The instead W Special The 1920s were “Special” . . . ARTICLE AND PHOTOS BY GILES AULIARD

...the Winstead Brothers Airplane Co., was formed in 1926 and dissolved the same year, with a total production run of exactly one airplane.

Vintage Airplane 13 t the beginning presiding over its des- of the 1920s a tiny. In his team were great number of two brilliant young small airplane engineers with ad- companies were vanced —for the Acreated. But at the beginning of the time—ideas: Walter following decade, more than 90 per- Beech and Lloyd cent of them were history, some Stearman. In their af- having built only one airframe, oth- ter-work hours, they ers none. One such company, the were building their Winstead Brothers Airplane Co., own vision for the was formed in 1926 and dissolved plane of the future, an the same year, with a total produc- airframe with a steel Typical of early airplanes, the Winstead’s panel is tion run of exactly one airplane. tube structure fuse- “filled” with instruments related mostly to the en- Thanks to Paul Dougherty, presi- lage. After all, the idea gine’s operation. The height gauge and a clock are dent of the Golden Age Air Museum was not new and was the total complement of flight gauges. of Bethel, Pennsylvania, this his- put to good use by toric machine is still alive, and it the Germans during graces the sky of central Pennsylva- World War I, specifically with the Stearman visited an older fellow to nia on all-too-rare occasions. Fokker D.VII, which gave allied pilots ask him to participate in this new During a bustling period in the a tough ride. and risky endeavor. After a lot of 1920s, Wichita, Kansas, became one After completing their project, convincing, agreed of the premier centers for airplane Beech and Stearman presented the to put his expertise (and his design and production, starting with fruit of their illicit labor to Jake money) in the venture. the famous Swallow Airplane Manu- Moellendick, who did not really With the new company incorpo- facturing Co., created by Matty Laird appreciate their efforts, and com- rated on February 4, 1925, the trio in 1919 as the E.M. Laird Co. Under mented thusly: “No way . . . Our was writing a new page in the his- Laird’s guidance, Swallow became customers trust wood, and that’s tory of aviation books. one of the first successful post-war what they will get. . . .” The first product of the newly cre- airplane manufacturers, with the At that point, the two friends ated Travel Air Manufacturing Co. Laird Limousine and, later, the Swal- decided to part with such a short- was the Travel Air 1000, swiftly low. By 1924, Matty Laird had left, sighted company and create their amended into the , and Jacob “Jake” Moellendick was own. Late in 1924, Beech and and finally, by installing a radial en- 14 February 2003 bit, since they Carl and the Special stayed on the added a second aviation scene, joining in the Flying set soon after Aces Air Circus in the late ’20s, with the initial flight. Jessie Woods walking the wings, as The landing gear well as . “Everything was purchased for a buck,” as Paul puts it. The Spe- from Nicholas cial was sold to Marvin Mara in Beasley Co., of 1930, who employed it to barnstorm Marshal, Mis- around the Midwest and, believe or souri. According not, in air racing. After changing to the Winstead hands multiple times, the Winstead family, the air- was deemed unairworthy in 1937. Prior to starting the OX-5, Paul Dougherty, president of plane had a The owner at the time, J.J. Davis of the Golden Age Air Museum of Bethel, Pennsylvania, be- Ayre, Nebraska, took it apart and put primes the engine. fore the OX-5, it in storage. Resurfacing in the ’80s, but we could the Special was traded with the Air- gine, the Model 4000. All of those not find any proof of this.” power Museum of Ottumwa, Iowa, designs had more than a family re- Looking somewhat like a clipped- where Paul and his father, Paul Sr., semblance to the Swallow project. wing Travel Air 2000 (without the found it in 1995. Left with the fuselage of the now elephant ears), the resulting flying After the “Special” episode of his moribund Swallow project on his machine was called the Winstead Spe- life, Carl went on with his aviation hands, Jake Moellendick decided to cial. With all their finances sunk in career, becoming one of the first get rid of it and sold it to one of his the airplane, and with no hope of sell- Cessna Aircraft Corp. employees, employees, a fellow named Carl ing it, Guy and Carl dissolved their helping build the A series. He later Winstead. A pilot and a mechanic, company, going their separate ways. became Cessna’s chief test pilot, tak- Winstead, along with his ing the model 190 for the first brother, Guy, was working to time in the air on December 7, create yet another airplane 1945. Shortly thereafter, how- company. Leaving Swallow, ever, Carl died while testing he embarked on making the the Cessna 195. Guy Winstead Beech and Stearman creation joined Travel Air in 1926, help- his own. The fuselage was ing with the design and used as it was designed and construction of the Travel Air built, while the wings were of 5000 model, which was built Swallow design, with an atyp- on Cessna and Winstead’s own ical shorter wingspan. They time, in the same manner as were attached to the fuselage Winstead Special Beech and Stearman pro- with four vertical bolts run- N2297 ceeded with the Special. ning through the spars and Certificated in 1926. Paul continues: standard Swallow fittings. Constructor number: ...... 1 “My father and I purchased The engine mount was of Engine: . . . 90-hp Curtiss OX-5 with Berling mags it from them [the AAA’s Air- Swallow design, sporting an Wingspan: ...... 29 feet, 6 inches power Museum] in 1995. The example of the ubiquitous Length: ...... 26 feet restoration was very exten- Curtiss OX-5. Gross weight: ...... 1,800 pounds sive. Three of the wings were Cruise speed: ...... 80 mph replaced, as well as the center Paul Dougherty comments: Seats: ...... 3 section. Damage could be “We figure that they Stall speed: ...... 45 mph seen in the original center sec- loaded their pockets with as tion from wing walkers. The much Swallow stuff as they Instruments: lower ailerons were replaced. could before leaving. . . . The One 4-inch Zenith height meter The only thing missing prior tail is Winstead’s design; it One 4-inch Consolidated tachometer to the restoration was the ver- has an aluminum tube for the Dixie single-ignition magneto switch tical fin and rudder, plus the horizontal stabilizer, the rest Bubble-face compass seats. We re-created them was steel tubing. In early pho- Consolidated oil pressure gauge from photographs because no tographs, the tail was braced Rim-wind clock blueprints exist. It took some with only one set of wires. Moto meter-style water temperature gauge four years before the airplane We think it wobbled quite a could fly again.” Vintage Airplane 15 Also on display at the museum in Bethel, Pennsylvania, is Andrew King’s Ryan M-1, shown here in formation with the Winstead Special.

