NSM Historical Journal Volume 33, Number 1 Spring 2011 $10.00 National Soaring Museum Historical Journal Volume 33, Number 1 Spring 2011

Table of Contents

Pg. 3 “Fity-Four Consecutive Loops in Pg. 10 From the Archives: he a Waco CG-4A” PWS 101

Pg. 4 “John H. Cochrane on ‘he Pg. 11 “he Many Faces of the Laister- Evolution of Conest Soaring’” Kaufmann TG-4”

Pg. 5 “Gliders Changing Towplanes in Pg. 13 “he Funk Brothers and the De Midair” velopment of the CG-2 Two- Seater Pg. 6 “Art Schultz, the ABC Sailplane and His Legacy” Pg. 17 “Cartoonist Zack Mosley and Smilin’ Jack’” Pg. 8 “Jay Buxton’s 1936 Two-place TRANSPORTER Sailplane”

Front Cover: Orville 1911 - “Flying in a twenty-ive meter per second wind is no snap, and I can tell you that one is pretty busy with the levers,” Orville wrote to a friend following the history-making 1911 expedition. Collier’s magazine, November 11, 1911, “Supported by a forty-ive mile gale, Orville Wright was suspended in a motionless biplane a few days ago over the crest of Kill Devil Hill. Loren, the aviator’s brother, and Alexander Ogilvie, a visitor from London, held watches that ticked of history-making minutes.”

Back Cover: All alike (except in color schemes), Schweizer 1-26 Sailplanes line up at the irst One-Design Sailplane Regatta at Harris Hill, National Soaring Site, Elmira, NY - September 3-5, 1955. NSM Journal Spring 2011

Fifty-four Consecutive Loops in a Waco CG-4A

It was 1944, during World War II, somehwere in Ita- In the SOARING article, Stevens explained that ly- ly. What was supposed to be a routine Waco CG-4A altitude ing conditions were not ideal. The twenty-ive-mile-per-hour check-out, ended up being a ifty-four count looperama. headwind tended to force the away from the base. Dur- The mission started normally enough. The Waco ing “Big Job’s” ferris wheel descent, it was necessary for the CG-4A cargo glider called “Big Job” was towed to 10,000 pilots to check their position frequently. The passengers kept feet, piloted by Flt. Off. Don Stevens, with co-pilot, 2nd a number count of the loops by recording them on sheets of Lt. Wilbur A. Brown and two observers, 1st Lts. Wm. M. paper. Jarrett, who had a camera, was subjected to a difi- Schneider and Earl H. Jarett. cult time as Stevens was executing his vertical circles. Spe- But for Stevens, old habits died hard. In 1936, he cial rigging was necessary to hold the photographer in place held the world record for doing consecutive loops; and in while still allowing enough movement to snap the topsy-tur- another peccadillo, he lew a Franklin PS-2 through a hay vy maneuvers. stack. Noted for his bizarre stunts, NSM Journal readers may recall (2000-No 1) one of Don Stevens’s earlier glider gigs. Those photos, taken in the late 1930s, show Stevens dressed as Santa Claus, landing his primary glider on a Cali- fornia beach and passing out presents to a gaggle of what, by modern standards, were very modestly swim-suited starlets. A loaded CG-4A jinking around enemy ighters and ground ire or slithering into a hot LZ is one thing, but the boxy CG-4A as a looper? But then, after all, it was a check light, wasn’t it? Stevens’s ifty-four loop Italian light was irst re- ported in the 1944 November-December SOARING Maga- zine.* He and his crew in “Big Job” released at 10,000 feet over the end of the base runway. He then eased the ungainly ugly duckling into a moderate dive and hauled back on the yoke, shooting the CG-4A into a loop atitude. At that point, the old topsy-turvy gravitational de javu kicked in. Flt. Off. Stevens was back in playland.

On Top of a Loop - “You know the old old sail- plane - wheelback, head up - horizon, where art thou?

Flt. Oficers Don Stevens (left) and Stephen Sola- Left to right: Flt. Oficer Don Stevens, 2nd Lt. Wilbur nic (right) training in Sicily. A. Brown, 1st Lt. William N. Schneider. Schneider kept track of the loops on a notebook. * Pg. 16 -3- NSM Journal Spring 2011

