FEBRUARY 2012 FEBRUARY Vintage Feb 2012.indd 1 1/25/12 9:30 AM I have insured my airplanes and my hangar with AUA for over twenty years and have always found them to be conscientious, highly professional and personable. I highly recommend AUA. — Sue Dusenbury Sue Dusenbury and her Private Airstrip in Walnut Cove, North Carolina. Sue is a long time member of the Vintage Division. She currently flies a C-180 and is rebuilding a Stinson SR2 from the ground up. AUA, Inc. has been able to provide Sue with affordable coverage for all her projects. AUA writes coverage for all kinds of airports and hangars. We can also insure maintenance shops and provide hangarkeeper coverage. Call us for a quote today! AUA is Vintage Aircraft Association approved. To become a member of VAA call 800-843-3612. Aviation insurance with the EAA Vintage Program offers: Lower premiums with payment options QAdditional coverages QFlexibility on the use of your aircraft QExperienced agents On-line quote request available QAUA is licensed in all states Remember, We’re Better Together! The best is affordable. Give AUA a call – it’s FREE! 800-727-3823 Fly with the pros… fly with AUA Inc. www.auaonline.com Vintage Feb 2012.indd 2 1/25/12 9:34 AM AIRPLANE FEBRUARY Vol. 40, No. 2 2012 CONTENTS 2 Straight and Level by Geoff Robison 3 News 5 Great-Granddad’s Airplane Eric Rearwin: When personal and aviation histories cross by Budd Davisson 5 13 The Liberating Sky Pioneering black pilots broke barriers and climbed to new heights, Part 2 by Philip Handleman 20 Light Plane Heritage Twelve Thousand Miles in an Avro Avian, Part 2 by Bob Whittier 26 The Vintage Mechanic Monocoque Structures by Robert G. Lock 13 30 The Vintage Instructor Some things you learn after getting your certifi cate by Steve Krog, CFI STAFF 32 EAA Publisher Rod Hightower Mystery Plane Director of EAA Publications J. Mac McClellan by H.G. Frautschy Executive Director/Editor H.G. Frautschy Business Manager Kathleen Witman 34 Antiques Over the Chesapeake Copy Editor Colleen Walsh by Roger Thiel Publication Advertising: Manager/Domestic, Sue Anderson 36 From the EAA Archives Tel: 920-426-6127 Email: [email protected] Steve Wittman and the Standard J-1: Fax: 920-426-4828 A barnstormers’s biplane earns its keep Senior Business Relations Mgr, Trevor Janz by H.G. Frautschy Tel: 920-426-6809 Email: [email protected] 37 Manager/European-Asian, Willi Tacke Don Winslow of the Navy Phone: +49(0)1716980871 Email: willi@fl ying-pages.com by Bob O’Hara and H.G. Frautschy Fax: +49(0)8841 / 496012 Classifi ed Advertising Coordinator, Jo Ann Cody Simons 39 Classifi eds Tel: 920-426-6169 Email: [email protected] COVERS FRONT COVER: The Rear win Speedster , one of aviation’s most r ecognizable airplanes, a fact For missing or replacement magazines, or made even mor e remarkable when you fi nd out just how few wer e made. Eric Rear win, great- any other membership-related questions, please call grandson of Rae Rear win, the founder of the fi rm, teamed up with awar d-winning restorer Tim EAA Member Services at 800- JOIN-EAA (564-6322). Talen to tur n out this exceptional example of this rar e Rear win. EAA photo by Steve Cukierski. Read all about it in Budd Davisson’s ar ticle beginning on page 5. BACK COVER: One of aviation’s legends, Steve Wittman (left) poses with an Atwater Kent radio perched on the horizontal tail of his Standar d J-1, which was used, in this case, to adver- tise the high-end radio brand for a wester n Wisconsin dealer . For mor e on the photo, tur n to the article on page 36. VINTAGE AIRPLANE 1 Vintage Feb 2012.indd 3 1/25/12 9:36 AM STRAIGHT & LEVEL Geoff Robison EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, VAA Restoration and change ith the fl ying season and a great day! So, be sure to come inside help develop funding that would sig- the holidays well behind the Vintage Hangar during AirVenture nificantly impact the federal deficit.” us now, I find myself in to check out the progress on the resto- Pardon me? For the life of me I just Oshkosh helping to ac- ration of this truly historical aircraft. cannot embrace the relevance of these Wcomplish more restoration work on two distinctly different issues when it the Harold Neumann Monocoupe User Fees comes to funding the ATC system. I project. It is currently in the VAA Last week the hot topic again be- better stop there before you all think