mph with the 215 hp Petersburg, Clearwater and back to Zephyrhills. Every door already and they're still comin', and I don't want Lycomings. Fords had )-4s , then )-5s, then )-69s, then time I would land, I'd get another full load. We were to count anymore." later the 450s, and they went from 14 to 18 passen­ charging five dollars a tour then . . . that was BIG " Go tell Doc to shut it ,down and come here and gers . The old Ford would balloon off the ground ... money. Most of the time, the short hops were one talk with me." I don' t care if you 'd hung the hangar on it, it'd take it dollar a seat. On the short hops, we didn't carry So I went around the front and gave Doc the signal away." much gas. As long as we could get the door shut, to cut the engines and pointed over to the gate. Doc Later, after I had joined Braniff, it was like old we'd keep puttin' people in. I've had as high as 25 at looked and saw that he knew the inspector ... it was times, as they were flying Fords, Stinsons and Fok­ times in the ole Stinson. I wouldn't have said that in George Wiggs, if I recall correctly. kers. Of course, Braniff started with a B-1 Ryan and those days because the CAA, Department of Com­ Mr. E. L. Cord of th e Cord Auto Company was a director of th e Stinson Corporation and this Model T Stinson was cllstom built for him. Cord also originated century airlines in th e early Thir!~es. Photo taken at Pine Bluff, Arkansas

Before Doc got there George said, " He knows bet­ ter than that. " I said, " Well, Doc's tryi ng to make an honest living." When Doc came up, George said, " Doc, do me a favor. " Doc sez , " What ' s that George?" ... George sa id , " Don 't put any more p eople in that thi~ ,g, y~ ,u're going to break it in two." ... Doc sa id. .. OK. Pappy continu ed with another brief tale of those days ... " Us poor fellas used to put on small air shows out in Macomb and Meridian, Mississippi. There were about twelve of us in the group. We'd have aeroba­ tics, precision flying events and rides ... all for a few trophies ... no money. Then, here would come Doc, arriving late in a Waco Straightwing with the dusting hopper still under the belly. Well ... who do YOll suppose walked away with the trophi es? .. . Doc, that's who! J. O. Dockery, with dust coming out of every place on that plane. He'd roll it about like it was a Laird Speedwing."

