APRIL 2003VOL 31 No 4

2 VAA NEWS HG Frau tsch y and Ric Reynolds

3 FRIENDS OF THE RED BARN

4 MORE ON RADIO AND ANTENNA INSTALLATIONS

GETTING THE MESSAGE OUTl Pau l Gould

6 PENNYS PASPED

THE ONE-OF-A-KIND PASPED SKYLARKBu dd Davisson 6

10 JOHN MI L LER RECALLS

THE POPPY DROP OF 1928Joh n M iller

12 THE VINTAGE INSTRUCTOR

GO AROUND TO FLARE OR NOT TO FLARE

Dou g St ew art

14 TAKING OFF

THERE IS NO PAINT LIKE THE AIRLon ni Sue Jo hnson

20 PASS IT TO BUCK

TAIL WHEELSBuck H ilbert

23 CALENDAR

24 MYSTERY PLANE

27 NEW MEMBERS

28 CLASSIFIED ADS

30 VAA MERCHANDISE

EAA PU CATIONS

Publisher TOM POBEREZNY Editor-in-Chief scon SPANGLER Executive Editor MIKE DIFRISCO News Editor RIC REYNOLDS Photography Staff JIM KOEPNICK

LEEANN ABRAMS TRISHA LUNDQUIST

Advertising Coordinator JULIE RUSSO AdvertisingEditorial Assistant ISABELLE WISKE Copy Editing COLLEEN WALSH

KATHLEEN WITMAN

VINTAGE AIRPLANE

Executive Director Editor HENRY G FRAUTSCHY VAA Administrative Assistant THERESA BOOKS Contributing Editors JOHN UNDERWOOD

BUDD DAVISSON Graphic Designer OLIVIA l PHILLIP

14

FRONT COVER Chugging along in the one-of-a-kind Pasped Skylark are the owner Buzz Penny and restorer Tom Brown Years of use had taken its toll on the Pasped but Brown has restored it to its original factory configuration It was presented with the Antique-Bronze Age Champion trophy at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2002 EAA photo by Jim Koepnick Cessna 210 photo plane flown by Bruce Moore

BACK COVER One of our international artists in the 2002 Sport Aviation Art Competition was Michael Short of Pflugerville Texas Bobs Hornet is the title of his oil painting of Bob Lee s DeHaviliand DH 87B Hornet Moth which is based just outside Bristol England The painting was awarded an Honorable Mention ribbon by the j ury Michael also qualified as one of the Master Artists of the annual art competition Artists who have had their paintings presented with Par Excellence ribshybons th ree different years are so designated

ST

This issue of Vintage Airplane will be out during Sun n Fun in sunny Lakeland Florida I will be visiting with a number of you and despite a little sunburn and dirt from the sandy dusty soil Ill be having a great time One of the neatest things about attending fly-ins is seeing the wide variety of airplanes the Vintage Aircraft Association (VAA) recognizes in the three differshyent judging categories

Occasionally we hear concerns that we placed a Cessna 172 or simshyilar modern airplane on the cover of your Vintage Airplane magazine

Our approach to vintage air shyplanes has always been broader than antique airplanes We ve been reaching out to airplanes that are already acknowledged as vintage airplanes whether they predate World War II or were built in the decade following the war In the early 1990s we added the contemporary category for judgshying after being petitioned by you for an expanded postwar category Recognizing that airplanes proshyduced after 1955 were a different breed of cat we chose to add a third category rather than expand the classic section

A number of you related to me that our expansion of the Contemshyporary category is reminiscent of the time early in the 1970s when we added the classic category in 1971 There was a similar hue and cry about allowing Piper Cubs to park in the same area as the anshytique airplanes At that time the Cubs were only 25 years old or so and many felt that Cubs Champs and their ilk were not worthy of the new judging status As those

BY ESPIE BUTCH JOYCE PRESIDENT VINTAGE ASSOCIATION

Serving members

airplanes aged and became treasshyured airplanes that sentiment was replaced with recognition of the excellent work being done to reshystore the postwar airplanes And enthusiasm for the ant iqu e airshyplane never waned it continues to be a strong integral part of our overall organization

A 172 built in 1966 ha s been maintained for over 35 years now and many of you who petitioned us to create this judging category plus the VAA board feel its appropriate to encourage the maintenance and restoration of airplanes from this era When you read Vintage Airplane you will not find the pages filled with how to fly to a grill and buy a $100 hamburger because you can find that type of article in ten other aviation publications We are about supporting members from a technishycal standpoint setting judging standards that wi ll encourage peoshyple to restore and maintain th e ir aircraft and having programs that are tailored to our class of aircraft for the membership

That 1966 172 wi ll soon be 40 years old The FAA has generally said that from their standpoint an airplane that is 30 years old is conshysidered an antique As you would expect weve found that individushya ls tend to be fond of the aircraft that was most popular when they became serio us abo ut flying and aviation activities

On the other hand th ere are those aviation enthusiasts of a ll ages who love the antiq u es and others who prefer the classics I can totally understand why they fee l that way

We do o ur best to balance our

editorial coverage to include all areas of our judging categories weighted towards those areas with the strongest following In 2002 for instance out of the 12 cover subjects for the year 6 were anshytiques (including Andrew Kings Ryan M-l restoration and Buzz Kaplans Sikorsky 5-38 reproducshytion) and 6 were classics None were contemporary airplanes As it happens there have been a pair in the first part of 2003 the 172 you saw and the Geronimo on this months cover

A few folks have wondered why we do not advance our judging catshyegory each year Our experience does not indicate a need for it at this time However we review this matter each year so the rules are not set in stone

I hope that I have helped you understand how the Vintage Airshycraft Association views the world of older aircraft We are always open to your opinions regarding any matters that affect your Associashytion Were also open to yo ur articles and thoughts on technical issues Fee l free to contact your magazines editor HG Frautschy if you have a technical article youd like to submit

As a member you can help the VAA by asking a friend to join up with us Lets all pull in the same direction for the good of aviation Remember we are better together Join us and have it all

VINTAGE AIRPLANE

s COMPILED BY H G FRAUTSCHY AND RIC REYNOLDS

VAA Picnic and Type Club Dinshyners

The VAA Picnic during AirVenshyture Oshkosh 2003 will be held the evening of Wednesday July 30 at the EAA Nature Center Pavilion Because it is so early in the week plan to purchase your tickets right after you arrive at Oshkosh Tickets have sold out the last two years

Type clubs are again invited to hold their dinners at the VAA Picshynic We will gladly reserve tables for your group so you can all sit toshygether To make plans for your type club contact Theresa Books in the VAA office at 920-426-6110 or via e-mail at tbookseaaorg

Fire Destroys Poly-Fiber Office Warehouse Manufacturing Operation Saved

The office and warehouse building of Poly-Fiber Inc a leadshying manufacturer of fabric covering materials for the aviashytion industry was destroyed by fire on Friday morning February 21 at its location on the Flabob Airport Riverside California Thankfully there were no injuries caused by the blaze which ocshycurred before work hours Poly-Fiber employs 15 people Firefighters prevented the blaze from spreading to Poly-Fibers other building which houses all manufacturing operations and additional warehouse space

General Manager Jon Goldenshybaum writes that they are moving into their intact production facilshyity and that all is going well They expect to be fully up and running by the time this issue goes to press Distributors have ample stocks so customers can expect little to no delay

We still have full production capabilities and we will continue to manufacture our products he

APRIL 2003

added We ask our customers to please be patient and undershystanding if they encounter any delays in receiving products Since distributors have a decent supply of inventory and they can mix their own color topcoats in-house the overall impact on the end-user should be minimal Goldenbaum said

Officials suspect the cause of the fire was electrical but no determishynation has been made The company is open for business and is available for technical questions as usual For more information visit wwwpolyfibercom

Operation POP Readies for Third EAA AirVenture

Operation Protect Our Planes (POP) is actively seeking individshyuals (or families) to volunteer at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2003 POP volunteers are highly visible energetic convention volunteers whose main responsibilities are to thank owners for flying their aircraft to EAA AirVenture and to remind EAA AirVenture attendees about the Oshkosh rules regardshying flight line etiquette and activities around the airplanes

Created at EAA AirVenture 2001 Operation POP seeks volshyunteers of all fitness levels and abilities for walking patrols and stationary assignments At EAA AirVenture 2003 volunteers can cover the entire flight line an aircraft community like homeshybuilts or warbirds or focus on a specific aircraft like the visiting Airbus Beluga or EAAs The Sprit of St Louis

Volunteers between the ages of 14 and 17 must have written parental support For more information or to volunteer contact Teresa Lautenshyschlager at tlautenschlagereaaorg or call 920-426-6131

Continental Piston STC Issued Olde Thyme Aviation Inc (OTA) known

for the vintage aircraft collection they fly at the Museum of Flight at Boeing Field in Seattle has been granted an STC for replacement pistons for the Continental radial engines W-670-6A and -6N often affectionately known as the venerable Continental 220s (220 hpj Ken Horshywitz president of OTA said that the STC project was an effort of love and couldnt possibly justify the $100000 cost of engineering engine block run fuel labor and consulting required to gain the STC approval

I can see what prevents the enthusishyast from attempting this and Im doubtful that I would have pursued it if I truly knew how expensive it was going to be says Horwitz But we fly six aircraft at the Museum of Flight that have this famous engine and I didnt want to change from the original authenticity beshycause the country was out of pistons Also had it not been for a collaboration of other individuals we never would have gotten this done Pete Jones from Air Repair Inc contributed his entire file on his earlier efforts to have the pistons made as far back as 1987 Larry Lujan of Gold Coast Aviation was instrumental in providing consulting with the FAA and personally performed the stringent block run requirement

The STC pistons are re-engineered using the same alloy that is used on the PampW 985 radial engines and on locomoshytive engine pistons U Although we had to engineer for a different thermal coeffishycient we are confident we have a much stronger piston than the original using modern alloys Says Horwitz adding that After the very grueling FAA reshyquired block run we only had slightly less than a single thousandths of an inch of wear on one single ring land on the entire seven pistons Ive never seen anything like that before

Pistons will have a retail price of $395 and are available through Air Reshypair Inc in Cleveland Mississippi who will PMA certify them Horwitz also wants to thank the numerous Stearman and Waco owners who encouraged Olde Thyme to go ahead with this project at Galesburg and other vintage aircraft flyshyins during the 1999 and 2000 season

2

ST

This issue of Vintage Airplane will be out during Sun n Fun in sunny Lakeland Florida I will be visiting with a number of you and despite a little sunburn and dirt from the sandy dusty soil Ill be having a great time One of the neatest things about attending fly-ins is seeing the wide variety of airplanes the Vintage Aircraft Association (VAA) recognizes in the three differshyent judging categories

Occasionally we hear concerns that we placed a Cessna 172 or simshyilar modern airplane on the cover of your Vintage Airplane magazine

Our approach to vintage air shyplanes has always been broader than antique airplanes We ve been reaching out to airplanes that are already acknowledged as vintage airplanes whether they predate World War II or were built in the decade following the war In the early 1990s we added the contemporary category for judgshying after being petitioned by you for an expanded postwar category Recognizing that airplanes proshyduced after 1955 were a different breed of cat we chose to add a third category rather than expand the classic section

A number of you related to me that our expansion of the Contemshyporary category is reminiscent of the time early in the 1970s when we added the classic category in 1971 There was a similar hue and cry about allowing Piper Cubs to park in the same area as the anshytique airplanes At that time the Cubs were only 25 years old or so and many felt that Cubs Champs and their ilk were not worthy of the new judging status As those

BY ESPIE BUTCH JOYCE PRESIDENT VINTAGE ASSOCIATION

Serving members

airplanes aged and became treasshyured airplanes that sentiment was replaced with recognition of the excellent work being done to reshystore the postwar airplanes And enthusiasm for the ant iqu e airshyplane never waned it continues to be a strong integral part of our overall organization

A 172 built in 1966 ha s been maintained for over 35 years now and many of you who petitioned us to create this judging category plus the VAA board feel its appropriate to encourage the maintenance and restoration of airplanes from this era When you read Vintage Airplane you will not find the pages filled with how to fly to a grill and buy a $100 hamburger because you can find that type of article in ten other aviation publications We are about supporting members from a technishycal standpoint setting judging standards that wi ll encourage peoshyple to restore and maintain th e ir aircraft and having programs that are tailored to our class of aircraft for the membership

That 1966 172 wi ll soon be 40 years old The FAA has generally said that from their standpoint an airplane that is 30 years old is conshysidered an antique As you would expect weve found that individushya ls tend to be fond of the aircraft that was most popular when they became serio us abo ut flying and aviation activities

On the other hand th ere are those aviation enthusiasts of a ll ages who love the antiq u es and others who prefer the classics I can totally understand why they fee l that way

We do o ur best to balance our

editorial coverage to include all areas of our judging categories weighted towards those areas with the strongest following In 2002 for instance out of the 12 cover subjects for the year 6 were anshytiques (including Andrew Kings Ryan M-l restoration and Buzz Kaplans Sikorsky 5-38 reproducshytion) and 6 were classics None were contemporary airplanes As it happens there have been a pair in the first part of 2003 the 172 you saw and the Geronimo on this months cover

A few folks have wondered why we do not advance our judging catshyegory each year Our experience does not indicate a need for it at this time However we review this matter each year so the rules are not set in stone

I hope that I have helped you understand how the Vintage Airshycraft Association views the world of older aircraft We are always open to your opinions regarding any matters that affect your Associashytion Were also open to yo ur articles and thoughts on technical issues Fee l free to contact your magazines editor HG Frautschy if you have a technical article youd like to submit

As a member you can help the VAA by asking a friend to join up with us Lets all pull in the same direction for the good of aviation Remember we are better together Join us and have it all

VINTAGE AIRPLANE

s COMPILED BY H G FRAUTSCHY AND RIC REYNOLDS

VAA Picnic and Type Club Dinshyners

The VAA Picnic during AirVenshyture Oshkosh 2003 will be held the evening of Wednesday July 30 at the EAA Nature Center Pavilion Because it is so early in the week plan to purchase your tickets right after you arrive at Oshkosh Tickets have sold out the last two years

Type clubs are again invited to hold their dinners at the VAA Picshynic We will gladly reserve tables for your group so you can all sit toshygether To make plans for your type club contact Theresa Books in the VAA office at 920-426-6110 or via e-mail at tbookseaaorg

Fire Destroys Poly-Fiber Office Warehouse Manufacturing Operation Saved

The office and warehouse building of Poly-Fiber Inc a leadshying manufacturer of fabric covering materials for the aviashytion industry was destroyed by fire on Friday morning February 21 at its location on the Flabob Airport Riverside California Thankfully there were no injuries caused by the blaze which ocshycurred before work hours Poly-Fiber employs 15 people Firefighters prevented the blaze from spreading to Poly-Fibers other building which houses all manufacturing operations and additional warehouse space

General Manager Jon Goldenshybaum writes that they are moving into their intact production facilshyity and that all is going well They expect to be fully up and running by the time this issue goes to press Distributors have ample stocks so customers can expect little to no delay

We still have full production capabilities and we will continue to manufacture our products he

APRIL 2003

added We ask our customers to please be patient and undershystanding if they encounter any delays in receiving products Since distributors have a decent supply of inventory and they can mix their own color topcoats in-house the overall impact on the end-user should be minimal Goldenbaum said

Officials suspect the cause of the fire was electrical but no determishynation has been made The company is open for business and is available for technical questions as usual For more information visit wwwpolyfibercom

Operation POP Readies for Third EAA AirVenture

Operation Protect Our Planes (POP) is actively seeking individshyuals (or families) to volunteer at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2003 POP volunteers are highly visible energetic convention volunteers whose main responsibilities are to thank owners for flying their aircraft to EAA AirVenture and to remind EAA AirVenture attendees about the Oshkosh rules regardshying flight line etiquette and activities around the airplanes

Created at EAA AirVenture 2001 Operation POP seeks volshyunteers of all fitness levels and abilities for walking patrols and stationary assignments At EAA AirVenture 2003 volunteers can cover the entire flight line an aircraft community like homeshybuilts or warbirds or focus on a specific aircraft like the visiting Airbus Beluga or EAAs The Sprit of St Louis

Volunteers between the ages of 14 and 17 must have written parental support For more information or to volunteer contact Teresa Lautenshyschlager at tlautenschlagereaaorg or call 920-426-6131

Continental Piston STC Issued Olde Thyme Aviation Inc (OTA) known

for the vintage aircraft collection they fly at the Museum of Flight at Boeing Field in Seattle has been granted an STC for replacement pistons for the Continental radial engines W-670-6A and -6N often affectionately known as the venerable Continental 220s (220 hpj Ken Horshywitz president of OTA said that the STC project was an effort of love and couldnt possibly justify the $100000 cost of engineering engine block run fuel labor and consulting required to gain the STC approval

I can see what prevents the enthusishyast from attempting this and Im doubtful that I would have pursued it if I truly knew how expensive it was going to be says Horwitz But we fly six aircraft at the Museum of Flight that have this famous engine and I didnt want to change from the original authenticity beshycause the country was out of pistons Also had it not been for a collaboration of other individuals we never would have gotten this done Pete Jones from Air Repair Inc contributed his entire file on his earlier efforts to have the pistons made as far back as 1987 Larry Lujan of Gold Coast Aviation was instrumental in providing consulting with the FAA and personally performed the stringent block run requirement

