Howard Wright's Hamilton Metalplane

Howard Wright’s Hamilton Metalplane by Budd Davisson MIKE FIZER AOPA MEDIA Sole Survivor 26 MARCH/APRIL 2017 www.vintageaircraft.org 27 A Legendary Decade The Hamilton Metalplane is the product of one of the most in- spired, entrepreneurial, innova- tive decades in aviation history. The 1920s were awash with names we’ve come to know as the founda- tion blocks of aviation. Individuals’ names like Boeing, Cessna, Doug- las, Northrop, Beech, Stearman, etc. belonged to a generation that often worked together under the same roof, then separated to form their own monster companies. To- day’s aviation is rooted in the soil CHRIS MILLER created by the 1920s generation, and Thomas F. Hamilton was an in- tegral part. Like all the rest, he was enthralled by the concept of flight almost from birth. It is worth Googling Hamilton because his story reads like a bi- ography about Steve Jobs or Bill Gates. By the time he was 16, in 1910, he and a schoolmate were al- MIKE FIZER AOPA MEDIA ready building, flying, and crashing biplane gliders. Eventually being hen asked why he be aware of the constant stream minimal runways, lakes, and rivers employed by a propeller manufac- decided to pur- of floatplanes coming and going in would be appreciated. The Hamilton turer during the waning years of chase the unique practically the middle of the me- monoplane was among those. World War I, he learned the short- 1929 Hamilton tropolis. For a big segment of the comings of wood and saw a new Metalplane at very active Seattle aircraft commu- material on the horizon called “du- the 2010 Barrett- nity, floats are a way of life, and it raluminum.” Shortly thereafter, he CHRIS MILLER WJackson auto auction, Howard bled over into Howard’s love of vin- started one of his many compa- Wright’s answer was simple and to tage aircraft in a very real sort of nies, all of which had his last name corrugated skin and thick cantile- the point: “Because it has a unique way, as shown with his Metalplane. in the title. vered wing was developed by him history as a floatplane.” Could he The Hamilton Metalplane epit- Although he was a high school and his chief engineer, James S. be clearer than that? omizes that breed of big antique dropout, Hamilton designed as McDonnell, who had been involved Howard describes himself as “a airplane that led the way for the many as 25 aircraft during this in the design of the Ford Tri-Mo- floatplane guy,” which is totally un- development of commercial air- period. Only a few of them came tor. Hamilton’s goal was to produce derstandable. The owner of a num- line travel as the 1920s gave way to fruition, one of them being the a small, efficient aircraft capable ber of Seattle-based tourism and to the ’30s. At the same time, how- Metalplane series. of carrying six passengers plus hospitality companies, he likes ever, those pioneering multipassen- Recognizing the long-term ef- crew as a commuter-type airliner backcountry flying. Living in Se- ger aircraft that started the airline ficiencies of aluminum and seeing or enough mail to make it a viable attle means that there are lots of movement were quickly overtaken the success German Hugo Junker mail plane. backcountry lakes and inlets to be by technology in the form of mul- had with his F13 transport, which Design began in 1927, and the visited, and Howard lives in float- tiengine aircraft. Single-engine air- itself was rooted in Junker’s WWI aircraft was in full production less plane central because EDO Floats planes were immediately relegated metal fighter designs, Hamilton’s than two years later. It was un- is owned by Seattle’s Kenmore Air, to flying cargo or nonscheduled pas- designs borrowed on the corru- veiled as the shadow of the disas- which may be the busiest float- senger flights, which meant many gated skin concept. This type of trous financial depression cast plane operation in the country. of them headed north where their metal was difficult to form but was itself upon businesses nationwide. CHRIS MILLER

