No o N It ILl III ~ ILl o> z I ~_ « VOL. 30, Noo 11 NOVEMBER 2002 STRAIGHT & LEVELIButch Joyce 2 VAA NEWS /HoG. Frautschy 4 JOHN MILLER 2002 VAA HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE 7 JOHN MILLER RECALLS . 0 0 TESTING THE J2F-6 AMPHIBIAN/John M iller 10 TYPE CLUB NOTES ENGINE FAILURE!lJeff Wimmer 12 WHAT THE HECK DOES TSO MEAN? AND WHY IT'S IMPORTANT FOR AIRCRAFT OWNERS!/ Doc Mosher 13 CHROME CUB: A DIFFERENT APPROACH JIM THOMAS' PA-l21Budd Davisson 18 THE 46TH ANNUAL TULSA REGIONAL FLY-IN, PERHAPS THE BEST EVER! A PERFECT FLY-IN WITH PERFECT WEATHER/Charles W. Harris 21 MYSTERY PLANE 22 PASS IT TO BUCK/Buck Hilbert 27 NEW MEMBERS 28 CLASSIFIED ADS 30 VAA MERCHANDISE WWW.VINTAGEAIRCRAFT.ORG Publisher TOM POBEREZNY Edltor.ln-Cllle( scon SPANGLER FRONT COVER: It has familiar lines, but most of us were hard pressed to quickly identify this "Chrome Cub " as a Piper PA-14. The Met-Co-Aire conversion is Executive Director, Editor HENRY G. FRAUTSCHY owned and flown by Jim Thomas. Read all about it starting on page 13. EAA VAA Administrative Assistant THERESA BOOKS photo by Lee Ann Abrams , shot with a Canon EOSln equipped with an 80-200 Executive Editor MIKE DIFRISCO mm lens on 100 ASA slide film . EM Cessna 210 flown by Bruce Moore. Contributing Editors JOHN UNDERWOOD BUDD DAVISSON BACK COVER: Kendra Spak of Poplar Grove, Ill inois lives in the airpark adjoining Graplllc Designer OLI VIA L. PHILLIP the airfield, and as a new pilot, she's been inspired by the pioneering flights of PllOtograpl.y Staff JIM KOEPNICK Amelia Earhart. Her pencil tribute to Earhart earned an Excellence ribbon from LEEANN ABRAMS the jury of the 2002 EAA Aviation Foundation's Sport Aviation Art Competition. AdvertislllglEdltorlai Assistant ISABELLE WISKE See the VAA News starting on page 2 for more information on entering the 2003 edition of the competition. STRA GHT Be LEVEL BY ESP IE "BUTCH" JOYCE PRESIDENT, VINTAGE ASSOCIATION Enjoying life Every fall a number of folks will buddies, fly out and find a $100 hot pipe up and complain about the dog, and enjoy frittering away the cool air. They know what's coming, rest of the time. At the end of a long but don't like the idea of fall turning week, everyone needs some reward to winter. Since there isn't a lot one time. Having an understanding wife can do about weather, I tell them it who also enjoys the same company happens every year, just like each you do is helpful; my thanks to got coverage of the Tulsa fly-in start­ week has a Monday. Norma for being so supportive and ing on page 10. VAA Chapter 3 has a Thinking of Monday reminds me understanding of my love of aviation. weekend fly-in at Darlington, South of a lesson in life I learned one day a Shortly before you read this, we Carolina, and that fly-in had more few years ago when I had a business will have inducted John M. Miller than 180 aircraft on Saturday, Octo­ cleaning and painting water tanks. ber 5. A number of type clubs also Every Monday morning, like clock­ . ..aviation's hold their fly-in conventions in the work, a fellow who worked for me fall, including the Beech Party at Tul­ would walk into my office and ask certainly been lahoma, Tennessee, and the Midwest that I lend him $50 to use while he Stinson Reunion in Watertown, Wis­ was out of town for the week. This good to John, consin. We're thankful that they've went on for a while. This guy was a he's given back been safe, pleasurable events. pretty good employee, but this pe­ It's great to attend one of these lo­ culiar quirk in his finances finally to it many cal fly-ins to look at the great got the better of me, and I had to airplanes your fellow members have ask him about it. times over... restored . It is also great to see the The next Monday, right on sched­ friends that you have met over the ule, he wa lked in. After he asked for into the Vintage Aircraft Association years. What's more enjoyable than his usual $50 loan, I quizzed him: Hall of Fame. John's career in avia­ to just sit under a wing and visit for "Since you just got paid on Friday, tion spans most of the last century, a while? For those friends you may what did you do with all that money and while aviation's certainly been only see once or twice a year, it's a that would cause you to be broke by good to John, he's given back to it rewarding time. Monday morning?" many times over, in both his writings We are in the midst of a recruit­ "Well, lowed you fifty