STRAIGHT AND LEVEL

• • •

When we look back on Oshkosh 79 and the won­ On Friday evening , August 8th , the Convention derful weather, tremendous crowds, the hospitality awards presentation will again be held at the new and fellowship generated, we often wonder if there outdoor pavilion in Ollie's Park. Plans ar e underway could be any possible improvement for the 1980 Con­ this year to assure that the presentations are of sig­ vention. The answer is yes , definitely, and with nificant importance to the recipients and of special in­ gusto! Each year we attempt to correct the errors and terest to the audience. mistakes made in previous years. Our goal is to pre­ Now that the main entrance for EAAers entering the sent the most enjoyable Convention of all, for you, airport from the campgrounds has been moved to the your family and friends. northeast corner of Ollie's Park, a tremendous in­ The Antique/Classic Division schedule for Oshkosh crease in pedestrian traffic past the Red Barn has '80 is basically the same as those of previous years, been noted. We need to capitalize on this exposure but we are proud to announce that some changes in ways to benefit both the Division membership and have been made including the addition of new and the EAA membership in general. Often, we have interesting events. overheard EAA members expressing their thoughts The forum tent will be located with the other forum that the area around the Red Barn was an exclusive tents in the area adjacent to the Commercial Display area for antiquers only. How wrong this is. We need Area. In the past the general public has been prohi­ to invite all EAA members to visit with us , browse bited from attending Antique/Classic forums because around the Barn and join in the fellowship we cherish a flight line pass was needed to get to the location so much. Let this be a challenge to each Antique/ near the Red Barn. Now, all who attend the Conven­ Classic Division member to extend our hospitality to tion can also attend forums on the older aircraft. The all visitors in the area. A glance through an issue of Antique/ Classic Division Forum schedule will be The VINTA GE AIRPLANE should entice many of our posted daily on the bulletin board outside the Divi­ visitors to become' a member of the Division. sion headquarters barn. Something new will be added to the area this year. the program has ended. We have now been allocated The annual Division picnic will again be held in Ol­ Occupying the space where the forum tent previously an area across the paved road east of the Red Barn lie's Park, with the festivities beginning about 7 p .m . was will be a tent for use as our Division hospitality for use as our own Antique/Classic interview area. We on Tuesday, August 5th. Be sure to purchase your area. It will be available for members of the OX-5 will have our own PA system and the use of this new tickets early for the picnic bash. Bring the family and Aviation Pioneers, QBs, old timers, or any group that facility should enhance the prestige of the Division your friends and enjoy the fellowship. The attendance wishes to use the facility for informal gatherings con­ and draw further attention to our special activities. at the annual picnic has increased each successive cerning antique and classic aircraft. The information Saturday, August 9th will mark the annual member­ year. bulletin board wil: also be placed in the hospitality ship meeting of the Antique/Classic Division. The The annual Parade of Flight will be flown on Wednes­ tent and chairs will be available. We need to pass the meeting will start at 10:30 a.m. in the hospitality tent day, August 6th and will be part of the daily air show. word around that this facility will be available. Your adjacent to the Red Barn headquarters . All Division Many of you will be contacted to participate in this personal contact with the various groups as listed members are urged to attend and we welcome the enjoyable venture. The Parade of Flight Committee above will be the only communication we will have to guests of our active members. The floor will be open will start programming the event on the first day advise them of this hospitality facility. for pertinent business concerning the management of the Convention and we request that each of you How many times have you heard an interview over and activities of the Antique/Classic Division. We look who are asked to participate make a concerted effort the Convention PA system and wished you were forward to seeing and visiting with each of you at to attend the pilot briefing and have your aircraft there to see as well as listen to the proceedings? Oshkosh this year. Fly safely, have fun and enjoy available for this fantastic event. Usually, by the time one gets to the Interview Circle, your Convention . Editorial TIl~ VI~TAt3~ AIl2VLA~~ Staff OFFICIAL MAGAZINE EAA ANTIQUE/CLASSIC Publisher DIVISION INC. Paul H. Poberezny of THE EXPER IMENTAL A IRCRAFT ASSOCIATION Editor P.O. Box 229, Hales Corners, W I 53130 Gene R. Chase Copyright4l 1980 EAA Antique/Classic Division, Inc., All Rights Reserved . Chase) Nick Rezich from Rockford, Illinois announcing one of JULY 1980 VOLUME 8 NUMBER 7 the daily air shows at Lakeland, Florida's Sun 'n Fun '80 (On The Cover. 1942 Fairchild PT-23, N54375 owned by Ed Earp, Jr ., of Houston , Texa s. See story on Fly-In. Page 5. Photo by Ed Earp .) Associate Editors: H. Glenn Buffington, Edward D . Williams, Byron (On The Ba ck Cover. Outstanding exa mple of a Waco UPF-7. N29368 was manufactured in 1940 and (Fred) Fredericksen, Lionel Salisbury is owned by Arnold Nieman, Ocala , Florida. Photo by Gene Cha se.) Readers are encouraged to submit stories and photograp hs. Associate Editorships are assigned to th ose writers who submit five or more arti cles which are published in THE VINTAGE AIR­ TABLE OF CONTENTS PLANE during th e current year. Associate s receive a bound volume of THE VINTAGE AIR­ PLANE and a free one-year membership in the Division for their efforts. POLICY-Opinions Straight and Level by Brad Tho mas ...... 2 ex pressed in articles are solely those of the au thors. Responsibility for accuracy in reporting A/C Hot Line by Gene R. Chase ...... , . .... , ...... 4 res ts entirely with th e contributor. Directors PT-23 ... Easiest Plane To Fly by Edward Earp, Jr...... 5 Claude L. Gray. Jr . Morton W. l ester Douglas DC-4 Giant Of The Air by Edward D . Williams ...... 6 9635 Sylvia Avenue P.O. Box 3747 Jesse Orval Dockery .. . 'A Flying Silver Eagle' by Robert G. Elliott ...... 12 PRESIDENT Northridge. CA 91324 Martinsville, VA 2411 2 W . BRAD THOMAS, JR . Th e Cunningham-Hall GA-36 by Gene Chase ...... 17 301 DODSON M ILL ROAD Rebi rth Of A Taylorcraft by Bob Moo re ...... _...... 18 Dale A. Gustafson Arthur R. M o rgan PILOT MOUNTAIN, NC 27041 7724 Shady Hill Drive 3744 North 51st Blvd. Szekely Aircraft And Engine Company by Phil Michmerhuizen ...... 20 919/368-2875 Home Indianaooli s, IN 4627 4 Milwau kee. WI 532 16 Calendar Of Events ...... 23 919/368-2291 Office Borden's Aeroplane Posters From The 1930's by Lionel Salisbury ...... 24 Richard H. Wagn er John R. Turgyan VICE· PRESIDENT P.O. Box 181 1530 Kuser Road JACK C. W INTHROP Lyons. WI 531 48 Trento n . NJ 08619 ROUTE 1, BOX 111 EAA ANTIQUE/CLASSIC DIVISION MEMBERSHIP ALLEN , TX 75002 NON-EAA MEMBER - $22.00. Includes one year membership in the EAA Antique/ 2141727-5649' AI Kelch o 66 W. 622 N. Madiso n Avenue Class ic Division, 12 monthly issues of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE ; one year mem­ SECRETARY Cedarburg. WI 53012 bership in the Experimental Aircraft Association and se parate membership cards. M . C. " KE LLY" VIETS SPORT AVIATION magazine not includerl . 7745 W. 183RD ST. Advisors STILWELL, KS 66085 o EAA MEMBER - $14_00. Includes one year membership in the EAA Antique/Classic Division, 12 monthly iss ues of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE AND MEMBERSHIP CARD. 913/681-2303 Home John S. Copeland Stan Gomoll Gen e Morris 9 Joanne Drive 1042 90th Lane. NE 27 Chandelle Drive (Applica nt must be current EAA member and must give EAA membership number.) 913/782-6720 Office W es tborough. MA 01 581 Minneapolis, MN 554 34 Hampshire. Il 601 40 TREASURER E. E. " BUCK" HILBERT Ronald Fril z Robert E. Kesel George 5. York 455 Oakridge Drive P.O. BOX 145 2896 Ro osevelt SI. 181 Sloboda Av e...... Conklin. MI 49403 Rochester . NY 14617 Monsfield. OH 4490" ..... UNION, IL 60180 815/923-4205 .. ;.~ .L""""""'" THE VI NTAGE AIRPLANE (ISSN 0091-6943) is owned exclusively by EAA Antique/Classic Division, Inc., and is published monthly at Hales Corners, Wisconsin 53130. Second class Postage paid at Hales ' ~ Corners Post Office, Hales Corners, Wisconsin 53130 , and additional mailing offices. Membership .'. rates for EAA Antique/Classic Division, Inc.. are $14.00 per 12 month period o f which $10.00 is for the publication of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE. Membership is open to all who are interested in aviation. ~ Page 5 Page 6 Page 13 3 CESSNA 170 CONVENTION TO BE IN MILWAUKEE Th e International Cessna 170 Association, Inc., has scheduled its 12th Annual Convention for August 10 ­ 16 at the Red Carpet Inn across the street from Mil­ waukee's Mitchell Fi eld. The event features forums, a flight rally, and tours including the Miller Brewery, the Air Force Reserve ~/c comp !j,!2, ~ LI~~ and Air National Guard facilities and the Paul H. Poberezny Air Museum. For furth e r information, contact: Ri c hard To­ masello, 1333 Wagner Drive, EI Cajon, CA 92020.

ril, they held th eir First Annual Oregon Aviation Film CESSNA 120/140 CLUB TO OSHKOSH '80 PIPER WING STRUT ASSEMBLIES Festival and in May, their Annual Maintenance Clinic and Designer's Forum . Re cent issues of the monthly newsletter published The National Transportation Safety Board has rec­ A lawyer has been contacted rega rding the filing of by the West Coast Cessna 1201140 Club have con­ ommended to th e FAA that immediate inspection be incorporation papers for the new group, and when tained information which should be useful to all made on all lift strut forks on Piper models PA-12 , the paperwork is in order, a chapter charter will be pilots making their first flights (except via airlines) to PA-14 , PA-16, PA-18, PA-19, PA-20 and PA-22. Also all issued from EAA Hea dquarters. Thos e interested in the EAA Convention at Oshkosh. )-4, )- 5, AE-1 and HE-1 series aircraft. In the past two joining th e new group should contact the Oregon An­ As noted in the March , 1980 issue of Th e VINTAGE years there have been two fatal accidents as a resu It tique and Classic Aircraft Club, P. O. Box 613, Cres­ AIRPLANE, this club is planning a mass fly-in to the of the failure of cut threadbolts on these forks. Re­ well, OR 97426 . Convention from Northern California. They extend an placements should use rolled threadbolts. invitation to others to join them along the way. NO 80 OCTANE FUEL AT OSHKOSH They've received confirmation from several airports along the way, assu ri ng th em that "red gas", ti e­ NAVY ALERTS GENERAL AVIATION PILOTS TO Basler Aviation reports that an adequate sup­ down and camping facilities will be available. In past COLLISION HAZARDS CREATED BY ply of fuel is available for Oshkosh '80, but that issu es of their newsletter, based on previou s experi­ SAN DIEGO TCA no 80 octane fuel will be available. Payment will ence, they've listed specific items to bring along, in­ be accepted only with the following credit cluding clothing, tools, camping equipment, and per­ Officials of North Island Naval Air Station at San cards: Shell, Master Charge, or Visa. sonal gear. For thi s information, se nd $2 .00 to Diego are concerned that the tunnel through th e new Oshkosh Package, P. O. Box 891, Menlo Park, CA Terminal Control Area is in direct conflict with the (Ph oro by Don Pratt) 94025 . approach path to the primary arrival runway at the Pretty in-flight shot o( Howard Twibell, EAA 3343 1, o( For information about the mass flight to Oshkosh, Naval Air Station as well as to Outlying Field Imperial O skaloosa, Kansas flying his 1942 Cu lver LCA Cadet, sin contact: Barker and Williams, 25636 Franklin #1, Beach. 393 over th e flat Kansas (arm country. Hayward, CA 94544. Telephone 415/581-7083. The Navy objected to the FAA about the loca tion of *.': ... ~;,e tunnel, b eca use they felt it would crea te a dangerous mid-air collision potential. There have already been two mid-air collisions in a similar tunnel through the Los Angeles TCA.