Wright }-4 powere(1 Straightwing Waco converted to a (IU-'I <:' r in / '0133. Later, a }-5 vVa ) imtalletl ju ) t before Booger Red Vince" completely washe(1 OLi t the airplane. Doc again indicated he wanted to continue telling couldn't see any referen ce ho rizon ? WhOat th ey didn't neuverable. I liked th e Travel Air too , but I couldn't about th e barnstorming days. realize was that I'd flown Tap erwings enough to know get my fa vorite ho pper to fit in it. Eag lerocks w ould " I flew for Bobby Jew el and th e Texas Flying Circus that if you fl ew a loop and tightened up n ea r th e top , ca rry a good loa d also. Th e hoppers w ere o ur own o ut o f Dallas. Earli er I had b een with th e Gates Fl ying it w o uld ro ll out and do th e Immelmann itse lf . . . it d es ign, as th ere w as no commercial source . Our first Circus. Th ey had Cloyd Clevinger, Cl yde Pangbo rn , w as a characteri sti c o f th e plane. Conse quently when installati o n of what w e ca lled a gin bell , o r hopper, and Diabalo .. . Ivan G at es alwa ys ca ll ed hi s I did that quick loop and ti ghtened up at th e to p , I w as in a Hisso Standard . Later we use d Jenn ys . But I parachute jumpers, Diabalo. When I first started fl y­ ro lled o ut into darkness and wo n th e hambu rg ers. still liked th e straightwings b es t . . . pow ered by th e ing fo r them th ey had an extra airplane in case o f " Sp ea king o f Len Povey reminds m e ... he o ri gi­ Hissos , J-4 s, J- 5s , and J-6-7s. tro uble. All w ere painted red with a big Texaco star . nally learn ed to fl y in the military as an enlisted m an . Aft er WW II th e bes t duster was th e Stea rman. But . . Texaco being th e sponsor. Th e reserve plane was a I understand that Gene ral Billy Mitchell allegedly th ey had th e little 22 0 Continentals and 225 Lycom­ Curtiss K6. Cl evinger and Pan gbo rn got Gat es to let g ranted h i m p ermi ss ion for formal i nstru ction an d ings, so w e pulled those o ut an d put in 450s. W e m e fly it. At M eridian , th ey w ere hauling passengers yea rs later Len did tes ting fo r the Granville Br oth ers use d th ose for yea rs until th ey w ere all wo rn o ut." and Cl evinger took o ff in his Hisso Standard and it o n th e G ee Bee." Doc's crop dusting bu siness continued to grow and quit. Th e o nly place he had to land w as on th e rai l­ " Before w e leave this phase of your ca reer, Doc, p rosp er wh en it beca me apparent that WW II w o uld road tracks and before th e dust had settled , th e Stan­ what w as the mos t versa til e airplane you used during interfere. Ju st befo re 194 1 an event occurred which dard was pretty w ell use d up. In oth er w ords, th ey your dusting days? " I as ked . D oc res po nded, " I liked he d escribed : " W e had a Lockh eed Vega over at Dal­ stuffed th e pi eces in a crate and shipped it bac k to the straightwing W aco. O f course the Hisso Standa rd las, at the Culve r Aircraft Sa les . Jimmy M arshall and I N ew Yo rk fo r repairs. But that put me out of a job , w o uld ca rry a h ec k of a load , b ut if you had to bend becau se Cl evinger took th e K6. So I w ent back to it around v ery much it didn 't prove to be very ma­ Pin e Bluff and found me something else to do . This Fro m left - Len Pavey, Doc, an(1 AI KnO ll with AI', w as th e ti m e I w ent d own and w o rked fo r Bobb y Warn er-powered Gee Bee. Jewel . Another friend , Ted Kin cannon had th e Lo ne Star Fl ying Circus, and for a whil e I worked for him al so. O ne of those times in Texas, I ra n into a film crew that w as producing th e picture 'Wings'. After a sho rt time I b eca m e ac qu ainted with two of th e pilo ts, Paul M antz and Pancho Barnes." Doc bro ke into his barnsto rming recoll ecti o n b e­ ca use he was reminded o f som ething else that hap­ pened back in th ose ea rly days. " O n April 6 , 1932, th e And erso n Al abama A nti­ Aircraft Battalio n was planning a special ex hibitio n with four, 800 m illion candl e pow er searchlights. Eac h light car ri ed its own pow er plant. Fo r th e d em o nstra­ tio n th e li ghts w ere place d at the corners of a mile squ are pi ece of g ro und. Th e purpose o f th e ex hibi­ ti o n w as to show the effectiveness o f locating and tracking ai rcraft at ni ght. A group o f pilo ts had volun­ t ee red to fl y and try to av o id th e bea m s o f lig ht. Th ere w as Clyd e Pangb o rn , Wiley Pos t, Len Povey, Tex Rankin, D o rothy H es to n and myself. N one of th e oth ers had mu ch lu c k in staying out of th e bright bea m s as they w ere too b linding. Th ere w ere fo ur conve r ging b ea m s, a nd try as th ey w o uld , th ey couldn 't escape the trac king li ghts. When it ca me my turn, I fi gured I wo uld have to do som ething fas ter th an the b ea ms could trac k. So, after getting my al­ titude and moving alo ng in the b ea m , I did an Im­ m elmann and got out o f th e light. When I got d own , Pan gb o rn , Post and Povey w anted to kn ow h ow I could do an Immelmann in th at b linding li ght wh en I 15 owned the business and at th e moment I was there working with him. A customer wanted to buy the old Vega, which was then stored in Booth H enning's o ld Dallas Aero Service Hangar at Love Fi eld, and had been for a long, long time. " Marshall wanted m e to fly it and check things out. Well, I went over, got it out, and soon took off .. . but it'd been sitting around so long that th e shock struts h ad dried out from lack of service so when the plane lifted off the ground, th e wheels dropped way down and canted in at a rea l exaggerat ed angle. Try­ . , ing to land was like touching down on ice skates. I \ was all right though , as long as I had the engine. When I saw I was in trouble, I went around th e fi eld once more, and that was when the engine bega n cut­ ting in and out. Several times I touch ed down and nursed it along best I could . Finally, I practically went around a couple of DC-2s sitting there, as w ell as the Administration Building, then skidded to a stop, loos­ ing the prop , cowling and end of th e wing. " A couple of the boys hanging around had wanted to go along for the ride, and being in th e back, they were better ballast than sa nd bags. After the final (Photo by Robert C. Elliott! lurch , I came out over th e top of th e cabin. The guys In January, th ey decided to run som e of us through J. O. Dockery after landing a Beech Staggerwing at Bob in the rear were trapped by a jammed door. One of White 's Airport at Zellwood, Florh/a recently. the Southern Air Service mechanics had a large four-engine transition. W ell, most of u s had d o ne screwdriver which he used to tea r out the door cover­ some ferrying in A-20s. B-25s, T-6s, P-40s, P-63s and ing. Although th e earlier model Vegas had been cov­ P- 38s, which we had delivered all over the country. wo uld be sent to Ca iro, Egypt, B. M. Gaddis, head of ered with wood veneer , thi s model was covered They selected th e more experi enced pilots with Pl ant Q uarantin e, Department of Agriculture, called with metal and everyone was afraid of the boys being multi-engine time and sent us all out to Albuquerque m e from W as hington and sa id, " Doc, w e need you to trapped inside in th e event of fire. " for four-engine transi tion at a TWA flight training bid on so m e malarial control at some of the arsenals As this event had taken place before Pea rl Harbor, I school. TWA and Pan Am Stratoliner pilots were and d efens e plants where w e've created m os quito naturally had to ask Doc ... " What did you do in commandeered for instru ctors, as th ere were none hatches." WWII?" available in the se rvi ce. At that time, I had 3800 hours I sa id , " Mr. Gaddis, you 'll have to speak to some­ " During the W ar, I was with the Ferry Command. multi-engine tim e, mostly in two and three engine o ne else, I'm supposed to go to Ca iro, Egypt nex t When the military d ecided to start the Ferry Com­ planes. After w e went through the training period we w ee k. " mand using civilian pilots, th ey had to consult the were assigned as instructo rs. H e repli ed, " My goodness, that ca n't happen . .. CAA at Fort Worth , who released the names of those Wh en we completed th e course th ey sen t u s to who's you r commanding General? " I sa id, " General they thought would be available. Great numbers had West Palm Beach, th e jump off place across th e South Olds," ... he says, " OK, h e's right here in the Pen­ gone to th e British, the T-6 training programs, th e Atlantic for th e B-17s and B-24s .. . and it was there I tagon ," . .. I sa id ... " That's ri ght. " North Atlantic Ferry Service, Embry Riddle, and th ere ran into Art Goebel again . He was a Colo nel th en and So th e next week when I was all se t to fly to Egypt, w eren 't many left. I wa s in Dallas when I got a ca ll later he made Brigadier Genera l. H e g reeted me by I got a ca ll from Colonel Thomas 's office. He sai d from Ca ptain To mmy Ferguson at H ensley Field , a say ing, " Doc, come on in, they'll probably make you " Dockery , here's your Major's Commission , it ju st Naval Air Station. He as ked if I would be interested in Mess Officer ... I ' m a Supply Offi ce r . The caught up with you , and h ere's your release .. . doing ferry work for the Army Air Corp s." you ngs ters who have ju st started to fly in the last four which on e do you want?" " Since it was December, 1941, and I couldn't sta rt or five years are the fli ght office rs!" I said, " Colonel, if you had a group of airplanes my dusting until th e following Mayor Jun e, I agreed After a moments thought, Doc continued . .. " I and th e governm ent saw fi t to release you, which to the offer. North American had an assembly plant at was ass igned to chec king pilots ou t in overleaded ai r­ would you take ... th at Major's Commiss ion o r th at H en sl ey Fi eld for th e T-6s ... so he drew one, craft, as up to that time everyone had been checked release?" H e answered, ' 'I'd take the release ... and checked out and reques ted a flight arou nd th e field . out in empty airplanes. They'd be taki ng off fully I said ... " Giv e it here." As it turn ed out, I had to go Upon landing, he assigned m e as check pilot on th e loaded, headed for So uth A merica and across th e At­ back to Hensley to pick u p the release. T-6s for th e Ferry Command. lantic to Ascens io n Island and th en to Africa. About " During the War th en ... I had to stay and run my th e time our o utfit was organizing, which meant I own airport , Dockery Airport at Stu ttgart, Ar kansas. Mtlo Burcham, center with Doc on right a side a Boeing P- 72. Course you kn ow , at th e beginning of the W ar, they pulled all pilots' licenses. To get it bac k yo u had to show your birth certifica te, sw ea r allegian ce, be re­ instated and if you had an airport, it had to be in­ spected , checked out . . . arriva l and d eparture logs kept and all. If som ebody was coming you 'd be ad­ vised of their arri va l, and w hen th ey left, you had to w ire their departure time. O n top of running th e air­ p o rt , I had to continu e the agri culture w o rk and ma­ lari al contro l. As I recall there were seven o r eight de­ fense plants that required spraying for m os quitos, but th ese were mostl y in the Southern States . " During th e latter part of th e W ar, they ca lled m e from W isconsin and sai d th e aphids were ea ting up th e pea crop on th e muck farms. Th e Depart ment of Agricultu re had given th em m y name and ho ped I coul d som eh ow com e ri g h t away . I t ook t wo airplanes to Reed sburg, W isconsi n , and found th ey needed to get th e job done in a hu rry. I arrived in the middle of the rai ny season. Th ey had been tryi ng to ki ll th e b ugs themselves and had crea ted such a mess it would take forever to finis h the job. Imagi ne, a wet muc k field, into w hich they had d riven tru cks