dollars, and h is activities. I'm sure that you, ment campaign via mail. We've sent and then I gambled some of it away, like me, have really enjoyed John's ar­ invitations to EAA members who are drank some of it up in booze, spent ticles we've published over the past not yet members of our association, some on girlfriends, and I guess I year, and those of you who are Amer­ but who own aircraft that fall within just 'threw' the rest of it away" was ican Bonanza Society members have our judging categories. We've also his reply. been fortunate to read of John's avia­ sent membership invitations to Not wanting to be judgmental tion experiences for many years. He's those who own airplanes built prior (after all, he did repay me first!), I a real gem, and we'll continue to pub­ to 1967 and who are not yet gave him the $50 and sent him on lish his stories of today and yesterday EAA/VAA members. The early re­ his way. Obviously he enjoyed his here in Vintage Airplane. sponse rate is encouraging, but we weekends in his own way, and at The fall is a great time to have a can always use your help. Ask a that point in his life, that's what he fly-in! A number of our VAA Chapters friend to become a Vintage Airplane wanted to do! To differing extents, have their annual event in the cool Association member and have fun that's what we all want; to enjoy our air. One of those fly-ins is VAA Chap­ with us. Let's all pull in the same di­ lives and "do what we want to do." ter 10's get-together at Tulsa, rection for the good of aviation. Me, too. Like so many of you, I Oklahoma. It was reported that on Remember we are better together. want to spend some time at the air­ Saturday the fly-in had more than Join us and have it all! port where I can fly a bit, talk to my 300 aircraft attend the event. We've -Butch ....". VINTAGE AIRPLANE VAA NEWS EAA ANNOUN C ES " COUNTDOWN T O KITTY HAWK" WRITING CONTEST As part of Countdown to Kitty Hawk, EAA is conducting a writing contest for journalists with the best newspa­ per/website or magazi ne articles written about the advent of powered flight, its centennial celebration, and how it has affected the world. The contest is open to general and aviation journalists and writers whose articles are published from December 1, 2002 through June 1, 2003. Prizes will be awarded to the top three stories EAA, FAA ADDRESS VINTAGE AIRCRAFT ISSUES in "Newspaper/Web" and "Magazine" A high-level EAA-FAA task force is working to further identify and rem­ categories, with $1,000 for first, $500 edy issues unique to vintage aircraft such as the unavailability of for second, and $250 for third. Win­ maintenance data and approved parts. When maintaining type-certifi­ ners will also receive commemorative cated aircraft, owners are required by FAA regulations to use approved "Countdown to Kitty Hawk" trophies. data (generally the manufacturer's original engineering data), acceptable An additional $1,000 will be awarded data that can be approved, and approved parts. to the story that judges feel was the For many older aircraft the parts are not available, requiring their fabri­ overall best of those submitted. cation or substitution, but the data required to do this is often unavailable. Entries may be in original or copied Therefore, owners are forced to choose between not doing the work and form, but must include the name and completing the repair/modification without approved data. date of the publication in which they aj}­ EAA Washington Office Director Doug Macnair has given FAA Flight peared. Entries will be judged by a Standards Director Jim Ballough a range of options to remedy this panel, which includes journalism pro­ dilemma. They include examining Transport Canada's Owner Mainte­ fessors from Wright State University, nance Category regulations; developing a repairman certificate for University of Dayton, and University of vintage aircraft; or devising alternative data requirements specifically in­ North Carolina, plus a designated tended for older recreational aircraft. member of the EAA and Flying maga­ The FAA has original engineering data, but it cannot release it without zine editorial staffs (staff members of the permission of the type certificate holder, and certificate holders often these organizations are not eligible). will not authorize its release because they deem it proprietary informa­ Winners will be published in the No­ tion or want to avoid incurring further liability.