Thirty-one consecutive loops were completed before the wind forced “Big Job” far enough away from the base to ne- John H. Cochrane on cessitate a change in position. Nothing if not the consummate aerialist, Stevens peeled off another ifteen loops on his way “he Evolution of back to the ield. At 3,500 feet, pilot Stevens checked position and said, “It was dificult to keep looping in the direction we Contest Soaring” wanted to go.” Eight more loops were performed into the strength- ening wind before the aerial inale took place over the run- he illuminating, and sometimes startling, develop- way. ments in contest soaring since 1985 were reviewed There, as the glider hung on its back a scant one- by John H. Cochrane at the National Soaring Mu- hundred feet from eternity, one of the passengers gasped, “I seum’s 39th Annual Ralph Stanton Barnaby Lecture. sure hope she goes over, because if she doesn’t...” Before the It was delivered last September 2nd at the Double- sentence was inished, they were around. Stevens later said, tree Hotel O’Hare in Rosemont, Illinois. Covering “As we leveled off, the wheels touched the ground.” contest soaring’s evolution and revolution, Dr. Co- The crew reported that the constant centrifugal force chrane gave his projection of what the future may and the binding grip of the safety belts exerted terriic strains on the physical reserves of all on board. They expressed- ex hold for this unique type of competition. treme fatigue by the end of the light. Taking twelve minutes of continuous looping, the Initiated in 1973, the lecture series was named for CG pilots claim, “Under more favorable conditions, seventy Capt. Ralph Stanton Barnaby, USN (1893-1986) a or eighty loops could be made easily.” To date, no further- of Naval oicer, aviator, author, sculptor, and musician. icial or scuttlebutt information has turned up on whether the hese lectures are delivered by outstanding person- Stevens “Big Job” cargo glider record for consecutive loops alities in the ield on subjects relating to historic and was ever bested in that type. noteworthy achievements in motorless light. Stevens made another solo light in “Big Job,” this time with a dog as copilot. He sat the canine copilot down in the adjacent seat and showed him how he could stick his Dr. Cochrane’s Barnaby lecture may be found at http:// nose out the window. According to Stevens, the dog “thought faculty.chicagobooth.edu/john.cochrane/research/pa- it was great stuff and really enjoyed it.” Stevens released at pers/barnaby.html 1,000 feet and nosed into a 150 mph dive. The pooch held on all fours to keep from sliding off the seat. As he leveled off Darrell Collins, Historian at the Wright Brothers at a bare twenty-ive feet off the ground, Stevens pulled back National Memorial, Kill Devil Hills, NC, will deliver on the yoke, shooting “Big Job” into a loop. At the top of the the 40th Ralph S. Barnaby Lecture on Saturday, Oc- loop, he recalled, “I looked over at the dog and the G-forces tober 22, 2011. It will be held in the Visitors Center had spread his two front paws. His jaw, as well as his big at the Memorial and will be part of SOARING100, ears, left the seat and were resting on top of the windshield upside down. I had 400 feet and 60 mph at the top of the loop. an event celebrating the 100th anniversary of Orville As I came around and leveled off, the dog lew back in the Wright’s 1911 light that lasted nine minutes and seat, spread-eagled, with eyes as big as dollars.” When he forty-ive seconds and is regarded as the irst soar- landed and stopped, the dog jumped off the seat and made ing light. he subject of Collins’s lecture will be “A a bee-line for the door. “When I opened it, he dashed out,” Legacy of Greatness: he Wright Brothers At Kitty Stevens said. “Later, I tried to get him into a glider, but he Haw k .” had had enough--no dice.”

-4- NSM Journal Spring 2011

Gliders Changing Towplanes in Midair

he exigencies of World War II masking tape. A ‘plug’ or stopper was “It is believed that this concept led to many surprising ideas. One of the installed at the tug end of the towline, would make possible the exploration more innovative ideas involved switch- right next to the ring. of soaring possibilities in spots where ing the tow of a glider from one tow- he sailplane was towed alot by landing conditions are unsatisfactory plane to another while still in light. For one towplane and released while lying (over water thermals, for instance), a the whole story, refer back to “Changing in the high position at 3,000 feet altitude topic about which much has been writ- Horses in Mid Air” on page 12 of the by tripping the towline at the towplane ten and discussed. 1946 May-June issue of SOARING. end, leaving the sailplane in free light “With the dual tow itting on A few months ater the bomb- with its towline trailing at and below. the glider, it is also practical to shit the ing of Pearl Harbor in the spring of Meeting up at a pre-designated tow without the necessity of the glider 1942, the Navy was busily engaged with spot, the glider pilot places his ship in being ‘on its own’ at all. When it is de- an emerging combat glider program. straight light at a pre-determined air sired to shit tow, the glider pilot trails Capt. Ralph Barnaby’s development and speed. he pickup plane, approaching his second tow line. tests unit was at lank speed with new from the rear, lays his right wing on the “he towplane hooks on, moves plans and designs at the Philadelphia towline, about two-thirds of its length around in front of the proper side, and Naval Aircrat Factory. A glider project behind the glider, and kicking a slight moves slowly ahead taking up on the was suggested that involved switching amount of let , slides of to the slack until he is taking the towing load. the towplane of a glider to another tow- let, catching the towline in the hook. hen, the glider pilot trips the irst tow- plane while still in light. As the pickup plane eases around to the line and the transfer is complete.” Ater a great deal of head- let and out in front of the sailplane, the scratching and fathoms of cofee, the towline slides through the hook until ever-resourceful Barnaby and his min- the stopper fetches up against it, strip- ions came up with a workable conigu- ping the hook from its clips and ripping ration that was supported by igures and the masking tape from its securing. he sketches of the necessary equipment. By hook-up is now complete. June 6, 1942, the parts had been quickly With the free end of the tow- manufactured and installed on a Navy line in light and whipping around, it Schweizer LNS-1 (civil SGS 2-12, Army was found advisable to tie an “Irish pen- TG-3A). With Barnaby at the controls of nant,” consisting of a twenty-foot length the sailplane on tow, the irst aerial tow- of rope, to the ring at the stopper end to line transfer was successfully completed. stabilize it, thus preventing it from slip- During the following months, Barnaby ping around as it slides into the hook. and other pilots in his glider test group Barnaby’s group further pos- made many similar transfers. he fol- tulated that by having two tow ittings lowing is a description from the SOAR- on the sailplane, the second of which is ING story of how it worked: fastened to a spare towline suitably se- “he pickup hook as shown in cured so that it could be broken out and igure 1 was secured under the lead- trailed by the sailplane pilot, it would be ing edge of the right wing of the tug as unnecessary for him to break it out until shown in igure 2. From the eye of the he desired to be picked up. Again, if the hook, a towing pendant ran to the tow towplane is also equipped with two tow itting at the tail of the tow plane. Actu- ittings, it would be possible for it to pick ally, the pendant ran in along the upper up the sailplane from which it had pre- side of the wing and back along the bot- viously released. tom of the , held in place by -5- NSM Journal Spring 2011