The STC pistons are re-engineered using the same alloy that is used on the PampW 985 radial engines and on locomoshytive engine pistons U Although we had to engineer for a different thermal coeffishycient we are confident we have a much stronger piston than the original using modern alloys Says Horwitz adding that After the very grueling FAA reshyquired block run we only had slightly less than a single thousandths of an inch of wear on one single ring land on the entire seven pistons Ive never seen anything like that before

Pistons will have a retail price of $395 and are available through Air Reshypair Inc in Cleveland Mississippi who will PMA certify them Horwitz also wants to thank the numerous Stearman and Waco owners who encouraged Olde Thyme to go ahead with this project at Galesburg and other vintage aircraft flyshyins during the 1999 and 2000 season

2

s COMPILED BY H G FRAUTSCHY AND RIC REYNOLDS

VAA Picnic and Type Club Dinshyners

The VAA Picnic during AirVenshyture Oshkosh 2003 will be held the evening of Wednesday July 30 at the EAA Nature Center Pavilion Because it is so early in the week plan to purchase your tickets right after you arrive at Oshkosh Tickets have sold out the last two years

Type clubs are again invited to hold their dinners at the VAA Picshynic We will gladly reserve tables for your group so you can all sit toshygether To make plans for your type club contact Theresa Books in the VAA office at 920-426-6110 or via e-mail at tbookseaaorg

Fire Destroys Poly-Fiber Office Warehouse Manufacturing Operation Saved

The office and warehouse building of Poly-Fiber Inc a leadshying manufacturer of fabric covering materials for the aviashytion industry was destroyed by fire on Friday morning February 21 at its location on the Flabob Airport Riverside California Thankfully there were no injuries caused by the blaze which ocshycurred before work hours Poly-Fiber employs 15 people Firefighters prevented the blaze from spreading to Poly-Fibers other building which houses all manufacturing operations and additional warehouse space

General Manager Jon Goldenshybaum writes that they are moving into their intact production facilshyity and that all is going well They expect to be fully up and running by the time this issue goes to press Distributors have ample stocks so customers can expect little to no delay

We still have full production capabilities and we will continue to manufacture our products he

APRIL 2003

added We ask our customers to please be patient and undershystanding if they encounter any delays in receiving products Since distributors have a decent supply of inventory and they can mix their own color topcoats in-house the overall impact on the end-user should be minimal Goldenbaum said

Officials suspect the cause of the fire was electrical but no determishynation has been made The company is open for business and is available for technical questions as usual For more information visit wwwpolyfibercom

Operation POP Readies for Third EAA AirVenture

Operation Protect Our Planes (POP) is actively seeking individshyuals (or families) to volunteer at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2003 POP volunteers are highly visible energetic convention volunteers whose main responsibilities are to thank owners for flying their aircraft to EAA AirVenture and to remind EAA AirVenture attendees about the Oshkosh rules regardshying flight line etiquette and activities around the airplanes

Created at EAA AirVenture 2001 Operation POP seeks volshyunteers of all fitness levels and abilities for walking patrols and stationary assignments At EAA AirVenture 2003 volunteers can cover the entire flight line an aircraft community like homeshybuilts or warbirds or focus on a specific aircraft like the visiting Airbus Beluga or EAAs The Sprit of St Louis

Volunteers between the ages of 14 and 17 must have written parental support For more information or to volunteer contact Teresa Lautenshyschlager at tlautenschlagereaaorg or call 920-426-6131

Continental Piston STC Issued Olde Thyme Aviation Inc (OTA) known

for the vintage aircraft collection they fly at the Museum of Flight at Boeing Field in Seattle has been granted an STC for replacement pistons for the Continental radial engines W-670-6A and -6N often affectionately known as the venerable Continental 220s (220 hpj Ken Horshywitz president of OTA said that the STC project was an effort of love and couldnt possibly justify the $100000 cost of engineering engine block run fuel labor and consulting required to gain the STC approval

I can see what prevents the enthusishyast from attempting this and Im doubtful that I would have pursued it if I truly knew how expensive it was going to be says Horwitz But we fly six aircraft at the Museum of Flight that have this famous engine and I didnt want to change from the original authenticity beshycause the country was out of pistons Also had it not been for a collaboration of other individuals we never would have gotten this done Pete Jones from Air Repair Inc contributed his entire file on his earlier efforts to have the pistons made as far back as 1987 Larry Lujan of Gold Coast Aviation was instrumental in providing consulting with the FAA and personally performed the stringent block run requirement

The STC pistons are re-engineered using the same alloy that is used on the PampW 985 radial engines and on locomoshytive engine pistons U Although we had to engineer for a different thermal coeffishycient we are confident we have a much stronger piston than the original using modern alloys Says Horwitz adding that After the very grueling FAA reshyquired block run we only had slightly less than a single thousandths of an inch of wear on one single ring land on the entire seven pistons Ive never seen anything like that before

Pistons will have a retail price of $395 and are available through Air Reshypair Inc in Cleveland Mississippi who will PMA certify them Horwitz also wants to thank the numerous Stearman and Waco owners who encouraged Olde Thyme to go ahead with this project at Galesburg and other vintage aircraft flyshyins during the 1999 and 2000 season

2

VAAs Friends of The Red Barn VAA 2003 Convention Fund Raising Program

The Vintage Aircraft Association is a major particishy Airplane magazine and on a special display at the VAA pant in the Worlds Largest Annual Sport Aviation Red Barn You will also be presented with a special Event - EAA AirVenture Oshkosh The Vintage Divishy name badge recognizing your level of participation sion hosts and parks over 2000 vintage airplanes each During AirVenture youll have access to the Red Barn year from the Red Barn area of Wittman Field south to Volunteer Center a nice place to cool off the perimeter of the airport Gold Level contributors will also receive a pair of

The financial support for the various activities in certificates each good for a flight on their choice of connection with the weeklong event in the VAA Red EAAs Ford Trimotor or New Standard Biplane reshyBarn area has been principally derived from the Vinshy deemable during AirVenture or during the summer tage Aircraft Associations general income fund flying season at Pioneer Airport Silver Level contribushyStarting in 2002 the Vintage Board elected to more tors will receive one certificate for a flight on their properly underwrite the annual Vintage Red Barn area choice of one of the two planes Convention activities from a yearly special convenshy This is a grand opportunity for all Vintage members tion support fund This effort is the VAAs Friends of to join together as key financial supporters of the Vinshythe Red Barn program tage Division It will be a truly rewarding experience

This fundraising program is an annual affair beginshy for each of us as individuals to be part of supporting ning each year on July 1 and ending June 30 of the the finest gathering of Antique Classic and Contemshyfollowing year This years campaign is well underway porary airplanes in the world with contributions already arriving here at VAA HQ Wont you please join those of us who recognize the Our thanks to those of you who have already sent in tremendously valuable key role the Vintage Aircraft Assoshyyour 2003 contributions ciation has played in preserving the great grass roots and

You can join in as well There will be three levels of general aviation airplanes of the last 100 years Your gifts and gift recognition partiCipation in EAAs Vintage Aircraft Association

Vintage Gold Level - $60000 and above gift Friends of the VAA Red Barn will help insure the very Vintage Silver Level - $30000 gift finest in AirVenture Oshkosh Vintage Red Barn programs Vintage Bronze Level - $10000 gift For those of you who wish to contribute weve Each contribution at one of these levels entitles included a copy of the contribution form Feel free

you to a Certificate of Appreciation from the Division to copy it and mail it to VAA headquarters with Your name will be listed as a contributor in Vintage your donation Thank you

- -~------ - ---- - - -- -- -- -- - - - - ---- -- - -- ---- ----- --- - --------------- - --- - --- - -- --------------------- - ---------

2003 VAA Friends of the Red Barn Name_____________________________________________ EAA_______________VAA ______________

Address___________________________________________________________________________________

CityStateZip______________________________________________________________________________

Phone_____________________________________E-Mail___________________________________________

Please choose your level of participation

_ Vintage Gold Level Friend - $60000 Mail your contribution to _ Vintage Silver Level Friend - $30000 EM _ Vintage Bronze Level Friend - $10000

VINTAGE AIRCRAFT ASSOC o Payment Enclosed o Please Charge my credit card (below) PO Box 3086 Credit Card Number _____________________ Expiratio n Date ___________ OSHKOSH WI 54903-3086 Signature____________________________

00 you or your spouse work for a matching gift company If so this gift may qualify fo r a matching donation Please ask your Human Reshysources department for the appropriate form Name of Company _________________________

The Vintage Aircraft Association is a non-profit educational orga nization under JlS SOl c3 rules Under Federal Law the deduction from Federal Inshycome tax for charitable contributions is limited to the amount by which any money (a nd the value of any property other than money) contributed exceeds the value of the goods or services provided in exchange for the contribution An appropriate receipt acknowledging your gift will be sent to you for IRS gift reporting reasons

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 3

MoM-~DIO AND ANTENNA INSTALLATIONS

Getting the message out

Editors Note Paul Gould of Sarshydinia Ohio fli es his award-winning A eronca Chief all over the eastern United States and he often uses a handheld radio to communicate Here are his thoughts on radio and anshytenna installations

Id like to add to the article by Evan McCo mbs regarding inshystalling handheld navcomm radios in vintage airplanes (tube a nd fabri c) Heres my two cents worth on antenna types and how

APRIL 2003

PAUL GOULD

to match ground planes to the anshytenna on fabric-covered airplanes When used in the airplane the litshytl e rubber ducky antenna supplied with handheld radios works well when you are close to airport traffic

These two photos show the AAE antenna mounted just aft of the fabric baggage compartshyment in Paul Goulds llAC Chief Keeping the antenna far away from the fuselage tubing helps keep the radiation pattern from being too adversely affected

Using an outside antenna conshySiderably increases the reception and transmission distances The loshycations for the antenna are the biggest problem Regular antennas mounted on the outside of the airshyplane either detract from the original appearance or wind up in awkward-looking locations Wantshying to avoid either of those situations brings me to the instalshylation of the dipole antenna that was developed for airplanes built with composite materials Adshyvanced Aircraft Electronics builds these antennas which were origishynally intended to be installed in layers of composite materials of the airplane One communications antenna is to be installed vertically in the tail fin of composite aircraft The navigation antenna was inshystalled horizontally in the fuselage in the layers of composite mateshyrial and they were buried forever in the composite materials In

other applications the navigation antenna was installed along the wing spar

Installing the dipole antenna in tube and fabric airplanes is not an easy task Dipole antennas dont work well when placed near metals such as the airframe tubing Thats a no-no To even think about putting a dipole antenna in fabric airplanes wi ll req uire a lo t of thought and planning You ve got to pull out seats and the baggage compartment just to get inside the fuselage where youll probably find there is no suitshyab le place to in st all the dipole antenna The supplier recommends vertical installation with the optishymum angle at 90 degrees to any metal structure However it can be mounted up to a 45-degree angle away from the metal

If you do so the antennas radiashytion pattern suffers It becomes more directional if installed at 45 degrees

Still I was able to fit a dipole into my llAC Chief as the fuselage is la rge enough to permit installation of the 40-inch-long antenna The cost of a dipole is approximately $150 plus fabricating wood mountshying members I used a piece of 14-inch by P4-inch by 46-inch sp ru ce in my l1AC The location was really the only place I could inshysta ll it so it went there but I did have some doubt as to how good the insta llation would radiate transmisshysion and reception I didnt want to spoi l the original factory look of restoration and lose points when the airplane was judged The ga mble paid off however and I have a very good reception and transmission usshying a battery-powered Icom A-22 handheld transceiver I have coupled

4

to this a little cheap Pilot II intershycom which works very well

I made sure that if the dipole inshystallation had not gotten the good results that I was able to remove the wood member the antenna was glued to by removing one 34-inch 55 No6 PK screw It was worth the gamble as my installation works better than I expected I can receive the ATIS and AWOS transmissions at 20 to 30 miles out even better on some days Ive transmitted and reshyceived on frequencies that are not often used 12345 as far as 90 to 100 miles Ask Ray Johnson how far away weve talked air to air Ray has his stainless steel whip antenna loshycated on the left wing root fairing

The dipole technician told me that any large metal objects must be at least 12 inches away from the anshytenna The 11AC auxiliary gas tank was my main concern I was able to install my dipole 78 degrees from vertical staying 12 inches from the gas tank

Note that the emergency locator transmitter (ELT) is installed on fuselage tubing using Adel clamps The masking tape was used as a temshyporary measure until I was sure I was going to be pleased with the loshycation of the antenna I later glued the dipole to wood with aircraft glue used for cowl seal material The seat of the 11AC must be moved forward as far as it will go to inspect the installation and test the ELT Plus every two years I have to pull it to change the battery during the airplanes annual inspection

The supplier said I could return the antenna if it was not damaged which was a plus if I was unable to install it Im very happy I made the choice for the dipole Its out of the way not seen and no one can tamper with it like the antennas inshystalled on the outside of the airplane

You can reach Advanced Aircraft Electronics at wwwadvancedaircraftcom or write to it at PO Box 28 Ellwood City PA 16117 Their telephone numshyber is 800-758-8632

ANOTHER AA E ANTENNA IN STALLATION

AAE antennas have been used by a number of restorers who were lookshying for a hidden antenna installation The location in Pauls Chief has a

lot of good points First while not super convenient access can be gained by reshymoving the seat and flipping up the fabric baggage compartment The ends of the antenna are a good distance away from the fuselage tubing Weve seen installations in]-3 Cubs where the anshytenna was installed vertically just aft of the windows laid right on top of the stringers and secured in place before the fabric was applied

In a ~imilar installation in the Aeronca Sedan I fly an ME antenna was also installed just aft of the baggage compartment with the ends of the 40-inch-long antenna curving with the interior of the fuselage (See photos ) There are a couple of important differshyences between my installation and the one in Pauls Chief First off the baggage compartment of the Sedan has a pair of metal bulkheads with the lower portion a section of sheet aluminum Because of its relatively close proximity to the anshytenna that one difference has a major impact on the radiation pattern of the antenna

Since it was installed on the left side of the airplane (reasoning that most of the transmissions at airports would be made to the left of the airplane since we fly a left-hand pattern more often) transmission and reception to stations located off the right front of the airshy

plane are negatively impacted sometimes so much that a change in heading is needed The rest of the receivetransmit pattern seems to be quite acceptable even while using a relatively weak transmitter such as a handheld comm Id imagine it would be much improved with a stanshydard panel-mount radio or even a hard-wired 12-volt RF amplifier

The great folks at ME pointed out that some fiddling with the exact location of the antenna might be needed to get an acceptable pattern so were planning on mounting the antenna with an orientation similar to Pauls installation The beauty of this antenna is that it is extremely effishycient in terms of its consumption of transmitter power-very little is wasted once it leaves the radio Plus since no holes had to be drilled in the airframe to install it you can fiddle to your hearts content with the location to see if you can get it to work even better

Obviously mounting the ME dipole antenna in an all-metal airframe wont work but if youve got a fabric-covered airplane Id certainly conshysider installing a dipOle antenna using the procedures outlined in the ME literature -HG Frautschy

VI NTAGE AIRPLAN E 5

MoM-~DIO AND ANTENNA INSTALLATIONS

Getting the message out

Editors Note Paul Gould of Sarshydinia Ohio fli es his award-winning A eronca Chief all over the eastern United States and he often uses a handheld radio to communicate Here are his thoughts on radio and anshytenna installations

Id like to add to the article by Evan McCo mbs regarding inshystalling handheld navcomm radios in vintage airplanes (tube a nd fabri c) Heres my two cents worth on antenna types and how

APRIL 2003

PAUL GOULD

to match ground planes to the anshytenna on fabric-covered airplanes When used in the airplane the litshytl e rubber ducky antenna supplied with handheld radios works well when you are close to airport traffic

These two photos show the AAE antenna mounted just aft of the fabric baggage compartshyment in Paul Goulds llAC Chief Keeping the antenna far away from the fuselage tubing helps keep the radiation pattern from being too adversely affected

Using an outside antenna conshySiderably increases the reception and transmission distances The loshycations for the antenna are the biggest problem Regular antennas mounted on the outside of the airshyplane either detract from the original appearance or wind up in awkward-looking locations Wantshying to avoid either of those situations brings me to the instalshylation of the dipole antenna that was developed for airplanes built with composite materials Adshyvanced Aircraft Electronics builds these antennas which were origishynally intended to be installed in layers of composite materials of the airplane One communications antenna is to be installed vertically in the tail fin of composite aircraft The navigation antenna was inshystalled horizontally in the fuselage in the layers of composite mateshyrial and they were buried forever in the composite materials In

other applications the navigation antenna was installed along the wing spar

Installing the dipole antenna in tube and fabric airplanes is not an easy task Dipole antennas dont work well when placed near metals such as the airframe tubing Thats a no-no To even think about putting a dipole antenna in fabric airplanes wi ll req uire a lo t of thought and planning You ve got to pull out seats and the baggage compartment just to get inside the fuselage where youll probably find there is no suitshyab le place to in st all the dipole antenna The supplier recommends vertical installation with the optishymum angle at 90 degrees to any metal structure However it can be mounted up to a 45-degree angle away from the metal