I hangar in Oshkosh. We were able to came user fees. Here we go again! I have completely fallen off the rail. Be make some real progress on the fu- really hate to have to say it, but, I told assured that EAA remains on the front selage last summer; we installed the you so. It was just last month in this lines of battling these user fee initia- 90AW Warner engine and the fully re- column that I openly stated that the tives that could signifi cantly challenge stored engine cowl. This all-volunteer issue was likely far from over, and low our ability to exercise our right to en- initiative has been well-supported by and behold, there are those in Con- gage in recreational aviation. Now is many of the local members of VAA gress who have begun to discuss the the time for all of us to pay very close Chapter 37 based in Auburn, Indi- idea of proposing new legislation rec- attention to the details of whatever ana. The project lead volunteer is Phil ommending a $100 per fl ight user fee legislation gets proposed, and if need Riter of Defiance, Ohio. Every time on GA aircraft for certain users. be, we need to again let our collective I look at the reworked engine cowl It seems like it was just last month voices be heard inside the beltway. on this aircraft, I fi nd myself staring that we waged this battle on user fees, at it in total amazement. Before Phil but in spite of a high level of biparti- Changes got his hands on it, that cowl looked san opposition in the Congressional Lastly, I wanted to mention here like it fell off a truck going 55 mph. GA Caucus, it would appear that this that I arrived in Oshkosh the day after The result of Phil’s hard work is noth- issue is far from over. Even though EAA President/CEO Rod Hightower ing short of amazing. Good luck with the initial concept seems to exclude and the EAA Executive Committee an- those wheelpants, buddy! piston engine aircraft, we all really nounced a great number of changes This week we are working on get- need to pay close attention to the fact in the structure of EAA staffi ng. I have ting a finish coat on the wing and that the devil is usually in the details been privileged to have had the op- flight controls. We are fortunate to of a negotiated piece of legislation portunity over the past 10 days to have access to the paint booth at the that could likely have a very differ- interact on these critical issues with EAA maintenance facility in Camp ent odor to it. When I think of the the EAA board of directors and several Scholler. This makes the job so much potential results of legislation of this members of the senior staff at EAA, in- easier to complete. The 32-foot one- nature, it virtually makes me stutter. cluding Rod Hightower, our founder piece wing is so long it doesn’t fi t un- The primary issue that strikes fear Paul Poberezny, and the Executive less it’s set up diagonally to the corners in my heart is the idea that if user fees Committee. I have walked away from of the paint booth, so you can at least eventually become a reality to our seg- this experience with a great deal of walk around one end of it. As I write ment of aviation, a large segment of confidence that EAA will now be in this, we now have nearly all of the con- GA pilots will simply avoid using the a much better position to, as stated in trol surfaces in silver, and by the end system, and this will, without a doubt, one of EAA’s recent communications, of this week we will have everything compromise safety. Of course, there are to “align our resources with our priori- painted in white. Then this spring, more issues with user fees that make ties, which will allow us to more effec- during one of our Vintage work parties them ominous. To start with, the cur- tively meet the needs of our members, in Oshkosh, we will have a suffi cient rent fuel tax approach to funding the donors and aviators.” number of VAA volunteers available system is really working pretty well. to assist us with mating that large one- Then, straight from the White House piece wing to the fuselage. This will be we hear, “We all need to do our part to 2 FEBRUARY 2012 Vintage Feb 2012.indd 4 1/25/12 9:45 AM VAA NEWS rive on-site. Daily and weekly ad- missions are available; discounts are available to those who prepur- chase AirVenture tickets online be- fore June 15, 2012, including $2 off daily adult admissions and $5 off weekly adult admissions.