Art Schultz, the ABC Sailplane and His Legacy

he Arthur B. Schultz (US Soar- ing Hall of Fame 1957) ABC sailplane never set any altitude, distance or speed records and may not even have been pi- loted by some of the soaring luminaries; so why does this ship remain ixed in sailplane lore? To this day, it’s a sailplane that seems to remain in the conscious- ness of many of the rememberers of that era. he ABC sailplane was irst prize winner in a ield of seven of the Warren E. Eaton Memorial Sailplane Design Competition at the 1937 Eighth Annual National Soaring Contest held Art Schultz and his 1937 Eaton Design Award winning ABC Sailplane at in Elmira, NY. he competition was so Harris Hill. Photo by: Fred Loomis named by Eaton’s widow in honor of her he ABC was designed as a utility sail- It was built in Lawrence Tech’s work- late husband, one of the founders and plane and irst lew over the sand dunes shops by Schultz, John Nowak, Dallas irst president of the Soaring Society of of Lake Michigan. hough its light Wise, and Jack Laister, who did all the America. characteristics (with a glide angle of welding.* 19:1) approached those of high perfor- he ABC was not designed for he purpose of the design contest mance sailplanes, its construction was fast cross-country performance, but which drew seven entrants, was to like that of a utility glider. Schultz’s ABC more for light slope winds and weak encourage the development of new was a development of a simpler glider thermals. “Its capacity for demonstrat- American gliders and sailplanes. that he had designed three years earlier. ing this was very well-shown at the 1937 he ABC won the $700 irst prize in the National Contest.”** he ABC’s aerobatic Eaton Contest due largely to its sound performances at that event also revealed design and ease of construction. Classed its stability, maneuverability, and con- Bases for rating with German designs, its performance trolability. It was looped, spun, and oth- was about the same as the Goppin- erwise tested to the satisfaction of the * • Contest points won using the gen Wolf. All of the lights were made Bureau of Air Commerce inspector. It point award system - 35% from winch tows because of the contest had no trace of lutter in a 90 mph dive limitations. he much higher perform- and could steeply spiral to take advan- Stability, manueuverability, • ing Ross-Stephens RS-1 placed second tage of smaller thermals. he designer’s controllability - 5% ($500) due to its complicated construc- Silver C light of twenty-seven miles to • Adaptability to home construc- tion and emphasis on ground tow ca- Binghamton, NY was the longest light tion - 25% pability. hird place ($300) went to the of that contest day. On another contest • Completeness of drawings and world’s irst all-metal glider, the pod and day, the ABC eeked out a iteen mile analysis - 10% boom Schweizer SGU 1-6.** light in weak thermals to Beaver Dams, • New and unusual features - he ABC got its name from the NY ater all the higher performing sail- 10% irst letters of the American Business planes were down. • Ease of assembling, disassem- Club, of which Schultz was a member. bling, and trailering - 10% * “he ABC Sailplane”. SOARING. * “U.S. Military Training Gliders”. • Workmanship on ship at the May 1937. Pg 4. Raul Blacksten. TG-16 Schultz. contest - 5% ** “Wings Like Eagles”. Paul A. Sch- * “Wings Like Eagles”. Paul A. Sch- weizer. Pg 55. weizer. Pg 55. -6- NSM Journal Spring 2011

One of the signiicant features During World War II, two of the ABC sailplane was its ease of con- ABCs were pressed into service as struction for home builders. he fuse- TG-16s (Training Glider-16). “One of lage, controls, surfaces, and struts were these still exists and is awaiting resto- all fabric-covered steel tubing. he wing ration at Yanks Air Museum in Chino, layout was two wooden spars, plywood California.”* and also fabric-covered. A folding tail and adjustable seat and stabilizer all tended to make it a really utilitarian sail- plane. he control system was a wheel operating the through chain, sprocket, and cables. A push/pull stick In 1954, Schultz came up with operated the , with pedals and a more advanced design he called the cables operating the rudder.* “It can be “Nucleon.” With a glide ratio of 22:1, it removed from the trailer, assembled, had a strut-supported laminar . ** and ready to ly in ten minutes.” “he ground-bound Jeep, most versatile of all he unusual wing proile showed that he practicability of the ABC’s Army get-abouts, is used to lug gliders from the wings were completely plywood- design was shown on the way to the landing places to take-of points at the Mobile, covered except for the ailerons and in- 1937 Midwest Soaring Contest. At a gas Alabama School. Fieldman Cecil McAdams termediate laps. Under the plywood, stop on the way, the ship’s tail surfaces (driving Jeep) brings one in.” he Schultz ABC except on the inboard laps, was a sup- and the rear end of the fuselage were was sold to the USAA as a trainer in 1940 or porting layer of styrofoam to preserve severely damaged due to ramming into 1941. the contour.* a low obstruction. “Ater a few hours of Arthur B. Schultz was one of work opening up the fabric, straighten- Schultz followed the ABC with the earliest and staunchest supporters of ing out the tubing, and closing up again, the Midwest Utility years later in 1945. soaring during its formative years in this the ship was in the air soaring the same he fuselage was welded steel and was country. He graduated from the Univer- day the damage occurred. Had this hap- designed for use with both Utility and sity of Michigan in 1927 with a Bachelor pened to an all-plywood ship, it would Sailplane wings. he same con- of Science degree in aeronautical engi- probably have taken days to make re- trol connections were used and an extra neering. For many years, he served as pairs,” Schultz wrote.*** large attachment point was provided the Treasurer of the Soaring Society of for the single of the sailplane wing. America. During the war years and up Due to wartime shortages, the Midwest until 1947, Schultz was chief engineer at could only be obtained under prior- All American Aviation, Inc.While there, ity. Schultz said that the manufacturer he played a key role in the design and would be all set to produce completed building of glider and personnel pickup gliders and kits as soon as the material units. As Senior Mechanical Engineer situation permitted. and Group Leader at the Reactor Engine Division of the Argonne National Labo- ratory, he still maintained his interest in soaring and planned for a more active part. He died in 1955 ater an automo- bile accident and subsequent heart at- tack.**