If you do so the antennas radiashytion pattern suffers It becomes more directional if installed at 45 degrees

Still I was able to fit a dipole into my llAC Chief as the fuselage is la rge enough to permit installation of the 40-inch-long antenna The cost of a dipole is approximately $150 plus fabricating wood mountshying members I used a piece of 14-inch by P4-inch by 46-inch sp ru ce in my l1AC The location was really the only place I could inshysta ll it so it went there but I did have some doubt as to how good the insta llation would radiate transmisshysion and reception I didnt want to spoi l the original factory look of restoration and lose points when the airplane was judged The ga mble paid off however and I have a very good reception and transmission usshying a battery-powered Icom A-22 handheld transceiver I have coupled

4

to this a little cheap Pilot II intershycom which works very well

I made sure that if the dipole inshystallation had not gotten the good results that I was able to remove the wood member the antenna was glued to by removing one 34-inch 55 No6 PK screw It was worth the gamble as my installation works better than I expected I can receive the ATIS and AWOS transmissions at 20 to 30 miles out even better on some days Ive transmitted and reshyceived on frequencies that are not often used 12345 as far as 90 to 100 miles Ask Ray Johnson how far away weve talked air to air Ray has his stainless steel whip antenna loshycated on the left wing root fairing

The dipole technician told me that any large metal objects must be at least 12 inches away from the anshytenna The 11AC auxiliary gas tank was my main concern I was able to install my dipole 78 degrees from vertical staying 12 inches from the gas tank

Note that the emergency locator transmitter (ELT) is installed on fuselage tubing using Adel clamps The masking tape was used as a temshyporary measure until I was sure I was going to be pleased with the loshycation of the antenna I later glued the dipole to wood with aircraft glue used for cowl seal material The seat of the 11AC must be moved forward as far as it will go to inspect the installation and test the ELT Plus every two years I have to pull it to change the battery during the airplanes annual inspection

The supplier said I could return the antenna if it was not damaged which was a plus if I was unable to install it Im very happy I made the choice for the dipole Its out of the way not seen and no one can tamper with it like the antennas inshystalled on the outside of the airplane

You can reach Advanced Aircraft Electronics at wwwadvancedaircraftcom or write to it at PO Box 28 Ellwood City PA 16117 Their telephone numshyber is 800-758-8632

ANOTHER AA E ANTENNA IN STALLATION

AAE antennas have been used by a number of restorers who were lookshying for a hidden antenna installation The location in Pauls Chief has a

lot of good points First while not super convenient access can be gained by reshymoving the seat and flipping up the fabric baggage compartment The ends of the antenna are a good distance away from the fuselage tubing Weve seen installations in]-3 Cubs where the anshytenna was installed vertically just aft of the windows laid right on top of the stringers and secured in place before the fabric was applied

In a ~imilar installation in the Aeronca Sedan I fly an ME antenna was also installed just aft of the baggage compartment with the ends of the 40-inch-long antenna curving with the interior of the fuselage (See photos ) There are a couple of important differshyences between my installation and the one in Pauls Chief First off the baggage compartment of the Sedan has a pair of metal bulkheads with the lower portion a section of sheet aluminum Because of its relatively close proximity to the anshytenna that one difference has a major impact on the radiation pattern of the antenna

Since it was installed on the left side of the airplane (reasoning that most of the transmissions at airports would be made to the left of the airplane since we fly a left-hand pattern more often) transmission and reception to stations located off the right front of the airshy

plane are negatively impacted sometimes so much that a change in heading is needed The rest of the receivetransmit pattern seems to be quite acceptable even while using a relatively weak transmitter such as a handheld comm Id imagine it would be much improved with a stanshydard panel-mount radio or even a hard-wired 12-volt RF amplifier

The great folks at ME pointed out that some fiddling with the exact location of the antenna might be needed to get an acceptable pattern so were planning on mounting the antenna with an orientation similar to Pauls installation The beauty of this antenna is that it is extremely effishycient in terms of its consumption of transmitter power-very little is wasted once it leaves the radio Plus since no holes had to be drilled in the airframe to install it you can fiddle to your hearts content with the location to see if you can get it to work even better

Obviously mounting the ME dipole antenna in an all-metal airframe wont work but if youve got a fabric-covered airplane Id certainly conshysider installing a dipOle antenna using the procedures outlined in the ME literature -HG Frautschy

VI NTAGE AIRPLAN E 5

to this a little cheap Pilot II intershycom which works very well

I made sure that if the dipole inshystallation had not gotten the good results that I was able to remove the wood member the antenna was glued to by removing one 34-inch 55 No6 PK screw It was worth the gamble as my installation works better than I expected I can receive the ATIS and AWOS transmissions at 20 to 30 miles out even better on some days Ive transmitted and reshyceived on frequencies that are not often used 12345 as far as 90 to 100 miles Ask Ray Johnson how far away weve talked air to air Ray has his stainless steel whip antenna loshycated on the left wing root fairing

The dipole technician told me that any large metal objects must be at least 12 inches away from the anshytenna The 11AC auxiliary gas tank was my main concern I was able to install my dipole 78 degrees from vertical staying 12 inches from the gas tank

Note that the emergency locator transmitter (ELT) is installed on fuselage tubing using Adel clamps The masking tape was used as a temshyporary measure until I was sure I was going to be pleased with the loshycation of the antenna I later glued the dipole to wood with aircraft glue used for cowl seal material The seat of the 11AC must be moved forward as far as it will go to inspect the installation and test the ELT Plus every two years I have to pull it to change the battery during the airplanes annual inspection

The supplier said I could return the antenna if it was not damaged which was a plus if I was unable to install it Im very happy I made the choice for the dipole Its out of the way not seen and no one can tamper with it like the antennas inshystalled on the outside of the airplane

You can reach Advanced Aircraft Electronics at wwwadvancedaircraftcom or write to it at PO Box 28 Ellwood City PA 16117 Their telephone numshyber is 800-758-8632

ANOTHER AA E ANTENNA IN STALLATION

AAE antennas have been used by a number of restorers who were lookshying for a hidden antenna installation The location in Pauls Chief has a

lot of good points First while not super convenient access can be gained by reshymoving the seat and flipping up the fabric baggage compartment The ends of the antenna are a good distance away from the fuselage tubing Weve seen installations in]-3 Cubs where the anshytenna was installed vertically just aft of the windows laid right on top of the stringers and secured in place before the fabric was applied

In a ~imilar installation in the Aeronca Sedan I fly an ME antenna was also installed just aft of the baggage compartment with the ends of the 40-inch-long antenna curving with the interior of the fuselage (See photos ) There are a couple of important differshyences between my installation and the one in Pauls Chief First off the baggage compartment of the Sedan has a pair of metal bulkheads with the lower portion a section of sheet aluminum Because of its relatively close proximity to the anshytenna that one difference has a major impact on the radiation pattern of the antenna

Since it was installed on the left side of the airplane (reasoning that most of the transmissions at airports would be made to the left of the airplane since we fly a left-hand pattern more often) transmission and reception to stations located off the right front of the airshy

plane are negatively impacted sometimes so much that a change in heading is needed The rest of the receivetransmit pattern seems to be quite acceptable even while using a relatively weak transmitter such as a handheld comm Id imagine it would be much improved with a stanshydard panel-mount radio or even a hard-wired 12-volt RF amplifier

The great folks at ME pointed out that some fiddling with the exact location of the antenna might be needed to get an acceptable pattern so were planning on mounting the antenna with an orientation similar to Pauls installation The beauty of this antenna is that it is extremely effishycient in terms of its consumption of transmitter power-very little is wasted once it leaves the radio Plus since no holes had to be drilled in the airframe to install it you can fiddle to your hearts content with the location to see if you can get it to work even better

Obviously mounting the ME dipole antenna in an all-metal airframe wont work but if youve got a fabric-covered airplane Id certainly conshysider installing a dipOle antenna using the procedures outlined in the ME literature -HG Frautschy

VI NTAGE AIRPLAN E 5

The one-of-a-kind Pasped Skylark BUDD DAVISSON

his thing is so big that I had to build scaffoldshying to work on it Tom Brown noted airshycraft restorer says

Hes talking about Robert Buzz Pennys Pasped Skylark one of the lesser-known antiques to grace EAA AirVenture 2002 Actually its one of the lesser-known antiques in genshyeral and as crowds moved past it the most common comment heard was Its kinda neat but what is it

The Pasped is one of those midshy1930s contradictions that clearly shows that even though the country was in the depths of a depression people refused to let that dampen their enthusiasm for aviation

In 1935 Skylark Industries of Glendale Ca lifornia decided it would design and build an airplane

APRIL 2003

and offer it to the military as a trainer and general-use airplane The fact that its only aviation expeshyrience had been in manufacturing small parts for a variety of indusshytries didnt slow Skylark down In fact it appears it didnt even ask the military if it was looking for an airplane because when the airplane was finished the military had no interest in it at all By that time the military was receiving far more soshyphisticated project proposals from established airframe manufacturers Aviation was changing quickly but Messrs Pastorius and Pederson of Skylark apparently didnt notice that Incidentally the employees came up with the name Pasped (PastoriusPederson get it)

The closest the Skylark came to fulfilling its designers dreams of

military service was when it wore an Army paint scheme of stars and bars while being used in the filmshying of the 1930s film Without Orders starring Robert Armstrong The airshyplane did however receive a Group Two type certificate (2-546 issued October 311937) an indication of how serious Skylark Industries was about the project

Buzz Penny says Only one airshyplane was built and its a miracle that it survived all those years Most of the credit for that however should go to Bob Greenhoe who owned the airplane for more than 30 years beginning in 1960 and kept it flying In fact from day one the airplilne was never allowed to go derelict It was always flying Also Bob was heavy into the history of the airplane and collected a lot of

6

information about itI to do a ground-up restoration it was airplane had already spent some Buzzs own enthusiasm for the going to take a lot of work to correct time in another shop so it was toshy

airplane stems from a rather unusual the changes Besides the deteriorashy tally disassembled when he received aviation background that led him to tion that needed fixing the it the Skylark via a circuitous routeshy turtledeck and windshield had been Tom says O ne of the hardest where most pilots begin in Cubs or changed and the instrument panel things about putting the airplane C-150s Buzz started in hot-air balshy wasnt anything like the original I back together was that I didnt know loons decided to take the airplane all the exactly what went where All of the

A manufacturer and cattle way back to the way it looked when stuff was in bags which were tagged rancher from Versailles Missouri it left the factory The only modifishy but there was no key telling me Buzz says My dad flew B-17s durshy cation I would keep was the 165-hp where the bags contents went on ing World War II but he left aviation Warner Super Scarab engine that the airplane Plus there were several behind as soon as the war was over I was installed in 1955 to replace the mechanical systems like the trim had some interest in it but I didnt original 125-hp WarnerI that were unique to this airplane do anything about it until around Tom Brown from Unity Wisconshy and it took a lot of head scratching 1970 when I was driving north of sin entered the picture after the to figure outI Chicago and saw a hot-air balloon I tracked it down to Fox River Grove airport and asked them how you learn to fly one of those

I started taking lessons and evenshytually got my commercial ticket in them The checkride in those days consisted of an examiner coming out and standing on the ground while I took off and landed

Ed Yost one of the true hot-air pioneers was my instructor and I got pretty serious about it By 75 I was competing in long-distance races and duration events that lasted as long as two or three days Then in 1980 I decided I had to get into something faster and started workshying on my fixed-wing license Tom Brown and the Pasped Skylarks owner and pilot Buzz Penny

I bought a )-3 and Max Weaver a retired airline pilot started teachshying me I never did have any interest in anything but vintage airplanes so I never got into anything modern I bought a Stearman from Air Repair around 1984 and still have it today I had a Cessna 195 for a while but it was too modern and too fast for me

I first learned about the Pasped when Greenhoe had an ad for it in Trade-a-Plane The pictures of the airshyplane made it look small Or at least normal size When I went down to visit him however its sheer size overwhelmed me

It had been progressively mainshytained over the years and had also been progressively modified Each of the original six owners had changed A lot of research and scrounging went into restoring the instrument panel this and that until when I decided and cockpit as close as possible to the original 1935

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 7

During Bob Greenhoes three decades of ownership he amassed a huge amount of material including a lot of factory blu ep rints all of which were put to good use

According to Brown liThe blueshyprints were great but they didnt include many details We could use them on the major assemblies but the tiny stuff wasnt there What reshyally saved us however were the 100 snapshots the previous shop took of the airplane as they disassembled it

Because the airplane had always been flying and hangared Brown says the fuselage steel was in good condition

liThe fuselage is standard steel welded tubing with an attached censhyter section which spans over 9 feet The center section is made of a coushyple of really big tubes running parallel to each other and separated and connected with smaller tubes in a web When we repaired it the fuselage was cut in half with heavshyier tubing tacked in place and a lot of the webbing was cut out of the center section and replaced All of

APRIL 2003

the fuselage formers that the stringers attach to were in pretty sad shape or missing so all were made new Once repairs were made to the forward part of the fuselage the old original aft section was reattached as it was in very good shape

liThe little side door is interesting Brown says because it cuts into the fuselage truss and is surrounded by lots of steel The doors are aluminum and they were missing so we built new ones from pictures The only alushyminum we saved on the entire airplane was the compound pieces at the bottom and the front of the wheel spats and the wing root fairings aft of the front spar All of the aluminum we saved required lots of work on the English wheel to iron out 60-plus years of lumps

We had really good pictures of the instrument panel but finding all of the right instruments turned out to be one of the harder parts of the project Among other things both the flap and gas gauge were 6shyvolt electric units and they were hard to match We fabricated a new

panel that was exact to the photos and when we finally found all the right instruments we shipped them out to Kansas City Instruments and had them refinished and rebuilt They are as exact as we could possishybly get them

I did the interior myself and here again matched the material and stitching patterns in the photos as much as possible

liThe original drum brakes were a guaranteed-to-fail design and since Buzz planned on flying the airplane quite a bit we thought it was a good idea to replace them with someshything a little more modern that wouldnt give him any problems We went with lO-inch wheels off a Cessna 310 and used Cessna 210 calipers We saved all of the original parts and restored them so they can

8

be put back on the airplane at any time to make it totally original

liThe original bubble-type windshyshield had been changed to a flat wrap but we found we could duplishycate the original by cutting down an Ercoupe unit At the same time we built a new turtledeck structure to bring it back down to the original lines You sit pretty low in the airshyplane and a previous owner had raised the turtledeck in an apparent effort at increasing the visibility

When we got ready to work on the trim system we realized we didshyn t know exactly how it went together It has two tabs and is comshypletely cable operated with cables coming in through both stabilizers

Looking like a pampered pooch anxiously waiting for a treat from its masshyter the Pasped s extensive metal work meant a lot of time was spent at the English wheel eliminating dents and dings from the comshy

z ~ pound curved surfaces Clt o J t-Z

~ lt UJ o

to a mixer in the fuselage Everyshything had been taken apart and the blueprints didn t show much but again we got enough ideas about how it worked from the photos that we eventually figured it out Its amazing how much harder it is to put something together that you didnt take apart

Some work had been done on the airplane prior to Brown receiving it into his shop including part of the woodwork for the wings

Tom says New spars had been cut and new ribs built so I took all of the wing parts over to my brother Steve who has a wing shop about 3 miles from my place He routed the spars and assembled the pile of parts into wings He specializes in aircraft wing work and he does all of mine We trade labor back and forth and are constantly helping each other

A 165-hp Warner seems to be just the right amount of power for the Skyshylark giving it reasonable performance for an antique airplane Although it looks similar to an Aeronca Le it s a much bigger airplane-looking at the photo of Tom and Buzz you can see the tops of their heads only reach to the middle of the cowl

on our respective projects The ribs were in good shape for the most part and it took him about two months to finish the wings which is pretty good considering how big the wings are

He had to build new ailerons which use box spars The blueprints were a little help but we had one aileron to use as a pattern so that wasnt terribly difficult but it did take time

From the day it was originally built the airplane had been phoshytographed quite a number of times as it passed through various owners hands Those photos would pop up in magazines and in each it is painted a dark red which Tom says wasnt the original color

lilt came out of the factory painted white with black trim A short time later however it was painted red and thats the way it stayed for the next 50 years Buzz wanted it original so we went back to the factory colors

Tom worked on the airplane full time for two years getting it ready for its first flight on July 8 2002 with the goal of making Oshkosh barely two weeks later Tom made the first flights and says it was no problem

liOn that first one I was a little worried because we didnt really know much about how the airplane flew and I was taking off from my brothers little 900-foot farm strip but there was no problem at all The

airplane accelerated really well and with all of that wing area it sort of levitated into the air The stall speed is well under 40 miles per hour so it doesnt take long to get it in the air

W hen it s light it climbs at about 800 feet per minute and it usually cruises at about 110 mph depending on how hard you want to push it

