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AUGUST 2010 STRAIGHT & LEVEL GEOFF ROBISON PRESIDENT, VINTAGE AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION Keeping abreast of issues tay tuned for more coverage that the EPA continues to push hard and complicated issues at hand. The on EAA Oshkosh AirVenture on the fuel industry for a resolution goal is to find a common standard S2010 in the October Vintage to the formulation of a non-leaded fuel that will service the entire fleet Airplane magazine. fuel that will perform satisfactorily without any compromise to perfor- Heads up everyone: EAA is asking with our piston-powered aircraft. In mance or engine life. That’s a huge the membership to stand down on addition, aviation is soon to be the goal, and it’s not likely to be devel- reacting to the FCC’s controversial only user of the lead additive, thus oped overnight, or any time soon for announcement on June 15. As many making aviation subject to fi nancial that matter. of you are already aware, the FCC has and supply interruptions. There is The industry has never had to a planned change to 47 CFR Part 87 only one producer of the additive left reverse engineer a safe alternative to prohibit the certification, manu- in the world. All it would take is one fuel for the existing fl eet, and it has facture, importation, sale, or use of industrial accident at that plant and indeed proven to be an elusive task. any 121.5 ELT (emergency locator there would be no 100LL available. Then, mix in the fact that there transmitter) devices. (With the excep- While most of our lower- and mid- remains only one manufacturer of tion of the Breitling Emergency watch dle-horsepower vintage aircraft would tetraethyl lead fuel additive left in with ELT). actually be better off with one of the the world, serving only 1/10 of 1 This of course is in direct confl ict currently available specifi cations for percent of all blended fuels in this with FAA Rule 14 CFR Part 91.207, unleaded aviation fuels, our friends country, and you begin to realize which requires you to have an op- with high-horsepower engines would the need to move forward with this erational ELT on board your U.S.- be put in a diffi cult position, with de- initiative. Let’s all hope for the best. registered civil aircraft regardless of rated engines or worse. I like to think that we have not yet the operating frequency of 121.5 or It appears that the struggle con- found that chemical engineer with the updated 406 MHz. Although this tinues. Along the way I have become the talent to see this issue resolved. new FCC ruling was written to take aware of a number of relevant factors Industry leaders are now lament- effect 60 days after publication, EAA that I was totally ignorant of that you ing the fact that “leadership by the is busy working with other aviation may fi nd interesting. We are all aware FAA is vital at this juncture in or- associations to remedy these confl ict- of the issues surrounding the need to der to remove any unnecessary or ing rules. As of July 13, the proposed find an alternative fuel for our vin- outdated hurdles,” and “Such hur- regulation had not been published in tage flying machines, but I was to- dles could delay the development the Federal Register, so the 60-day clock tally rolled back on my heels when and delivery of new products and had not begun. Because of the atten- I learned that 100LL makes up only should be removed if they provide tion brought to bear on this proposed 1/10 of 1 percent of all the refi ned fu- no safety benefi t.” rule change by industry and govern- els in this nation. So you can easily For more on this subject, I’d sug- ment agencies like the FAA and the imagine why the need for the fuel in- gest reading the Advocacy Update on U.S. Small Business Administration, dustry to heavily invest in a solution page 10 of the August issue of EAA publication has been delayed as the isn’t high on its radar. Sport Aviation; EAA has long been ac- FCC re-evaluates the situation. The EPA has actually been success- tive in the research related to fuels, In an attempt to better educate my- fully sued by environmentalists who and it intends to continue to be pro- self on the latest developments with continue to demand that the EPA en- active in helping the industry fi nd a a non-leaded alternative to 100LL, I force the rules and get the lead out solution that works. We’ll continue to have managed to learn a little about of aviation fuels. The FAA has only monitor both these