NEW ANTIQUE/CLASSIC CHAPTER IN EUGENE, OREGON

EAA m embers in Eugene are in th e process of form­ ing a new Antique/Classic Chapter. They've held their initial m eeting, elected officers, selected a name, and started work on a res toration project. Th e project is a rare 1934 Stinson SR-5E Reliant which was donated to the group la st sp ring. Most of th e m embers belong to Eugene's EAA Chapter 34, which is a large and active group. In Ap­ 4 PT-23 ... Easiest Plane to Fly

by Edward Earp, Jr . EAA # 33228, AIC # 3 480 P. O . Box 2 766 Houston, TX 7700 7 PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE AUTHO R !, Front cockpit of the PT-23 . Windshield has tinted glass . I purchased this aircraft in 1975 from a friend in Houston. At that time, N54375 was a Fairchild PT-19 and I had known of it for over 20 years, never dream­ ing that one day I would own it. Right after I bought the Fairchild, I stumbled upon a PT-23 engine mount, engine, and just everything from the firewall forward that I would need to con­ vert a 19 to a 23. As you know, a PT-19 and 23 are identical from th e firewall back. I had the conversion done by Chuck Nichols in Brenham, Texas. Originally the plane had an inertia starter and I knew that as long as I could wind it up, I could cer­ tainly pass my flight physical. After watching me go through this windup one hot summer day, my wife had an electrical sys tem install ed which I must sa y I Ed Earp, Jr. , in his winter flying togs. think is pretty keen. Surely this must be one of th e eas iest aircraft in the world to fly. It has no bad habits but there is no mess­ ing around when it quits flying .. . it really se ttles. I have slow rolled it, snap rolled it, looped it and spun it but I don't do this anymore. Let's face it, the old bird was built in 1942. About all I can sa y is that it is a joy to fly. In the summertime my standard uniform is a parachute, swimming trunks and tennis shoes. Flying in the winter requires a ski jacket, gloves, boots and blue jea ns and you are ok in the front cockpit but forget about the back one! Th e Fairchild is based in Houston at Genoa Airport which is right nex t to Ellington Field. In fact w e are so close that we fly a 400' pattern . At the present time, I have more than enough parts to build at least three more PT-23s and I hope to start constructing one of them this coming year. I have a Ed Earp, Jr ., enjoying flight over th e South Texas coun­complete set of plans for all models of PT-19 and tryside in his bea utiful Fairchild PT-23. PT- 23 aircraft, including all modifications. I h e 220 Continental engine is' ex trem ely low time. 5 GIANT OF THE AIR by Edward D. Williams, Associate Editor EAA #51010 713 Ea stman Drive ou s Mt. Prospect, IL 60056 engineer, was assigned by United's president, William Mentzer, meanwhile, moved to Santa Monica, Forty-one years ago a one-of-a-kind airplane went A . Patt erson , to prepare specifications for a super air­ California, in March , 1936, and took an office in the on a coast-to-coast tour and gave the American public liner. Th e new aircraft was to have four engines and Douglas factory. He remained there until November, a view of the advanced aviation technology of the carry three or four times as many passengers as the 1938 , watching and participating in day-to-day build­ day. The plane was a giant air transport, with a re­ transport planes then in use. ing of the new plane, which was rolled out of the fac­ volutionary tricycle landing gear never before used After Mentzer worked out his sp ecs, they were pre­ tory in June, 1938. When United took it over for flight on a plane that size, and it ushered in a new era in sented to various aircraft manufacturers for consider­ tests on its coast-to-coast system in May, 1939, he ac­ air transportation. ation. The Dou'glas Aircraft Company became in­ companied the plane, noting its performance. The But that historically significant plane is not visible teres ted in building the air giant, and four other air­ plane showed itself to be well ahead of its time in today in any museum or collection of antique aircraft. lines - TWA , Eastern , American and Pan Am ­ 1939. It rests ignominiously on the bottom of Tokyo Bay . joined United in splitting a $300,000 engineering cost The plane was a triple-tail prototype of the Douglas But the triple-tail giant was never to make it into to get the project underway. It was a noteworthy col­ airline service. After a number of design changes, the DC-4 , which was destined to serve this country well lective effort by the airlines involved. as the C-54 and R5D Skymaster military transport of DC-4 became a smaller airplane with one a single United's " Pat " Patterson later explained how he rudder instead of three, and the unwanted prototype, World War II before donning civilian livery with many had gotten the other airlines to cooperate in the ven­ of th e nation's airlines. designated the DC-4E, was sold to the Japanese gov­ ture. At a meeting with his competitors' top manage­ ernment as a VIP transport. In 1935, when the famed Douglas DC-3 was queen ment, he explained, " I said United we fly and divided of th e skies, William C. Mentzer, a United Airlines we lose money." 6 W es tern A ir, Inc. , Ameri ca n Airlines, Inc., Pan Ameri­ th an half of that o utside - had to be d es igned and ca n Avi ati o n Supply Corp ., and N orth Ameri can Avia­ thoroughly tes ted . ti on, Inc. H y drauli c control surface loc ks h ad t o b e de­ D o ug las A irc raft Compan y engineers and o p era­ velo ped which would prevent wind gusts acting on An ea rl y tes t flight of th e prototype Douglas DC-4 . Pro­ tio ns executives of th e airlines held m o nthly confer­ th e huge surfaces and overpowering th e pilot during pellers are fea th ered on engines 3 and 4. Note th e interes t­ ences during the constru ction of th e plane. Valuable tax iing and yet w ould permit him to op erate th e con­ ing wire structure below th e ventral fin , probably to w arn discu ss io ns o f every conce ivable requirem ent too k tro ls eas ily under normal w ea th er conditio ns. th e pilot in case of over-ro tation on takeoff. place at th ese conferences, and o ften th e ideas were Pow er units w ere d eveloped for furnishing 110 volt incorpo rat ed i nto ·the plan e. Nine th o u sa nd para­ electrical cu rrent to operate if1stru m ents, radio, cook­ graphs m ade up th e contract under which th e plane ing, and li ghting and for the development of entirely O n its first tes t fli ght by Japanese pilo ts, th e pro­ w as built. new and improved radio equipment. to typ e plunged into To kyo Ba y wh ere its ru sting hulk Th e D C-4 E was d es ig ned for 42 passengers· by day From the beg inning, th e size of th e D C-4E ca used remains to this day. (and 30 by night) and a crew of five - two pilots, a problem s. A whol e new engine contro l sys tem had to Exp ectati o ns had run high fo r th e use of th e giant flight engineer , a stew ard and a stewardess. Ca lled be d ev ise d beca u se each of th e two outboard engines D C-4 in airlin e servi ce, M aurice Ro ddy, av iation th e " Fl ying Ho tel" , it boasted of a comfortable ladies ' w as 70' fr o m th e co ckpit. Th e new sys tem u sed editor of th e Chicago Times, w ro te o n April 30, 193 9: lounge, m en's dress ing room , a priva te compartment push-pull rods and ca bles which ran through the in­ " Every lesson and experience ga in ed b y th e commer­ up fro nt ca lled th e " bridal suite" and a lu xurious gal­ side of th e wing. cial transp ort operators in th e country have been incorpo­ lery amidships. A new fuel sys tem al so was d es igned which gave rated into th e am az ing sk y g iant, w hich has a gross Its four Twin H o rn et engines, with a to tal of more th e plane extra pow er - about th e sa me ho rsepower w eight of 32% to ns. th an 5,600 ho rsepow er, took its pampered passe ngers as two d iesel locomotives - fo r takeoff. Th e system "One hundred and sixty-five stru ctural tes ts requiring alo ng at a speed greater than that of any bo mber of included a 100-gallon tank of tak eoff fu el and a 300­ 2 1, 000 engineering and shop hours w ere made. More that era. ga llo n tank fo r crui se for ea ch engine. than 500,000 engineering hours are represented in the Th e years required in th e developing o f this giant And to day's airline pilots can thank D o ug la s en ­ completed plane. airliner - it took 18 months just to build - fro m the gineers for an innovation for the D C-4 , th e flight en ­ " To tal cos t of d evel opment w as approximatel y drawing board to th e finished · p roduct, rep resented gineer's stati o n . Th e designers put duplica te engine $ 1,500,000, and man y tes ts centered around th e tricycle no t so much the difficulties and probl ems o f building controls and h ydraulic sys tem contro ls on a second landing gea r developed to give this trem endous ship a a large airplane as th e ca reful resea rch and tes ting of contro l panel just behind th e pilots' stati o n, and the sm ooth er landing. Th e third wheel is loca ted in front of pa rts and new fea tures. A tes ting labo rato ry and out­ flight engineer was born. the center of gravity, and th e plane ca n be brought into a standing engi neers were kept bu sy for m ore than two Th e size of th e D C-4E is illustrated by th e fa ct that landing field at a steeper angle and taken off more rapidly yea rs develo ping info rmation o n th e new pro blems its contro l surfaces, its ail e r o ns, rudd e rs and than th e familiar type. Luxurious appointments are fea­ encounter ed in th e constru cti o n o f th e pro to type elevato rs, w ere bigger than th e wings of training air­ tured throughout th e plane, which has also a bridal suite. D C-4 . Pa rts w ere tes ted for every possible condition craft D ouglas w as bUilding. But Douglas gav e DC-4 Th e pro totype airplane had a wing span o f 138' 3" and many of them w ere tes ted to d es tructi o n to de­ pilo ts fingertip control by applying control boosters. and a fuse lage 97' 7" long and 24' 4" high. Its cruising termine th e limit of their endurance . Sp ecial expen­ It replaced th e standard contro l ca bles with small range with a full load w as 2,200 miles . It had a to p si ve machinery w as constru cted fo r th e tes ts. diam eter hydraulic lines and electri c mo to rs diving speed of 240 miles p er ho ur, a cruise sp eed o f 2101 Th e DC-4E's gestati o n was lo ng - and expensive. pumps. miles p er ho ur and a gross w eight of 65,000 po unds. M o re than 500,000 hours w ere spent in engineering Th e distin ctive tripl e-tail o f th e pro to t yp e was Its se rvice ceiling was 22 ,900 feet, and its absolute and des ign and anoth er 100,000 hours in ground and necessa ry for the D C-4E for greater lateral stability. ceiling 24,500 feet. It w as abl e to m aintain flight o n its labo rato ry tes ting . More than 20,000 different pi eces But th e idea w as abandoned fo r the sm all er, produc­ two Pratt and Whitney R-2180 engines at 8,000 feet of m etal w ere made in differ ent shap es , and m o re tio n mo dels of th e DC-4 . above sea level. Th e u se ful loa d was 20,000 p o unds, th an 1,300 ,000 rivets w ere used in its constru cti o n. To reduce drag in flight, flush ri vets were perfected and it ca rri ed three to ns of mail , exp ress and baggage Th e total cost w as a who pping $1,634,612. Of th is, fo r all external skin surfaces . in additio n to th e passengers. $992,808 was for labor and engineering and $641 ,804 Internally, even the seats w ere the res u It of mo nths O n e of its outstanding fea tures was th e innovative for materi als and overhead . o f th e mos t intensive design to provide th e ea sily ad­ tri cycl e landing gea r. In additio n to th e many techni­ There w er e m any n ew pro blem s of d esign. The justabl e seat and the reclining and reversing back that ca l advantages, this type o f landing gea r provided press urized fu se lage from th e p ilot's contro l room to are so essential to th e ease of th e passenger on a extra comfo rt for th e passengers by ass uring level th e rea r-m os t to il et compartment required th e most lo ng fli ght. Th e se ats al so had th e ca pability of being landing of the ship- and making it possible to se t th e ca reful des ign . Windshield, w indow s, and doors car­ fo lded with a minimum of effort into beds. plane d o wn at night with o ut aw ak ening th e occu­ ri ed th e press ure differential res ulting fro m an al­ Full size m ock-ups w ere used to p erfect th e ar­ pants in th eir berths. titude press ure of 12,000 feet inside th e ca bin at an rangem ent o f the pilots' compartm ent and controls, Th e D C-4 was born w ith a contract da ted M arch 23 , actu al altitude o f 20,000 feet. Th e bl o w ers, safet y passenger accommodati o ns, and power plant installa­ 1936. Parti cipants were the D ouglas A ircra ft Co., Inc., va lves, and auto m ati c press ure reg ulato rs - fo r main­ tio ns. Painstaking and almos t endless details of the United Air lines Transpo rt Corp ., Transco ntinental and ta ining th e press ure inside the ca bin at a little mo re w ind tunnel m o d el tes ts w ere recorded , and every 7 aspect of the new design had been thoroughly ney R-2180 engines, was test flown by Douglas for six studied. months before being awarded its Approved Type Cer­ (United Air Lines Photo) The strength of the structural design had been tificate in May, 1939. Then , painted in United colors, Th e prototype Douglas DC-4 fli es over th e Ca lifornia demonstrated by complete tests of many important it began another five months of route tes ting flights countryside. H ere it carri es an NC number in place of the structural parts , and by a proof test of the assembled by United. original NX. Note th e change in th e shape of th e ventral experimental airplane before the first test flights . " fin " . Loads totaling 60% of the ultimate design load had been applied to the airplane by means of jacks and lead weights distributed as nearly as possibl e like the actual weights and air loads. By this m ea ns the most severe loads likely to be encountered in se rvice had actually been placed on the airplane and it had shown that it was eas ily capable of withstanding such loads. The tricycle type of landing gear had never before been used on an airplane of that size, and a program was carried out involving tests on a scale model car towed by a truck, and later, tests on a twin-engined Douglas Dolphin airplane. These tests showed that this type of gear offered the advantages of better con­ trol on the ground through its inherent rolling stabil­ ity. It also was free from rebound during landing re­ sulting from the sudden drop in wing lift caused by the reduction of the angle of attack at the mo ment of contact as the airplane settles on the nose wheel. And it eliminated the possibility of nosing over with 'sudden application of the brakes. The design of the tricycle landing gear proved suc­ cessful from the start. A United Airlines report on June 15, 1938, states: "On the first take-off the plane had a gross weight of approximately 53,000 pounds, or about 12,000 pounds under what is expected to be its maximum gross weight. The take-off appeared normal in every No passengers were carried, but demonstration airplane order in th e history of peace-time flying." respect. The nose wheel was pulled off of the ground flights were made across the country by Douglas and Douglas announced it was starting construction of approximately 500 feet after the start of th e run and United flight crews. While the prototype proved to be 40 production-model DC-4 aircraft valued at the airplane was in the air after a total run of approx­ a great technical success, the route testing showed $14,000,000. imately 1',000 feet. The landings made with th e tricy­ that it was too large for economical operation. Con­ Thirty-nine of these modern , four-engine, sky cle landing gear proved very satisfactory." sequently, the prototype was return ed to Douglas, giants already were covered by contract in the final Although it was the largest plane in th e air at the who sold it to the Japanese in October, 1939. stages of negotiations with leading airlines in this time, the DC-4E was a pilot's dream. United t est pilot Meanwhile, the DC-4 design was redu ced in size, country and in Europe. Benny Howard (designer of the "Mister Mulligan" left unpressu ri zed and repowered with a more de­ With understandabl e pride, Douglas once sa id th e aircraft) said that " Flying the DC-4E is about as excit­ pendable Pratt and Whitney R-2000-2SD engine and DC-4E design " represents Douglas' contribution to ing as a game of solitaire." In a test flight at redesignated the DC-4A. Most notable of th e design , the science of aeronautics." Cheyenne, Wyoming, Howard head ed down the changes was the use of a single vertical tail instead of Th e performance of the production DC-4 was ex­ runway - with an elevation of 6,200 feet - ca lmly three with the initial orders from Eastern and United, pect ed to surpass that of the prototype DC-4E cut two engines on the takeoff, and th e plane took to the highly-improved DC-4A was now ready for pro­ airplane. The forty DC-4 airplanes ordered into pro­ the air as if it didn't know the differen ce. A United duction . But it now was scaled down to a wing span duction at the end of 1939 were faster and more com­ official watching the demonstration smiled broadly of 117' 6" and a length of 93' 11". fortable than the prototype that paved the way for and said, " That's the plane for us." On January 2, 1940, the Douglas Aircraft Company their appearance. Under its contract with Douglas, United had the proudly announced at Santa Monica, California, that Th e story of the production of th e DC-4 was not to option of purchasing the prototype (NC18100, serial "Commercial aviation in the United States will begin end until August 11, 1947, when DC-4 number 1242, number 16010). The plane, with four Pratt and Whit­ the new year with the largest and most significa nt the last of th e famous Skymasters to be built, rolled 8 off the D ouglas asse mbly line and was delivered to So uth Africa n Airways. Th e delivery marked th e conclusio n of a five-year manufac turing program whi ch produced 1163 military and 79 post-w ar commercia l transpo rts o f th e DC-4 type. Th e D C-4 in 1947 o utnumber ed all o th er four­ engined transpo rts about seven to o ne, a D o ug las survey disclosed , and th eir se rvi ce record o f one bil­ lion miles of dep endable flight was unapproached by any o th er aircraft in that category. With m ore than 1,000 in u se in 1947, Douglas se r­ vice anal ys ts predicted that D C-4s wou Id be f lyi ng fo r at least an o th er 10 yea rs. Ho wever, so me D C-4s are still flying tod ay. The first producti o n Skymaster, a military C-54, ac­ Th e DC-4 proto typ e a t New ark, New Jersey being in­ During WW /I D ouglas modified th e DC-4 to meet the tually flew eight w eeks after Pea rl Harbor. When the sp ected by th e public during its coast to coas t tour in military's need for large transports. Th e plexiglass dome United States w as plunged into w ar , D o ug las had 194 9. behind th e loop antenna over th e pilots' compartment started productio n of DC-4 s for commercial airlines. serv ed th e naviga tor while he took sun and star shots for Nine aircraft w ere in adva nce d stages of constru cti o n celes tial naviga tion . when the Army decided the D C-4 , with few modifica ­ tio ns, w o uld meet its requirem ents for a lo ng-range troo p and ca rgo ca rrier. Changes were m ade during produ ctio n and th e Army C-54 and Navy R5D were bo rn .