In general you might say it feels slow because of those big wings The ailerons are actually pretty nice however They have just the right amount of differential There isnt enough elevator or rudder however and it takes a long time for the trim to have effect

liThe center section flap is over 9 feet long and 2 feet wide so it really works You come over the fence at about 45 mph and touch down at something under 40 mph

liThe landing gear is really soft and forgiving and its pretty hard to get in trouble when youre moving that slow as long as you are on grass It changes personality entirely howshyever when you put it on pavement

So now that its finished was it worth all the work

Buzz Penny sums it up I wanted something unique that I could take to fly-ins and feel confident in it and the Skylark is exactly that Its comfortable and has great visibility Plus Im absolutely guaranteed that Im not going to find another one tied down next to m e no matter where we go and I like that

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 9

In 1928 I was flying two World War I airplanes at the old Poughkeepshysie Airport later replaced by the present Dutchess County Airport where I still fly in 2003 The two airshyplanes were a]N-4 ]enny and a]-1 Standard The latter involved in the following event was powered by a 220-hp Hispano-Suiza water-cooled V-8 engine from a SPAD made in France in WW 1 It was a good engine for its day but well just read n see

On May 29 1928 the day before Memorial Day a group of American Legions came to the grass field hangarless airport and asked a favor A bronze plaque was to be dedicated in memory of Poughkeepsie men who had lost their lives in the Euroshypean War 1917-1918 The ceremony was to be held on Memorial Day inshystead of as originally planned for the November 11 Armistice Day which would have been the 10th annivershysary of the signing of the armistice ending the war The plaque had alshyready been installed on the old City Hall on Main Street but covered by a shroud to be dropped during the cershyemony sponsored by the Legion

The men asked me to participate in the dedication by dropping from the air over the assemblage a large numshyber of the little artificial poppies The Legionnaires sold these flowers all over the United States to raise funds (poppies from In Flanders Fields) I was happy to do so The men said that a very large crowd was expected to asshysemble in front of the City Hall at Main and Washington streets for the ceremony including one or two Army generals politicians of course and many veterans and the relatives of men lost in the war

There were to be several buglers who 10 APRIL 2003

would be standing in front of the plaque to play taps just before the shroud was dropped As you who are old enough to remember the European War later named World War I the armistice was signed according to legshyend at the 11th minute of the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 Therefore it was planned to have the buglers sound taps and finish just at 1111 am They wanted the popshypies to start falling just as the 11th minute approached (at the 10th) as the last notes of taps were sounding That required precise timing I agreed to try and since one of the men who worked for the railroad had an accurate Hamilshyton watch I synchronized my Waltham wristwatch with it They then left a large box of the poppies

The direct line distance from the field to the target was 4-12 miles which would take just that number of minutes at the 65-70 mph cruising speed of the biplane against an exshypected 5 mph wind However I planned to take off early and try to time the pass exactly over the target The plane had no airspeed indicator and I had only the one opportunity to hit the target on time so I had to time it accurately over landmarks guessing the airspeed of the plane

Main Street and the course to the target were almost parallel but conshyverged The street was level to the target but then dropped downhill for a little more than half a mile to the 12-mile wide Hudson River The Main Street trolley car tracks with their overhead 600-volt wires also led right down to the dock at the river Remember that The big iron railroad bridge is about 38-mile north of that point

My plan was to charge along Main

Street descending toward the target in a silent power-off glide This way I could get an accurate drop directly over the crowd at low altitude withshyout noise which might drown out the sounding of taps

Of course that would bend the new air regulations but they did not want the poppies spread all over the city just the assemblage It was to be a complete surprise event After the drop I planned to silently glide down the grade of Main Street for about a block or two then resume power gradshyually and flyaway over the river That afternoon I made a practice flight at higher altitude to test the timing

Memorial Day turned out to be perfect weather clear and cool with a light NW breeze I had the plane out and ready for warm-up and was exshypecting another pilot friend to sit in the cockpit while I cranked the big 9shyfoot 2-inch left-hand Hamilton wood propeller (I still have it) I was 6 foot 2-12 inches tall and 175 pounds and did not allow anyone else to crank it It was not only bigger than most proshypeliers but left-hand propellers were rare and unsafe for an inexperienced person All aircraft engines were started by hand-cranking the proshypeliers in those days a perilous art

I had another friend non pilot who was ready to ride in the front cockpit to dump the poppies overboard on my signal In those open airplanes the pishylot sat in the rear cockpit The time came to warm up the engine but the other pilot did not Ample time was needed to warm up the big water-cooled engine and I was getting desperate Someone should be in the rear cockpit

even a choke There brass primer cups with

valves on the intake manifold After putting about a thimbleful of gasoshyline in each cup the valves were opened to drain the gas down into the manifold and then closed To do all that it was necessary to stand on one of the wheels to reach themshyfirst one side of the plane then the other The propeller was then pulled about two revolutions to take the prime into the cylinders The priming charge would then be repeated to provide fuel for the starting engine

The person pulling the propeller would get one blade into the proper position and call switch on to the person in the cockpit who would turn the magneto switch on and anshyswer switch on The propeller would then be pulled through the first compression briskly and the enshygine should start

Well tha t did happen but not every time by any means If not then the person in the cockpit ca lled switch off and it was then necessary to get the propeller into the proper pomiddot si tion for another pull If not successful after two or three times it was necessary to go through the entire priming and starting process again This procedure continued until a sucshycessful start was achieved It could be rather strenuous work for even a husky person on the propeller I had develshyoped good propeller-pulling muscles for it took a lot of strength

With my nonpilot friend at the pishylots cockpit to work the switch I started the above procedure about 30 minutes before the scheduled poppy drop not too much time So I cranked that prop and cranked it again and again priming in between My heart

WaKf~r and it was now 11 04 am I had to get into the air by 1105 am to make the drop on schedule In despershyation I gave it another swing then another and suddenly the engine came to life I dove behind the revolvshying propeller on hands and knees and pulled the two chocks from the wheels They were tied together by a rope so a single pull did it The plane rolled forward and I rolled on my back as the lower wing passed over me Then I jumped for the rear cockpit as my friend scrambled to get into the front cockpit No time for any cereshymony seat belt warm-up magneto check just go

With the engine and its gallons of cooling water stone cold you can imagshyine how reluctant it was to respond to the open throttle Accelerating pumps had not been invented The engine burped snorted backfired and popped as the plane slowly accelerated lifted off and barely got up over the trees with the help of pucker factor

A gentle turn toward Poughkeepsie and a bare climb with the weak engine put us on our way just over the treeshytops The engine gave intermittent bursts of power between noisy pops and bangs I had a naked sensat ion without my safety belt but there was no time to let go of the controls to fasshyten it I just had to keep the engine running until it warmed and gained some precious altitude I intercepted Main Street at about 400 feet and folshylowed it With the target about a mile and a half ahead I finally reached about 700 feet altitude About a mile from the target I had the engine going well but then had to start my fast glide to the target So I throttled it to id le for the silent approach I knew that I was late but was too busy to look at my wristwatch while judging the steep

almost closed and proceeded down the grade of Main Street toward the river About a block past the target I dared to start using power But the enshygine was cold again and started backfiring With the windmilling proshypeller turning it gave precious little power I was descending steeper than Main Street and getting closer to those deadly 600-volt trolley wires trying to coax some power out of the engine

Of course the carburetor had iced up and there was no carburetor heat on those engines The only way to get rid of it was to pump the throttle and cause the backfiring to blow the ice out of the carb venturi I was just able to keep above the wires As the enshygine banged and snorted down to the river I tried to figure how to get beshyyond the wires and over the dock to dunk my plane into the water

It looked like I would barely clear the dock in a stall and then get wet I could see the spot where we would hit We cleared the wires by a few feet and then down to the water still with intermittent power I held the plane barely above the surface in ground efshyfect Wond erful Good o ld ground effect We floated out over the water only about four feet above it farther and farther away from shore still tryshying to coax more power o ut of the engine I was determined to save my beautiful airplane which had cost me six months of hard work rebuilding it from the wreck I had bought I seemed to have no th ought of the probability of drowning

Suddenly all eight cylinders started firing I made a slight right turn into the light northwest breeze passed under the railroad bridge then made a shallow

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 1 1

JOHN MILLER CONTINUED

climb to a few hundred feet over the water and finally turned back to the airport On the way I got myself calmed down a little but was shivering from exshycitement I was elated at saving the airplane but disappointed at fouling up the poppy drop timing

An hour or so after landing as I exshypected I saw the big open touring car with the group of legionnaires come speeding toward the airport to berate me for fouling up their carefully made plan The car slid to a stop in a cloud of dust All four doors swung open and the six or eight legionnaires burst out and ran toward me I braced myself for their asshysault They jumped all over me shaking both of my hands and all talking to me at once enthusiastically thanking me for such a perfectly timed bombingI

They said that as the buglers were playing taps they did not hear me comshying and were disappointed that all of their precise plans and timing were wasted Then just as the final notes of taps sounded the poppies silently rained over the crowd as a complete surprise They had not heard the whistling wires of the biplane over the sounding of taps And since they were looking at the buglers and standing at attention they did not see the plane pass overhead I had flown it slightly to the right of Main Street slightly behind them to allow the NW breeze to drift the poppies to the crowd They could not thank me enough nor understand how I could have timed the drop so well and silently

Little did they know nor did I tell them of my professional secret II They said that the notes of taps and the popshypies silently snowing down from the sky was so impressive that thousands of people had tears in their eyes the emoshytion was so intense Yes little did they know I wish I could have been there much more than where I was I can still plainly see those deadly 600-volt wires under the wheels the tails kid barely clearing the dock and the wheels alshymost rolling on the water

Did I ever learn from that expeshyrience

That same J-1 Standard still exshyists in 2003 12 APRIL 2003

T

Go Around To flare or not to flare

DOUG STEWART NAFI MASTER INSTRUCTOR

The storm had been intense weather conditions one could tracking up the stationary front easily see the way the wind was along the East Coast but now it caused (I didnt say cussed alshywas being chased out into the though it often was) to rotor as it North Atlantic by a strong high blew over these trees The powder that was building into New Eng- snow that had been dumped in land With the high pressure the trees during the storm could came blue skies that are normally be seen as it first blew up and saved for the desert southwest then rolled rapidly down in the and visibilities that are rarely vortices that the trees created matched here in But it was sum-

Massachusetts To ADD TO THE MIX mer now and if a especially now in pilot was not

the summer A ROW OF PINE well versed in But the isobars reading the tershy

were jam-packed TREES LINES THE rain it was easy together and the to get lured into

wind was howl- APPROACH TO a low approach ing The winds to the runway To were gusting more THE NORTH OF some pilots the than 35 knots 2600 feet of run-coming across the runway at a 70- to

THE EXTENDED way seemed very short and thus

85-degree angle It was not the

CENTERLINE OF they could be fooled into trying

kind of day to be landing here unshy

RUNWAY 29shy a low approach in an attempt to

less you had your put it on the crosswind landing techniques numbersI This type of approach mastered In the pattern an inshy rarely worked because the lowshystructor was teaching those level wind shear created severe techniques to a student We prefer turbulence on a low approach to teach a sideslip approach in The best approach in these conshycrosswind conditions to fledgling di tions was a high slipping students That way they do not approach with an aim point have to deal with the transition about 500 feet down the runshyfrom a crab to a slip as they also way This way a pilot could stay try to figure out how and when to out of most of the turbulence commence their flare and although the slip could lead

To add to the mix a row of pine a pilot to think that the crossshytrees lines the approach to the wind capabilities had been north of the extended centerline exceeded it was rare that this of Runway 29-the runway in use would continue all the way to this day In the winter in similar the runway As an aircraft got

past the trees and close to the ground surface friction usually slowed the wind enough to alshyIowa pilot to straighten things out and land without incident

Also coming from the west along with the high pressure was a small homebuilt hot rod it was a tandem taildragger with short stubby wings and large empenshynage and rudder In the rear seat was the owner who had yet to obtain his tail wheel endorsement and thus had been along for the ride all the way from the West Coast Sitting at the controls in front was the pilot in command His tailwheel time had been grandfathered as years ago he had flown as a commercial pilot in a Beech 18 But before flying this aircraft he had never flown a small single-engine tailwheel airshyplane It was also rare that he ever landed three point usually wheeling on the twin Beech They arrived just as the wind was at its peak

Making their downwind anshynouncement over the UNICOM the voice on the other end of the UNICOM warned them to be on their toes Their approach was not too high and not too low but a little too fast As they tried to bleed off speed the turbulence was bouncing them all over the place They decided to go around

The second approach was higher but this time too high and it was obvious that a goshyaround would be needed again The voice from the UNICOM opshyerator admonished them yet again

to be careful They knew that many eyes were on them On their third approach they decided to come in low and fast Apshyproach speed for this aircraft is about 80 knots They were doing at least 100 knots As they flew through the turbulence the little aircraft was bounced around like a cork in rapids

The plane floated and floated down the runway bleeding off all the excessive speed It finally touched down with less than 600 feet of runway remaining It was still too fast I know that a little extra speed is sometimes used in a wheel landing but this was abshysurd As the end of the runway loomed the plane drifted off the right side of the runway tail still up in a level attitude If braking had been poor on the pavement it was going to be worse in the gravel the wheels were now on

The runway ends in a steep drop-off of about 20 feet To the right of the runway at the top of the drop-off were two poplar trees One of them had about a 10-inch diameter the other was approximately 6 inches As the leading edge of the wing hit these trees they were snapped as if a karate master were demonstrating his skill The airplane spun 540 degrees and crashed into the holshylow going backward Coming to a stop upright the two souls aboard scrambled out of the plane with the pilot collapsing only a few steps from the wreckage his back badly broken

Jve often told my students that any landing you can walk away from is a good landing If you can use the plane again its a great landing This one was only going to count as a good landing And just barely at that

To this day a question remains unanswered in my mind Why did they not go around a third time Why didnt they fly to an airport less than 16 miles to the west that had a runway aligned

almost directly with the wind and that was also twice as long and twice as wide Get-there-itis Pride Only the pilot in comshymand that day can answer those questions

My mentor and friend Safety Program Manager Bob Martens has often said that the go-around is the most neglected maneuver in flying How right he is I have personally witnessed several accishydents that miraculously were not fatal that were the direct reshysult of go-arounds gone bad In more than one instance getshythere-itis or pride played a large role Why do we get the mentalshyity that we have to land at this airport I remember one blusshytery New Years Day when I went to four different airports before finding a runway where I didnt run out of crosswind capability in a T-tailed Arrow

Pilots do some pretty dumb things when they think their peers are observing them One of them is trying to force a landing gone bad thinking that they will be thought of as less than comshypetent if they have to go around But the opposite is true It shows cautious good sense I have freshyquently told students just learning to land that they should not be reluctant to go around thinking that I will think poorly of them I tell them quite honshyestly that I wont remember how many times they might have to go around but I will never forget the one time they fail to go around and crash

So next time youre flying why not practice some go-arounds Reshymember its power first Full power smoothly and steadily not slammed in Then clean up the configuration as necessary as you transition to best angle climb speed If you have the good sense to go around when necessary and the skill to do it properly you will be more than a good pilot youll be a great pilot

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 13

Taldn There is no paint like the air

Off

I sit by the east window watchshying the clouds made red and blue by the sun that sets beshyhind me with a cup of Earl Grey tea warm and gold with

local honey I smell it sweetly minshygling with the scent of avgas and engine oil which drifts up from my blue jeans as I think of where Ive just been Mostly I am bent over a computer or my watercolor table painting rushing under the weight of deadlines absorbed in the small world of color on a flat piece of French paper with hands stressed from the tension of working tiny brushes There is little room for error with watercolors

14 APRIL 2003

But if I stop painting to look up and out the yellow nose of an airshyplane is right there poking out of the long metal machine shed hangar right there to remind me of the larger picture

LONNI SUE JOHNSON

So when I can take a break if the weather is good for it we go flying

The 1946 Piper J-3 Cub is perfect for an escape Simple and old-fashshyioned it goes even slower than the little aluminum Cessna I learned to fly in Its small tail wheel gives it an eager nose-high stance It is the color of school buses with an eleshygant black lightning bolt from nose to tail With the wings overhead it makes good shade for a lawn chair and is a big yellow umbrella when its raining Best of all in the air there is nothing to block the view of the earth

Its light for an airplane Even with its 35-foot 8-inch wings wider

than a New York City brownstone and Continental 90 horse engine it weighs only 884 pounds with both tanks full Its angular steel armature is stretched drum-like with shiny fabric resilient to the touch-almost like a big 3-D canvas primed yellow and ready to go

But this is no painterly illusion And its not that light

I can lift the tail wheel up for a few seconds if necessary but I mostly move it around by rolling large slow semicircles

I savor the preflight inspection and let it take a long time Partly beshycause even with lots of exercise carrying firewood and piling bales of hay and eating as much ice cream as possible I am still not as tall or strong as most of my male pilot friends

To check the wing tank and wash the windshield I need a ladder and I have to slow down to position it without scraping the landing gear or in winter the newly painted yelshylow skis Climbing down I press my

hands against the cowling warm from the engine heater to limber them for reaching inside to unplug its long orange extension cord

Looking up I can examine the aileron cables and pulleys while unshytying the wings I love the feel of ropes and knots and remember the old-timer who showed me the speshyciallore and cleverness of their invention