Wiley Post showing his round-th e-world course 10 Irene D ockery in 7932 at th e New Orleans Ca rnival of th e Air at Wedell-Williams Airport wes t of New O rlea ns. pulling large tarp s. Al o ng side w ere oth er vehicles with dust blow ers, and the v ents running down under th e tarp whi ch w as b eing dragged . In this wa y they hoped to lay on enough poison to kill th e aphids, but all it did w as mix everyth i ng up into a muddy fi eld. "Aft er getting th e tru cks and things o ff th e area to b e dusted , we cr anked up th e two planes and d id it ri ght . As w e w o rk ed , fo lks fr o m th e ca nning com­ pani es were watching, and b eing ri ghtfully impress ed , From l efl - Henry Wood, Doc ami Pau l Wooda ll, a t we wo und up dusting there every season for nea rl y Mexia, Texa s in 1928. The plane is the first Ryan 8- 1 "off twe nty-fiv e years." the line " after Limlbergh 's N.Y. P. was built. and its fi rs t A lth o u gh D oc ceased r ecordin g his h o urs som e owner was Frank Hawks who flew it from San Diego to time ago, he has to date som e 50,000 ho urs fl ying Houston, Tex as. The Ryan was la ter destroyed w hen i t time. Much of his time wa s logged in precisio n ag­ langletl with a parachute jumper, carrying h im, the pilot ri cultural fl ying, dusting cro ps. His company has log­ and four passe ngers to their dea th s. ged over 600,000 hours h elping farmers sa ve th eir crops. Som e o f th ose year s he had b etween fifty and sixty airplanes working under th e Dockery name. After an oth er brief pau se, Do c continu ed ... " In 1956 I had a fire whi ch des troyed a hangar and sev­ eral planes at Dockery Airport. In 1966 th ere was fire at m y Clarksdale, Miss iss ippi operation. I still had th e Stuttgart , Arkansas and Pardeeville, Wisconsin op era­ tions, 'tho th e Wisconsin o ne dealt mainly with dust­ ing En glish p eas and muck farm s. " After th e second fire I fi gured that at age sixty it w ould b e foolish to try to start over aga in , so I re­ tired. I still do some ag w o rk wh en my fri ends get in a spot and need h elp. Al so I'm doing primary instru c­ ti o n , bi ennial fli ght revi ew s, multi-e ngine check rides, and putting in some seven to eight hundred h ours a yea r . . . but I'm retired. " I do n 't mind p eople as king if I still fly ... but I rese nt th eir asking ... Can you still fly ?"

Doc an(1 Irene b y his original approvetl 450 Slearman in 1946. Doc buill Ihe.>pecial molor mountl ami ran all Ihe les l for approval in Ca teg ory 9, agricultural work. Photo W ,]S ma(/e on King and Antlerson p lantation, Clarksda le, Missi>sippi. ,.I