* “U.S. Military Training Gliders”. Midwest Sailplane at Point Betsy near Frank- TG-16 Schultz. Raul Blacksten. fort, Michigan. ** “he ABC Sailplane” Promotional * SOARING. January-February Photo by Art Schultz Report. Art Schultz. Pg 2. 1955, Pgs 3, 6, 7, and 24. *** “U.S. Military Training Gliders”. * “U.S. Military Training Gliders”. ** SOARING. Obituary. July-August TG-16 Schultz. Raul Blacksten. TG-16 Schultz. Raul Blacksten. 1955. Pg. 16. -7- NSM Journal Spring 2011

Jay Buxton’s 1936 Two-place TRANSPORTER Sailplane

Jay Buxton’s two-place William Hawley Bowlus built his Buxton learned hard work on his Transporter set national two-place 1939 Model BA-102 (an expansion father’s farm near Minneapolis, MN. sailplane endurance, altitude, and of the successful Model BA-100 pod His mechanical career began with distance records at the 1936 An- and boom Baby Bowlus layout). Si- his brother, who owned a garage in nual National Soaring Contest. he multaneously, German high-per- California and was a well-known February 1937 edition of the (then) formance ships, such as the 1935 auto racing driver. Jay’s adventurous newly established SOARING maga- Kranach D-1 306 and later, the 1938 nature led him in turn from steam- zine called it perhaps the contest’s side-by-side seat Goppingen K-4 boating in Mississippi to gold min- most outstanding entry. Goevier were developed. ing in California, and later to ship- he article noted that pre- Designed and built by Jay yards in the South Seas Islands. He ceding national contests had sev- Buxton (1887-1942) of Hawthorne, returned to California in 1929, this eral multi-place ships ranging from CA, the Transporter’s speciications time to raise oranges, and became two-seaters to the Gross F-5, capable were:* interested in building gliders (irst of carrying four. At that time, there hang-type then primary gliders).* were very good aerodynamic and • Span - 52.3 feet he irst two-place glider he economic reasons for designing and • Length - 26.5 feet built was called ‘Sloanlo’. In 1936, building multi-place gliders. Aside • Wing area - 240 sq. feet with the help of his daughter, Lucre- from advancements in sailplane per- • Aspect ratio - 1:11.4 tia, he built the Transporter. Lucretia formance, a big monetary induce- • Weight empty - 430 pounds became a proicient glider pilot and ment was the ability to carry paying • Gross weight - 725 pounds held an unoicial record at the 1936 passengers and introduce them to • Sinking speed - 2.5 feet/second Elmira National Meet. Buxton was a the thrills of motorless light. Other • Gliding angle (L/D) - 20:1 vice president of the Soaring Society advantages were dual: control light of America and served as an oicial instruction, and the practicability of at several major meets. He came to carrying an observer who would be he Transporter was at irst Pratt Read in 1941 and was one of free to make meteorological calcula- adapted to mounting an engine the six founders of the company’s tions without being concerned with above the cabin, but this idea was Aeronautical Division. the actual piloting. his led to many later discarded and the ship was used new developments in two-place sail- only for gliding. plane design and merchandising. Other American designers/ builders began thinking ‘two-place’, including Frank Gross with his 1930 Sky Ghost, Stan Smith in 1937 with his innovative side-by-side seat ‘City of Utica’, and the Schweizer brothers Handles on side serve as tow hooks for with their 1938 Schweizer 2-8 (later, “Y” shaped tow rope military TG-2). Buxton Transporter showing wing and elevator/stabalizer planforms * “he - a News Assem- bler”. he Publication of the Aeronautical Division of Pratt Read Company. Deep River, * SOARING. July 1937. Pg. 8. CT. -8- NSM Journal Spring 2011

“ Bonotaux’s story goes on from there: “Weeks later, Chet Decker, Carton Schaub, and Felix Chardon, of our soaring gang, towed the cracked he up glider to my sister’s barn near Doylestown, PA until I could begin National reconstruction.” Bonotaux got a job in Mi- Soaring Buxton Two-Place Motor Glider ami, FL, so they let the ship in his Conversion brother-in-law’s barn. Shortly ater, Museum his brother-in-law and sister sold the farm “with an OK from the new own- Presents: In later years (1996), Leon ers that we would eventually pick up (Pete) A. Bonotaux explained in a the glider. hen the new owners were written account the eventual demise killed in a horriic automobile acci- of the Transporter. Buxton, who dent.” In was then living in Inglewood, CA, Ater Miami, Bonotaux was brought the Transporter to the 1939 ofered a better job by Felix Chardon meet in Elmira. on a cargo glider project in Virginia. Plane A young gal was given a ride “Before the year was out, the cargo in it with a good pilot. But the steep glider was cancelled and we were climb of the winch takeof scared on a train going to work on How- View her badly and she jammed her feet ard Hughes’s huge “Spruce Goose” into the controls (behind the pilot’s (HK Hercules)...And so it went all seat), robbing the pilot of control. through the war.” On Loan from He turned toward the tree line and “I was never able to contact crashed in the edge of the ield.” the new owners. he farm was sold. the Bonotaux was driving the contest re- he glider was most likely thrown Smithsonian’s treive Jeep and was irst at the scene. out. I never did get to claim the He wrote, “he pilot was okay except glider, repair, and ly it. It was a very National Air for a whip lash. he girl passenger in comfortable ship with nice perfor- and Space the back seat - basically okay, but was mance too...But it was not meant to upside down and literally scared stif, be - MINE.” Museum like dead stif! But with the help of a bystander, we were able to push her up a bit to release the safety belt then ease her out the side door. She was Open okay, but unable to talk.” he next day, Buxton gave May 19 - August 6, Bonotaux the wreck. “He didn’t want 2011 to haul it back to California all bust- ed up and he was in the process of designing a new three-place tandem glider,” Bonotaux said. Jay Buxton in his Transporter, 1939 -9- NSM Journal Spring 2011