I live well into the country where keeping mice in their place and not in my stuff is a constant battle I reshytrieve the old pair of pantyhose toes heavy with mothballs which hang down inside the tail Then I pull off the quilted cowl cover and the miceshyhunting cat or two who sleep there

On wheels it is just possible by rocking the Cub a bit to get it to roll out of the hangar almost by itself Then with a rope and the banner tow release I loop the tail to the doorpost so it doesnt go flying

without me Standing in front of the right

wheel I get set to start the engine by flipping the propeller Some of my taller friends can wedge their left foot under the front of the tire and reach up to grasp the back edge of the prop but being smaller I dont have the same wingspan they do so I use two rubber chocks strung toshygether with ropes

From painting there are no rings on my right hand and no untucked scarves or baggy sleeves to get caught I pull the propeller through from the back my left hand in the cockpit by the mixture control Five times Then I switch on the magnetos and give one more sharp pull to start it

With the satisfying clicking of the engine at idle with its wind in my face I get in

Every time I sit in that Cub I start to grin and cant stop until I get out again

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15

A fat red folding cushion on the back seat lets me reach the rudders and heel brakes Underneath is a piece of nonskid carpet pad that keeps it from wobbling Careful not to hit the throttle I bend over the front seat to release the tow lever fish the chocks inside and poke them into the back to nestle with my purse and the extra quart of oil

People offer their help and I have met many nice men but I need to be able to do everything myself even if it takes more time because here

there is usually no one else around The hilltop runway is a roller

coaster wide but short with an average elevation of 1993 feet When it is too windy to fly or the clouds scrape by too low the tershyrain has become familiar with walks and mowing

When my Cub and I finally taxi out run up and depart upward over the edge of the hill to the north Otshysego Lake shows suddenly below off the left wing

Writer James Fenimore Cooper

called it a glimmer glass It is a long sliver of shimmering mirror reflectshying up versions of the hills and clouds and the little yellow Cub above And when completely frozen its an endless new runway

Henry David Thoreau wrote 1 A lake is the landscapes most beautishyful and expressive feature It is earths eye looking into which the beholder measures the depth of his own nature

I long for this escape from the close-up perspective of life at the

computer and the drawing table and for the humility of becoming tiny in a big space The view of the lake makes the transformation complete

It also provides points for practicing maneuvers Wings line up against its serene length to measure 360-degree turns and a series of lazy-eights The blue ignition harnesses quiver against the yellow cowling as the cylinders black heads brush along the wide peaceful circle of horizon

16 APRIL 2003

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17

I like going so slowly too as airshyplanes go Only a dive can get us going more than 80 mph

Looking down the farm melts into the undulating grid of fields and hedgerows Especially in the evenings with the cool lattice of shadows stretching With each seashyson a fresh pattern is woven in appropriate threads of color

The freedom is complete Just by working the stick and rudder I can go up down left or right-anyshywhere I am not attached to

18 APRIL 2003

anything but the Cub I am always amazed to see my own shadow surfing across the fields beneath me

I like being an aerial spy I watch tiny tractors drawing stripes in deep brown fields and boats pulling triangular white wakes I discover new destinations for walks traces of old roads through the woods green-gray boulders dropped by the glacier in its reshytreat I see weather coming and feel it as the wind changes against the thin fabric of the fuselage I notice where the cows have grazed paths and who drives up to see me while Im gone

Coming back I watch the lime green flag at mid-field and a bright orange windsock at the north end Sometimes there is no clear best landing direction The wind often swirls from both ways at once To the east are more hints wood smoke from the house or milk room studio or the pond with its surface scum unshyruffled or pleated up at one end or the other

On the downwind leg the field always looks way too short tilted and windy to use When I first moved here from Connecticut where the runshy

ways are mostly long flat and paved I could not imagine that I would ever be able to land here in one piece The local Cub pilots teased relentlessly All the second spring I was here I practiced shortening landings on longer runways until I felt ready Finally when I did come home solo it was almost easy and I wondered what had taken me so long

Now I relish the short slow apshyproach at 55-60 miles an hour watching for deer and turkeys Its a quiet idling glide in sumshymer but with power in the winter to keep the exposed cylinders warm enough to go around if necessary Each touchdown is exshyhilarating

Back down the lumpy lane we go the Cub and I-plump tires bouncing me in the red seat door open if its warm enough wings just missing the leaning hops barn and the bright gas tanks past the milk house and its grand old hay

barn with three silos and sending cats running every which way

In his journal in September of 1851 Thoreau wrote I wish to see the earth through the medium of much air or heaven for there is no paint like the air

How could he have known It s uphill into the hangar If I

shut down as close as possible facshying the entrance I can walk the tail around in perfect alignment for the winch Its a manual one with a long cable

To pull the Cub in it takes turnshying the crank forever If I were strong enough to pick up the tail and lift it all of the way in itd be done in half a minute Instead the winch winds up as the sun slips down the western ridge The barn is illuminated in a red satushyrated moment I begin to think again of the pain tings on my table The clicking resounds out into the hay fields to the ends of the silos blue shadow

Each time I put the Cub away I think of the time Ive spent Next time Ill take even longer

Lonni Sue Johnson watercolorist and cat wrangler aLso serves as the secretary ofEAA Chapter 1070 in Cooperstown New York

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19

~ss BY EE

No mistake taildraggers are here to stay Builders like American Champion Maule Air and Waco Classic are still building new airshyplanes and there are a number of the old Champs Luscombes T-Carts Cessnas and others still out there being restored and flown by both old and new generation pilots

Despite Phil Boyers (AOPA) expeshyrience in learning to handle a taildragger they can still be a lot of fun There is no doubt they require a certain amount of finesse and knowledge of basic airplane hanshydling that isnt required of the tri-gear installation The tri-gear takes a lot of the sweat out of operashytions It eliminates the uphill climb into a seat on the modern airliner puts better visibility over the nose helps in a maximum braking situashytion and gives the pilot something to put on the yellow taxi line

The nose over tendency of early airplanes put skids up front so if they did get the tail high the skid would help to prevent damage to the proshypeller Witness the wing tip skids on Curtiss JNs and DHs in the event of a ground loop Look at the accident and mishap pictures some of the old magshyazines publish and youll see the reason for these skids

The taildragger does have an inshynate tendency to ground loop Just try shoving a tricycle backwards and watch how quickly it ground loops On the other hand going forward is a little more stable and predictable Since we are talking tail wheels lets get back to them

Look at that little wheel back there It doesnt look like much but it is one third of your landing gear yet it does 90 percent of the work at low speeds in controlling the airshy

20 APRIL 2003

BUCK HILBERT EAA 21 VAA 5 PO Box 424 UNION IL 60180

Tail wheels plane on the ground As insignifishycant as it looks it drags through the mud and dust snow and water on pavement or dirt it does its job It keeps you in control provided you make sure its connected and funcshytional with the steering cables and springs attached properly inflated lubricated and equipped with reashysonably decent tread on the tire

The first thing that tells you its working right is the wear on the tail wheel tire If your main gear is out of whack and the airplane dogtrots or crabs while running on the ground uneven wear will show in the tail wheel tire quickly Especially in one of the 6-by-2-inch hard rubber tires Also if the tread is down to where you see a crack along the center get a new tire Inside that rubber molded tire is a cable ring that re-enforces the tire If you see a crack there is a good chance that tire is about to come apart and jam itself between the wheel and the yoke and youll lose control The money spent on a new tire is a mini percentage of what it will cost to reshypair your airplane and overcome the embarrassment that goes with breakshying an airplane

Dont let the phrase taildragger intimidate you Learning to use it and use it properly is just another phase of flight Literally millions of words have been written about how to use the tail wheel and Im not about to reiterate any or all of them Im just going to exshyplain how they work what they are made of and how to take care of them

As with most man-made contrapshytions there are many varied ideas in how to produce them and how effecshytive they are Back in the Jenny days there were skids some fixed and some partially steerable The technique in those days was to shove the stick forshy

ward to take the weight off the skid and fly the tail around using a combishynation of power and rudder alone The rigid skid didnt give much and it imposed side loads on the structure With no brakes the biplane reqUired a pretty large turning radius

The next development was a bungee shock absorber that also swiveled some fifteen degrees This gave some leeway and made the turnshying radius a little smaller The side forces and drag were still there

Then someone put a wheel in place of the skid plate Now they could move the airplane a lot easier but that complicated things because the drag of the skid was all they had for braking With the slick steel plate that friction was gone So some kind of brakes had to be installed on the main gear Next that little wheel on the end of the skid had to swivel so we could really turn short

Various deSigners came out with designs Heath Airplane Company came out with one of the first steershyable tail wheels Other manufacturers followed suit and that function coushypled with individual brakes made ground handling much much easier

Experiments followed with various types of installations including a trailshying spring similar to automotive design which was secured to the tail longerons It is common on Cessnas Aeroncas Taylorcrafts and Pipers The telescoping tail post type like the instalshylation on the Aeronca K Fleet and others and the articulated and hinged installations all came about and all worked with varying degrees of success

A lot depended on the weight and support the little tail wheel had to

carry Look at the DC-3 and the B-17 On these heavier aircraft the tail wheel design had to follow the reshyquirements North American had their own design so did Stinson and Fairchild They all had their unique problems and solved them Some were successful others with someshywhat less than pleasant results

I used to think that the old time pishylots like Amelia and Post and some of those other early record-setting pioshyneers were lousy pilots because they ground looped on occasion In reality they did a terrific job considering the equipment they had to work with Their mishaps were the proof needed to improve the design and function of this little wheel in the back

The steerable was soon improved even further by adding a full swivel feature Now we could really turn around in a tight radius Furthermore the airplane could now be pushed backwards without lifting the tail off the ground or disconnecting the steershying cables This free wheeling feature could also be a trap if the operator wasnt aware of it

How does it work Good question All the designs have common conshytrols usually an arm or steering tiller that transfers the rudder input to the tail wheel assembly Done either with solid arms or cables and usually incorshyporating some sort of shock absorbing device such as springs it gives it a litshytle slack so as not to overpower the rudder action

Pushing rudder will direct the steershying in the direction you want to go Once headed that way you neutralize the rudder input until you want to change direction Neutralizing or censhytering the control will then allow the tail wheel to trail and youll proceed in a straight line

The swivel feature allows the wheel to trail and has some free movement on either side of neutral This soaks up little variations in the runway or sod surface and still allows you conshytrol if your input asks for more

To prevent the unit from going into full swivel a monkey-motion cam arrangement in all the designs

kicks in if you reach the extreme limit of the steerable travel Once this limit releases that cam you have a full swiveling wheel To put it back in the steerable mode the wheel must again trail which releases the cam action and centers itself

This sounds confusing but in realshyity its like there is a notch in the trail position jump out of that notch and you re freewheeling To get back into the notch roll straight ahead a little ways and itll snap back in To get out of that notch you need a full rudder application and a side load

Some airplanes have a manual tail wheel lock The Boeing Kaydet comshymonly known as the Stearman which the Navy used for primary training had a reputation for belittling pilots It was a real ground looper so they inshystalled a manual tail wheel lock This would not allow the tail wheel to go into the full swivel position The 15shyor 20-degree steering input was still there but the full swivel was locked out Some of the Waco aircraft also have this feature It works but the one caveat is dont forget to unlock it to make a sharp turn at the taxiway The locking mechanism will break and then enhance the mechanics job security Ask any DC-3 B-17 or T-6 maintenance technician

Routine preflight of the tail wheel assembly should take real precedence while doing your walk around Again this is your primary control Are the cables attached Are the clips that hold the springs to the steering arms worn Does the tire look good Inflashytion Unusual wear Wiggle the rudder do the cables actually steer the wheel Push a little to impose a side load make sure the attach paints are tight No excess movement Does it lean or show signs of sloppiness Does it look right From the side is the pivot line perpendicular to the ground does everything look right Is the spring sagging One cant be too picky preflighting this little monster It can spell disaster if it isnt controlshylable and we dont want that

So now we finish the preflight and count the wings and wheel The cockshy

pit check is complete and we have the engine running If it s clear ahead open the throttle and move off the tied own using rudder in the direction you want to turn Once the turn is esshytablished neutralize the rudder Now you can test the brakes and see that they are working and then forget them A good steerable tail wheel will respond without braking

Now we get to the basics of how to handle the controls If you are a seashyplane pilot youve already mastered this business of flying the controls If you have a headwind you hold back pressure on the stick to keep the tail wheelan the ground In a tail wind forward pressure again to keep the tail wheelan the ground In a direct crosswind neutralize the elevator and aileron into the wind For a quartershying headwind aileron into the wind and place back pressure on the elevashytor For a quartering tail wind stick AWAY from the wind and place forshyward pressure on the elevator

All this is to keep that tail wheel firmly in contact with the ground to assure control Flying the ailerons in a crosswind keeps pressure on the down aileron and keeps the upwind wing down Taxiing crosswind and in a crosswind takeoff aileron into the wind and opposite rudder to keep it going straight

Practice this Taxi around on the ground until you get the feel of how effective the rudder and the tail wheel steering is Be a little aggressive and experiment a little preferably on a wide grass runway where a little slipshypage can give you a margin for error

If visibility over the nose presents a problem then 15 turn 15 right look left down your route of taxi 15 left and look out the right side If you see its clear then no need to make an 15 of yourself over and over again Only when you want to be sure nothshying is in front of you

Place the centerline markings of the taxiway and the runway between your feet and keep them there There is a parallax error and if the line is between your feet then you are on center and you are assured of wing tip clearance

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21

bull bull

To turn around on a narrow strip plan your turn so the wind will help you Taxi along the downwind edge ofthe strip and make your 180 into the wind The weathervane effect on your airplane will help to initiate the turn Ease up a little on the back pressure as you start into the turn and this will make the tail come around more easily

You are working that tail wheel to your advantage Keep that in mind and visualize the forces your control input is accomplishing Use the brakes sparingly and only as an aid if you aren t turning as sharp as you like or to avoid a problem

After a sharp turn and the tail wheel has fully swiveled roll straight ahead for a bit to get it back in the notch or steerable position Feel the resistance in the rudder pedals when its in the steerable position The rudshyder will feel loose and ineffective if its swiveling The roll straight ahead and a neutral rudder will again enshygage that centering device

Practice those S turns and the 180s on the runway and the strip Play the elevator and the ailerons and again visualize and practice the effect youre looking for Half an hour of taxi time practice wont hurt a bit Once those feet wake up to the fact that THEY control the airplane on the ground your flying will come easy

Dont go out and try this on a day when the wind is blowing up a frenzy Not until youve had enough practice at light crosswinds and tail winds Moderate to heavy winds can really play tricks For example taxishying downwind in a heavy wind can have a reverse effect on the controls You poke in left rudder the rudder swings in that direction the wind pushes against it and you get a reshyverse effect Your ailerons also have a reverse effect going downwind Sometimes its absolutely necessary to have a wing walker on the upwind side to hold that wing down I dont advocate operations in winds strong enough to lift a wing Wait until conshyditions improve and then go fly K

Over to youlr -BtcJ

bull bullI I

A l r e r _ 1t Co_ tl ng _

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Workshop Schedule April 26-27 2003 Watsonville CA

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May 16-18 2003 Oshkosh WI RVASSEMBLY

May 16-18 2003 Griffin (Atlanta) GA TIG WELDING

June 6-8 2003 Corona CA RVASSEMBLY

June 21-222003 Frederick MD SHEET METAL COMPOSITE CONSTRUCT FABRIC COVERING ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS

amp AVIONICS GAS WELDING

June 27-29 2003 Griffin (Atlanta) GA RVASSEMBLY TIG WELDING

22 APRIL 2003

information about itI to do a ground-up restoration it was airplane had already spent some Buzzs own enthusiasm for the going to take a lot of work to correct time in another shop so it was toshy

airplane stems from a rather unusual the changes Besides the deteriorashy tally disassembled when he received aviation background that led him to tion that needed fixing the it the Skylark via a circuitous routeshy turtledeck and windshield had been Tom says O ne of the hardest where most pilots begin in Cubs or changed and the instrument panel things about putting the airplane C-150s Buzz started in hot-air balshy wasnt anything like the original I back together was that I didnt know loons decided to take the airplane all the exactly what went where All of the

A manufacturer and cattle way back to the way it looked when stuff was in bags which were tagged rancher from Versailles Missouri it left the factory The only modifishy but there was no key telling me Buzz says My dad flew B-17s durshy cation I would keep was the 165-hp where the bags contents went on ing World War II but he left aviation Warner Super Scarab engine that the airplane Plus there were several behind as soon as the war was over I was installed in 1955 to replace the mechanical systems like the trim had some interest in it but I didnt original 125-hp WarnerI that were unique to this airplane do anything about it until around Tom Brown from Unity Wisconshy and it took a lot of head scratching 1970 when I was driving north of sin entered the picture after the to figure outI Chicago and saw a hot-air balloon I tracked it down to Fox River Grove airport and asked them how you learn to fly one of those

I started taking lessons and evenshytually got my commercial ticket in them The checkride in those days consisted of an examiner coming out and standing on the ground while I took off and landed