ings at New York's LaGuardia Field, and the struggle p to keep a Staggerwing Be ec h on the center line and th e low slung flaps from dragging on the hard sur­ .. fa ce, th e sweaty palms urging it, with cautious brake and throttle to taxi crosswind. A gracious airborne lady, lithe and swift, turned into a groundling bea st . ,. .... ­ - "e~E-~ ~C> From the spacious luxury of the golden era queens I REMEMBER THEM BECAUSE brakes, a system prone to provide th e novice to the stark, cramped confines of the Goodyear rac­ operator with too little brake , too late, or too much ers . Tiny canopys, so small as to make turning one's by AI W heeler brake too soon , along with totally un coordinated head a hazard, les t the back of the hard hat and the f AA # 644 33 throttl e m o vements. Well , I remember the earl y tender nose became wedged crosswise, like too many 12 Bish op Pin e Lane struggle in mastering this inappropriate mating, one big fish in too small a bowl. Th e absolute lack of for­ EI Sombrante, CA 94803 retained until advent of the UPF-7 series . A good , ward vi sibility over or around the long, big-spinnered During a 40 year as sociation with general aviation honest, hard working airplane, the UPF-7, it teethed nose, the screaming tak e-offs and the hot, heavily have known many people, all a part, in one wa y or great quantities of equally hard working pilots. Who braked landing. No ladies they, with only sheer p er­ another, of that vast community, the operators, the does not remember the two handed, muscle powered formance to mark th eir place in memory. passengers, the salesmen and deSigners, and builders sti ck jerk and slam into the rear corner required to af­ A fond friend was th e docile, fun loving Great mechanics and fellow pilots. Each , I remember some, fect a clean snap-roll. Lakes, with its popping 90 horsepower Cirrus, tired with greater clarity than others and for a multitude of As one had special friends among the people he and overworked, like the struggling Franklin , strain­ reasons, quirks of personality, accomplishments, mis­ has known, so do some aircraft evoke a greater emo­ ing to urge a loaded Sea Bee up onto its step . I re­ takes, likes and dislikes. tion , a closer kinship between man and machine. member first seeing the long night-torch playing on As I remember the people, so do I remember the Such an aircraft was my STA Ryan, N18902. I well re­ the side of a T-6 and the whimsical bobbles of a machines, perhaps even more vividly, for they, the member its polished beauty, a young man , on his climbing Culver Cadet as awkward hands tugged at tools of the trade, like the people, each had their first proud day of ownership returning late to the air­ the little wheel to retract the spindly landing gear. own personality, some kind and docile and forgiving, port on a bright moon-light night to sit silently and The thump thump of the Navion's main gear as it hit others quick and demanding, their sharp, biting traits gaze at it, quiet, shining, bathed in soft summer the uplocks, its super stability and the hair raising de­ a thing to be reckoned with, demanding respect and moon-light, drinking in the beauty of its graceful scents possible with the barn door flaps hung all the skill and caution. lines , a happy young man, full of pride and with a way out. Personalities? To be sure, as various and as real and lump in his throat. I remember clearly the many plea­ All these things and more I remember of myoid as unpredictable as those of their owners and sure filled hours that followed, the sharp crack of the friends , memories blended with the soft swish of tall operators. Of them I have known many, and, I re­ Menasco engine , the responsive controls and the grass, the tousled hair and the musical sounds of the member, their individual characteristics etched in my pure joy of flight as young man and machine become wing and wires, the heady aroma of fresh dope and mind. friends . the feel of taut linen. I remember the many grassy The frustrations of trying to taxi my learning mount, Who can forget the stiff leggedness of the early places that were their homes and, for a time, mine. a brakeless, tail-skidded Fleet, mindless of my frantic Luscombes and Swifts and the ground looping prow­ When this year has passed, and again I look back, I urging to taxi in a straight crosswind line across wide ness of the short coupled Phantoms, an excellent per­ shall remember today's companion for many things, areas of Roosevelt Field's smooth asphalt. The bark of former in flight, providing the user with an honest its shiny, white tininess, the gold script spelling Pitts the short stacked Kinner and the roaring voice of my 145 miles per hour on 145 horsepower, if only one Special on its rounded tail, the snugness of its hard nosed instructor audible above all else. I re­ never had to land it. Most gentle was the Brunner cockpit and the surge and haste and torque of its member the early Fairchild 24 as a quiet, docile lady, Winkle Bird with its outsized top wing, and the long, take-off, the sky-devouring rate of climb and it's joyful the smooth power of the 175 Ranger of direct con­ thin winged Meyers OTW that would fly nearly mo­ love of play. Responsive and crisp, the effortless trast to the Fleet's raucous, barking Kinner, her long tionless in a fresh breeze and touch the ground at quickness with which it can whirl the earth and sky nose swinging easily to the touch of responsive turn off speed, its long, wide landing gear giving only around itself til all is a blur. Its elevator-like descent brakes. Gone was the bumping, lurching, grinding the slightest hint of contact with the soft grass. to earth and its self-mindedness during the landing tail skid. I remember the Curtiss Fledging, a great an­ A big, comfortable, reliable work horse was How­ roll. A machine with which to stay young, a happy, gular box of a machine with wings stretching end­ ard N1227, its tireless 450 Pratt and Whitney grum'­ vibrant friend, striving to blend its personality with lessly out on each side held together by a maze of bling an unbroken song of dependability, a good, deep one's own, to become an extension of one's self and struts and wires, prodded along, stroke by stroke by chested, honest worker, and the SR-7 Stinson Reliant , thoughts , and , someday, like the others that have its six cylinder Challenger engine. with its treadle rudder pedals and great sprawling passed before, to be remembered . That it shall be, I admit to other frustrations too, those of dealing wal nu t grai ned i nstru ment panel. I t cradled those the tiniest spirit of all, yet with a heart and personal­ with the F series Waco's strange mating of Johnson who rode in deep, honest leather seats, in roominess ity as great as the sky through which it tumbles and Bar brake and extended throttle arm, fore and aft for and lush comfort unknown to the modern spam can . rolls and plays for endless hou rs. throttle and a pull outward from the cockpit side for I shudder at remembering strong crosswind land­ It will remember, and so will I. 19 b y Lionel Salisbury BORDEN'S AEROPLANE POSTERS EAA # 714 52.3, /lIe # .J207 Seven Harper ROel(1 Brampton, Ontario LoW 2 W3 Article Number 19, Poster Number 6 of the original Thompson series Cana(/a FROM THE 1930'S The Boeing Tri-Motored Transport

This is the first poster added to our se ries through ish hue to them , and had two colors on the back, miums. You must use o ne coupon for each picture. the assistance of Mr. Cedric Galloway of Hesperia, which seemed unusual to me. The second color on Print your n am e and address clearly. Write the California. The Borden Posters first started to appear th e back was not us ed extensively, ju sta buff color­ number big as shown." in Th e VIN TAGE AIRPL ANE a year and a half ago, as ing of th e poster numbers and a slogan which sa id, After I had h ea rd from Mr. Galloway, who v ery the result of a gift to my son, David, by Mr. Glenn " Order By Number - Always Use Coupon". The kindly loaned th e three additional posters for use in Inch, of Brampton, of 18 posters he had collected as back of th e poster always included a line drawing of The V INTAGE A IRPL ANE, I then received a letter from a young man in 1936. David and I had great fun exam­ the ai rcraft featured on th e front, and usually a Mr. Marion M cClure of Bloomington, Illinois. Mr. ining these posters when he first brought them three-view at that ,complete with demensions. A de­ M cClure was al so a coll ector of th e Thompson­ home, and after some discussion we decided to pass scr iption of th e airplane was also included on the Borden posters and he subsequently sent in his entire them on to the editors, and that was the start of the back of the poster. collection! His posters yielded an additional six items series. In the original article to go with th e posters, I To get a poster ? Easy ... that were not ava ilable before, and they will be pre­ reported what information I had about them, and " Every Can of Thompson's Chocolate M alted Milk sen ted in o ur series as well. mentioned that there were in fact , a total of 19 post­ contains a little round book wedged into th e top of This mo nth 's poster is of the Boeing Tri-Motored ers issued in Canada, but I neglected to mention the th e ca n . It is not inside th e can . Look for the book Transport, a m os t unusual ship, as you will see from name of the one that was missing. when you buy Thompson's . The back page of this lit­ the notes taken from the back of th e poster, which Mr. Galloway read the article, and then went to his tle book i s a coupon d es ig n ed for ordering pre­ are as follows: collection of aircraft memorabilia and pulled out his own posters that he had saved since 1933 and 1934. Sin ce he did not know which poster was mi ss ing from the Canadian collection he sent me a list of the posters that he did have. The missing one was " The Martin Bomber - Mystery Ship for the Army". He did not have that one, but he did list three posters that I did not even know existed. This seemed a bit of a mystery at first , but an examination of the back of the posters indicated what had happened. It seems that the series had been originated in 1933 by a company in Waukesha, Wis­ consin, called the Thompson's Malted Milk Company. They issued 18 posters in this original series. It then appears that the Thompson Company was purchased by the Borden Company of New York City. Borden must have liked the idea, for they brought out a sec­ ond series under their own name in 1934. This sec­ ond series included most of the originals, a few were added and some were dropped. The Canadian sub­ sidiary of the Borden Company brought out their posters in 1936. All told, there was a total of 30 post­ ers offered by Thompson and Borden in the various series in Canada and the United States. All of the posters were made of fairly stiff paper, about 19" x 11". Most of them w ere in black and white, although the Thompson posters had a brown­ NEXT MONTH - Th e Conso lidated Fleets ter 20 BOEING rRI MOTOREO 11':A.NSF'ORf &0- 0 ~