(U nited Air Lines Photo) Th e original D C-4 w ith its distinctive triple tail, is shown above in a rare photograph amid a line-up of D ouglas DC-3s . Th e prototype later w as designated th e D C-4 E when the single tail D C-4A w ent into production .

It was necessa ry to install th e tailskid p edestal assembly before loading or unloading th e C-S4 IRSD aircraft as it w as p oss ible to get an aft cg condition while handli.ng hea vy military equipment.

Wartime C-S4 taking off at Guadalcanal in 1944. Planes in the background include 3 8-24s, a Noordyn Norseman and a Stinson L- 1. 9 Because of the war, early service of the four­ engined sky giants, then the largest mass-produced transport plane, was veiled in secrecy. But confiden­ tial reports reached Douglas from scattered points of the globe indicating that the C-54 was proving the Army's faith in the aircraft was well justified . As the war progressed, production was stepped up at the Santa Monica plant and later at a new factory established in Chicago on the present site of O'Hare International Airport. Shattering previous concepts of time and distance, the C-54 and R5D proved the feasibility of global air transportation by land-based aircraft. Skymasters made more than 20 round-trips a day for months over the stormy north Atlantic. They conquered sand and heat to maintain an African supply line. They flew over the treach erous " hump". In the China-Burma­ India theater of operations they carried precious plasma and whole blood to battle-scarred Pacific atolls and returned to the United States with the wounded . They accomplished this with an amazing record of safety. Figures compiled by the Army Air Transport Command and the Naval Air Transport Service showed that in making 79,642 war-time ocean cross­ ings, only three C-54s were lost. One was a deliber­ ate " ditching" and the other two were unexplained. Because of their record of dependability, DC-4s were used to carry top Allied statesmen and military leaders to historic conferences which shaped the course of victory. They were used as personal planes by such notables as General Douglas MacArthur, General Dwight Eisenhower, General " Hap" Arnold and Prime Minister Winston Churchill. It was a C-54, with a special interior, which became world famous as the personal airplane of President Franklin D . Roosevelt. Until it was succeeded by a Douglas DC-6, the same plane served as the Flying White House for President Harry Truman. One of ihe most spectacular jobs the C-54 was called upon to do was to transport two divisions of oc­ cupation troops from Okinawa to Tokyo in ten days. Taking off at five minute intervals, 250 C-54s made 1,400 flights of five hou rs du ration withou t a si ngle mishap or casualty. Air Transport Command records show that between January, 1944 and April, 1947, C-54s had flown a total of 350,049,900 miles. No accurate records were kept before 1944 . The Naval Air Transport Service had logged, 68,000,000 miles on Douglas R5Ds in four years with only one fatal accident.

10 During 1946, the Pacific Division of the ATC flew C-S4s the equivalent of 1,200 times around the earth without a single passenger fatality. Thi s perfect safety record involved the transportation of nearly 110,000 Pilots' cockpit of th e D C-4A. Th e wheel mounted hori­ passengers on approximately 20,000 separate Pacific zontally on top of th e instrument panel is th e rudder trim crossings. control. Converted C-S4s and new DC-4s flew over global airways daily as commercial .airliners. Of the more than 500 surplus C-54s sold o'r leased by the govern­ ment, more than 220 entered the service of sched­ uled domestic airlines. For example, of the 47 air­ craft operated by United Airlines, only one (N10204) was a DC-4 . The others were C-54A, Band G air­ craft. The sole DC-4 was a postwar civilian plane produced by Douglas. Recognizing the outstanding record and the as­ sured future of DC-4 type transports, the U . S. Post Office Department in 1946 pictured the four-engined Douglas airliner on the five cent airmail stamp. A nu mber of foreign cou ntries have given the plane similar recognition. In a final analysis, the name "Skymaster" was a The DC-4 with a single vertical fin and rudder instea d of most appropriate one. And it all is owed to a triple­ th e triple tail as on th e prototype w ent into service with tail giant which possibly is interred forever in a salt th e airlines aft er WW /I duty as th e C-S4 and RSD mili­ water tomb near Tokyo, Japan . tary transport<; .