Ed Yost one of the true hot-air pioneers was my instructor and I got pretty serious about it By 75 I was competing in long-distance races and duration events that lasted as long as two or three days Then in 1980 I decided I had to get into something faster and started workshying on my fixed-wing license Tom Brown and the Pasped Skylarks owner and pilot Buzz Penny

I bought a )-3 and Max Weaver a retired airline pilot started teachshying me I never did have any interest in anything but vintage airplanes so I never got into anything modern I bought a Stearman from Air Repair around 1984 and still have it today I had a Cessna 195 for a while but it was too modern and too fast for me

I first learned about the Pasped when Greenhoe had an ad for it in Trade-a-Plane The pictures of the airshyplane made it look small Or at least normal size When I went down to visit him however its sheer size overwhelmed me

It had been progressively mainshytained over the years and had also been progressively modified Each of the original six owners had changed A lot of research and scrounging went into restoring the instrument panel this and that until when I decided and cockpit as close as possible to the original 1935

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 7

During Bob Greenhoes three decades of ownership he amassed a huge amount of material including a lot of factory blu ep rints all of which were put to good use

According to Brown liThe blueshyprints were great but they didnt include many details We could use them on the major assemblies but the tiny stuff wasnt there What reshyally saved us however were the 100 snapshots the previous shop took of the airplane as they disassembled it

Because the airplane had always been flying and hangared Brown says the fuselage steel was in good condition

liThe fuselage is standard steel welded tubing with an attached censhyter section which spans over 9 feet The center section is made of a coushyple of really big tubes running parallel to each other and separated and connected with smaller tubes in a web When we repaired it the fuselage was cut in half with heavshyier tubing tacked in place and a lot of the webbing was cut out of the center section and replaced All of

APRIL 2003

the fuselage formers that the stringers attach to were in pretty sad shape or missing so all were made new Once repairs were made to the forward part of the fuselage the old original aft section was reattached as it was in very good shape

liThe little side door is interesting Brown says because it cuts into the fuselage truss and is surrounded by lots of steel The doors are aluminum and they were missing so we built new ones from pictures The only alushyminum we saved on the entire airplane was the compound pieces at the bottom and the front of the wheel spats and the wing root fairings aft of the front spar All of the aluminum we saved required lots of work on the English wheel to iron out 60-plus years of lumps

We had really good pictures of the instrument panel but finding all of the right instruments turned out to be one of the harder parts of the project Among other things both the flap and gas gauge were 6shyvolt electric units and they were hard to match We fabricated a new

panel that was exact to the photos and when we finally found all the right instruments we shipped them out to Kansas City Instruments and had them refinished and rebuilt They are as exact as we could possishybly get them

I did the interior myself and here again matched the material and stitching patterns in the photos as much as possible

liThe original drum brakes were a guaranteed-to-fail design and since Buzz planned on flying the airplane quite a bit we thought it was a good idea to replace them with someshything a little more modern that wouldnt give him any problems We went with lO-inch wheels off a Cessna 310 and used Cessna 210 calipers We saved all of the original parts and restored them so they can

8

be put back on the airplane at any time to make it totally original

liThe original bubble-type windshyshield had been changed to a flat wrap but we found we could duplishycate the original by cutting down an Ercoupe unit At the same time we built a new turtledeck structure to bring it back down to the original lines You sit pretty low in the airshyplane and a previous owner had raised the turtledeck in an apparent effort at increasing the visibility

When we got ready to work on the trim system we realized we didshyn t know exactly how it went together It has two tabs and is comshypletely cable operated with cables coming in through both stabilizers

Looking like a pampered pooch anxiously waiting for a treat from its masshyter the Pasped s extensive metal work meant a lot of time was spent at the English wheel eliminating dents and dings from the comshy

z ~ pound curved surfaces Clt o J t-Z

~ lt UJ o

to a mixer in the fuselage Everyshything had been taken apart and the blueprints didn t show much but again we got enough ideas about how it worked from the photos that we eventually figured it out Its amazing how much harder it is to put something together that you didnt take apart

Some work had been done on the airplane prior to Brown receiving it into his shop including part of the woodwork for the wings

Tom says New spars had been cut and new ribs built so I took all of the wing parts over to my brother Steve who has a wing shop about 3 miles from my place He routed the spars and assembled the pile of parts into wings He specializes in aircraft wing work and he does all of mine We trade labor back and forth and are constantly helping each other

A 165-hp Warner seems to be just the right amount of power for the Skyshylark giving it reasonable performance for an antique airplane Although it looks similar to an Aeronca Le it s a much bigger airplane-looking at the photo of Tom and Buzz you can see the tops of their heads only reach to the middle of the cowl

on our respective projects The ribs were in good shape for the most part and it took him about two months to finish the wings which is pretty good considering how big the wings are

He had to build new ailerons which use box spars The blueprints were a little help but we had one aileron to use as a pattern so that wasnt terribly difficult but it did take time

From the day it was originally built the airplane had been phoshytographed quite a number of times as it passed through various owners hands Those photos would pop up in magazines and in each it is painted a dark red which Tom says wasnt the original color

lilt came out of the factory painted white with black trim A short time later however it was painted red and thats the way it stayed for the next 50 years Buzz wanted it original so we went back to the factory colors

Tom worked on the airplane full time for two years getting it ready for its first flight on July 8 2002 with the goal of making Oshkosh barely two weeks later Tom made the first flights and says it was no problem

liOn that first one I was a little worried because we didnt really know much about how the airplane flew and I was taking off from my brothers little 900-foot farm strip but there was no problem at all The

airplane accelerated really well and with all of that wing area it sort of levitated into the air The stall speed is well under 40 miles per hour so it doesnt take long to get it in the air

W hen it s light it climbs at about 800 feet per minute and it usually cruises at about 110 mph depending on how hard you want to push it

In general you might say it feels slow because of those big wings The ailerons are actually pretty nice however They have just the right amount of differential There isnt enough elevator or rudder however and it takes a long time for the trim to have effect

liThe center section flap is over 9 feet long and 2 feet wide so it really works You come over the fence at about 45 mph and touch down at something under 40 mph

liThe landing gear is really soft and forgiving and its pretty hard to get in trouble when youre moving that slow as long as you are on grass It changes personality entirely howshyever when you put it on pavement

So now that its finished was it worth all the work

Buzz Penny sums it up I wanted something unique that I could take to fly-ins and feel confident in it and the Skylark is exactly that Its comfortable and has great visibility Plus Im absolutely guaranteed that Im not going to find another one tied down next to m e no matter where we go and I like that

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 9

In 1928 I was flying two World War I airplanes at the old Poughkeepshysie Airport later replaced by the present Dutchess County Airport where I still fly in 2003 The two airshyplanes were a]N-4 ]enny and a]-1 Standard The latter involved in the following event was powered by a 220-hp Hispano-Suiza water-cooled V-8 engine from a SPAD made in France in WW 1 It was a good engine for its day but well just read n see

On May 29 1928 the day before Memorial Day a group of American Legions came to the grass field hangarless airport and asked a favor A bronze plaque was to be dedicated in memory of Poughkeepsie men who had lost their lives in the Euroshypean War 1917-1918 The ceremony was to be held on Memorial Day inshystead of as originally planned for the November 11 Armistice Day which would have been the 10th annivershysary of the signing of the armistice ending the war The plaque had alshyready been installed on the old City Hall on Main Street but covered by a shroud to be dropped during the cershyemony sponsored by the Legion

The men asked me to participate in the dedication by dropping from the air over the assemblage a large numshyber of the little artificial poppies The Legionnaires sold these flowers all over the United States to raise funds (poppies from In Flanders Fields) I was happy to do so The men said that a very large crowd was expected to asshysemble in front of the City Hall at Main and Washington streets for the ceremony including one or two Army generals politicians of course and many veterans and the relatives of men lost in the war

There were to be several buglers who 10 APRIL 2003

would be standing in front of the plaque to play taps just before the shroud was dropped As you who are old enough to remember the European War later named World War I the armistice was signed according to legshyend at the 11th minute of the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 Therefore it was planned to have the buglers sound taps and finish just at 1111 am They wanted the popshypies to start falling just as the 11th minute approached (at the 10th) as the last notes of taps were sounding That required precise timing I agreed to try and since one of the men who worked for the railroad had an accurate Hamilshyton watch I synchronized my Waltham wristwatch with it They then left a large box of the poppies

The direct line distance from the field to the target was 4-12 miles which would take just that number of minutes at the 65-70 mph cruising speed of the biplane against an exshypected 5 mph wind However I planned to take off early and try to time the pass exactly over the target The plane had no airspeed indicator and I had only the one opportunity to hit the target on time so I had to time it accurately over landmarks guessing the airspeed of the plane

Main Street and the course to the target were almost parallel but conshyverged The street was level to the target but then dropped downhill for a little more than half a mile to the 12-mile wide Hudson River The Main Street trolley car tracks with their overhead 600-volt wires also led right down to the dock at the river Remember that The big iron railroad bridge is about 38-mile north of that point

My plan was to charge along Main

Street descending toward the target in a silent power-off glide This way I could get an accurate drop directly over the crowd at low altitude withshyout noise which might drown out the sounding of taps

Of course that would bend the new air regulations but they did not want the poppies spread all over the city just the assemblage It was to be a complete surprise event After the drop I planned to silently glide down the grade of Main Street for about a block or two then resume power gradshyually and flyaway over the river That afternoon I made a practice flight at higher altitude to test the timing

Memorial Day turned out to be perfect weather clear and cool with a light NW breeze I had the plane out and ready for warm-up and was exshypecting another pilot friend to sit in the cockpit while I cranked the big 9shyfoot 2-inch left-hand Hamilton wood propeller (I still have it) I was 6 foot 2-12 inches tall and 175 pounds and did not allow anyone else to crank it It was not only bigger than most proshypeliers but left-hand propellers were rare and unsafe for an inexperienced person All aircraft engines were started by hand-cranking the proshypeliers in those days a perilous art

I had another friend non pilot who was ready to ride in the front cockpit to dump the poppies overboard on my signal In those open airplanes the pishylot sat in the rear cockpit The time came to warm up the engine but the other pilot did not Ample time was needed to warm up the big water-cooled engine and I was getting desperate Someone should be in the rear cockpit

even a choke There brass primer cups with

valves on the intake manifold After putting about a thimbleful of gasoshyline in each cup the valves were opened to drain the gas down into the manifold and then closed To do all that it was necessary to stand on one of the wheels to reach themshyfirst one side of the plane then the other The propeller was then pulled about two revolutions to take the prime into the cylinders The priming charge would then be repeated to provide fuel for the starting engine

The person pulling the propeller would get one blade into the proper position and call switch on to the person in the cockpit who would turn the magneto switch on and anshyswer switch on The propeller would then be pulled through the first compression briskly and the enshygine should start

Well tha t did happen but not every time by any means If not then the person in the cockpit ca lled switch off and it was then necessary to get the propeller into the proper pomiddot si tion for another pull If not successful after two or three times it was necessary to go through the entire priming and starting process again This procedure continued until a sucshycessful start was achieved It could be rather strenuous work for even a husky person on the propeller I had develshyoped good propeller-pulling muscles for it took a lot of strength

With my nonpilot friend at the pishylots cockpit to work the switch I started the above procedure about 30 minutes before the scheduled poppy drop not too much time So I cranked that prop and cranked it again and again priming in between My heart

WaKf~r and it was now 11 04 am I had to get into the air by 1105 am to make the drop on schedule In despershyation I gave it another swing then another and suddenly the engine came to life I dove behind the revolvshying propeller on hands and knees and pulled the two chocks from the wheels They were tied together by a rope so a single pull did it The plane rolled forward and I rolled on my back as the lower wing passed over me Then I jumped for the rear cockpit as my friend scrambled to get into the front cockpit No time for any cereshymony seat belt warm-up magneto check just go

With the engine and its gallons of cooling water stone cold you can imagshyine how reluctant it was to respond to the open throttle Accelerating pumps had not been invented The engine burped snorted backfired and popped as the plane slowly accelerated lifted off and barely got up over the trees with the help of pucker factor

A gentle turn toward Poughkeepsie and a bare climb with the weak engine put us on our way just over the treeshytops The engine gave intermittent bursts of power between noisy pops and bangs I had a naked sensat ion without my safety belt but there was no time to let go of the controls to fasshyten it I just had to keep the engine running until it warmed and gained some precious altitude I intercepted Main Street at about 400 feet and folshylowed it With the target about a mile and a half ahead I finally reached about 700 feet altitude About a mile from the target I had the engine going well but then had to start my fast glide to the target So I throttled it to id le for the silent approach I knew that I was late but was too busy to look at my wristwatch while judging the steep

almost closed and proceeded down the grade of Main Street toward the river About a block past the target I dared to start using power But the enshygine was cold again and started backfiring With the windmilling proshypeller turning it gave precious little power I was descending steeper than Main Street and getting closer to those deadly 600-volt trolley wires trying to coax some power out of the engine

Of course the carburetor had iced up and there was no carburetor heat on those engines The only way to get rid of it was to pump the throttle and cause the backfiring to blow the ice out of the carb venturi I was just able to keep above the wires As the enshygine banged and snorted down to the river I tried to figure how to get beshyyond the wires and over the dock to dunk my plane into the water

It looked like I would barely clear the dock in a stall and then get wet I could see the spot where we would hit We cleared the wires by a few feet and then down to the water still with intermittent power I held the plane barely above the surface in ground efshyfect Wond erful Good o ld ground effect We floated out over the water only about four feet above it farther and farther away from shore still tryshying to coax more power o ut of the engine I was determined to save my beautiful airplane which had cost me six months of hard work rebuilding it from the wreck I had bought I seemed to have no th ought of the probability of drowning

Suddenly all eight cylinders started firing I made a slight right turn into the light northwest breeze passed under the railroad bridge then made a shallow

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 1 1

JOHN MILLER CONTINUED

climb to a few hundred feet over the water and finally turned back to the airport On the way I got myself calmed down a little but was shivering from exshycitement I was elated at saving the airplane but disappointed at fouling up the poppy drop timing

An hour or so after landing as I exshypected I saw the big open touring car with the group of legionnaires come speeding toward the airport to berate me for fouling up their carefully made plan The car slid to a stop in a cloud of dust All four doors swung open and the six or eight legionnaires burst out and ran toward me I braced myself for their asshysault They jumped all over me shaking both of my hands and all talking to me at once enthusiastically thanking me for such a perfectly timed bombingI

They said that as the buglers were playing taps they did not hear me comshying and were disappointed that all of their precise plans and timing were wasted Then just as the final notes of taps sounded the poppies silently rained over the crowd as a complete surprise They had not heard the whistling wires of the biplane over the sounding of taps And since they were looking at the buglers and standing at attention they did not see the plane pass overhead I had flown it slightly to the right of Main Street slightly behind them to allow the NW breeze to drift the poppies to the crowd They could not thank me enough nor understand how I could have timed the drop so well and silently

Little did they know nor did I tell them of my professional secret II They said that the notes of taps and the popshypies silently snowing down from the sky was so impressive that thousands of people had tears in their eyes the emoshytion was so intense Yes little did they know I wish I could have been there much more than where I was I can still plainly see those deadly 600-volt wires under the wheels the tails kid barely clearing the dock and the wheels alshymost rolling on the water

Did I ever learn from that expeshyrience

That same J-1 Standard still exshyists in 2003 12 APRIL 2003

T

Go Around To flare or not to flare

DOUG STEWART NAFI MASTER INSTRUCTOR

The storm had been intense weather conditions one could tracking up the stationary front easily see the way the wind was along the East Coast but now it caused (I didnt say cussed alshywas being chased out into the though it often was) to rotor as it North Atlantic by a strong high blew over these trees The powder that was building into New Eng- snow that had been dumped in land With the high pressure the trees during the storm could came blue skies that are normally be seen as it first blew up and saved for the desert southwest then rolled rapidly down in the and visibilities that are rarely vortices that the trees created matched here in But it was sum-

Massachusetts To ADD TO THE MIX mer now and if a especially now in pilot was not

the summer A ROW OF PINE well versed in But the isobars reading the tershy

were jam-packed TREES LINES THE rain it was easy together and the to get lured into

wind was howl- APPROACH TO a low approach ing The winds to the runway To were gusting more THE NORTH OF some pilots the than 35 knots 2600 feet of run-coming across the runway at a 70- to

THE EXTENDED way seemed very short and thus

85-degree angle It was not the

CENTERLINE OF they could be fooled into trying

kind of day to be landing here unshy

RUNWAY 29shy a low approach in an attempt to

less you had your put it on the crosswind landing techniques numbersI This type of approach mastered In the pattern an inshy rarely worked because the lowshystructor was teaching those level wind shear created severe techniques to a student We prefer turbulence on a low approach to teach a sideslip approach in The best approach in these conshycrosswind conditions to fledgling di tions was a high slipping students That way they do not approach with an aim point have to deal with the transition about 500 feet down the runshyfrom a crab to a slip as they also way This way a pilot could stay try to figure out how and when to out of most of the turbulence commence their flare and although the slip could lead