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The planes of this fleet are th e first to be com­ landing lights in the wings, so controll ed that th e DESCRIPTION OF BOEING TRI-MOTORED TRANS­ plete ly bonded and sh ie l ded t h roug h o u t for pilot can crank them out of the wi ngs w h en about to PORT radiophone installation. In the future all comm ercial land and direct their powerful beams in any direction. passenger planes produced by Boeing Airplane Com­ The plan es carry four 400,000 ca ndle power flares, The Boeing Model 80-A, manufactured by the Boe­ pany will be so prepared for radiophone. Th e radio each of which can be released separately and illumi­ ing Airplane Company in its Seattle plant is a remark­ equ ipment to be i nstalled in the Transport weighs 100 nate an area of one square mile for three minu tes. able performer for so large a plane. With eighteen pounds. There is a place on the upper wi ng for an The well proportioned cabin is spacious, being passengers, and baggage, a crew of three, it can get eight-foot d u ral antenna mast. nineteen feet long, six and three-quarters feet high, off the ground in eleven seconds after a run of 750 The completeness and orderliness of controls and and five and one-third feet wide. Walls and ceilings feet, climb 850 feet a minute, has a service ceiling of instruments is impressive. There are wheel controls, of the cabin are of p lywood manufactured with faces 14,000 feet, high speed 138 mph, can cruise 4V2 hours one in front of each chair. Pilots can alternate in fly­ of mahogany and a core of ba lsa wood which serves at 115 mph, without refueling, and can land at 55 ing the plane without changing seats, and can assist as sound insulation. The entire cabin is insulated and mph. each other as controls are duplicated. They have ap­ sound proofed. Care has been taken to incorporate The Boeing Transport is a biplane 55 feet long, 16 proximately ninety instruments and controls to aid every known engineering device to minimize noise. feet high and has an upper wing span of 80 feet, them in flying the big ship. There are no instruments Seats are arranged in six rows of three each, two on lower wing 65 feet. Fully loaded, the plane weighs on side motors to watch, all instruments being con­ the left of the aisle and one on the right. approximately 8 3,4 tons, and is powered with three centrated in the pilot's cockpit. Baggage is stowed in a forward compartment, and Pratt & Whitney 525 hp nine cylinder, radial air A special feature of the Boeing Transport is the in an overhead rack. There is also a cloak room in the cooled Hornets. night flying equipment. In addition to the twenty-five rear. Other new features are hot and cold running individual electric lights these planes have retractable water, and lavatory fixtures. 21 / THE DESIGN OF THE GEORGIAS SPECIAL

