Official Newsletter of the Cessna Cessna 150-152 Pilot 150-152 Club. (541) 772-8601 November / December 2011 www.cessna150152.com Volume 31 Number 6 2 Mort Brown 14,000 First Flights! Better Performance ? Page 4 8 A Featured Vendor Good To Do Business With 10 Best of the Forum X—Wind Landings Survival Pack Page 5 13 Accidental Education Sept / Oct NTSB Reports At 100 years young Mort Brown was inducted into the State of Kansas Governor's Aviation Hall of Fame at the Kansas Aviation Gala. Pictured here with his loving wife Sharon. ISSN 0747- 4712 Cessna 150-152 Pilot - Nov / Dec 2011 We Proudly Dedicate This Issue To MORT BROWN 1908 - 2011 Mort Brown, born in 1908, carved out a place for himself with a lifetime of achievements in general aviation, which far exceeded his boyhood dreams. In junior high, Mort ran across the AVIATION Magazine at a bookstand in the drugstore. It was a weekly magazine, so Mort became quite savvy on airplanes. Mort carried it to school; much to the dis- may of the teachers. In Study Hall, Mort checked out what was going on in the world of aviation, as he had always dreamed of being a pilot. Time permitting, Mort and his brother would walk or ride bicycles to the airport, about a mile away, to check out the airplanes, which were: Hisso Standards, Curtiss Orioles, DH4s, and an Italian pursuit air- plane called an Ansaldo. In 1927, Mort joined the U.S. Marines with the sole purpose of becoming a pilot. However, the Marines had other plans for Mort. Mort was assigned sea duty on the U.S.S. Califor- nia, which included being stationed in Nicaragua to prevent a political coup in the Banana Republic. After receiving his honorable discharge in 1931, Mort at- tended Eddie Martin’s School of Aviation, Santa Ana, Cali- fornia. Mort received instruction on: aircraft engines, con- struction, meteorology, aerodynamics, and air navigation. Mort soloed in a Travelair 4000, which had a 110 HP, 7 cyl- inder Warner radial engine. After obtaining his personal and transport license in 1933, Mort gave student instruction in San Diego. Times were hard for an inexperienced pilot during The Depression, so Mort returned to his hometown, Denver, Colorado. Even in Denver pilot jobs were scarce, so Mort be- gan passenger hopping from the Denver Municipal Airport in 1935. Mort met Dwane Wallace, President of Cessna Aircraft Com- pany, through his employer, Ray Wilson’s Flying School, who became a Cessna dealership and dis- tributor. As repayment for referring some customers to Dwane, Mort was allowed to demonstrate his flying ability in the latest version of the C-37 in a free-for-all air race. In December, 1937, Mort became Sales Manager for Cessna, coinciding with the production of Cessna’s newest C-38 airplane, The Airmaster. With the development of the Cessna T-50 first twin en- gine, Mort was promoted to Chief Pilot of Production Flight Test. Responsibilities over the years in- cluded routine flight testing all Cessna series ranging from: the Airmaster, T-50s, the 100, 200 and 300 series. During Mort’s 35 years with Cessna, it has been calculated that Mort was responsible for releasing over 85,000 airplanes through Production Flight Test, of which Mort personally logged over 14,000 first flights on these airplanes. Mort has accumulated over 20,760 actual flight hours on various air- planes. Mort has also been inducted into the Legion of Honor and the Hall of Fame for the OX5 Avia- tion Pioneers for his contributions to the aviation industry. Mort was awarded the FAA Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award on August 29, 2006, in front of his friends and aviation peers. In receiving the award, Mort commented: —————————>>>> 2 Cessna 150-152 Pilot - Nov / Dec 2011 “Success in testing airplanes is like success in any other activity. It depends on a person doing his job. The FAA Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award represents every assembler, riveter, me- chanic, inspector, engineer and others unnamed for successfully doing their jobs, to produce air worthy airplanes. “I was doing my job as the test pi- lot. After I acquired the basic knowledge and skills of flying, I had to continue to learn and grow with the aviation industry, just like the rest of the team. No one was allowed to rest on their lau- Cessna 150-152 Pilot (ISSN 0747-4712) is published bimonthly, by The Cessna 150-152 rels. We have achieved man on Club, 3492 N. Foothill Rd., Medford, OR 97504 Periodicals Postage paid at Medford, OR 97501, USPS 721970. the moon by building on the se- Annual Postal Subscriptions are $45, also available as an electronic internet based subscription for $35. Copyright ©2011. All rights ries of failures and successes reserved. Reproduction in whole or part without permission is prohibited. throughout aviation history. Postmaster, Send change of address to: Cessna 150-152 Club, “I am humbled before my avia- PO Box 5298 Central Point, OR 97502 tion peers, friends and family for The information presented in this publication is from multiple sources all of their efforts put forth on my from which The Cessna 150-152 Club cannot warranty or accept responsibility as to it's legality, completeness, or technical accuracy. behalf to present me with the FAA Readers are reminded that United States Federal Air Regulations part 91 place primary responsibility for ensuring the airworthy condition of Wright Brothers Master Pilot an aircraft on the owner and or operator. Any person who maintains, modifies, or otherwise changes an aircraft must do so in accordance with the manufacturer's recommendations and applicable FAA Award. Thank you, and kudos to regulations. everyone in the aviation industry Contacts: Telephone: (541) 772-8601 for their dedication and support Website: www.cessna150152.com over the years, for the milestones Email: Items for publication: [email protected] we achieved together as a Email: General Inquiries, Membership, Requests for team.” - Mort Brown Technical Materials,, etc: 3 Cessna 150-152 Pilot - Nov / Dec 2011 We would like to thank Sharon Brown, Mort’s wife, for so graciously allowing us to reproduce the text and images in this issue of Cessna 150-152 Pilot through which we will share with our readers some of the experiences and achievements of a man who was instrumental in Cessna’s leadership role and success in general aviation. Mort recalls on the first run of the C- The spark plugs had been put in finger 140A, he was about 4 - 5 miles away tight, with the mag wires slipped onto from the plant, when the engine started them. Whoever installed the spark plugs missing on one cylinder. Mort turned had not checked to see if they were around to go back to the plant, when he snug. Due to the quality of the airplane, lost power in another cylinder. Mort was able get on the ground safely, Flying on 2 cylinders, Mort returned to which impressed a lot of people; besides the plant, landed, and taxied in. Mort being a great lesson! had the mechanic check the engine over. 4 Cessna 150-152 Pilot - Nov / Dec 2011 While production was going on for the covered and a 2 piece wing patterned C-140 and C-120, the model series after the Airmaster, but scaled up. The 190 & 195 were being developed. The Airmaster grossed out at 2250 lbs to prototype was developed in 1945. start out with, and ended up at 2300 lbs. The C-190 series was scheduled for 3300 lbs. Later on, Cessna de- cided to go to a 1 piece wing with a Mort flew the first production C-195 metal fuselage. flight on July 28, 1947, NC 4399N. The C-190s were equipped with 240 On October 29, 1947, Mort flew the HP Continental engines, while the C- first production C-190 flight, NC 195s were equipped with either 275 or 4368N. 300 HP Jacobs engines. The 190 - 195 production ran from about 1946 - 1955, with about 1200 in the series, of which Mort flew 850 first flights. (The C-190/195 was Mort’s favorite air- plane.) Included in the 195 series was the contract with the United States Army Air Corps, known as the LC126A. The Army Air Corps con- tracted about 15 LC126As, which were sent to Alaska for observation purposes. The Army Air Corps also contracted 160 of the LC126A for am- bulance airplanes. The LC126A was The original model C-190 incorpo- followed up by contracts with the rated a welded rounded oxygen Army Air Corps for 2 other versions, welded steel tubing fuselage, fabric B & C. 5 Cessna 150-152 Pilot - Nov / Dec 2011 The market demanded a lower priced air- Cessna Airplanes Flown by Mort (Partial List) plane, which resulted in the development of Cessna C-34 the C-170 fabric covered wing series. The Cessna C-37 C-170A came next, which was all metal, DC-6 straight hinge trailing edge flaps, equipped Cessna Airmasters: C-38, C-145, C-165 with the Continental 145 HP T-50 (AT-8, AT-17, UC-78) engine and a conventional rudder system. Cessna Cranes I & II The nominal price range was $8 - 12,000. C-120, C-140, C-140A C-150, C-152 C-170 A & B C-172, C-175, T41B (Mescalero) C-177, 177RG C-180 C-182 C-185 C-188 Agwagon C-190, C-195 C-205, C-206, C-207 C-210 C-310 A, B, C, D & U3A & B C-336, C-337, & O2A & O2B C-303, C-305, L-19A, TL19D C-321, OE-1 & OE-2 The C-170A had an all metal wing, re- designed tail surface, with more appealing Other Airplanes Flown (Partial List) flight characteristics.