N C 7 I

11 b y Robert C. Ellioll JESSE ORVAL DOCKERY . . PART I EAA #85 14 5, A IC # 3296 7227 O akwood Avenue 'A FLYING SILVER EAGLE' (photos From Th e Co llection O f /. O. D ockery) Daytona Bea ch , FL 32074

When a stranger vi sits with j .O. Dockery, he is im­ m ediately engulfed in So uthern hospitality, al l th e wh i le enthral led w i th Dock's ea sy co u ntry-styl e humor. His 'escapades', as he refers to his flying experi­ ences , encompass the fath erin g of crop du sting tech niques, together with a life-time of flying, coun­ try and city living, a host of aviator friends from over the yea rs ... al l brought to the fore by a needle sharp memory, sa lted with wit. j .O. is easy going, a family man, proud father and still flyi ng at ag e 71 , f rom his old ai rport in Stuttgart, Arkansas. The take-offs and landi ngs of his career since he was born on February 26, 1909 have awarded him with a dedicated wife, Irene, and two daughters, Bunny Carolyn Scott and joyce DeMaine. Th e fa ct that Bunny w as M iss Arkansas in 1977 and 1978 was frosting on the cake. Two Cessna Skyhawks pr.ovide the mea ns for Dock to schedule single and multi-engine chec ks, a mo des t number o f charter f lights and o ccasional student training. Though retired, he hasn't stopped flying.

" j .O.," 1 as ked , " when did you first become in­ teres ted in avi ation? " " W ell ," h e drawled , " I w as born in Texas in th e year 1909. My fa th er was a Texas land baron. H e had 700 acres of th e mos t barren land in Texas. Th en, about tlie time of WWI , in 1916 and 1917, my folks moved to Lawton , Oklahoma, and of course, Pos t Fi eld at Ft. Sill was nearby. At the time it was o ne of the few airports in th e co untry.

Two Harley Davidson moto rcycle buffs in Pin e Bluff, A r­ kansas . D oc, with pin stripe suit in fronl, age 74 and Freeland M eyers, mechanic for H arley Davidson . At this age D oc rode fro m Pin e Bluff to Stullga rl, Ark ans as to fl y WW 1 p lanes for a mechanic-owner. Th e pilo l, Joe C lass being afraid to fl y th em for tes t or delivery to th eir new owners w as encouraged when D oc volun teered to do so . . . and collected h is rightful pay for th e opportunit y. 12 "My father owned two cafes there as well as several of gas in the rear, and tied on behind was my bike. jitneys . . . now known as the airport limousines. The We hid the bike in some mesquite clumps and got jitney that ran to the airport passed right by my aboard. school, so every evening when I got out of school I'd "He sez ... 'Well, we'll run over to Alice, Texas', hail one of the drivers and go to Ft. Sill. so he started the thing up and we took off heading "Well, in as much as the jitneys were running in for Alice. and out so often, the guards let me pass right on "He had dual controls in it so I followed him through and I'd get off out at the hangars. There through all the way. Now bear in mind, I had learned were times when I'd stay the whole evening. It wasn't a lot about planes at Ft. Sill so I knew pretty well long before I was considered a mascot by some of what he was doing. We got to Alice, landed in a field, the pilots. and again he asked me to watch the plane while he "I learned about the airplanes, their parts and the went into town. He stayed a little while ... I'm out workings inside and out. Often I would be asked to there making sure the cows and people stay away ... crawl back in close places when the mechanics were and back he came. We took off and flew down to stringing cables, in places too small for them to McAllen ... that gave me another hour, hour and a reach. half dual time." ''I'd hate to tell you how many left handed monkey "By the way, if you've ever flown a Hall-Scott 4 wrenches and buckets of compression I toted for Standard cross country, you can build up a lot of time those guys, but I'd wander off to find them .. going practically nowhere. As a matter of fact, I've none-the-Iess." made the remark in later years, I watched one farm Interrupting his line of thought for a moment, woman throw out three dish waters before passing asked ... "What were the types of planes there at out of view. Another time I watched a man plow a the time?" ten-acre field with a single horse turning plow ... "Oh, Jennys, Cannucks, DHs, Tommy Scouts, Barl­ and if you didn't watch yourself, you'd be going the ing bombers, the old WWI airplanes," responded other way, backing up. J.O.... "and as I say ... I learned all the parts, but "But anyway ... we made this tour from Corpus they couldn't take me up for a ride. I was just a kid Christi, down to Alice, over to McAllen, then Har- and a civilian. "It was pretty hard to get a ride, fact is .. . I never Two new short-nosed American Eagles at Meridian, Mis­ did get a ride during the time I spent helping out at Charlie Hays in light plus-fours and Doc, leaning on an siss ippi in February, 7928. Standing at Doc's left was the Ft. Sill. OX-5 Wa co used to advertise Fargo Foods in 7927. Char­ lie was a former WW I fighter pilot. Pres ident of M eridian Airways, who was also the local "But the folks moved us all down to Corpus Christi Ford dealer. Doc had quit Meridian Airways before he later, and it was in 1921 that I got my first ride. My soloed the boss in order to be home for the birth of his fascination with airplanes continued, but they being first daughter. Th e boss th en decided he'd had sufficient so scarce, I didn't see one often. Then, this one day, dua l in struction so he soloed himself one day and just coming out of school, I saw a plane flying over promptly spun in. town and I watched it till I saw it descending over the south side of town. I jumped on my bicycle and hur­ M ~ R j IJ iANMexico, the folks moved back to Pine Bluff. pounds wringing wet ... and little gas ... I got off Course, I was still in school there too, but there were the ground .. . and the first thing I knew I was tree­ no airplanes around. This made me pretty fidgety. I top high. knew of one at Little Rock that Carroll Cone had. He "I made a big turn way round to the south and got ran for Governor and he owned a Jenny. Then, there .--..,S' {\, lined up with this big pasture when it quit. Only was a fellow in Little Rock, named H. C. Alexander . . Thr ee cronI es at Jackson, Miss iss ippi in thing in my way was a few mesquite clumps and . so I hopped on my motorcycle and sped over to in dark suit, Doc and Martin Jensen. Texas longhorns. I hung onto the stick and it landed work up a deal to fly his airplane, but he'd hired by itself. My brother came running down and said .. Rolly Inman. taken it all with a grain of salt, but after I flew with . 'What's the matter?' and I said ... 'Alfred, I'm out "During the summer vacation I went out to Ok­ him, he became fully confident in my ability. I was of gas,' ... so he went and got me a couple of buck­ lahoma City and worked for Burl Tibbs . .. this was only around fourteen years old at the time. As a ets which we put in. With that, I knew I'd have in '23 as I recall. When I first talked with him, I told you ng kid I never did play tops or marbles ... I rode enough for a couple of swings over town, which I him I could fly, and he sez . . . 'Well, I'll give you a motorcycles and learned about airplanes. Nothing made. job as helper.' else interested me very much. After this surprise be­ "You know, I had forgotten about how people "What it really amounted to was being baby-sitter ginning, I spent two of my school vacations working would run out to the field if there was an airplane for his two little girls to keep them out of the spin­ for Bu rl. flyin' over, and the first thing I knew, I had three or ning props. "In the Spring of 1924 , Alan Scott and I were down four hundred spectators out there waiting for me to " After maybe two weeks, I finally said ... 'Burl, I at Finklea Brothers at Leland, Mississippi. They owned fly some more. want to fly'. Ole Burl was an easy going sort of big a Hisso Standard which we were flying . The General "Along about this time Barney came in from Hous­ fella and he sez .. . 'Come on over here, Orval, and Manager of the Delta Pine and Land Company, the ton with an OX Standard and I thought .. . 'Whoa, we'll go fly. I've got to fly this Cannuck ... you can largest cotton plantation in the world . .. a Mr. he's gonna wonder who' s puttin' on the air show.' take me for a ride.' Young . . . came by and wanted to know if we could So, I went over to Barney's plane and said, 'Barney, I " Well . . . after I flew him around for a while he pour some poison on the worms that were coming want to tell you this before somebody else does sez ... ' By golly ... you really can fly, can't you?' So out of the small grain and eating up the cotton. They I've been flying your airplane: Burl let me start doin' all the flight instruction. Earlier, had twenty-four thousand acres of young cotton , "He sez, 'You have?' when I'd told him I'd done this and that, ole Burl had anywhere from one to two inches above the ground. 14 Th e worms w ere eating it up and they didn' t w ant to " After some figuring w e put in a bulkhea d and seal ed the new company fo r th eir airp lanes and equip ment, r eplace it all with th e turning plows u sed back in around it whi ch improved th e operati o n consider­ besides getting a year-round job. That was the begin­ those days. abl y. With thi s and other m o dificati o ns, w e w er e ning o f D elta Air Corpo rati o n . Th ey di d th ei r first abl e to w o rk th ere over a m o nth putting o ut th at cro p dusting in th e Spring of 1926 and w ere th e o nly " Generally th eir meth o d of fi ghting the wo rms w as po ison . To the b es t of my knowledge th at was th e company exclu sively equipped for crop dusting. Th en to suspend a hicko ry pole over th e back of a mule. beginning o f crop dusting with an airplane. N ow the in 1928 th ey started th eir first airline w ith J6-9 Travel H elpers would hang gunny sacks full of dust on th e Gov ernme nt had run some tes ts with sa ddle g uns A irs flying fr o m M o nroe to Dallas and Atlanta. M o n­ ends and the jostling w o uld fl oa t th e dust d own onto hung over the si d e . . . cranking it out. Dr. B. R. roe was headquar ters. Later th ey got a few Tri-m o to r the worms. Mr. Young thought that if w e could pour Coa d at Talulah was in charge of th eir so-ca lled ex­ Stinson 'T's, and they also had o ne o r two Stinson this poison out of a sa ck fro m the plane he'd have perimental stati o n and p es t contro l. H e had a couple low -win g 'A 's with retractable gear . O nly a sh o rt b etter coverage, but w e to ld him , ' th at w o uldn ' t of Army DHs with nets th at hung between th e wings. while later th ey added several ten-twelve place Lock­ work, it'd go in th e pilot's face.' H e'd fly around th e country side and scoop up th e h eed El ectras. Later of course , th ey graduated to th e "So Alan Scott propose d that ... 'If you' ll guaran­ bu gs in th ese nets for his labo rato ry experim ents. DC-2's , D C-3's and have g rown to the renowned air­ tee us enough work, w e'll pull the front sea t o ut and " I' ll nev er forget . . . h e had Sergeant's Angel and line of today." put a gin-bell . . . or a hopper . . . in its place.' Mitchell fl ying th ose DHs. W e found out that H enry D oc and I thought it time for a brea k in th e taping " H e agreed to a deal , so w e took the sea t out and Ellio tt and Do ug Culver had bo ught the manufactur­ sess io n , so w e visited fo r a while with two cro nies of put in two M o del T gas tanks in th e center section, ing rights and jigs to build th e o ld Huff-Puffers. Th ey his, Clem W hittenbeck and O lin ' Pappy' Lo ngcoy. O n covered them over with fabric and put th e ho pper had started dusting over in Georgia, but th ey rea lized this day a number of m embers of th e Fl orida Spo rt b elow with a big six inch pipe goin' o ut thro ugh th e in th e Summ er of 1924 that th ose p ea patch sized Av i ati o n A nt i qu e and Class i c Associa ti o n w e re bottom with a ga te slip valve ... you know . .. with fields w ere no places fo r airplan es . .. so th ey moved ga thered fo r a fri endly fly-in picnic. a shovel handle o n it. Of course, like two kids w ould to M o nroe, Lo ui5iana th at fall. Th ey set up a bu siness When he had his second wind, J.O. continued his do ... w e'd matched to see who'd fl y it first. W ell, I in an o ld WWI ca mouflaged tent hanga r. By 1925 th ey reminiscences. w o n . .. so I flew it fro m Leland up to Scott wh ere w ere ready to dust , but th ey were bro ke. The fa rmers the plantatio n headquarters was. wouldn' t let them w as te th eir po ison fl yin' aro und " Th ey immediately put 500 po unds of dust in it and and dumping it. told m e to go over to th e bend in the river. Th ere " So a f e ll ow ca m e al o ng and pro mo ted a new w ere 200 acres of cotton with th e worms eating it up. company. H e got some bankers, so me ginners, some W ell , I got the Standard in th e air and after finding chemica l compani es and started by taking in H enry El­ }. O. Dockery with foot on lower wing of OX-5 Eaglerock the bend in th e river, w ent down over those bi g cy­ li ott and Do ug Culver. H enry and Do ug got stock in with wife, Irene, lea ning on lower wing. press trees and pulled the shovel handle ... and that was the last time I could find it. Th e prop w as h puffed th e dust right up into the cockpit so I w as finally standing up , tlying in a circle over that half moon shaped fi eld . When I got thro ugh there was a deep fog settling in th ere and that ti ckled Mr. Young no end. " I h ead ed back for our landing fi eld , my eyes and m o uth full o f dust and spitting mud and cotto n it seem ed like. About that time, Alan came up driving the old Model T, hollerin' .. . ' I' m next: and I sez ... ' Yep , you ' r e next.' I figured th ere w as no use ex­ plaining to him, let him find out himself what w as th e matter. " So they put another 500 po unds of dust in th e hopper and to ld him to go o ut th ere al o ng the front o f the strip and put it out. H e ca me diving in , opened the gate and pulled up abruptly. H e wasn't as tall as I w as, and couldn' t get up out of th e swirling cockpit dust. H e couldn't find th e handle either , so h e pulled up and dumped it from a pretty high level. When he ca m e down h e to ld Mr. Yo ung, 'W e've got to seal this thing up some way.' "I had a forced landing with an OX-Swallow about " It didn't make any difference, becau se he took " So he said ... 'Well , it's not goin' to stick any­ 1926. The engine iced up . .. well ... that is , I mine back anyway. Later, I found my first number way. thought it iced up ... it was quittin'. When I landed was re-issu ed the next week to Bill Berry in " I went ah ead and flew for him . He had a couple in a corn fi eld . . . it was too little to land i"n, I fell in Shreveport , Loui siana . All the insp ectors , one ole OX and Hisso Standards, but he also had a brand ... The ole boy who was with me, Rowe Soward, the hundred of them , had gone into the field with one new Waco 7, fully licensed. I'd been there about two Assistant Manager of the Long Bell Lumber Co., of hundred numbers, so you understand why not many weeks wh en some guy came out and wanted to fly to Pine Bluff, immediately started gettin g chills and were issued in numerical order. Lou isville, Kentucky. fever. I did too, but it didn't show. " A short time later an incident occurred relating to " Verne sez .. . ' D()c, you'd better take the Waco, " The funny part was . .. he was so sick , we put my former comm ent that Shorty took my li ce nse back you won't get up ther~ in those Standards.' him on a train for the trip back home. I w ent back to anyway." " So I took the man to Louisville, let him out and the plane and found I had a troublesome magneto, "Shorty had to make a flight to Houston, San An­ came back to Memphis, landed and two men walked so after getting that fixed, we had to pull the plane tonio, Waco and back, and when he was landing at out from th e hangar. They introduced themselves as over to th e road and up a hill to a field . I took off Houston, I was right behind flying a Super LeRhone Mr. Sandy Willets and Mr. Bettenger .. . and then down the hill, round the curve, up through some Standard. He was flyin' this ole J-4 Stinson biplane, requested my li cense. pine trees and came on out. I then landed at Smoot the first airplane I ever saw with brakes . Soon as I " I told th em the story and then heard . .. 'Mr. Field at Monroe and got some gas from Henry and had my plane shut down , I got out and walked over Dockery, you 're subject to a year and a day in the went back to Pine Bluff. I got there in time to meet to talk with him and asked .. . 'Shorty, how you Federal pen and a thousand dollars fine or both . the train, got Rowe Soward off the train with his chill doin'?' You 're flying a licensed airplane and you 're an un­ and fever and took him home. " He said .. . ' Doc, I'm fine, but what're you doin' licensed pilot ... but they continued .. . 'We're not " Back in those days, there was no such thing as a flyin' that unlicensed airplane? ' gonna press this pilot violation, we want you to take steady job in aviation. You had to create on e. So "Right off, I said ... 'Well, I'm a married man and the flight examination over again.' naturally, we had created the crop dusting, but that I've gotta make a livin' , an this is the only job I can " Well . . . as I told you, each inspector went into only lasted about sixty days out of the year. We'd find around here.' the field with a hundred Letters of Authority. For in­ dust for boll weevils and worms but the farmers just "He sez ... 'Why you're a licensed pilot and that's stance . . . Sandy Willets . . . I found out later . .. hadn't taken to it yet .. . the dustin' . .. they an unlicensed airplane and you 're subject to a year had numbers 401 to 500 and Mr. Bettenger had num­ couldn't feature anyone flying around dumping out and a day in the Federal pen and a thousand dollars bers 2401 to 2500. their poison and having such methods be effective. fi ne or both .' " He gave me the examination over again and is­ Of course, we were getting ten cents a pou nd or a " I countered ... ' Now wait just a minute,' ... and sued me number 2418 , and that' s the one I have to­ minimum of two dollars an acre for doin' it. But we I reached into my pocket and pulled out the Letter of day, because by that time, I figured the rules were couldn't rig our planes for just dustin' and have them Authority and said . .. 'You know what you can do goin' to stick." idle the rest of the year . We' d clean them up for with this piece of paper don' t you?' ... and I gave it Doc and I had to take a break for a minute while I barnstorming, air shows and passenger rides, picking back to him and went on flyin' that Super LeRhone changed tape in my tape recorder and during these up what money we could . Standard which had an old rotary engine converted to moments he mentioned that also during 1927 he was " You know, back in 1927 they came out with the a stationary engine. chief test pilot for Clyde Cessna for a while. first rules and regulations . .. called themselves the "I won't tell you what we called those engines in Department of Commerce, Aeronautics Branch ... those days because each time we'd start one of 'em, Editor's Note: Robert Elliott's story about J. O. Doc­ and they gave me a license to fly. None of us be­ we'd have to fill a suction gun full of castor oil and kery will be concluded in the August issu e of The lieved that it would stick ... who was gonna enforce squirt it into the hollow crankshaft and hope to God VI N T AC E A IRPL ANE. rules in the air? Shorty Cramer was the first inspector. it'd hit on all cylinders when we got off the ground. He came out to Houston and gave Benny Howard, In thirty days of flyin' those Super LeRhone Standards Iren e Docker y lea ns aga inst short-nosed O X A merica n Frank Hawks, Bert Pitco, Bert Eison , Bozo Moore and I had fou rteen forced landings. Eagle. Notice th e bea utiful burnished cowling and wheel myself our licenses. " At that time I was flyin' for J. C. Tipps and Co., covers. " Like I said . .. Shorty Cramer was the first inspec­ and I told 'em that I thought I was gonna qu it. Cap­ tor in the field. He had Letters of Authority numbered tain Tipps didn' t know why I wanted to quit, and ~ , from 101 to 200. Eleven of us took our transport asked me why ... to which I said . . . ' I don't think examination after which he issued numbers 190 to I' m gonna live long enough to spend another thirty 200. When we learned he had numbers 101 to 200, days at this sort of thing,' .. . so I quit and went to the first to be iss ued to any pilots except government work for Captain V. C. and Phoebe Omlie at Mem­ " pilots ... we asked if he would issu e us numbers phis, Tennessee. from 101 up. But no ... he wouldn 't do that because " First thing Captain Verne did was ask if I had a he wanted those in his portfolio so that after taking license. I said . .. 'Well-I-I . . . I had one,' . . . and them off the top, he could tell right off how many he then told him th e story. had left. 16 THE CUNNINGHAM-HALL ...... - ' GA-36