From the Archives:

he PWS 101

Photos of the PWS 101 (Podlaska Wytwornia Samolotow) are oten mistaken for pictures of the Polish Olympic Orlik, Paul MacCready’s Orlik II, and even the A Polish sailplane of the latest type, “PWS-101,” German DFS Reiher, due to similarities in the launched at the international competitions last July. planform, cockpit arrangement, and fuselage proile.* Photo courtesy Aero Club of Germany. Waclaw Czerwinski designed the PWS 101 and produced two for the International Competition in 1937. hey were equal to the best German sailplanes at that time. On the irst day of the meet, pilot Mynarski was one of three to achieve a 351 km light to Hamburg. he other two were Hanna Reitch in the new Reiher and Heini Dittmar in the Fafnir, the contest’s eventual champion.** Subsequently, several more PWS 101s were built in Poland. In 1938, hadeuscz Gora soared 577.8 km, which was a Polish national record, the longest sailplane light in Europe for that year and the second longest sailplane light ever. he longest was 653 km by Victor *** Paul MacCready’s Orlik II Rastourgyev of the USSR the previous year. Photo by Henry M. Dittner Czerwinski followed the 101 with the PWS 102 Rekin (Shark) in 1939. Two prototypes were built. In 1939, the German and Russian invasions of Poland brought all gliding to a halt and by the war’s end NSM ARCHIVAL in 1945, all but a few sailplanes had been destroyed. COLLECTION

he National Soaring Museum houses the oicial * he Reiher was inished in time for the 1937 Wasserk- uppe soaring competitions in which Hanna Reitch inished sixth archive of the Soaring Society of America. overall in spire of some control diiculties. he Orlik II, built in 1938, was sent to the New York World’s Fair for display at the Pol- Research fees are at an hourly rate and NSM Members ish Pavilion. See “In History Orlik II” by Gary Fogel. Sailplane and receive a 50% discount. Electric Modeler, Winter 1997. Page 16. ** “he PWS 101”. he World’s Vintage Sailplanes 1908- 1945. Martin Simmons. Pg. 150. Fees for digital images at discretion of the Director. *** Ibid 2. -10- NSM Journal Spring 2011

The Many Faces of the Laister-Kauffmann TG-4

Peter M. Bowers wrote in his Its rugged welded steel tube, fabric- February 1964 SOARING magazine covered fuselage differed from other Speciications: INTEREST GLIDERS column, “The wooden high performance types at that rarest plane in American skies today is time. Laister had no organization, but • Span - 50 feet an unmodiied Laister-Kauffman TG- John Kauffman, a St. Louis stockbro- • Length - 21 feet 3 inches 4.” The TG-4 was the military version ker, raised $10,000 - enough to start the • Wing area - 166 square feet of the the Laister-Kauffmann 10A. Laister-Kauffmann Aircraft Corpora- • Aspect ratio - 15.06 Practically all of the 153 L-K tion.* • L/D - 23:1 10s built for the Army in 1942 and 1943 Laister reconigured the single- • Empty weight - 475 pounds and some commercial 10Bs were modi- place basic design into a two-seat pilot • Gross weight - 875 pounds ied. Most of the accompanying photos trainer. These two-seaters (TGs) pre- • Wing loading - 5.27 pounds and cut-lines are suggested by Mr. Bow- pared pilots to transition to the big cargo • Stall speed - 37.4 MPH ers’s article and the late Jack Laister’s and assault gliders (CGs) used in every • Max speed - 126 MPH memorabilia. theater where the Americans and their • Sink speed - 3.2 feet per second In 1937, Jack Laister was a stu- allies fought. dent at the Lawrence Institute of Tech- In order to simplify manufac- nology and was asked by the Institute’s ture, Laister eliminated the gull wing in Its irst light was in February 1942. president, George Lawrence, to develop favor a straight dihedral one; he deleted One hundred and iteen were ordered a project for the glider club. the smooth contour nose and made a few as TG4As. A single commercially-built other changes to comply with Army Air model was bought as a TG-4B followed Corps speciications. The Army ordered by three L-K 10Bs ater the military or- three L-K 10s, re-designating them der was completed. XTG-4s in October of 1941. The irst A shit in the training proce- glider was delivered to Wright Field, dures occurred from the use of soaring, - Ohio for static testing in December, re sailplane type TGs to de-engined small markably ive days ahead of schedule. former power planes such as Aeroncas (TG-5-AE), Taylorcrat (TG-6), and 1937 Harris Hill - Lawrence Tech Piper (TG-8). hese later types were Glider designed by Jack Laister judged to have nearer the light condi- tions that pilots would face with the - Working from an earlier design, Laist large tactical combat gliders. er and two fellow students built a gull wing sailplane that they called “Yankee Doodle.”

he Laister-Kaufmann XTG-4

* Laister was president and CEO, In 1939, “Yankee Doodle” Kaufmann was treasurer, Murray White- head was in charge of industrial relations, represented the US in France Taylorcrat TG-6 and scored high in the aero- and Howard Blossom, in whose honor a batic competition. National Soaring Museum gallery is named, was quality control manager. -11- NSM Journal Spring 2011