situations along this important issue and how the in- recently engaged itself in the fray, and with our friends at EAA, and we’ll dustry continues to struggle to find it has gotten busy with evaluating the keep you posted. that ever elusive silver bullet to resolve hundreds of alternative blends for- this matter. Nearly all of you know mulated to address all of the technical AIRPLANE AUGUST Vol. 38, No. 7 2010 CONTENTS IFC Straight & Level Keeping abreast of issues by Geoff Robison 2 News 4 Aeromail 6 The Sensuously Svelte Ryan SCW The Larson family’s fl ying legacy by Sparky Barnes Sargent 6 15 How to Tie the Seine Knot! Don’t let that pesky little knot drive you insane by Bob Whittier 18 Life and the Zen of the Stinson How an airplane weaves its way into many lives by Budd Davisson 26 Light Plane Heritage The Allen A-4 Lightplane by Jack McRae 29 The Vintage Mechanic Structural alignment by Robert G. Lock 34 The Vintage Instructor The lost art of slips by Steve Krog, CFI 36 Mystery Plane 18 BONNIE KRATZ by H.G. Frautschy 39 Classifi ed Ads 40 A Different Perspective STAFF The right seat EAA Publisher Tom Poberezny by S. Michelle Souder Director of EAA Publications Mary Jones Executive Director/Editor H.G. Frautschy COVERS Production/Special Project Kathleen Witman Photography Jim Koepnick FRONT COVER: With the translucent turquoise waters of the Gulf of Mexico below, father/son Bonnie Kratz team Brad and Glenn Larson cruise along in Brad’s 1938 Ryan SCW, which he purchased in 1952. Copy Editor Colleen Walsh Read Sparky Barnes Sargent’s story starting on page 6. EAA photo by Chris Miller, photo plane fl own by Bruce Moore. Publication Advertising: Manager/Domestic, Sue Anderson BACK COVER: The Stinson 108 series has been a favorite of generations of pilots since their production in the 1940s. Each seems to weave in and out of people’s lives as the airplanes move Tel: 920-426-6127 Email: [email protected] from caretaker to caretaker. NC6865M is one of those aircraft, and in Budd Davisson’s article Fax: 920-426-4828 starting on page 18 you can read more on its journey and the people who have come along for the Manager/European-Asian, Willi Tacke ride. EAA photo by Jim Koepnick, photo plane fl own by Bruce Moore. Phone: +49(0)1716980871 Email: willi@fl ying-pages.com Fax: +49(0)8841 / 496012 Coordinator/Classifi ed, Lesley Poberezny Tel: 920-426-6563 Email: [email protected] VINTAGE AIRPLANE 1 VAA NEWS JAY TOLBERT Arlington Fly-In Visitors to the Arlington Fly-In got a real treat Thursday, July 8, as a Boeing 787 Dreamliner made a fl y-by to provide an exciting opening to the afternoon air show. The airplane, still undergoing test fl ights, made two low passes before the cheering crowd. The fly-in started Wednesday, July 7, and unlike some past years, Mother Vintage Aircraft Online Nature was extremely cooperative. “We’re having a wonderful run of incredible Last year we launched the online weather,” said fly-in Executive Director Barbara Tolbert. The fly-in, which ran publication Vintage Aircraft Online, through Sunday, July 11, featured everything from hot-air balloons and radio- and it immediately became popular controlled aircraft to the most modern naval jets. with thousands of our members and One of the newest attractions on the Arlington landscape is the Antique enthusiasts. Like Vintage Airplane Airplane Barnstormers Barn in the Vintage Aircraft area. EAA Manager of Field magazine, there’s always a need for Relations Ron Wagner described the project as one highlighting the ingenuity interesting material to share with the of EAAers through and through. “One person cut down the trees from his land, membership. If you have something and a portable milling machine was brought in to cut the boards. Then they were you’d like to contribute, please drop dried with fans. Volunteers put it together in four different sections. Since it’s located on airport property, the sections make it easier to move before and after us a line via e-mail at vintageaircraft@ the event. It’s really neat—all built by volunteers at little cost to the fl y-in.” eaa.org. Perhaps you have a batch of The Barnstormers Barn Red Barn is a part of the newly renovated Vintage Air- 10-15 photos of a fl y-in, a project or craft area, which by all accounts was very well received. Vintage Day was Friday, how-to that would be great to share July 9, where in addition to historic aircraft, there were vintage cars and living- in a slideshow, or a few pictures and history re-enactors in period costume.