by Gene Chase

(Ph oto Courtesy of Bob Kes el) Th e 1935 Cunningham-Hall GA-3 6 was a ra cy looking machine. Som e of th e STOL devices on th e wing are visi­ ble in this photo. Company tes t pilot, Otto Enderton is at th e controls.

Bob is now an active member of Antique/Classic Chapter 6 of Rochester and through the years had In the mid-thirties the Cunningham-Hall Aircraft never forgotten the plane. On June 28, 1978, quite by Corporation of Rochester, New York designed and chance, Bob and some of his friends learned that the built a good looking low-wing aircraft which proved GA-36 still existed and was located at the Tecumseh, to be far ahead of its time. Designed by Randolph F. Michigan Airport where AI Meyers, of Meyers Air­ Hall it was to have both high and low speed capabil­ craft, had removed the engine some 37 years previ­ ity. ously. The GA-36 built in 1935 was the outgrowth of pre­ The aircraft was obtained along with a complete set vious designs . It was powered by a Warner Super of factory drawings and now is the restoration project Scarab engine and had full span flaps plus other high of Antique/Classic Chapter 6. This group is actively lift devices on the wing. making the airplane airworthy and they are in need of It was flown by several pilots who all spoke well of donations. A major item needed is the Warner en­ the craft. The GA-36 was fully aerobatic and had ex­ gine, either 145 or 165 hp. They have located two for cellent slow speed flight ability. Apparently it was sale, but the prices are beyond the group's means. overbuilt and overweight, however, and did not fare For donation purposes the group has formed a well when its climb and top speed was compared non-profit corporation called the GA-36 Association, with the performance of other 2 place planes of the Inc. The purpose of the restoration is " to insure that day. It could have made good use of a controllable Rochester regains its proper place in the history of pitch propeller but one was never fitted. aviation during the days when real pioneering work The project was not continued and when the was being done". Cunningham-Hall Aircraft Corporation failed to bid Bob Kesel and other Chapter 6 members will be successfully on government plane contracts, they promoting their project at Oshkosh '80 by manning manufactured aircraft parts and gun mounts during booth number J- 7 in the North Exhibit Building. They VVW II. will display photos of the original plane as well as the In the meantime, the GA-36 sat in a hangar at the current restoration. They will also have scale models Rochester, New York Airport until 1941 when the of the GA-36 on display, and kits for sale for building Meyers Aircraft Company in Tecumseh , Michigan 1/24 scale paper models of this beautiful aircraft. purchased the plane for its engine. For those interested in more details of the GA-36, Among the pilots who were flying at the Rochester the Summer, 1971 Journal of the American Aviation Airport at the time was a you ng man named Robert E. Historical Society contains a story of the (Ph oto b y R. Straub) Kesel . Bob greatly admired the GA-36 and he and his Cunningham-Hall Aircraft Corporation by Randolph F. Th e GA-36 as it lay in th e weeds for many years at the friends considered it to be the " absolute epitome of a Hall, who was vice president and chief engineer of Tecumseh, Mi chiga n Airport. sport plane" . the company. 17 1M