by Orville Hickman th e tubing into . Th is work of la ying out th e fuselage going arou nd the fuselage laterally a joint at a time. PART I side on th e table must b e very ca refully done or o ur You will find this method th e best, h av ing the leas t good intentions are defeated before we get very far . amo unt of warping. EDITOR'S NOTE - This construction article for the After we get th e side laid out we put the pieces of After this operation is comp lete cut all of your fit­ " Georgias Special" is a reprint from the 1931 Flying tubing into th e outline that we have made and cut tings th at go on the fuselage and then weld them o n and Glider Manual. Neither the text nor the captions th e vertical and diagonal pieces to fit. All joints must in th eir respective places, motor mount lugs , landing for the drawings have been changed since they were fit closely and neatly, otherwise we will have to us e chassis lugs, and so forth . first written nearly 50 years ago. Powered with a an undue amount of welding rod to ge t th e ho les Specia l care must be used h ere for all things must " more modern" 65 hp Continental engine, this plane filled up. This does not make as strong a joint. have th e exact measurement. O th erwise the parts would be relatively inexpensive to build, and certainly When all the pieces are laid, get a welding ou tfit that fit these lu gs will not go o n if "out" any. After would be economical to operate. Modern building and if you are not a good welder get someone who is the fuselage is all welded and th e lu gs welded o n , techniques should be substituted for some of those and just "spot" the joints all together with the weld­ then give it a painting of liono il , whi ch protects it shown, for example, when making the elevator and ing rod - not too much - then make the o th er si d e. from ru st. rudder horns. This article is the first part of a two part It is the sa me so you can use th e same jig. After you series. Part II will appear in the September is sue. have completed th e second side take out th e side Empennage and draw another diagram of the top of the ship o n the table and drive your nails in . Place th e two sides The nex t thing is to build th e empennage, whi ch is Well, here we are, boys - with something a little on the outline, with the top lo ngeron down and th e a rath er simple procedure. First thing to do is to get advanced . I expect that you have been waiting for vertical sides perpendicular to the table. Be sure that the o utline laid out o n th e sa me tabl e that we used to some time for this kind of a plane to build; all steel these sides are straight up and down. The best way to layout o ur fuselage, and cut th e tubing to fit and but the wings, and they are of the conventional wood assu re that is to u se a ca rp e nter' s square. After spot this th e sa me as you did th e fuselage. Tak e o ut type. plumbness is determined cut your pieces to fit hori­ th e spotted framewo rk and weld up . When you h ave The first thing we will start on is th e fuselage. It is zontally and ta ck them to th e sides with a to rch . Also all of th e empennage welded, put th e control horns rather simple when we know how to go about it. First put in th e cross bracing on th e top and bottom and on to th e elevators and rudder in their res p ective get your tubing that you are going to u se for the the internal diagonals and all oth er bracing that th e places , making sure that th ey are exactly in line. longerons and then lay a plan of th e side of th e ship plans call for. You will find that th e empennage will warp consid­ out on some level surface, preferably a wooden table Now th e fu sela ge is rea dy to take out and weld. erably in the part that th e light tubing is u se d , but so that you can drive nail s around your outline to lay Th e best plan to do this is to weld o ne bay at a time with a little careful ch ecking and lining up by hand, 22 bending cold (for there is o nly slight bending to b e done) you will get a perfect job . But let m e tell you here that there is a little trick to h ea ting a steel tube SAo.N OVERALL 27 n . 2~ INCHES in the proper place to get th e right res ults. That is, heat th e tub e on the side that th e bend is to a dull red. At first this actually increases th e bend but when the tubing cools off you will find that it h as assumed an angle opposite to the original bend and almost in­ varably comes out exactly straight. In handling small ga uge tubing ex treme care must be used not to get this metal too hot and burn th e tubing because it is a very easy thing to do and, of course, might ca u se disastrous res ults after the ship is f lying. The best way to tell if th e w eld is good is as fol­ lows: the weld must be good, clean m etal , looking as .. ' ...A .. .. . I .. • though n ew m etal had been pla ced th ere. A poor ~ ~~- - - · ~he -- -7J:!- - l e~ -- ""~-:----* -'- 27~ eo" I T weld has a sand effect on the outside, o r is very sca ly. If any of these faults show up it is always best '.1c . 30 . ••I to throw that piece away and bu il d a new pi ece. It V ~AIRINGS EQuAU.v 7 .f- ~ f'OR TURTL£ [)(O\ 2;[-2. will cost m ore, it is tru e, but nevertheless, it is always ~ f'ORMERS ~II r -~ ~ x ~ SPRUCE ~\ : Of' sPRUCE best. .1 ' ~ '" Fittings

This work is also another v ery important part of the work. All fittings are des ig ned to be cut out of sheet steel and not more than one bend must be made in these fittings before they are use d on the shi p . The wing fittings should be installed upo n the spars be­ SCAU:INf'E£T fore th e ribs are slipped on. Extreme care should be o 2 3 taken in cutting and boring the holes, for th ese fit­ • tings are a very vital part of the airplane. 12.~·

Landing Gear Lugs From these drawings one makes the full size drawing for the layout so the fuselage can be welded. Th ese lugs are made of three-eighths by sixteen gauge steel tubin g. They are welded o n th e lower longeron at the first and second bay of th e fuselage that are to be supporting tubes of the mount and drill shaped as shown and placed at th e ex trem e rear part and are securely welded to th e longeron in line to the correct size holes; then th e mount is bolted to of ·th e lo w er longerons. Th e skid is secured to th e th e landing gear struts and in reference to the longe­ the lugs that were welded th ere for sa me. Next lay longerons by two 1/4 in. N .S. bolts. ron . out the mount on the table and spot it as you did the other m etal work , then place each res pective half on Instrument Board Motor Mount their respective p laces and block up and get lined up and spot the cross bracing in place after all of th e This is made from a pi ece of plywood 1/4 in. thick Th e lugs for the mount are welded to th e front end members are placed in. Th en weld up the m ount. and cut to fit under th e cowling. Th e form sh o uld of th e longe ron and for grea ter safety are reinforced first be secured by cutting a paper pattern , and then with a pi ece of 16 gauge sheet steel passed around Tail Skid using that to cut th e correct form on the plywood. th e lug and w elded to the horizontal tube and the Next, th e exact size of the holes for th e instruments longeron. This mount need not be m ade demount­ Th is part of the sh ip is a small sp ring that ca n m os t ca n be cut by an expansion wood bit. Th e cowling is able unless th e builder likes, but in case you do want generally be secured in a junk yard where th ere are clamped by small aluminum clips to the vertical and it this way, cut o ut the straps which fit over the ends som e o ld buggies to pick from, but if not procurable the horizontal tubing th e sa me way . there, make one from sp ring steel 3/16 in. by 1-1 /4 in . 23 Fuselaee Fairing

O n the side of th e fuselage fairing is secured by drilling a small 1/8 in. hole o pposit e each tubing th at th e fairing passes and wrapping heavy cord through the ho le and around th e tubing. This h later doped.

The bott o m and top turtl e decks are built up and ISlOE VIEW (JI' rus£~ mortised into formers. Th ey are bolted to th e lo nge­ rons and cross bracing by small aluminum clamps f---24' 24' 27' 30 I 27" I zc-.-.J IJ' I th at go all th e way around th e tubing, bolting into th e I I sp ru ce formers. I I II o . '" Seat J This is made fr o m a pi ece of 16 gauge aluminum secured ar ound th e to p horizontal bracing of the third bay of th e fu selage . A w ood fo rmer is pl aced o n ~ll rUBING N ruso...-G£ f x 20 c.a. c.a.RBON STEEL th e floor board. This piece of board is determined by th e size of th e person wh o is to fl y the ship and a lit­ tl e " se lf designing" mu st be used th ere. ~ ~~ '.. ~\ . Fire Wall

Thi s is a very impo rtant part of th e ship so ca r e L~ TO ATTACH LANOING G£.~ ~n'- $ i IN must be taken in fitting it to th e front part of th e ;\Dll'lU. 6 11'Q...lS K. ... u: '-U' fu se lage. It is built of '18 ga uge aluminum and ha s a .. small openings as will ju st let th e necessa ry gas and -"fl-l~'C ':.:~;~L4 oil and o th er n ecessa ry instrument accessori es . - -~ L PR ~ through . Right here let m e say that th e gas and oil lines sho uld have a piece of rubb er tubing p laced _ ~ L ::-.T£lL over th em where they go through the fire wall so that '-'ETMOO (JI' W(lO.€ TM()() vibrati o n wil l no t chafe th e lin es and cut through . UOTOA ATTAO<>.€N~ & lAl'()ING GEAR LuGS 5TABIl.llER (JI' F\.ACING ",E"'8(RS S TI\&.IZER LUG TO f USELAGE BRACE WIRE tllll(~D TO 8( W(L.DED The landing Gear '.Q.IlIiII[O