In the middle of WWII, sail- Bowers described it as having the entire plane type training gliders (TG-4s) superstructure above the upper longe- were declared surplus and practically rons removed. The pilot’s head protrud- SOARING all became available to the soaring -pubed above the structure and was enclosed lic. Very little reworking was requiredin a blown or molded plexiglass bubble. on the 10A/TG-4A for civilian certi- The “lat top” treatment was of little ication. Bowers wrote, “these shipsbeneit unless accompanied by im- 100 were snapped up by the soaring activityprovements in nose contours and wing and formed the most numerous singleroot coniguration. Bowers noticed that American model until it was passed by some zealots modiied their L-Ks with the Schweizer 1-26 kit model in 1958- structural deviations so extensive that CELEBRATING 59. That was ifteen years after the L-K the ships were forced into the “experi- THE irst became available.” mental” category. Almost immediately, the modi- At Mississippi State College, CENTENNIAL ications began. Dr. August Raspet thoroughly tested The Civil Aviation Authority the original lat tops and showed the OF ORVILLE (CAA) went along with most changes exact gains in the hands of skilled pi- WRIGHT’S as long as they did not affect the basic lots. Bowers said, “Observations in the structure or aerodynamics adversely. ield indicated that most of the beneits WORLD RECORD These changes included rounding out were psychological rather than measur- GLIDER FLIGHT the windshield like the original Law- able increases in performance. Follow- rence Tech, into various “bunny nose”ing contest reports have not shown any AND THE BIRTH contours. consistent advantage of the “lat tops” over the bunny noses.” Further, “what- OF ever performance difference between a MODERN standard and modiied model, superior piloting can overcome it. In fact, some SOARING of the modiications have resulted in poorer overall performance because of sloppy work or pilot ineficiency in- duced by restricted headroom and gen- eral discomfort.” OCTOBER 21-24, Occasionally, a restored Laist- er-Kauffmann 4A pops up at a vintage 2011 sailplane meet, but most survivors are WRIGHT BROTHERS in museums. The National Soaring Mu- Among the most extensive modiicationseum has an L-K (N549141 s/n 60) in NATIONAL was “lat-topping.” military garb on exhibit in its Johnson gallery. MEMORIAL JOCKEY’S RIDGE STATE PARK OUTER BANKS, NORTH CAROLINA

www.soaring100.com

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The Funk Brothers and the Development of the CG-2 Two-Seater

he Funk Brothers and their CG-2 with sheel conversion, ready for trailering. Twin brothers Joe and Howard Funk were caught up in a burst of enthusiasm to ly. Interest in powered and motorless light generated by Lindbergh’s 1927 trans-Atlantic light and other globe- hopping sky blazers was at its height in the mid-thirties. During that time Akron, Ohio looked like it would become the new Detroit of the airplane industry. Akron was the home of the Goodyear Zeppelin Company, The B.F. Goodrich Company, Baker-McMillan gliders, the Gross Sky Ghost, and later, the Funk twins’ infant Akron Aircraft Company. According to “It’s a Funk,” a book by F. Dale Beach, the Funk twins (born 1910) were blessed with inquisitive minds and an abundance of mechanical ability. They constantly worked on mechanical problems, paying minimal attention to academia. In his book, Beach said that it took them ten years to complete eight grades of school, though eventually, they both attained engineering degrees. They rebuilt a derelict Model T Ford, then a carbon-arc ired searchlight (this project almost burned down the house from over-heated wires, but when the device was pointed skyward, it was re- ported that the beam could be seen ive miles away across East Akron). Any project that caught their mechanical or electrical curiosity—other than school—seemed ripe for investigation. The focal point for Joe and Howard’s dreams came in 1926, when they scraped enough money together for a ride in a barely airworthy, open-cockpit Waco 9 biplane. They became mesmerized by the magic and challenge of light. After that experience, their goal was to someday ly an airplane of their own. The newsreels of Charles and Anne Morrow Lindbergh’s California lights in a Hawley Bowlus glider delected their at- tention to gliders as the quickest, most inexpensive, and practical step toward powered light.

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So in mid-1929, the pair joined the Joe and Howard would take turns ground with White running alongside Akron Glider Club. The Club owned on the Club’s glider mock-up while and shouting instructions through a two gliders: an Alfaro primary and a White explained the workings of the megaphone. The launch routine was Baker-McMillan secondary. control system in detail: how to pick to tie the glider’s tail to a stake. A Their instructor was Frank up a wing, how to prevent a stall, long three-quarter inch rubber shock White, whose method of instruction etc. He made sure that the twins had cord was then attached to the nose was somewhat strange. He had never a thorough understanding of the pro- of the glider. Six men positioned at lown a glider or anything else; he cedures. the extremities on either side of the wasn’t even a pilot, but he had that Then came the ground train- glider put tension on the cord. At the innate ability of passing his under- ing, where the primary glider would word from the instructor, everyone standing to others. be bungee-snapped three feet off the at the extremities heaved as hard as they could as they ran forward. As the tension increased, the man at the stake would cut the tail rope, sling- ing the glider into the air at a breath- taking angle. The twins quickly mastered the technique as explained (but not demonstrated) by White and went on to solo. At that point, Beach wrote, “They immediately saw the need for a two-place glider, where instructions could be given in the plane. This would save a lot of- re pair time—and coincidentally, retain more students.” Sometimes, it would be a beautiful gliding day and twelve of the Akron clubbies would not be available to handle the launch. With their usual resourcefulness, Joe and Howard came up with a unique launching idea: drive a stake in the ground, run the bungee cord to the nose of the glider, then tie the tail to the front bumper of the truck. With Joe in the truck, slowly backing up, and someone walking the Alfaro’s wing, the truck added tension to the line and stretched it to the starting point. The rope was cut and the tiny primary with Howard at the controls whooshed into the air.