To add to the mix a row of pine a pilot to think that the crossshytrees lines the approach to the wind capabilities had been north of the extended centerline exceeded it was rare that this of Runway 29-the runway in use would continue all the way to this day In the winter in similar the runway As an aircraft got

past the trees and close to the ground surface friction usually slowed the wind enough to alshyIowa pilot to straighten things out and land without incident

Also coming from the west along with the high pressure was a small homebuilt hot rod it was a tandem taildragger with short stubby wings and large empenshynage and rudder In the rear seat was the owner who had yet to obtain his tail wheel endorsement and thus had been along for the ride all the way from the West Coast Sitting at the controls in front was the pilot in command His tailwheel time had been grandfathered as years ago he had flown as a commercial pilot in a Beech 18 But before flying this aircraft he had never flown a small single-engine tailwheel airshyplane It was also rare that he ever landed three point usually wheeling on the twin Beech They arrived just as the wind was at its peak

Making their downwind anshynouncement over the UNICOM the voice on the other end of the UNICOM warned them to be on their toes Their approach was not too high and not too low but a little too fast As they tried to bleed off speed the turbulence was bouncing them all over the place They decided to go around

The second approach was higher but this time too high and it was obvious that a goshyaround would be needed again The voice from the UNICOM opshyerator admonished them yet again

to be careful They knew that many eyes were on them On their third approach they decided to come in low and fast Apshyproach speed for this aircraft is about 80 knots They were doing at least 100 knots As they flew through the turbulence the little aircraft was bounced around like a cork in rapids

The plane floated and floated down the runway bleeding off all the excessive speed It finally touched down with less than 600 feet of runway remaining It was still too fast I know that a little extra speed is sometimes used in a wheel landing but this was abshysurd As the end of the runway loomed the plane drifted off the right side of the runway tail still up in a level attitude If braking had been poor on the pavement it was going to be worse in the gravel the wheels were now on

The runway ends in a steep drop-off of about 20 feet To the right of the runway at the top of the drop-off were two poplar trees One of them had about a 10-inch diameter the other was approximately 6 inches As the leading edge of the wing hit these trees they were snapped as if a karate master were demonstrating his skill The airplane spun 540 degrees and crashed into the holshylow going backward Coming to a stop upright the two souls aboard scrambled out of the plane with the pilot collapsing only a few steps from the wreckage his back badly broken

Jve often told my students that any landing you can walk away from is a good landing If you can use the plane again its a great landing This one was only going to count as a good landing And just barely at that

To this day a question remains unanswered in my mind Why did they not go around a third time Why didnt they fly to an airport less than 16 miles to the west that had a runway aligned

almost directly with the wind and that was also twice as long and twice as wide Get-there-itis Pride Only the pilot in comshymand that day can answer those questions

My mentor and friend Safety Program Manager Bob Martens has often said that the go-around is the most neglected maneuver in flying How right he is I have personally witnessed several accishydents that miraculously were not fatal that were the direct reshysult of go-arounds gone bad In more than one instance getshythere-itis or pride played a large role Why do we get the mentalshyity that we have to land at this airport I remember one blusshytery New Years Day when I went to four different airports before finding a runway where I didnt run out of crosswind capability in a T-tailed Arrow

Pilots do some pretty dumb things when they think their peers are observing them One of them is trying to force a landing gone bad thinking that they will be thought of as less than comshypetent if they have to go around But the opposite is true It shows cautious good sense I have freshyquently told students just learning to land that they should not be reluctant to go around thinking that I will think poorly of them I tell them quite honshyestly that I wont remember how many times they might have to go around but I will never forget the one time they fail to go around and crash

So next time youre flying why not practice some go-arounds Reshymember its power first Full power smoothly and steadily not slammed in Then clean up the configuration as necessary as you transition to best angle climb speed If you have the good sense to go around when necessary and the skill to do it properly you will be more than a good pilot youll be a great pilot

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 13

Taldn There is no paint like the air

Off

I sit by the east window watchshying the clouds made red and blue by the sun that sets beshyhind me with a cup of Earl Grey tea warm and gold with

local honey I smell it sweetly minshygling with the scent of avgas and engine oil which drifts up from my blue jeans as I think of where Ive just been Mostly I am bent over a computer or my watercolor table painting rushing under the weight of deadlines absorbed in the small world of color on a flat piece of French paper with hands stressed from the tension of working tiny brushes There is little room for error with watercolors

14 APRIL 2003

But if I stop painting to look up and out the yellow nose of an airshyplane is right there poking out of the long metal machine shed hangar right there to remind me of the larger picture

LONNI SUE JOHNSON

So when I can take a break if the weather is good for it we go flying

The 1946 Piper J-3 Cub is perfect for an escape Simple and old-fashshyioned it goes even slower than the little aluminum Cessna I learned to fly in Its small tail wheel gives it an eager nose-high stance It is the color of school buses with an eleshygant black lightning bolt from nose to tail With the wings overhead it makes good shade for a lawn chair and is a big yellow umbrella when its raining Best of all in the air there is nothing to block the view of the earth

Its light for an airplane Even with its 35-foot 8-inch wings wider

than a New York City brownstone and Continental 90 horse engine it weighs only 884 pounds with both tanks full Its angular steel armature is stretched drum-like with shiny fabric resilient to the touch-almost like a big 3-D canvas primed yellow and ready to go

But this is no painterly illusion And its not that light

I can lift the tail wheel up for a few seconds if necessary but I mostly move it around by rolling large slow semicircles

I savor the preflight inspection and let it take a long time Partly beshycause even with lots of exercise carrying firewood and piling bales of hay and eating as much ice cream as possible I am still not as tall or strong as most of my male pilot friends

To check the wing tank and wash the windshield I need a ladder and I have to slow down to position it without scraping the landing gear or in winter the newly painted yelshylow skis Climbing down I press my

hands against the cowling warm from the engine heater to limber them for reaching inside to unplug its long orange extension cord

Looking up I can examine the aileron cables and pulleys while unshytying the wings I love the feel of ropes and knots and remember the old-timer who showed me the speshyciallore and cleverness of their invention

I live well into the country where keeping mice in their place and not in my stuff is a constant battle I reshytrieve the old pair of pantyhose toes heavy with mothballs which hang down inside the tail Then I pull off the quilted cowl cover and the miceshyhunting cat or two who sleep there

On wheels it is just possible by rocking the Cub a bit to get it to roll out of the hangar almost by itself Then with a rope and the banner tow release I loop the tail to the doorpost so it doesnt go flying

without me Standing in front of the right

wheel I get set to start the engine by flipping the propeller Some of my taller friends can wedge their left foot under the front of the tire and reach up to grasp the back edge of the prop but being smaller I dont have the same wingspan they do so I use two rubber chocks strung toshygether with ropes

From painting there are no rings on my right hand and no untucked scarves or baggy sleeves to get caught I pull the propeller through from the back my left hand in the cockpit by the mixture control Five times Then I switch on the magnetos and give one more sharp pull to start it

With the satisfying clicking of the engine at idle with its wind in my face I get in

Every time I sit in that Cub I start to grin and cant stop until I get out again

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15

A fat red folding cushion on the back seat lets me reach the rudders and heel brakes Underneath is a piece of nonskid carpet pad that keeps it from wobbling Careful not to hit the throttle I bend over the front seat to release the tow lever fish the chocks inside and poke them into the back to nestle with my purse and the extra quart of oil

People offer their help and I have met many nice men but I need to be able to do everything myself even if it takes more time because here

there is usually no one else around The hilltop runway is a roller

coaster wide but short with an average elevation of 1993 feet When it is too windy to fly or the clouds scrape by too low the tershyrain has become familiar with walks and mowing

When my Cub and I finally taxi out run up and depart upward over the edge of the hill to the north Otshysego Lake shows suddenly below off the left wing

Writer James Fenimore Cooper

called it a glimmer glass It is a long sliver of shimmering mirror reflectshying up versions of the hills and clouds and the little yellow Cub above And when completely frozen its an endless new runway

Henry David Thoreau wrote 1 A lake is the landscapes most beautishyful and expressive feature It is earths eye looking into which the beholder measures the depth of his own nature

I long for this escape from the close-up perspective of life at the

computer and the drawing table and for the humility of becoming tiny in a big space The view of the lake makes the transformation complete

It also provides points for practicing maneuvers Wings line up against its serene length to measure 360-degree turns and a series of lazy-eights The blue ignition harnesses quiver against the yellow cowling as the cylinders black heads brush along the wide peaceful circle of horizon

16 APRIL 2003

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17

I like going so slowly too as airshyplanes go Only a dive can get us going more than 80 mph

Looking down the farm melts into the undulating grid of fields and hedgerows Especially in the evenings with the cool lattice of shadows stretching With each seashyson a fresh pattern is woven in appropriate threads of color

The freedom is complete Just by working the stick and rudder I can go up down left or right-anyshywhere I am not attached to

18 APRIL 2003

anything but the Cub I am always amazed to see my own shadow surfing across the fields beneath me

I like being an aerial spy I watch tiny tractors drawing stripes in deep brown fields and boats pulling triangular white wakes I discover new destinations for walks traces of old roads through the woods green-gray boulders dropped by the glacier in its reshytreat I see weather coming and feel it as the wind changes against the thin fabric of the fuselage I notice where the cows have grazed paths and who drives up to see me while Im gone

Coming back I watch the lime green flag at mid-field and a bright orange windsock at the north end Sometimes there is no clear best landing direction The wind often swirls from both ways at once To the east are more hints wood smoke from the house or milk room studio or the pond with its surface scum unshyruffled or pleated up at one end or the other

On the downwind leg the field always looks way too short tilted and windy to use When I first moved here from Connecticut where the runshy

ways are mostly long flat and paved I could not imagine that I would ever be able to land here in one piece The local Cub pilots teased relentlessly All the second spring I was here I practiced shortening landings on longer runways until I felt ready Finally when I did come home solo it was almost easy and I wondered what had taken me so long

Now I relish the short slow apshyproach at 55-60 miles an hour watching for deer and turkeys Its a quiet idling glide in sumshymer but with power in the winter to keep the exposed cylinders warm enough to go around if necessary Each touchdown is exshyhilarating

Back down the lumpy lane we go the Cub and I-plump tires bouncing me in the red seat door open if its warm enough wings just missing the leaning hops barn and the bright gas tanks past the milk house and its grand old hay

barn with three silos and sending cats running every which way

In his journal in September of 1851 Thoreau wrote I wish to see the earth through the medium of much air or heaven for there is no paint like the air

How could he have known It s uphill into the hangar If I

shut down as close as possible facshying the entrance I can walk the tail around in perfect alignment for the winch Its a manual one with a long cable

To pull the Cub in it takes turnshying the crank forever If I were strong enough to pick up the tail and lift it all of the way in itd be done in half a minute Instead the winch winds up as the sun slips down the western ridge The barn is illuminated in a red satushyrated moment I begin to think again of the pain tings on my table The clicking resounds out into the hay fields to the ends of the silos blue shadow

Each time I put the Cub away I think of the time Ive spent Next time Ill take even longer

Lonni Sue Johnson watercolorist and cat wrangler aLso serves as the secretary ofEAA Chapter 1070 in Cooperstown New York

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19

~ss BY EE

No mistake taildraggers are here to stay Builders like American Champion Maule Air and Waco Classic are still building new airshyplanes and there are a number of the old Champs Luscombes T-Carts Cessnas and others still out there being restored and flown by both old and new generation pilots

Despite Phil Boyers (AOPA) expeshyrience in learning to handle a taildragger they can still be a lot of fun There is no doubt they require a certain amount of finesse and knowledge of basic airplane hanshydling that isnt required of the tri-gear installation The tri-gear takes a lot of the sweat out of operashytions It eliminates the uphill climb into a seat on the modern airliner puts better visibility over the nose helps in a maximum braking situashytion and gives the pilot something to put on the yellow taxi line

The nose over tendency of early airplanes put skids up front so if they did get the tail high the skid would help to prevent damage to the proshypeller Witness the wing tip skids on Curtiss JNs and DHs in the event of a ground loop Look at the accident and mishap pictures some of the old magshyazines publish and youll see the reason for these skids

The taildragger does have an inshynate tendency to ground loop Just try shoving a tricycle backwards and watch how quickly it ground loops On the other hand going forward is a little more stable and predictable Since we are talking tail wheels lets get back to them

Look at that little wheel back there It doesnt look like much but it is one third of your landing gear yet it does 90 percent of the work at low speeds in controlling the airshy

20 APRIL 2003

BUCK HILBERT EAA 21 VAA 5 PO Box 424 UNION IL 60180

Tail wheels plane on the ground As insignifishycant as it looks it drags through the mud and dust snow and water on pavement or dirt it does its job It keeps you in control provided you make sure its connected and funcshytional with the steering cables and springs attached properly inflated lubricated and equipped with reashysonably decent tread on the tire

The first thing that tells you its working right is the wear on the tail wheel tire If your main gear is out of whack and the airplane dogtrots or crabs while running on the ground uneven wear will show in the tail wheel tire quickly Especially in one of the 6-by-2-inch hard rubber tires Also if the tread is down to where you see a crack along the center get a new tire Inside that rubber molded tire is a cable ring that re-enforces the tire If you see a crack there is a good chance that tire is about to come apart and jam itself between the wheel and the yoke and youll lose control The money spent on a new tire is a mini percentage of what it will cost to reshypair your airplane and overcome the embarrassment that goes with breakshying an airplane

Dont let the phrase taildragger intimidate you Learning to use it and use it properly is just another phase of flight Literally millions of words have been written about how to use the tail wheel and Im not about to reiterate any or all of them Im just going to exshyplain how they work what they are made of and how to take care of them

As with most man-made contrapshytions there are many varied ideas in how to produce them and how effecshytive they are Back in the Jenny days there were skids some fixed and some partially steerable The technique in those days was to shove the stick forshy

ward to take the weight off the skid and fly the tail around using a combishynation of power and rudder alone The rigid skid didnt give much and it imposed side loads on the structure With no brakes the biplane reqUired a pretty large turning radius

The next development was a bungee shock absorber that also swiveled some fifteen degrees This gave some leeway and made the turnshying radius a little smaller The side forces and drag were still there

Then someone put a wheel in place of the skid plate Now they could move the airplane a lot easier but that complicated things because the drag of the skid was all they had for braking With the slick steel plate that friction was gone So some kind of brakes had to be installed on the main gear Next that little wheel on the end of the skid had to swivel so we could really turn short

Various deSigners came out with designs Heath Airplane Company came out with one of the first steershyable tail wheels Other manufacturers followed suit and that function coushypled with individual brakes made ground handling much much easier

Experiments followed with various types of installations including a trailshying spring similar to automotive design which was secured to the tail longerons It is common on Cessnas Aeroncas Taylorcrafts and Pipers The telescoping tail post type like the instalshylation on the Aeronca K Fleet and others and the articulated and hinged installations all came about and all worked with varying degrees of success

A lot depended on the weight and support the little tail wheel had to

carry Look at the DC-3 and the B-17 On these heavier aircraft the tail wheel design had to follow the reshyquirements North American had their own design so did Stinson and Fairchild They all had their unique problems and solved them Some were successful others with someshywhat less than pleasant results

I used to think that the old time pishylots like Amelia and Post and some of those other early record-setting pioshyneers were lousy pilots because they ground looped on occasion In reality they did a terrific job considering the equipment they had to work with Their mishaps were the proof needed to improve the design and function of this little wheel in the back

The steerable was soon improved even further by adding a full swivel feature Now we could really turn around in a tight radius Furthermore the airplane could now be pushed backwards without lifting the tail off the ground or disconnecting the steershying cables This free wheeling feature could also be a trap if the operator wasnt aware of it

How does it work Good question All the designs have common conshytrols usually an arm or steering tiller that transfers the rudder input to the tail wheel assembly Done either with solid arms or cables and usually incorshyporating some sort of shock absorbing device such as springs it gives it a litshytle slack so as not to overpower the rudder action

Pushing rudder will direct the steershying in the direction you want to go Once headed that way you neutralize the rudder input until you want to change direction Neutralizing or censhytering the control will then allow the tail wheel to trail and youll proceed in a straight line

The swivel feature allows the wheel to trail and has some free movement on either side of neutral This soaks up little variations in the runway or sod surface and still allows you conshytrol if your input asks for more

To prevent the unit from going into full swivel a monkey-motion cam arrangement in all the designs

kicks in if you reach the extreme limit of the steerable travel Once this limit releases that cam you have a full swiveling wheel To put it back in the steerable mode the wheel must again trail which releases the cam action and centers itself

This sounds confusing but in realshyity its like there is a notch in the trail position jump out of that notch and you re freewheeling To get back into the notch roll straight ahead a little ways and itll snap back in To get out of that notch you need a full rudder application and a side load

Some airplanes have a manual tail wheel lock The Boeing Kaydet comshymonly known as the Stearman which the Navy used for primary training had a reputation for belittling pilots It was a real ground looper so they inshystalled a manual tail wheel lock This would not allow the tail wheel to go into the full swivel position The 15shyor 20-degree steering input was still there but the full swivel was locked out Some of the Waco aircraft also have this feature It works but the one caveat is dont forget to unlock it to make a sharp turn at the taxiway The locking mechanism will break and then enhance the mechanics job security Ask any DC-3 B-17 or T-6 maintenance technician