Th e landing gea r is th e most important part of th e H er e is a more sp ecific ship when you come in to land so must be built with drawing than th e one o n th e most exact ca re. It is bes t built with th e ship the preceding page. It shows level ed up and in the co rrect distan ce from the the side, top and bOllom g round. Then th e correct diagram placed on th e floor Tank layo uts for th e fuse lage directly undern ea th , th e tubes cut and placed in th eir m embers. N o te the man­ res p ec tive places. This should be built with tern plate and no dimen­ ner in which th e lugs are Th e stub ax le as you see from th e drawing should sio ns are given, becau se each person wants different w elded on. be firs t built up , bent and welded into th e false ax le ca pacity. Its location is shown. Unless you are very wh ich goes up to th e top of th e gea r. Th e shock cord good with a soldering iron and solder, I would advise is attached to th e cross m ember, th e gea r is rein­ you get it built by a local tinsmith. forced d own at th e atta chment with th e stub ax le with 16 ga uge sh ee t steel 6 in . up from th e stub ax le Propeller inner washer o n both sides . Th e wheels ca n b e str ea mlin ed if you like with This sho uld be bought from som e of th e propeller cloth, and doped, but it is no t necessa ry. Use 1/2 in. companies fo r b es t resu lts. A ship has been built shock cord. It takes 3 ft. for eac h side. from th ese plans using a 28 hp Lawren ce-Hickman conversion. ~ ! ~,. - -;..,--,=--­

Cowling

This ca n make or break the looks o f th e plane, and " .. extra care should be used in making this. A grea t deal I ~ """'L.t -../ ~ of ingenuity must be used here for the correct lines of the ship d epend on th e correct cutting of the aluminum . Th ere is no beating to be do n e on this cowling. The fuselage cowling ca n be cut from o ne . rll ,' c. .. Tu811OtC. piece and the cockpit cut out in its proper p la ce. The LAI'>DING CHASSIS motor cowling is in one pi ece on the bottom and two The Cess na type undercar­ J ,.~OI\'- L on top, bolted togeth er with 3116 in. stove bolts. riage is one 0; the most sim­ ple types of landing gear to " '·.IIC. "T~ build, as well as being the 'f easiest 0; the split types to {.1O(." n. ..,,,,,, keep on a ship. Th e drawing will give you a good idea of how th e motor mounl is iJ?~~~ lined up...... - .-f Cfl''''n., f·I'Tt;.A~ r ~-,;:~ .f ~ I:i ~ , " ~ If (,.A Sof«(T ~T((L. ~ " IU:"'~C.U"( T . '~ toO C(NTUlS~ '" ' ~ {.I I ""~ ~·.; "" " ..

, " ' " , , '­

Orville Hi ckman, author of this arti c le, te ll s how to manipulate the fine tubing so th at it will not bend or warp. Notice how th e horns are made. Simple, eh ?