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The boys accidentally discovered tow the aircraft up to an altitude ofsupporting and inancing their another method of launching during 1,000 feet. There was a small para- dreams of getting into the air, irst the winter of 1929-30. While tow- chute attached to the end of the tow- building a glider, and inally, a pow- ing the Baker-McMillan club glider line so that when the glider released, ered airplane. The back part was with the truck into launch position, the chute would deploy and keep the quickly converted into a workshop, Howard must have driven a little toosteel line from coiling up. while the front half continued to be fast. Joe, walking the wing, became Both of them logged well used for the produce and poultry aware that all of a sudden, the gliderover ive hundred lights using this business. For most of the year, 300 was a foot or two off the ground.method. They sometimes scrounged East Exchange Street, Akron, Ohio All the club members took a turn at an occasional aero-tow. Beach said was an aviation laboratory—a place this new method—the glider being that, “…on several occasions, thefor club glider repair and construc- slightly off the ground at irst, thenbrothers even talked the Goodyeartion. ten feet, then twenty-ive. blimp people into towing them After three years of visual- At that point, the twins, who by that aloft.” Active members of -theizing Ak what the glider should be, the time qualiied on that ship, hooked ron club included the noted glider- brothers started to sketch and build a 300-foot line to the truck with the man Dr. Wolfgang Klemperer, alongthe ideal glider. It would be a large glider at the other end—and the glid- with Dick Randolph, Bill Bodenlose,two-place with tandem seating, a er auto-tow was born. Dave Boone and Bruce Helvie. Theytwo-wheel landing gear and a thick In his book, Beach said that and the Funk twins lew the Bakerwing with USA 35A airfoil. It would they had never heard of anyone us- McMillan extensively through the have a folding tail surface and spe- ing this method of launch before. summer of 1930-31. cial brackets that attached to the front “They may be among the irst, if not In a strong diversionaryand rear of the fuselage to hold the the irst, to use this method.” Later,move, their father, Orbin, owner ofwings. The G-2 was no competition Howard discovered that using one- a string of ive fresh produce andfor the advanced German machines. sixteenth of an inch of semi-steel poultry stores, presented the duo It had not been designed with much bed spring wire from a local mat- with a small store. It was about one streamlining in mind, and while not tress factory, they could string 1,500 hundred feet long and about twenty a soaring plane, it could handle ridge feet of wire from the glider to an old,feet wide. Perfect! The twins saw the soaring very well. used Hudson and this scheme could acquisition of the store as a means of The glider (and later, power plane) were welded in the back of the store. Wing ribs were construct- ed and then assembled on make- shift workbenches laid out on top of chicken coops. During the busy -holi day season or on weekends, parts and assemblies were hung by ropes from the ceiling or tucked away along the side. On Mondays, they were back on the benches or on the loor for easy access. Joe and Howard believed that a lot of people would drop in to see what was going on, especially the young ones, then wind up buying Funk Two-Seater Glider in Akron, Ohio. Auto-tow from 2,000t rope up to 1,500t altitude. Training with dual controls. a chicken or some vegetables - good -15- NSM Journal Spring 2011

for business! . Akron Beacon journal it shouldn’t be that much harder to heir Akron Aircrat Com- columnist Ken Nichols once wrote, build a power plane similar to it. pany eventually manufactured and “Wags said that the Funk brothers hus, 1934 saw completion of the sold “about 465,” Joe and Howard should know a lot about wings, they irst of a line of Funk power planes. agreed, “from Akron to Brazil.” In were “chicken pluckers.” In 1941, the Akron Aircrat Corpo- 1941, the Funks sold the assets of the Work progressed slowly be- ration was sold to Bill and Ray Jen- Akron Aircrat Company to Bill and cause of other activities, but inally, sen of Cofeyville, Kansas—but that’s Ray Jensen of Cofeyville, Kansas. on June 26, 1933, the G-2 was com- another story. In order to be honored as an pleted and made its maiden light. Ater the glider, they de- aviation pioneer by the Smithsonian Beach said that it was everything signed a power plane in 1934: the Institution National Air and Space they hoped for. “hey immediately Funk Model B. It was drawn up on Museum, one’s accomplishments secured the tail skid to their pickup brown wrapping paper and built must be signiicant. It is even more truck and headed to the Elmira Na- mostly from junk parts. he Funk exceptional for twins to be recog- tional Gliding Contest in Elmira, Model B was powered by a Ford nized together, as were Joe and How- New York.” Model A engine with a recast block ard Funk, for their accomplishments In his book, “Wings Like Eagles,” in aluminum to save weight. How- in the years prior to 1949. Paul A. Schweizer mentions that the ard later said that the Model B was irst American two-place glider was “unreliable as hell.” One day, it lost Dr. Frank Gross’s “Sky Ghost” and it its guts over downtown Detroit. He lew in the 1932 Nationals at Elmira. glided across the border to a land- he following year, the Funk G-2 ing in Canada and was advised by a and Richard duPont’s new two-place friendly Canadian DeHaviland Moth gliders were entered. “It demon- pilot to alert Customs and stand away strated that two could soar as eas- from their Model B airplane “so no- ily as one,” Paul Schweizer wrote. body will suspect you of smuggling He added that “the Funk two-place or something.” was unique in that it had provision for attaching automotive wheels to the landing gear and racks to hold the wings so that it could be towed tail irst behind an auto. No trailer was required.” he innovative Funk CG-2 two-place glider was designed for competition as well as for train- ing (not to be confused with the Sch- weizer TG-2, a wartime military ver- sion of the Schweizer SGS 2-8). he oicial Gliding and Soar- ing 1933 Bulletin #3 reporting on the 1933 contest said that the Haller Tro- phy for best duration light for two- place crat was awarded to the Funk Brothers lying their G-2. Funk Two-Seater, ready for take of in Elmira, NY Joe suggested that they had already built a successful glider and -16- NSM Journal Spring 2011

Cartoonist Zack Mosley and “Smilin’ Jack”

Zack Mosley (let) with Murray Waters in front of Mosley’s new Rearwin Cloudster. Photo by Fred Loomis