No one can visit Seattle and not ability to carry lots of cargo out of self-stabilizing once formed. The The Hamilton Metalplane HK-45 MILLER CHRIS 28 MARCH/APRIL 2017 www.vintageaircraft.org 29 ment, which is why NC879H, serial Alaska, stands on the very brink of that was equipped with the simi- No. 67, skipped airline employ- nowhere, just a little south of the larly powered Wasp (R-1340). Un- ment and was delivered to Provin- Arctic Circle on the far northwest- fortunately, only a few Hornets cial Air Service in Sault Ste. Marie, ern Alaskan shoreline where, on a were built, and it’s probable that Ontario, Canada. It was mounted clear day, you actually can see Rus- it decided to break in Deering and on a set of EDO 6500 floats that sia from your front porch. couldn’t easily be fixed. So, No. 67 were serial-numbered to the air- Deering is tiny. Its population was left to rot until Harry found plane. Unfortunately, as is the case averages 141 hardy souls (127 in it in 1951 and transported it to of most airplanes that spent their 2015), the majority of which are Minneapolis intending to restore lives bouncing around in the back- Inupiat Inuit who live by subsis- it. Harry and his group of enthusi- country, much of its history is lost. tence hunting and fishing. The astic ex-NWA pilots and mechan- All that is known is that many bush village was founded in 1910 (pop- ics tried hard, but the complexities operators owned the aircraft and ulation 100) as a supply base for and finances of such a major res- tried to keep it flying. (No matter inland mining operations, which toration wore them down, and the how rickety, airplanes that don’t is probably what 879H was doing airplane went into long-term hi- fly don’t generate revenue.) there. Metalplanes were among the bernation just a few years after be- According to the Metalplane’s favorites for carrying loads into ing rescued. paperwork and the history sur- the mines. rounding the aircraft, it wound What led to the airplane’s aban- Enter Jack Lysdale up abandoned in Deering, Alaska, donment is unknown, but it’s Jack Lysdale was the aviation where it eventually was discovered quite likely it was unsolvable en- enthusiast’s enthusiast. A long- by a Northwest Airline pilot, Capt. gine problems. Built as an H-47, time A&P and lover of old air- Harry McKee. What was 879H do- it was powered by the Pratt & planes, he purchased 879H in ing in Deering, Alaska, and how did Whitney R-1690 Hornet that had 1972, and where Harry was striv- Harry find out about it? Deering, 525 hp versus the identical H-45 ing for a static museum restora- MIKE FIZER AOPA MEDIA

and HK-47 were among the fatali- ties. The exact figure of how many were produced is muddled by the Vero Beach, FL and fog of time, but many estimate it Long Beach, CA* to be 29. Nine were purchased and operated by fledgling Northwest March 2-5 Airways, and Alaska’s pioneer air- B17 ﬂ ights also available line, Wien Alaska Airways, pur- at Long Beach location chased two. When the HK line was shut Pompano Beach, FL down in 1930, Hamilton and Mc- March 9-12 Donnell went their separate ways. Hamilton continued with propel- CHRIS MILLER CHRIS lers, joining with another com- Palm springs, CA* pany to be Hamilton-Standard — the world’s propeller standard. March 16-19 McDonnell eventually formed a strong company that in 1967 merged with another to become *Indicates liberty tri-motor McDonnell-Douglas. Visit eaa.org/fordmarch Sole Survivor: NC879H or call 1-877-952-5395 North-country bush opera- to reserve your flight. tions recognized the viability of

CONNOR MADISON CONNOR the Metalplane in their environ- 30 MARCH/APRIL 2017 www.vintageaircraft.org 31 PHIL MAKANNA MIKE FIZER AOPA MEDIA

gated aluminum would seem to be It would not be overstating the case to say that Jack impossible. And it normally is, but re-created the airplane in a form that was even better Univair Has Kept not to Jack Lysdale. than when brand new. Ercoupes Flying Jack was blessed with an abun- dance of determination and re- Howard Wright Wants Since 1946 sourcefulness, as well as volunteer Another Unique Floatplane helpers from NWA. He somehow Flash ahead to 2010 and one of the more “interest- Univair is the Type Certificate holder for the Ercoupe 415 determined that Alcoa still had ing” experiences available to nuts and bolts aficiona- series, Forney, Alon, and M-10 Cadet. We have thousands of the rolling dies that the company dos: the Barrett-Jackson car auction in Scottsdale, quality parts specifically for these airplanes. Many of our had used to make the original alu- Arizona. Known primarily for its extravagant events parts are made on the original minum in 1929. Finding the roll- in which millions of dollars’ worth of cars roll across tooling that was used when these ing dies must have been difficult the auction block, Barrett-Jackson occasionally great aircraft were being made. We enough, but imagine a conversa- breaks form and puts an airplane in between the Fer- also have distributor parts such as tion in which you’re brow-beating raris and Bugattis. Jack Lysdale made his last takeoff tires, batteries, windshields, and a company the size of Alcoa into in 1992, but his family kept the airplane in good con- much more.