I • . "-- ' -'-nI~'"1' 1,..11­1--­

HORNS ARE SAME rRON T SAy Of rUS[LA(..( FOR ELEVATOR AND WITH At..RT Of LA~ CJ-lASSl5 RUDDER

(NOT TO SCALI) SCALE IN FEET 6 2 25 FLYING AND CALENDAR OF EVENTS GLIDER MANUALS

AUGUST 2-9 - OSHKOSH, WISCONSIN - 28th Annual EAA Con­ SEPTEMBER 14 - EASTON , PENNSYlVANIA - Antique & Classic vention and Sport Aviation Exhibition - the world's largest and Piper Fly-In. For fu rther information, please contact: Jim Polles, 1929, 1930, 1931 most exciting aviation event. For further information, please con­ 299 Nazareth Drive, Nazareth, PA 18064. Telephone: 215/759­ 1932, 1933, 1929-33 Miscellany tact: Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), P.O. Box 229, Hales 3713 (nights). 2.50 ea. or 6 for $12.50 Corners, WI 53130. Telephone: 414 /425-4860. SEPTEMBER 14 - lANSING, ILLINOIS - The lansing Police Cadets SEND CH EC K OR MONEY ORDE R TO : AUGUST 10-16 - FOND DU lAC, WISCONSIN - The International will sponsor their 2nd Annual Fly-In and Air Show at lansing Aerobatic Club's annual aerobatic competition. Biggest field any­ Municipal Airport. For further information, please contact: J. P. EAA Air Museum Foundation, Inc. where for an aerobatic contest plus greatest variety of aerobatic Fish, P.O. Box 411, lemont, Il 60439. Te lephone: 312/257-7552. aircraft. For further information, please contact: Herb Cox, Con­ SEPTEMBER 19- 21 - KERRVillE, TEXAS - 16th Annual Southwest Box 469 Hales Corners, WI 53130 test Chairman, 812 Taylor Avenue, Mt. Vernon, Il 62864. Regional Fly-In, sponsored by the Texas Chapters of EAA. For AUGUST 10-16 - MilWAUKEE, WISCONSIN - 12th Annual Con­ further information, please contact: Bob Reese, Rt. 4, Box 305, Allow 4-6 Weeks For Delivery vention of the International Cessna 170 Association at General San Angelo, TX 76901. Telephone: 915/658-4194 or 915/949-2886. Wisconsi n Residents Include 4% Sales Tax Mitchell Field. Fo r further information, please contact : Richard SEPTEMBER 19-21 - VINCENTOWN, NEW JERSEY - lAC Contest ­ Tomasello, 1333 Wagner Drive, EI Cajon, CA 92020. Sponsored by lAC Chapter 94 for the Sportsman and Intermediate AUGUST 16-17 - BEA LETON, VIRGINIA - Piper J and l series fly-in categories. For further information, please contact: Fred Weaver, (up to and including 1946). Air show on Sunday. For further in­ Himmelein Road , Box 9E, Medford, NJ. Telephone: 609/654-7867. formation, please contact: Flying Circus, Bealeton, VA 22712. OCTOBER 1-5 - TUllAHOMA, TENNESSEE - 2nd Annual EAA Na­ Te lephone: 703 /439-8661. tional Fall Fly- In. Don't miss this one. For further information, AUGUST 17-30 - OSHKOS H , W ISCONSIN - World Aerobatics '80. please contact: EAA Fall Fly- In, P.O. Box 22 ') , Hales Corners, WI Classic owners! Fo r the first time ever, the U. S. will host the World's Aerobatic 53130. Telephone: 414/425-4860. Championships. Fourteen countries will pa rticipate. Don't miss O CTOBER 17-19- CAMDEN, SOUTH CAROLINA - Fly-In. For further this historic event. For fu rther information, p lease contact: World information, please contact: Geneva McKiernan, 5301 Finsbury ~O«,'t dJ", Aerobatics '80 , P.O. Box 229, Hales Corners, W I 53130 . Telephone: Place, Charlotte, NC 28211. 414/425-4860. AUGUST 22-24 - COFFEYVillE, KANSAS - Funk Fly-In. For further information, please contact: Ray Pa hls, 454 South Summitlawn, Wichita, KS 67209, o r G. Dale Beach , 1621 Dreher Street, Sacra­ mento, CA 95814. AUGUST 24 - WEEDSPORT, NEW YORK -Fly-In sponsored by EAA Chapter 486 at Whitfords Ai rport Field. Airport closed from 1:00 DOG p.m. to 5:00 p.m. for air show. For further information, p lease DRESS contact: Herb livingston, 1257 Ga llager Road, Ba ldwinsville, NY 13027. IT UP AUGUST 30 to SEPTEMBER 1 - CALH OUN COUNTY, TEXAS - Port lavaca-Calhoun County Chamber of Commerce sponsors an air WITH A NEW show at Ca lhoun County Airport. Fo r further information, p lease contact : Preston Van Hanken, Port lavaca Chamber of Commerce, AVAILABLE BACK ISSUES P. O. Box 528, Port lavaca, TX 77979. Telephone: 512 /552-2959. ,q~ I N T E RIO R! SEPTEMBER 5-7 - MARION, O HIO - 15th Annual Mid-Eastern Re­ OF gional EAA Fly-In at Marion Municipal Airport. For further in­ All Items READY-MADE for Ea~y formation, please contact: Mr. l ouis lindeman, 3840 Cloverdale Road, Medway, OH 45341 . Telephone: 513/849-9455. The VINTAGE AIRPLANE DO·IT·YOURSELF INSTALLATION SEPTEMBER 12-14 - CALGARY, ALBERTA - Alberta 's 75th Anniver­ sa ry as a Province, th e Airdrie Country Club of the Air is sponsor­ 1973 March through December Seat Upholstery - Wall Panels ing a " Diamond Jubilee Antique/Classic Fly- In", at Airdrie Air­ 1974 All Are Avail able Headliners - Carpets - etc. port. For further information, please contact: George B. Pendle­ 1975 All A re Avai lable burg, Vice-President, Publicity Chai rman, 304 Manora Road , N.E., Ceconite Envelopes and Dopes Ca lgary, Alberta T2A 4R6. Telephone: 403/272-4383 . 1976 j anu ary, March , Apri l, May, August, October , SEPTEMBER 12- 14 - DELANO, CALIFORNIA - lAC Contest - Spon­ November', December -Send for FREE Catalog sored by lAC Chapter 26 for the Sportsman and Unlimited cate­ 1977 All Are Avai lable Fabric Selection Guide - $3.00 gories. For further information, please contact: Jack Gladish, 120 1978 janu ary, M ar ch throu gh june, August, Oc­ South Ham lanek, lodi, CA 92540. Te lephone: 209/369-5768. SEPTEMBER 13 - GREEN BAY, W ISCONSIN - Chapter 651 is spon­ tober, November soring a fly-in at Plainview Airport. For further information, please 1979 - Februa ry through December ,4~P~,JHC. contact: Dave Frisbie, 414/336-3257. 1980 - jan uary th rough ju ly 259 Low.r Morrisville Rei. SEPTEMBER 13-14 - OSCEOLA, WISCONSIN - lAC Contest - Spon­ • ••--. -1' Fallsington, Pa. 19054 sored by lAC Chapter 78 for the Sportsman category only. For I V/S4· .' . " ; further information, p lease contact: James G. Taylor, 119 Comanche The above mentio ned back issues are ava ilable from ':r.:....·t (215) 295- 4115 _Ii Drive, Webster, MN 55088. Telephone: 507/652-2607. H eadqu ar ters for $1.00 each , postpaid, . .=-ri-.--.-=--_------.--=.-. 26 CLASSIFIED ADS WANTED For Muse um Restoration , an original radiator and For Sale propeller for OX-5 JN4-D. Call W. B. Osborn, Jr. 512/ ACRO II PLANS ENGINES 826-8654 or write to P. O. Box 17968, San Antonio, TX 78286. 1930's Vintage Franklin 4AC-150A 60 hp. No logs, The n ew 2-place aerobatic trainer and sport bi­ I have available a set of seats for a Timm, and a plane. 20 pages of easy to follow, detailed plans. Com­ no mags, no carb., one bad cyl. - rusted. Everything else in excellent condition. Make offer or will trade complete Holly carburetor for a Warner 165. I need plete with isometric drawings, photos, exploded views. for, avionics or Revmaster 2100 or ??? Box 444, Mab­ 700 x 7.5 ti res for my Tiger Moth and WWI or early Plans - $85 .00. Info pack - $4.00. Send check or ton, WA 98935 or 1-509/894-4493, 2000Z - 2200Z week­ WWII boots and uniforms. Ed Allen, 114 Air Park money order to: ACRO SPORT, INC, Box 462 , Hales days only. Also have spruce kit for Coot A, Cheap. Drive, Warner Robbins, GA 31093. Telephone 912 / Corners, WI 53130. 414/425-4860. 987-2898 .

(Photo by Gene Chase) Brothers Jim and Bob Younkin and their full sca le How­ ard " Mr. Mulligan" replica. Photo was taken on May 27, 1980 at Razorback Airport, Fayetteville, Arkansas where the project reached this stage in only seven months. En­ gine is a P & W R-1340. The craftsmanship is unsur­ passed and the plane will be flying in 1981 . ( , ... " '," .t ·'" •

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