Those of us who were enthralled by adventure scenarios featuring the The Mosleys had a new the romance of light in the 1930s, dashing Smilin’ Jack. Rearwin Cloudster.* The newspa- 40s, and 50s, remember pouring Mosley popped in at both the per article described the ship as “a through the Sunday comic section 1940 (11th) and 1941 (12th) Nation- lying studio,” because Zack carried for the latest installment of our fa- al Soaring Meets in Elmira, where all his research, drawing board, and vorite aero-adventurer, “Smilin’ photographer Fred Loomis snapped other materials with him to use when Jack” by Zack Mosley. What most some of these accompanying photo- grounded by bad weather. In the ar- of us didn’t realize is that he chose graphs that appeared in the “Elmira ticle, Mosley said that upon landing actual aviation sites such as Elmi- Sunday Telegram” newspaper sto- at airports around the country, his ra’s Harris Hill for his cartooning ries. After the 1941 Nationals, the plane received considerable atten- scenarios. He drew real life planes Mosleys were off on an aviation tour tion because of a painted igure of and gliders whose names you could that would take them to Buffalo, De- Smilin’ Jack on the tail. Also, igures identify. Aircraft recognition was troit, Chattanooga, and the All-Dixie of Joy and Dixie, the two curvaceous important to “one-upmanship” con- Airshow. At some point, his 87-year- cartoon beauties were painted on its versations with other “Smilin’ Jack” old grandmother took her irst air- wings. These, Mosley called “his de- aicionados. Not only that, but he in- plane ride. icers.” “Because of this,” he said, terwove those neat scenarios of bad According to the 1941 arti- “The plane holds the distinction of guys and good guys. Who could for- cle, letters from the cartoonist’s fansbeing the only Rearwin Cloudster in get the “Claw,” “Toemain,” “Hell- indicated that interest in motorless the country equipped with de-icers.” cat Cindy” the incendiary blonde, light was becoming widespread.Zack Terrell Mosley’s love of air- “Downwind,” and “Fat Stuff,” with“Many still think that soaring inplanes dated back to his childhood in the ever-popping button? And theregliders is a igment of my imagina- Hickory, Oklahoma, where he was was always a threatened, curvaceoustion,” the cartoonist said. “They just born in 1906, a year before that In - “Lil Deicer” who needed rescuing.can’t get the idea that a craft with- dian Territory became a state. The Mosely got his ideas for the stripout a motor can ly. However, when sight of a cracked-up plane when from the irst-hand experience at theI compare a thermal to an escala- he was just seven years old ired his various aviation-related venues thattor and point out that you can walk imagination. When an Army Curtiss he constantly visited. Gliderports,down on an escalator and still be car- Jenny landed nearby four years later, metropolitan airields, air races,ried upward, the doubtful ones begin balloon fests—all events were iledto see the light.” * he Rearwin Cloudster was a two- away and interspersed into three seat light cabin monoplane with a 120 hp Ken Royce engine -17- NSM Journal Spring 2011

he began sketching planes, a pastime form the Civil Air Patrol in 1941. that led to his profession as a suc- During World War II, he lew over cessful cartoonist. 300 hours of the Atlantic Coast on Mosley said that with the anti-submarine patrols in bomb- help of professional cartoonist Wal- laden civilian planes. As wing pub- ter Brandt, his strip was syndicated lic relations oicer, he held the rank in 1933 by owner of the Chicago Tri- of colonel and was awarded the Air bune-New York News and avid avia- Medal. In 1976, he was inducted into tion enthusiast, Joseph Medill Patter- the AUX-USAF Hall of Honor. He son. Originally called “On the Wing,” lent his talents to illustrating aviation Patterson ordered a name change to materials and designed squadron in- “Smilin’ Jack” on October 1, 1933, signias for units in all branches of the just fourteen Sundays later. armed services. During his lifetime, he owned nine planes and had lown over a million miles.* Military and commercial aircrat had taken him to about one-half of the world to gather authentic material for “Smilin’ Jack.”

Zack Mosley and his wife on one of his visits to Harris Hill, shaking hands with the Secre- tary of the Association of Commerce Cartoon sketches Mosely sent to Paul Recalling a conversation here at A. Schweizer the National Soaring Museum dur- ing the 2005 International Vintage he biggest fans of his strip were read- Sailplane Meet, the late Jack Laister ers who lived through World Wars I said that he met Mosley at a Michi- and II. he strip appeared in more gan glider meet about the time of than 300 newspapers from 1933 to the name change. Mosley, observ- 1973. At that time, Mosley went into ing the young Laister, commented semi-retirement. Later, he issued two that he always seemed to be smiling, books with episodes from the 1930s even when things weren’t going well and 1940s, “Hot Rock Glide” (1979) for the young sailplaner. Laister said and “De-Icers Galore” (1980), as that he may have been the source for well as his memoirs, “Brave Coward Mosley’s coming up with the new Zack…” He died in 1993. 1933 name for the strip, “Smilin’ Jack.” Mosley was very active in February 6, 1939 aviation in the 30s and 40s and was one of the volunteers who helped * he Encyclopedia of American Comics -18- BE A PART OF SOARING HISTORY! Get involved at the National Soaring Museum NSM Membership Donations Volunteer Opportunities

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Emil Lehecka and the Gull-Wing Franklin Philadelphia Glider Council Field 1946 or 1947 IBSN #0892-0516 NSM Historical Journal is a publication of the National Soaring Museum Harris Hill, 51 Soaring Hill Drive, Elmira, NY 14903 Phone: (607) 734-3128 Fax: (607) 732-6745 E-mail:[email protected] Website: www.soaringmuseum.org

Anyone is invited to contribute material and photographs with identiication about historical soaring activi- ties, renovation of old sailplanes, soaring peioneers, unusual uses of sailplanes, etc. Manuscripts are subject to whatever revisions, additions, or deletions are necessary to make the material conform to the space limitations and standards of the NSM. Material that is to be returned must be accompanied by a self-addressed stamped envelope. No compensation other than credit will be given.

Publisher: National Soaring Museum Director: Peter W. Smith Editor: William E. Gallagher Production & Layout: Sara A. Sirianni he National Soaring Museum is an ailiate of the Soaring Society of America and is the oicial repository for all its documents and artifacts.