In the Summer of 1969 I heard that there were two We stored the T-craft behind my garage as I was in of my time in the Navy was spent with Fleet Air Ser­ planes for sale at the airport in Beaumont, Texas. the process of covering a Piper Colt. I am an Airframe vice Squadron Twelve at Miramar. I was Petty Officer One was a )-3 Cub and the other was a Taylorcraft, and Powerplant mechanic and hold an I.A. rating . in charge of the aircraft paint shop. both in need of rebuilding. I fell in love with the Since 1967 I have rebuilt and covered 30 planes and While in the Navy I painted at least one of the fol­ T-craft when I saw the round control wheel and big 88 Stearman wings. The oldest plane I have worked lowing types of aircraft; Grumman Panther, Cougar, tachometer. The owner wanted $1 ,200.00 for the Cub on was a 1935 German Focke Wolfe 44 Biplan e. I Bearcat, McDonnell Banshee, Phantom, Beech 18, and $500.00 for the T-craft. While checking over the work on planes as a hobby. My main job for the past and finally a Grumman TBF Avenger. I really enjoyed logs I fou nd that the latter had only 442 total hou rs 25 years has been with BF Goodrich Chemicals in Port the chance to work on the military aircraft, but my on the engine and airframe. Also , it hadn't been Neches, Texas . first love is the old fabric planes. flown since 1965. This Taylorcraft, a BL-65 was man­ I received my aviation training in the U. S. Navy. I As the years went by I worked on my T-craft as well ufactured on February 10, 1940, and powered by a attended Aviation Structural Mechani c School at as seve ral planes. The fuselage needed to be Lycoming 0-145-B2 of 65 hp. Memphis, Tennessee. My duties included working on sandblasted. Some nut painted the wing spars with At the time I owned a Volkswagen Van, which all parts of an airplane, except the engine, electrical zinc chromate and this had to be stripped off. As the made an ideal platform for carrying wings safely. My system, and radios. My first duty assignment was with fuel tank had some lea ks I sloshed the tank with family and I loaded other parts inside the van. By re­ the Blue Angels, from April, 1952 to February, 1954. sloshing compound. I replaced the following items: moving the tail wheel and using a big bolt through Besides doing airframe work I was squadron painter. control cab les, shock cords, windshield, windows, the tail spring and the trailer hitch on the bumper, I n February of 1954 I was transferred to Fi ghter sea ts , seat belts, and prop. The wings and tail sur­ the fuselage towed nicely. This caravan attracted a lot Squadron VF-111 at the Naval Air Station in Miramar, faces were covered with Grade A cotton. Th e cover of attention. California. I served four months with them. Th e rest material came with the ship. The fuselage was cov­

..,. ... REBIRTH F A by Bob Moore EAA # 773726, A le # 3808 976 South 72 Street Nederland, TX 77627

18 ered with Stits dacron. Th e first time I painted th e fu el tank . N eedless to say I purcha sed a new tank. I plane it ended up white with blue and gold trim , and had to d isassemble the fro nt of the plane to install w ith big numbers o n th e wings. I didn't like this so I th e new tank. re- painted it o range/yellow with white trim and blac k In th e m ea ntime, I had started work o n a Stea rman and w elded up by To mmy Fo nteno t, th e Pres ident of pin striping. and th ere w as n't much time to fl y my p lane. Th e new EAA Chapter 223. To mmy is building a So nerai Two, I m ajo red the eng ine and everything w e n t back tank began to leak around th e fitting o n the botto m and does som e of the b es t welding I have seen . I got standard. Th e biggest problem w ith the engine jo b w hich I had installed using teflo n tape. It seems that a o ne time approva l from th e FAA o n this installati o n . w as th e price I had to pay for parts. Th e o nly p lace I this tape allows you to over ti ghten the fitting w i th out The main reason we installed th e new brake system is could find any parts was in O klahoma. Th e rod bear­ you being aw are of it. Lat er, someone to re th e fabri c th at m y sons w a nt to l ea rn t o f ly. Al so, To mmy ings cos t $99.00 in 1975. o n b oth wings by dragging ano th er p lane over it. needed some tai ld ragger tim e. Th e T- craft finally flew in 1976, after eleven yea rs of Th e Taylo rcraft then sa t for 26 m o nths w hile I mad e N ex t I recovered th e wings and tail surfaces w ith b eing gro unded . Th e first flight was uneventful but a Stea rman ou t of three. Next I recovered a Citabri a, Stits dacron . Th e p lane is now painted wi th Stits yet a rea l thrill fo r me. After about four hours flying a PA-11 and a 7EC Champ. Aeroth ane internati o nal o range wi th white trim and time the engine q uit o n takeoff w hen I was about 100 It was n't u ntil Ap ril of 1979 th at I finally got back to black pin stri ping. I install ed an air d riven generator feet up. Th e runway here is over 5,000 feet lo ng so I my own p lane. As th e engine had to com e off again and a Genave radio , and w heel pa nts. w as able to land safely . Boy, did it get quiet - I could to repair th e leaking tank, and th e fabric o n th e w ings I w eigh 225 Ibs., and th e T- craf t w ill do 90-95 mph h ea r my h eart p o unding! This w as my first fo rce d had to be replaced , w e br o ug ht th e plane ho m e . with m e alo ne. The engine burns 3-4 ga llo ns of gas an landing. Th e fuel line w as p lugged w ith the slos hing W hile th e engine was off we install ed brake pedals hour. It's a lot of fun to fly and cheap even at today's compound w hich was sh edding from th e sides of th e o n the right side of th e plane. Th ese were d es igned prices. TAYL RCRAFT Photos b y Wayne M oore