CHRIS MILLER CHRIS making a special, and very short, dition before finally deciding to sell it at the Scotts- Visit our website to request your free tion, Jack was determined to get it An aluminum airplane that has mill-run of aluminum that not an- dale car auction. Univair catalog. Foreign orders pay back into the air. This was not to be spent its entire life performing other soul on the planet has a use Howard Wright says, “I heard the airplane was go- postage. your average J-3 Cub restoration. the duties of a truck in the north for! Unfortunately, however, 879H ing to be sold, so I went to Fleming Field in St. Paul When an airplane is covered in country is light-years harder to re- wasn’t going to fly without it and to pre-inspect it. When it came up at the auction in Toll Free Sales: 1-888-433-5433 corrugated aluminum rather than store because virtually every inch virtually the entire airplane needed Scottsdale, I was on the phone bidding, pretty much 2500 Himalaya Road • Aurora, CO • 80011 fabric, the restorer’s life gets very has seen rocks, gravel, cargo, etc. reskinning. The project started in determined to own it.” Info Phone ...... 303-375-8882 complicated very quickly. If it’s a bounce off it. Then, if the alumi- earnest in 1972, and the first flight Howard already owned two floatplanes, a Beaver Fax ...... 800-457-7811 or 303-375-8888 fabric airplane, you just rip off the num is corrugated, the difficulty took place in August 1975. In ’76 and a 1929 Travel Air S-6000-B, which he operated Email ...... [email protected] AIRCRAFT CORPORATION Website ...... www.univair.com old, ugly fabric, repair the rusted factor is moved over several deci- he took it to Oshkosh, where it won under the name of Pole Pass Airways based on Or- tubing, re-cover it, and life is good. mal places. Just finding the corru- Reserve Grand Champion Antique. cas Island, 60 miles north of Seattle in the San Juan ALL MERCHANDISE IS SOLD F.O.B., AURORA, CO • PRICE AND AVAILABILITY SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE • 8-26-16 34 MARCH/APRIL 2017 www.vintageaircraft.org 35 MIKE FIZER AOPA MEDIA AOPA MIKE FIZER Left to right: Ken Perry, Camera Plane; Chuck Wentworth, pilot; and David Howe, copilot.

original as possible, he also wanted to fly it as if it were a modern airplane. The Hornet in any airplane is a huge question mark because the engine is so rare (very few airplanes used it), and spare parts are CHRIS MILLER even more rare. Reliability was a must for Howard’s envisioned use “Amazingly enough, I found the of the airplane. So, he took the air- pair in a salvage yard in Fairbanks,” plane to Chuck Wentworth in Paso he says. “The owner knew they had Robles, California. Chuck is well- been designed to fit only one air- known for having restored a num- plane, the Metalplane, and for that ber of large antique airplanes and reason thought they were made has wide experience with all types. of gold, not aluminum, and priced Howard tasked him with the engi- them accordingly. He thought he neering and installation of a Pratt had me in a corner. I pointed out & Whitney R-1340, as found on that since the sole market for his a T-6 (and the H-45). Besides be-

floats was the owner of the only WEGNER JULIE ing an upgrade in power (600 hp Metalplane and that it could fly them to be perfect shelter. How- Rob Richey and his crew not only versus 525 hp), it was far better in without the floats, his market was ever, Howard had the solution re- rebuilt the floats, which was quite terms of reliability and support. severely limited, so he came to his quired to get them to the same an exercise, but also fabricated the The Hornet still sits on a display senses. We reached a consensus, condition as the airplane. mounting structure. Without their stand ready to be reinstalled, but and they were mine.” He says, “EDO had a sense of help, I’m not certain I would have from purely a flying point of view, JULIE WEGNER JULIE Where the airplane was in nearly history going back to their begin- attempted putting the airplane the R-1340 was a logical move. Islands. He visualized the Metal- pleted. He knew that there was a pristine condition when he bought nings in 1925. When Kenmore back on floats.” It’s worth pointing out that the plane as a perfect addition to his high probability that the original it, the floats were anything but. purchased all the rights in the beautiful, ground-adjustable pro- fleet, but floats were an essential floats for the airplane were still They had been outside in the weeds ’80s, they also received the EDO About That Engine peller the Pratt & Whitney fol- part of that equation. somewhere in Alaska. Being float- for decades with many of the ac- archives that included drawings When Howard started fly- lows has blade stickers that read When the gavel fell and How- centric, Alaska seldom scraps cess panels open. Besides being and blueprints for nearly all of the ing the airplane in 2010, it still “Hamilton-Standard.” ard officially owned the sole fly- floats, regardless of their condi- exposed to some of the most in- floats EDO had built. This included had the original Pratt & Whitney In keeping with his goal of safety able Metalplane, he considered his tion, so Howard began a concen- clement weather on the planet, the 6500s for the Metalplane. So, R-1690 Hornet engine on it. While and flyability, Howard also had acquisition to be only half-com- trated scavenger hunt for them. local critters and plant life found I shipped the floats to them, and he wanted to keep the airplane as Chuck install more modern brakes. 36 MARCH/APRIL 2017 www.vintageaircraft.org 37 MIKE FIZER AOPA MEDIA