feet. The stick forces do not change too badly between one or three peo- ple on board. Landing rolls can be very short, if you want it, the tail- skid acting as a very efficient brake. Formation flying is interesting, be- cause it takes a lot of coaxing to accelerate. The OX-5 is flying very close to full power during cruise, and the only way to accelerate is to give all what little power it had left. I set the engine at about 1400 rpm on the takeoff roll, at 1350 to 1400 in normal cruise, and 1525 during ‘fast’ cruise. You realized that there is not much room to play with Just look at that beautiful grass at the Golden Age Air Museum! The Winstead’s power. We never experienced an rudder and fin were missing from the project, but Paul and his restoration crew overheating problem, even on the were able to re-create the structure using photographs for reference. hottest day. The airplane is much more nimble in the air and has a After three years of flying the air- it can be changed on the ground lighter feel than a Travel Air. The plane, he describes its characteristics: by removing the attach bolt and OX-5 is also one of the smoothest “It flies very nicely. The OX-5 changing washers. But this is too engines I have ever flown behind. puts out plenty of power for the much work for little results. The We are rebuilding a Jenny, and if it airplane, and the climb rate is re- rudder is also very responsive and flies even only half as good as the spectable for its vintage. Contrary works very well upon taxiing. The Winstead, it will still be a lot of fun.” to [what] one might think, its short airplane does not have any brakes Since its first flight, the airplane wings and the four ailerons are or a steerable tail skid. The rudder has been an anchor at the Golden only giving it a modest rate of roll. is all you have to steer the airplane. Age Air Museum, and a living me- The elevator is very responsive, but “The takeoff distance is, depend- morial to those little companies does not have any trim. However, ing on the load, between 400 to 800 born in the roaring ’20s. 16 February 2003