19 Otto E. Szekely (pro nounced ZAY-KI ) was described by o n e o f hi s H o lland empl oyees, Conrad G . Lohm ann , as " a very sm art engineer but a lo u sy business man ." Mr. Szekely g radu ated f ro m schools in Vienna and Berlin and ca m e to th e United States after World W ar I. H e jo ined Vil ey M oto r Corpo rati o n , M o line, Illino is, w here he d es igned fro nt wh eel drive vehicles for a man who later beca me his broth er-in­ law. A few years later he began his own engineering firm and d es i g n ed small gas o li ne e n gin es for Cu shman of Lin coln , Nebraska, and oth er firm s. H e also entered th e pisto n ring business. One of th e firms he did w ork for w as the Maytag was her compa ny in Iowa. H e al so drew th e attention of H o lland Furnace Company offi cials w ho inves ted in a was hing mac hine firm in H olland, Michiga n ca lled Vac-A-Tap . Szekely was talked into m oving his engineering and pis to n ring firm to H o lland wh ere h e b ega n work w ith Vac-A-Tap o n H oward Avenu e. Amo ng th ose Szekely emplo yees m oving to Hoi­ land from M o line in 1925 was Fritz Li edtke; now 87 and living in Bea tri ce . N ebraska . Mr. Li edtke still works fo r a ba nk. Li edtke recall ed those ea rl y years. " They (Vac-A-Tap) made a good m achine. I sent o ne ho me to my m oth er in Nebraska." But company offi cia ls disag reed over p o li cy and Vac-A-Tap was abando ned , but no t b efo re Szekely turn ed to a p et pro ject , d evelopme nt o f a three­ ~... cyli nder ai rcra ft engi ne. Li edtke sa id th e pi sto n ring divisio n ex panded and millions were sold to Ram sey Ass ociates o r Ram co of 51. Lo ui s and later through jobbers such as NAPA. The Szekely Flying Dutchman, NX9450 under the wing of Li edtke and Lo hmann recalled h ow Szek ely de­ a Stout Airlines Ford Trimotor, poss ibly at the op en ing of veloped sp ecialized pi ston rings, including the re­ Szeke l y's a irp o rt at Holla nd, Mic higa n. Th e Flying voluti o nary inner ring. Szekely al so produced a few Dutchman was fl, ·", '11 to Los Angeles, Ca lifornia where it machines that mad e th e pi ston rings. In 1928 Sze kely acquired the Burke En gineering Szekelv was displayed Jt ;,·e Intern ational Aircra ft Show. Th ere, Co mpany in H o lland and began produci ng engines of AIRCRAFT AND Charles Lindr. 'gi l I, 'sp ected th e plane for 20 minutes and praised it. 25 to 200 ho rsepow er for Continental Motors, Gould ENGINE COMPANY Pump Corp o rati o n , El ectri c Wh eel Corpo ration , Cushman M o to r W o rks and W es tinghou se El ectric Co mpany. HOLLAND, MICHIGAN But still he w o rked o n the three-cy linder aircraft engine. Lohmann w as hired to work on the ignitio n system h y Phil Michmerhuizen It wa s whil e rea ding " Mr. Pip er and His Cubs", for th e engin e whi c h included Scintilla M ag n etos 18 6 Suns et Drive about 1953 th at I ca m e fa ce to face with th e fac t that from Switzerland. Holland, M I 49423 airplan e e ng in es w er e actuall y built in H o lla nd , Th e Szekely SR-3 air-cooled radial engine was pre­ Michigan . A d etermined and lengthy trip to o ur li­ view ed in Aviati o n magaz ine, M ay 28, 1928 which re­ (Ph otos Courtesy Of Th e Author) brary produced newspap er clippings giving th e histo ry po rt ed it rated at 40 horsepow er at 1,800 revo lutio ns of th e fa cto ry and also th eir dreams. per minute and w eighed 148 pounds. 20 These early ('28) overhead valve engines differed covered 920 miles in nine hours and 18 minutes at 38 from later production engines in several ways. The mpg." mounting flange for the engine consisted of a round By the Fall of 1928 Szekely was producing small machined pilot fitting into the engine bracket on the planes at the 12th Street factory overlooking Black plane. The engine was held together with six thru Lake. The aircraft called the "Flying Dutchman" was bolts, and the cylinder and head were cast as one, of tubular welded steel and the cantilever style wing with spark plugs on the sides and the exhaust pro­ was of wood construction. Both were fabric covered. truding out the front of the cylinder. Wing span was 26' length was 18'. Test pilots flying A Holland Sentinel clipping of june, 1928 notes, the plane were familiar sights as they zoomed in the " The company's airplane motor set a record when it skies over Holland, waving to persons on the ground. One of the Sentinel clippings stated that one of the first Holland-made planes, carrying the name of "Fly­ Phil Michmerhuizen and his Szekely engine. ing Dutchman" flew to California under the direction of james R. Williams , manager of the company, where it was exhibited. Apparently only one or two airplanes were actually built, and these may have been other airplanes with Szekely engines. The FAA files do not record a "Fly­ ing Dutchman" airplane and I assume it was never certified. Liedtke, who was superintendent of the local plant, The Zeke making sw eet music. Pusher prop is blowing oil remembers Szekely as a fine man. "We used to go a and grease away (rom th e operator, long time without wages but we liked him and we worked for many weeks and finally he paid us our Szekely travel ed to Eu rope, retu rni ng in janu ary, wages," said Liedtke. 1931 to assure local people his aircraft plant would Lohmann, on the other hand, became disenchanted remain in Holland. He also made plans to go to In­ with Szekely and in the Fall of 1928 left the firm. He dianapolis to confer with parties interested in affiliat­ now lives in Florida in retirement. ing with Szekely. " Szekely's decision to build a five-cylinder radial The Vice President of the Szekely Company, jack engine was a big mistake," wrote Lohmann in 1972. Whitaker, went to New York, Detroit, and the Cleve­ "The required tests with the government ate up lots land National Air Races in 1931 to promote the engines of money." and planes. But the company did not prosper and on Production of planes, engines and piston rings in­ May 10, 1932, Szekely Aircraft & Engine Company creased and an addition to the 12th Street plant was filed voluntary bankruptcy in Federal court at Grand started in February, 1928. The story-and-a-half addi­ Rapids, Michigan. Liabilities were placed at tion with arched roof to the west of the existing $129,859.24 with assets of $136,784.60. The liabilities building allowed for the fuselage department on the included $1,868.45 in unpaid taxes and $6,396.63 in ground floor and the wing department in the bal­ unpaid wages. cony. A sales brochure stated that by july, 1929, with Szekely moved his family to Elmira, New York and the new addition in operation, the plant was produc­ then to Philadelphia where he became connected ing 24 planes a week and 72 complete engines. with the Navy. In 1950 he operated a factory in Com­ In june, 1929, Szekely Aircraft & Engine Corpora­ merce, Georgia which produced secret items for the tion dedicated its own airfield north of Holland along Navy. Later Szekely moved to Florida where he died a 136th Avenue, boasting two 2,200 foot runways and few years ago. two " ,500 foot ru nways. It is interesting to note the various engines the Sales offices were opened in San Francisco, Kansas company hoped to produce. City and New York to meet the expected demand of "jane's All the World's Aircraft" of 1929 lists three the private aircraft industry. Szekely engines, the three-cylinder at 40 hp; a five­ Within months the stock market collapsed and the cylinder at 70 hp; and a seven-cylinder at 100 hp. great depression set in. In july, 1930 Szekely attempt­ One year later, "jane's All the World's Aircraft" of ed to quiet rumors of financial ruin, but declined to 1930 again listed three engines, a two-cylinder at 22.5 offer any details. At that time the plant listed 150 hp; a three-cylinder at 40 hp and a five-cylinder at 70 employees. hp. The seven-cylinder engine was not mentioned. 21 Chet Miller was good enough to make an aluminum AIRCRAFT POWERED WITH SZEKELY ENGINES cap and gave me the thrust bearing number I needed Ref: "U. S. Civil Aircraft" by Joseph Juptner - Vol. 3,4, 5 for the oil pump assembly. I also had three new A.T.C. Production exhaust valves made. Aircraft No. Engine Run Then another exciting trip took place. In October, American Eagle "Eaglet" 380 SR-3L-30 80 1978, I was paging through Trade-A-Plane and noticed Curtiss Wright " Junior" 397 SR-3-0 (45 hpj 270 a " Zeke" to be auctioned off on the following Satur­ Buhl " Bull Pup " LA-1 405 Szekely 45 100+ day in Columbus, Ohio. Friday evening after work we Rearwin " Junior" 3000 434 Szekely 45 17 headed for Columbus, arriving at a motel at 2:30 Alexander "Flyabout" D2 449 SR-3-0 (45 hpj 14 A.M. I was up at 7: 00 A.M. and one of the first at the American Eagle ­ auction. By 12: 30 P.M. the engine was mine and Lincoln "Eaglet" B-31 450 Szekely 45 13 another "Zeke" was on its way back to Holland. Rearwin " Junior 3100" 481 Szekely 50 2 This 45 hp engine had a data plate, 3/8"cable Taylor " Cub" H-2 572 Szekely SR-3-50 149 around the jugs; and other needed parts, including a carburetor, carb spacer, oil lines and oil tank. I doubt Holland who go fishing up north and they gave me if the engine mount was "aircraft" as it was built of The 1932 "Aircraft Yearbook" shows front and side the name of a man who worked up there. I called angle iron and tubing; the splintered Sensenich prop views of the 3-35, 3-45 and 3-55 series of Szekely en­ him and he didn't know who would have one, but he was from an American Eaglet, B-31 and was nailed to­ gines. It can be seen from these views that the 55 hp would check around. gether at one tip! has the valves and rockers enclosed in aluminum About a week later I received a call from a Jim I had the recently acquired carburetor and mags covers cast with the head. Hammel. " I hear you are looking for an old three­ overhauled, then built a test stand for the engine. At I doubt that the two-cylinder or seven-cylinder ver­ cylinder 'Holland' engine. Well, there's one in the last John and I were ready to assemble the first sions were ever built; and after talking with men who shop that hasn't run for seventeen years. Yeh, I guess "Zeke". As this engine had been used on a snow sled worked at the Szekely plant it appears that only five I'd sell it, don't know what I'd do with it, had it on a up North, it had really been abused when compared or six of the five-cylinder engines were built and test snow sled. with aircraft standards. John had to solve many little run, trying for certification. Three days later my wife and I started out for upper problems as he went. The previous owner had used Besides , the above mentioned engines, all of which Michigan. We found Jim 's place, waited for him to an old tractor carburetor and had stripped several of used overhead valves, the company was supposed to come home from work, then trudged through knee­ the mounting holes. Then, as we were priming the oil have built both three and five-cylinder L-head en­ deep snow to the shed. Sure 'nuff, there was a pump before starling the engine, oil was running o.ut gines. I have never seen the L-head version but 80 "Zeke"! It turned over, looked fair, had no car­ of the front of the crank. I know that many old radial American Eagle "Eaglet" airplanes A.T.e. No. 380 buretor or data plate but we agreed on a price then engines slobber oil, but this was too much. Sure used th e SR-3L-30. carried the little engine to the truck! Oh yes, I checked enough, someone had used a wheel puller and had It is difficult to come up with exact production fig­ - there were no airplanes around, or the seven­ driven the welsh plug right into the crank. If anyone ures for Szekely engines. One reference source is cylinder engine rumored to be there too! can fix it, I thought, John can, and three hours later "U. S. Civil Aircraft" by Joseph Juptner, Volumes 3, 4, Back home, because I had run ads in the Sentinel we were ready once again, to try to make the "Zeke" and 5. Assuming that all of the following aircraft were and over the radio requesting Szekely information I run. delivered with Szekelys installed 645-plus engines can thought I would stop by and show my friends with I wish I could say that it started on the second or be accounted for in the chart above. the news media what I had found. Later, when an ar­ third pull. The truth is, we worked with it about an I know that some engines went overseas to power ticle came out in the newspaper, one former factory hour on a Friday night, a couple of hours on Saturday light planes in Europe. Other en&!nes were used on employee, Ed Scholten, had to see that engine the morning, and finally on Saturday afternoon John and prototype airplanes such as the first Funk and the very next morning. He told stories of working in the I were all smiles - the little "Zeke" was running. It's a twin-engined Fuller-Hammond. Both aircraft were new plant in March with no glass panes installed in good thing the engine had a pusher prop or John and powered with 45 hp Szekelys. the open windows. I would have been covered with grease and oil. Sud­ In my search for a Szekely engine, I spent about John Emmons, a good friend and experienced denly we didn't notice our sore arms, with that sweet three and a half years of writing post cards and mak­ mechanic (though not on Szekelys) and I were suc­ sound coming from all three cylinders. And best of ing long distance phone calls chasing down rumors cessful in getting the engine apart without breaking all , despite the rumors about Szekelys, the engine and leads, only to find out I was anywhere from a anything. We found the engine to be in surprisingly didn't even throw a jug. couple of days to five years too late. good condition internally. The cylinders had only .005 Now I'm looking for a plane on which to mount the Then one day I received a post card from someone taper, and the rings had very little wear. We had the Szekely, such as a Curtiss Wright Junior or an Alex­ who heard of my search for an old airplane engine. cylinders honed and magnafluxed along with the ander Flyabout - or even a Fuller-Hammond! I do He wrote that about five years ago he had heard a crankshaft and rods. I made new gaskets. Gene Mor­ have two engine~, remember! Up to now I don't have rumor in upper Michigan of a three-cylinder and a ris sent a valve stem end and valve retainer clips for a single hour flying behind a Szekely, but I hope to seven-cylinder engine in a shed. I called fellows in use as patterns and Carl Kallunsrud made six more. remedy that situation. 22 tact: Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), P.O. Box 229, Hales SEPTEMBER 19-21 - VINCENTOWN, NEW JERSEY - lAC Contest ­ Corners, WI 53130. Telephone: 414/425-4860. Sponsored by lAC Chapter 94 for the Sportsman and Intermediate AUGUST 10-16 - FOND DU LAC, WISCONSIN - The International categories . For further information, please contact: Fred Weaver, CALENDAR Aerobatic Club's annual aerobatic competition. Biggest field any­ Himmelein Road, Box 9E, Medford, NJ . Telephone: 609/654-7867. where for an aerobatic contest plus greatest variety of aerobatic OCTOBER 1-5 - TULLAHOMA, TENNESSEE - 2nd Annual EAA Na­ aircraft. For further information, please contact: Herb Cox, Con­ tional Fall Fly-In. Don't miss this o ne. For further information, OF EVENTS test Chairman, 812 Taylor Avenue, Mt. Vernon , IL 62864. please contad: EAA Fall Fly-In , P.O. Box 229, Hal es Corners, WI AUGUST 10-16 - MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN - 12th Annual Con­ 53130. Telephone: 414/425-4860. JULY 3-6 - BOWLING GREEN, OHIO - Ercoupe Owners Club Na­ vention of the International Cessna 170 Association at General tional Fly-In, Wood County Airport. For further information, please Mitchell Field. For further information, please conta ct: Richard CLASSIFIED ADS contact: Carl Hall, Bowling Green State University, School of Art, Tomasello, 1333 Wagner Drive, EI Cajon, CA 92020. Division of Design , Bowling Green, OH 43403. Telephone: 4191 AUGUST 17-30 - OSHKOSH, WISCONSIN - World Aerobatics '80. Aero II Plans 372-2640. For th e first time ever, the U. S. will host the World's Aerobatic JULY 4-6 - ALLIANCE, OHIO - 1980 Tay lorcraft Reunion, sponsored Championships. Fourteen countries will participate. Don't miss by th e Taylorcraft Owners Club at Barber's Fi eld. For further in­ this historic event. For further information, please contact: World The new 2-place aerobatic trainer and sport biplane, formation, please contact: Allan Zollitsch, 37 Taft Avenue, Lan­ Aerobatics '80, P.O. Box 229, Hales Corners, WI 53130. Telephone: 20 pages of easy to follow detailed plans. Complete caster, NY 14086. Telephone: 716/681-1675. 414/425-4860. with isometric drawings, photos, exploded views, JULY 4-6 - COUNCIL BLUFFS, IOWA - lAC Contest - Sponsored AUGUST 22-24 - COFFEYVILLE , KANSAS - Funk Fly-In. For further Plans - $85.00, Info pack - $4 .00, Send check or by lAC Chapter 80 for the Sportsman and Unlimited ca tegories. information, please contact: Ray Pahls, 454 South Summitlawn, For further information, please contact: Earl Sanford, 5416 Pacific Wichita, KS 67209, or G. Dale Beach , 1621 Dreher Street, Sacra­ money order to: AeRO SPORT, INC., Box 462, Hales Street, Omaha, NE 68106. mento, CA 95814 . Corners, W I 53)30._414/425-4860. JULY 4-6 - HUNTSVILLE, ALABAMA - lAC Contest - Sponsored AUGUST 24 - WEEDSPORT, NEW YORK - Fly-In sponsored by EAA by lAC Chapter 44 for th e Sportsman ca tegory only. For further Chapter 486 at Whitfords Airport Field. Airport closed from 1:00 information, please contact: Robert Austin, 701 Fagan Springs p.m. to 5:00 p.m. for air show. For further information, please Drive, Huntsville, AL 35801. Telephone: 205/534-8146. contact: Herb Livingston, 1257 Gallager Road, Baldwinsville, NY Classic owners! JULY 4-6 - GAl NESVI LLE, GEORGIA - 13th Annual " Cracker" Fly­ 13027. In. AAA North Georgia Chapter. For further information, please AUGUST 30 to SEPTEMBER 1 - CALHOUN COUNTY, TEXAS - Port contact: Jim Clarkson , 1649 Avon Avenue, Tucker, GA 30084. Lavaca-Calhoun County Chamber of Commerce sponsors an air ~~'t dJu, JULY 11--13 - ACME, ALBERTA , CANADA - EAAC National Conven­ show at Calhoun County Airport. For further information, please tion. Contact G. W. Le May, 5003 Bulyea Rd. , NW, Calgary, Al­ contact: Preston Van Hanken, Port Lavaca Chamber of Commerce, berta T2L 2H7 or T. Fitzgerald, 33 11 Ca ribou , Alberta T2L OS4. P. O . Box 528, Port Lavaca , TX 77979. Telephone: 512/552-2959. ~ r: JULY 11-13 - OWOSSO, MICHIGAN - lAC Contest - Sponsored by SEPTEMBER 5-7 - MARION, OHIO - 15th Annual Mid-Eastern Re­ /. ~j l l ~\\ lAC Chapter 88 for the Sportsman and Unlimited categories. For gional EAA Fly-In at Marion MuniCipal Airport. For further in­ \"-/ further informati o n , please contact: David E. M cKenzi e, 21141 formation, please contact: Mr. Louis Lindeman, 3840 Cloverdale (' \;,/ , H. C. L. Jackson, Grosse IIle, MI 48138 . Telephone: 313/671-1837. Road , Medway, OH 45341. Telephone: 513/849-9455 . JULY 12 - TECUMSEH , MICHIGAN - M eyers OTW Reunion - Back SEPTEMBER 12-1 4 - CALGARY, ALBERTA - Alberta' s 75th Anniver­ DOG to Factory. For further information, please contact: Di ck Martin, sa ry as a Province, the Airdrie Country Club of the Air is sponsor­ \ ~l@{I) Rt. 3, Aerodrome Road , Green Bay , WI 54301 or Haro ld Losser, ing a " Diamond Jubilee Antiquel Classic Fly-In", at Airdrie Air­ DRESS 41 5 Eighth Street Pla ce, Des Moines, IA 50313. port. For further information, please contact: George B. Pendle­ JULY 13 - EASTON , PENNSYLVANIA - 4th Annual Aeronca Fly-In, burg, Vice-President, Publicity Chairman, 304 Manora Road, N.E. , IT UP Easton Airport. For further information , please contact: Jim Polles, Calgary, Alberta T2A 4R6. Telephone: 4031272-4383. WITH A NEW I\;JQJ 2151759-3713, nights and weekends. SEPTEMBER 12-14 - DELANO, CALIF ORNIA - lAC Contest - Spon­ JUL Y 17-20 - OnOWA, KANSAS - lAC Contest - Sponsored by lAC sored by lAC Chapter 26 for the Sportsman and Unlimited cate­ Chapter 15 for th e Sportsman and Unlimited ca tegories. For further gories. For further information, please contact: Jack Gladish, 120 INTERIOR! information, please contact: Patri cia G. Brown, 10614 West 108 South Ham Lanek, Lodi , CA 92540. Telephone: 209/369-5768. II~ Terrace, Overland Park , KS 66210. Telephone: 913 /492-7581. SEPTEMBER 13 - GREEN BAY, WISCONSIN - Chapter 651 is spon­ JULY 18-20 - MIDDLEFIELD, OHIO - lAC Contest - Sponsored by soring a fly-in at Plainview Airport. For further information, please All Items READY-MADE for Ea~y lAC Chapter 34 for the Sportsman and Unlimited categories. For contact: Dave Fri sbie, 414/336-3257. further information, please contact: John T. Meyers, 9089 Sky­ SEPTEMBER 13- 14 - OSCEOLA, WISCONSIN - lAC Contest - Spon­ DO-IT·YOURSELF INSTALLATION lane Drive, Wadsworth , OH 44281. Telephone: 2161336-7479. sored by lAC Chapter 78 for the Sportsman category only . For JULY 18-20 - MINDEN, NEBRASKA - The National Stinson Club further information, please contact: James G. Ta ylor, 119 Comanche Seat Upholstery - Wall Panels Fourth Annual Fly-In will be held at Pioneer Field. For further in­ Drive, Webster, MN 55088. Telephone: 507/652-2607. formation, please contact: Bob Near, 2702 Butterfoot Lane, Hast­ Headliners - Carpets - etc. SEPTEMBER 14 - EASTON , PENNSYLVANIA - Antiqu e & Classic ings, NE 68901 . Telepho ne: 402/463-9309. Piper Fly-In. For further information, please contact: Jim Polles, JULY 19-20 - LEWISTOWN, MONTANA - 3rd Annual Montana Chap­ Ceconite Envelopes and Dopes 299 Nazareth Drive, Nazareth, PA 18064 . Telephone: 215/759­ ter AAA Fly-In at Beacon Star Antique Airfield. For further informa­ 3713 (nights). tion, please contact: Frank Bass, Star Route, Moore, MT 59464. Send $1 .00 for Catalog and Fabrics Selection Guide Telephone: 406/538-7616. SEPTEMBER 14 - LANSING, ILLINOIS - The Lansing Police Cadets AUGUST 1 - HARVARD, ILLINOIS - Vintage Ultralight Fly-In at will sponsor their 2nd Annual Fly-In and Air Show at LanSing Dacy Airport. 1941 or ea rli er , 60 hp or less. To conclude with a Municipal Airport. For further information, please contact: J. P. group flight to Oshkosh on August 3. For further information, Fish , P.O. Box 411 , Lemont, IL 60439. Telephone: 312 /257-7.552. ,4~ P~,!)HC. please contact : Richard C. Hill, P. O. Box 89, Harvard, IL 60033. SEPTEMBER 19-21 - KERRVILLE, TEXAS - 16th Annual Southwest 259-15 Lower Morrisville Rd. AUGUST 2-9 - OSHKOSH, WISCONSIN - 28th Annual EAA Con­ Regional Fly-In, sponsored by the Texas Chapters of EAA. For Fallsington, Pa. 19054 vention and Sport Aviation Exhibition - the world's largest and further information, p lease contact: Bob Reese , Rt. 4, Box 305, most exciting aviation event. For further information, please con­ San Angelo, TX 76901. Telephone: 915/658-4194 or 915/949-2886. (215) 295- 4115 23 by Lionel Sa lisbury BORDEN'S AEROPLANE POSTERS EAA #114 523, AIC # 3207 Seven Harper Road Brampton, Ontario L6W 2W3 Article N umber 18, Poster N umber 9, Series Number 2 Ca nada FROM THE 1930'S THE FA IRCHILD 45