How Does It Fly? Few 1929 airplanes can be said to handle like AERO CLASSIC modern airplanes, and according to Howard the “COLLECTOR SERIES” Metalplane is no exception. So, you just fly them as what they are — antique airplanes. Vintage Tires Howard reports that simply getting in is a chore New USA Production because the cockpit is so narrow. One seat must Show off your pride and joy with a be folded against the wall to let the pilot get to fresh set of Vintage Rubber. These the left seat, and the top hatch must be opened newly minted tires are FAA-TSO’d and speed rated to 120 MPH. Some to give enough headroom in the process. Once in things are better left the way they position, the top three cylinders block forward were, and in the 40’s and 50’s, these tires were perfectly in visibility, but the modern brakes are handy when tune to the exciting times in aviation. ground handling. Not only do these tires set your vintage plane apart from the rest, but also look exceptional on all General Aviation The airplane stalls at only 45 knots, so Howard aircraft. Deep 8/32nd tread depth offers above average reports, “On wheels and lightly loaded, its takeoff tread life and UV treated rubber resists aging. is sprightly. On floats, carrying a load, however, it First impressions last a lifetime, so put these jewels on and has a fairly long takeoff run.” bring back the good times..… The airplane has six passenger seats, but How- New General Aviation Sizes Available: ard removed three of them for a good reason. “The 500 x 5, 600 x 6, 700 x 8 CG is, shall we say, ‘finely tuned,’” he says. “Plus, Desser has the largest stock and people in those days were considerably lighter selection of Vintage and Warbird than they are today, so limiting the number of tires in the world. Contact us passengers keeps the performance up and avoids with your requirements. any CG problems.” Telephone: 800-247-8473 or In the air Howard reports a cruise of 100 knots at 323-721-4900 FAX: 323-721-7888 6900 Acco St., Montebello, CA 90640 24 gallons per hour and overall handling that’s typ- 3400 Chelsea Ave, Memphis, TN 38106 www.desser.com ical for the time. For instance, engineers assumed In Support Of Aviation Since 1920…. MIKE FIZER AOPA MEDIA 38 MARCH/APRIL 2017 www.vintageaircraft.org 39 pilots knew how to use their feet, so they made no effort at limiting adverse yaw. “It’s best to lead rolling into turns with the rudder,” Howard says. “The ailerons are big and in- duce a lot of adverse yaw. “The approach to landing is sta- ble and actually pretty easy. I use 70 knots and it slows down considerably in the flare, but once on the ground you have to stay right on top of it because the rudder is essentially ineffective, hence the new brakes we installed.”

Magical Moments In many of life’s projects there comes a moment that makes it all worthwhile, and Howard says the Metalplane project definitely had those moments. “I felt as if I had accomplished my goal when I was sitting in the pilot’s seat in flight and was look- ing over at my instructor, the legendary Merrill Wien,” Howard says. “His father, Noel, was one of the true pioneering pilots in Alaska, and Merrill followed in his footsteps. In a long lifetime JULIE WEGNER JULIE Jack Lynsdale of Alaska flying, Noel had actually flown this Metalplane and many aircraft like it, so his son could pass along flying tips that few other pilots knew. More than ORDER YOUR AIRVENTURE 2016 that, during our time together I got a sense of what it was like DVD OR BLU-RAY + DVD COMBO to fly in Alaska back in the day. I loved it! It made every hour and Featuring the very best of EAA AirVenture every dollar that went into the project worth it. Oshkosh 2016. Relive highlights from the $15.99 Blu-ray “Now I’ve decided I’m going convention whenever you want from the $14.99 DVD to sell the aircraft, as I’ve com- *$15.99 is the EAA member price. pleted my mission, or ‘duty’: I’ve comfort of your living room. Includes exclusive reunited the aircraft with the Nonmember pricing is $19.99. floats on which it was delivered, video footage you won’t find anywhere else. and I was honored to have Merrill Wien fly it both on floats and on wheels. Who could ask for any-