, ,;2.j

This is th e eighteenth poster in our series. When ceivemail from th e readers, indicating that there had Therefore, we will continue next month with Mr. we originally started reproducing th e posters which indeed been additional posters offered by the Bor­ Galloway's first offering, the Borden Poster that fea­ had been offered by the Borden Company in Canada, den Company in the United States in 1933 and 1934 . tured the Boei ng Tri-Motor, a very attractive pictorial it was ex pected that this would be the final one. This Mr. Cedric Galloway of California came forward with of a most unique aircraft. This month's poster has, was th e las t from the original collection provided by three from his collection that had not been made as usual , the line drawing taken from the back of the Mr. Glenn Inch of Brampton , Ontario, who had col­ available in Canada. A few months later, Mr. Marion original and the descriptive notes that were also pro­ lected th em in 1936, when he was a young man. McClure, who resides in Illinois, sent in his entire vided with the drawing. However, as th e series began to appear on the collection. From that source we will be able to offer pages of The VINTAGE A IR PLANE, we started to re­ an additional six posters for inclusion in our series . N EXT MON TH - Th e Boeing Tri-Motored Transport 24 !- 3!:)1FT.

leFT. III....

-\ ." ~L~ ~L~

FAIRCHILD ....S..- SEDAN OF THE AIR l--- ;"+Y~

FAIRCHILD "45" - " SEDAN OF THE AIR" Specifica tions Performance

Made at H agerstown, M aryland, by th e Fairchild Wing span, 39 feet. Length overall , 28 feet, 11 inch es. High sp eed , 170 m iles per hour. Landing sp eed, 48 Aircraft Corporation, The Fairchild "45" is a fiv e-p lace H eight overall , 8 feet. Motor, Wri ght Whirlwind. Power miles per hour. Cruising speed , 156 mi les per h our. low-wing monoplane with a Wright Whirlwind engine. loading, 15 p o unds p er h o rse power. Wing loading, Initial rate of climb, 64 0 feet p er minute. Cruising The interior of th e ca bin is built to resemble th at of 14 .75 pounds p er square foot. Gross w eight , 3,600 range, 600 miles. streamlined motor ca rs. pounds. Pay load , 880 pounds. 25 FOR SALE

Nord 1203-3 " Norecrin" , manufactured in Fran ce in 1956. This 4 place, all metal, retractable tricycl e gear aircraft is powered with a 145 hp SNEC7A " 4LOO " engine. 1000 hours on the airframe and 3 50~' hours on the engine. Paint scheme is camouflage, similar to Me 109. Contact : Mr. Jeane-Claude Paillard, No. 5 La Marinere rue Albert camus , Br etigny sur Orge 91220 , France. AVAILABLE BACK ISSUES OF Th e VINTAGE AIRPLANE

1973 - March through December 1974 - All Are Avai lable 1975 - All Are Available 1976 - January through May, August through Decem­ ber 1977 - All Are Available 1978 - January, March through June, August, O ctober, November 1979 - February through December 1980 - January through June

Back issues are available from Headquarters for $1 .00 each, postpaid, except the July 1977 (Lindbergh Com­ memorative) issue, which is $1 .25 postpaid.

1928 STEARMAN C3B

by Gene Chase

(P ho ro by Hal Ko stka) The above photo is one of several sent to us by Hal Kos tka's Stearman C3 B. U rschel Fi eld was th e nam e Antique/Classic member Hal Kostka of Valparaiso, In­ o f th e airpo rt at Valparaiso, Indiana. diana. The aircraft is an extremely accurate scale FLYING AND model with a 35" wing span. Hal is a golf professional who has enjoyed antique GLIDER MANUALS aircraft since he was a kid growing up on the north A "~ ,, o . side of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Obviously, he is also a 1929, 1930, 1931 ~ 1932, 1933, 1929-33 Miscellany highly skilled modeler. A ll of th e controls on the ~'\\~~\, t'14. Stearman are operable from the cockpit including the II ~ DIVISION lrJ//' 2.50 ea. or 6 for $12.50 elevator trim . The finish is 10 to 12 coats of hand SEND CHECK OR MONEY ORDER TO : rubbed dope. EAA Air Museum Foundation, Inc. The model was built from a Flyline kit. ' To scale modelers the name Flyli ne is synonomous with Hurst Box 469 Hales Corners. WI 53130 Bowers who designed the Stearman model as well as most of the others killed by Flyline. Hurst is also an Allow 4·6 Weeks For Delivery ~ Wisconsin Residents Include 4% Sales Tax EAA member. TM 26 (Photo by Gene Chase) Two new production Creat Lakes at Sun 'n Fun '80, Lake­ land, Florida. Th e one on the left is owned by Dr. Robert Tober, Naples, Florida and th e oth er by Marty Lowe, Hid­ den River, Fl orida.