Routine preflight of the tail wheel assembly should take real precedence while doing your walk around Again this is your primary control Are the cables attached Are the clips that hold the springs to the steering arms worn Does the tire look good Inflashytion Unusual wear Wiggle the rudder do the cables actually steer the wheel Push a little to impose a side load make sure the attach paints are tight No excess movement Does it lean or show signs of sloppiness Does it look right From the side is the pivot line perpendicular to the ground does everything look right Is the spring sagging One cant be too picky preflighting this little monster It can spell disaster if it isnt controlshylable and we dont want that

So now we finish the preflight and count the wings and wheel The cockshy

pit check is complete and we have the engine running If it s clear ahead open the throttle and move off the tied own using rudder in the direction you want to turn Once the turn is esshytablished neutralize the rudder Now you can test the brakes and see that they are working and then forget them A good steerable tail wheel will respond without braking

Now we get to the basics of how to handle the controls If you are a seashyplane pilot youve already mastered this business of flying the controls If you have a headwind you hold back pressure on the stick to keep the tail wheelan the ground In a tail wind forward pressure again to keep the tail wheelan the ground In a direct crosswind neutralize the elevator and aileron into the wind For a quartershying headwind aileron into the wind and place back pressure on the elevashytor For a quartering tail wind stick AWAY from the wind and place forshyward pressure on the elevator

All this is to keep that tail wheel firmly in contact with the ground to assure control Flying the ailerons in a crosswind keeps pressure on the down aileron and keeps the upwind wing down Taxiing crosswind and in a crosswind takeoff aileron into the wind and opposite rudder to keep it going straight

Practice this Taxi around on the ground until you get the feel of how effective the rudder and the tail wheel steering is Be a little aggressive and experiment a little preferably on a wide grass runway where a little slipshypage can give you a margin for error

If visibility over the nose presents a problem then 15 turn 15 right look left down your route of taxi 15 left and look out the right side If you see its clear then no need to make an 15 of yourself over and over again Only when you want to be sure nothshying is in front of you

Place the centerline markings of the taxiway and the runway between your feet and keep them there There is a parallax error and if the line is between your feet then you are on center and you are assured of wing tip clearance

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21

bull bull

To turn around on a narrow strip plan your turn so the wind will help you Taxi along the downwind edge ofthe strip and make your 180 into the wind The weathervane effect on your airplane will help to initiate the turn Ease up a little on the back pressure as you start into the turn and this will make the tail come around more easily

You are working that tail wheel to your advantage Keep that in mind and visualize the forces your control input is accomplishing Use the brakes sparingly and only as an aid if you aren t turning as sharp as you like or to avoid a problem

After a sharp turn and the tail wheel has fully swiveled roll straight ahead for a bit to get it back in the notch or steerable position Feel the resistance in the rudder pedals when its in the steerable position The rudshyder will feel loose and ineffective if its swiveling The roll straight ahead and a neutral rudder will again enshygage that centering device

Practice those S turns and the 180s on the runway and the strip Play the elevator and the ailerons and again visualize and practice the effect youre looking for Half an hour of taxi time practice wont hurt a bit Once those feet wake up to the fact that THEY control the airplane on the ground your flying will come easy

Dont go out and try this on a day when the wind is blowing up a frenzy Not until youve had enough practice at light crosswinds and tail winds Moderate to heavy winds can really play tricks For example taxishying downwind in a heavy wind can have a reverse effect on the controls You poke in left rudder the rudder swings in that direction the wind pushes against it and you get a reshyverse effect Your ailerons also have a reverse effect going downwind Sometimes its absolutely necessary to have a wing walker on the upwind side to hold that wing down I dont advocate operations in winds strong enough to lift a wing Wait until conshyditions improve and then go fly K

Over to youlr -BtcJ

bull bullI I

A l r e r _ 1t Co_ tl ng _

wwwpolyfibercom wwwaircraflsprucecom

1-800-WORKSHOP 1-800-967-5746

sportaireaaorg

Visit wwwsportaircom for a complete listing of workshops

Workshop Schedule April 26-27 2003 Watsonville CA

SHEET METAL COMPOSITE CONSTRUCT FABRIC COVERING ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS

amp AVIONICS

May 16-18 2003 Oshkosh WI RVASSEMBLY

May 16-18 2003 Griffin (Atlanta) GA TIG WELDING

June 6-8 2003 Corona CA RVASSEMBLY

June 21-222003 Frederick MD SHEET METAL COMPOSITE CONSTRUCT FABRIC COVERING ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS

amp AVIONICS GAS WELDING

June 27-29 2003 Griffin (Atlanta) GA RVASSEMBLY TIG WELDING

22 APRIL 2003

During Bob Greenhoes three decades of ownership he amassed a huge amount of material including a lot of factory blu ep rints all of which were put to good use

According to Brown liThe blueshyprints were great but they didnt include many details We could use them on the major assemblies but the tiny stuff wasnt there What reshyally saved us however were the 100 snapshots the previous shop took of the airplane as they disassembled it

Because the airplane had always been flying and hangared Brown says the fuselage steel was in good condition

liThe fuselage is standard steel welded tubing with an attached censhyter section which spans over 9 feet The center section is made of a coushyple of really big tubes running parallel to each other and separated and connected with smaller tubes in a web When we repaired it the fuselage was cut in half with heavshyier tubing tacked in place and a lot of the webbing was cut out of the center section and replaced All of

APRIL 2003

the fuselage formers that the stringers attach to were in pretty sad shape or missing so all were made new Once repairs were made to the forward part of the fuselage the old original aft section was reattached as it was in very good shape

liThe little side door is interesting Brown says because it cuts into the fuselage truss and is surrounded by lots of steel The doors are aluminum and they were missing so we built new ones from pictures The only alushyminum we saved on the entire airplane was the compound pieces at the bottom and the front of the wheel spats and the wing root fairings aft of the front spar All of the aluminum we saved required lots of work on the English wheel to iron out 60-plus years of lumps

We had really good pictures of the instrument panel but finding all of the right instruments turned out to be one of the harder parts of the project Among other things both the flap and gas gauge were 6shyvolt electric units and they were hard to match We fabricated a new

panel that was exact to the photos and when we finally found all the right instruments we shipped them out to Kansas City Instruments and had them refinished and rebuilt They are as exact as we could possishybly get them

I did the interior myself and here again matched the material and stitching patterns in the photos as much as possible

liThe original drum brakes were a guaranteed-to-fail design and since Buzz planned on flying the airplane quite a bit we thought it was a good idea to replace them with someshything a little more modern that wouldnt give him any problems We went with lO-inch wheels off a Cessna 310 and used Cessna 210 calipers We saved all of the original parts and restored them so they can

8

be put back on the airplane at any time to make it totally original

liThe original bubble-type windshyshield had been changed to a flat wrap but we found we could duplishycate the original by cutting down an Ercoupe unit At the same time we built a new turtledeck structure to bring it back down to the original lines You sit pretty low in the airshyplane and a previous owner had raised the turtledeck in an apparent effort at increasing the visibility

When we got ready to work on the trim system we realized we didshyn t know exactly how it went together It has two tabs and is comshypletely cable operated with cables coming in through both stabilizers

Looking like a pampered pooch anxiously waiting for a treat from its masshyter the Pasped s extensive metal work meant a lot of time was spent at the English wheel eliminating dents and dings from the comshy

z ~ pound curved surfaces Clt o J t-Z

~ lt UJ o

to a mixer in the fuselage Everyshything had been taken apart and the blueprints didn t show much but again we got enough ideas about how it worked from the photos that we eventually figured it out Its amazing how much harder it is to put something together that you didnt take apart

Some work had been done on the airplane prior to Brown receiving it into his shop including part of the woodwork for the wings

Tom says New spars had been cut and new ribs built so I took all of the wing parts over to my brother Steve who has a wing shop about 3 miles from my place He routed the spars and assembled the pile of parts into wings He specializes in aircraft wing work and he does all of mine We trade labor back and forth and are constantly helping each other

A 165-hp Warner seems to be just the right amount of power for the Skyshylark giving it reasonable performance for an antique airplane Although it looks similar to an Aeronca Le it s a much bigger airplane-looking at the photo of Tom and Buzz you can see the tops of their heads only reach to the middle of the cowl

on our respective projects The ribs were in good shape for the most part and it took him about two months to finish the wings which is pretty good considering how big the wings are

He had to build new ailerons which use box spars The blueprints were a little help but we had one aileron to use as a pattern so that wasnt terribly difficult but it did take time

From the day it was originally built the airplane had been phoshytographed quite a number of times as it passed through various owners hands Those photos would pop up in magazines and in each it is painted a dark red which Tom says wasnt the original color

lilt came out of the factory painted white with black trim A short time later however it was painted red and thats the way it stayed for the next 50 years Buzz wanted it original so we went back to the factory colors

Tom worked on the airplane full time for two years getting it ready for its first flight on July 8 2002 with the goal of making Oshkosh barely two weeks later Tom made the first flights and says it was no problem

liOn that first one I was a little worried because we didnt really know much about how the airplane flew and I was taking off from my brothers little 900-foot farm strip but there was no problem at all The

airplane accelerated really well and with all of that wing area it sort of levitated into the air The stall speed is well under 40 miles per hour so it doesnt take long to get it in the air

W hen it s light it climbs at about 800 feet per minute and it usually cruises at about 110 mph depending on how hard you want to push it

In general you might say it feels slow because of those big wings The ailerons are actually pretty nice however They have just the right amount of differential There isnt enough elevator or rudder however and it takes a long time for the trim to have effect

liThe center section flap is over 9 feet long and 2 feet wide so it really works You come over the fence at about 45 mph and touch down at something under 40 mph

liThe landing gear is really soft and forgiving and its pretty hard to get in trouble when youre moving that slow as long as you are on grass It changes personality entirely howshyever when you put it on pavement

So now that its finished was it worth all the work

Buzz Penny sums it up I wanted something unique that I could take to fly-ins and feel confident in it and the Skylark is exactly that Its comfortable and has great visibility Plus Im absolutely guaranteed that Im not going to find another one tied down next to m e no matter where we go and I like that

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 9

In 1928 I was flying two World War I airplanes at the old Poughkeepshysie Airport later replaced by the present Dutchess County Airport where I still fly in 2003 The two airshyplanes were a]N-4 ]enny and a]-1 Standard The latter involved in the following event was powered by a 220-hp Hispano-Suiza water-cooled V-8 engine from a SPAD made in France in WW 1 It was a good engine for its day but well just read n see

On May 29 1928 the day before Memorial Day a group of American Legions came to the grass field hangarless airport and asked a favor A bronze plaque was to be dedicated in memory of Poughkeepsie men who had lost their lives in the Euroshypean War 1917-1918 The ceremony was to be held on Memorial Day inshystead of as originally planned for the November 11 Armistice Day which would have been the 10th annivershysary of the signing of the armistice ending the war The plaque had alshyready been installed on the old City Hall on Main Street but covered by a shroud to be dropped during the cershyemony sponsored by the Legion

The men asked me to participate in the dedication by dropping from the air over the assemblage a large numshyber of the little artificial poppies The Legionnaires sold these flowers all over the United States to raise funds (poppies from In Flanders Fields) I was happy to do so The men said that a very large crowd was expected to asshysemble in front of the City Hall at Main and Washington streets for the ceremony including one or two Army generals politicians of course and many veterans and the relatives of men lost in the war

There were to be several buglers who 10 APRIL 2003

would be standing in front of the plaque to play taps just before the shroud was dropped As you who are old enough to remember the European War later named World War I the armistice was signed according to legshyend at the 11th minute of the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 Therefore it was planned to have the buglers sound taps and finish just at 1111 am They wanted the popshypies to start falling just as the 11th minute approached (at the 10th) as the last notes of taps were sounding That required precise timing I agreed to try and since one of the men who worked for the railroad had an accurate Hamilshyton watch I synchronized my Waltham wristwatch with it They then left a large box of the poppies

The direct line distance from the field to the target was 4-12 miles which would take just that number of minutes at the 65-70 mph cruising speed of the biplane against an exshypected 5 mph wind However I planned to take off early and try to time the pass exactly over the target The plane had no airspeed indicator and I had only the one opportunity to hit the target on time so I had to time it accurately over landmarks guessing the airspeed of the plane

Main Street and the course to the target were almost parallel but conshyverged The street was level to the target but then dropped downhill for a little more than half a mile to the 12-mile wide Hudson River The Main Street trolley car tracks with their overhead 600-volt wires also led right down to the dock at the river Remember that The big iron railroad bridge is about 38-mile north of that point

My plan was to charge along Main

Street descending toward the target in a silent power-off glide This way I could get an accurate drop directly over the crowd at low altitude withshyout noise which might drown out the sounding of taps

Of course that would bend the new air regulations but they did not want the poppies spread all over the city just the assemblage It was to be a complete surprise event After the drop I planned to silently glide down the grade of Main Street for about a block or two then resume power gradshyually and flyaway over the river That afternoon I made a practice flight at higher altitude to test the timing

Memorial Day turned out to be perfect weather clear and cool with a light NW breeze I had the plane out and ready for warm-up and was exshypecting another pilot friend to sit in the cockpit while I cranked the big 9shyfoot 2-inch left-hand Hamilton wood propeller (I still have it) I was 6 foot 2-12 inches tall and 175 pounds and did not allow anyone else to crank it It was not only bigger than most proshypeliers but left-hand propellers were rare and unsafe for an inexperienced person All aircraft engines were started by hand-cranking the proshypeliers in those days a perilous art

I had another friend non pilot who was ready to ride in the front cockpit to dump the poppies overboard on my signal In those open airplanes the pishylot sat in the rear cockpit The time came to warm up the engine but the other pilot did not Ample time was needed to warm up the big water-cooled engine and I was getting desperate Someone should be in the rear cockpit

even a choke There brass primer cups with

valves on the intake manifold After putting about a thimbleful of gasoshyline in each cup the valves were opened to drain the gas down into the manifold and then closed To do all that it was necessary to stand on one of the wheels to reach themshyfirst one side of the plane then the other The propeller was then pulled about two revolutions to take the prime into the cylinders The priming charge would then be repeated to provide fuel for the starting engine

The person pulling the propeller would get one blade into the proper position and call switch on to the person in the cockpit who would turn the magneto switch on and anshyswer switch on The propeller would then be pulled through the first compression briskly and the enshygine should start

Well tha t did happen but not every time by any means If not then the person in the cockpit ca lled switch off and it was then necessary to get the propeller into the proper pomiddot si tion for another pull If not successful after two or three times it was necessary to go through the entire priming and starting process again This procedure continued until a sucshycessful start was achieved It could be rather strenuous work for even a husky person on the propeller I had develshyoped good propeller-pulling muscles for it took a lot of strength

With my nonpilot friend at the pishylots cockpit to work the switch I started the above procedure about 30 minutes before the scheduled poppy drop not too much time So I cranked that prop and cranked it again and again priming in between My heart

WaKf~r and it was now 11 04 am I had to get into the air by 1105 am to make the drop on schedule In despershyation I gave it another swing then another and suddenly the engine came to life I dove behind the revolvshying propeller on hands and knees and pulled the two chocks from the wheels They were tied together by a rope so a single pull did it The plane rolled forward and I rolled on my back as the lower wing passed over me Then I jumped for the rear cockpit as my friend scrambled to get into the front cockpit No time for any cereshymony seat belt warm-up magneto check just go

With the engine and its gallons of cooling water stone cold you can imagshyine how reluctant it was to respond to the open throttle Accelerating pumps had not been invented The engine burped snorted backfired and popped as the plane slowly accelerated lifted off and barely got up over the trees with the help of pucker factor

A gentle turn toward Poughkeepsie and a bare climb with the weak engine put us on our way just over the treeshytops The engine gave intermittent bursts of power between noisy pops and bangs I had a naked sensat ion without my safety belt but there was no time to let go of the controls to fasshyten it I just had to keep the engine running until it warmed and gained some precious altitude I intercepted Main Street at about 400 feet and folshylowed it With the target about a mile and a half ahead I finally reached about 700 feet altitude About a mile from the target I had the engine going well but then had to start my fast glide to the target So I throttled it to id le for the silent approach I knew that I was late but was too busy to look at my wristwatch while judging the steep

almost closed and proceeded down the grade of Main Street toward the river About a block past the target I dared to start using power But the enshygine was cold again and started backfiring With the windmilling proshypeller turning it gave precious little power I was descending steeper than Main Street and getting closer to those deadly 600-volt trolley wires trying to coax some power out of the engine

Of course the carburetor had iced up and there was no carburetor heat on those engines The only way to get rid of it was to pump the throttle and cause the backfiring to blow the ice out of the carb venturi I was just able to keep above the wires As the enshygine banged and snorted down to the river I tried to figure how to get beshyyond the wires and over the dock to dunk my plane into the water

It looked like I would barely clear the dock in a stall and then get wet I could see the spot where we would hit We cleared the wires by a few feet and then down to the water still with intermittent power I held the plane barely above the surface in ground efshyfect Wond erful Good o ld ground effect We floated out over the water only about four feet above it farther and farther away from shore still tryshying to coax more power o ut of the engine I was determined to save my beautiful airplane which had cost me six months of hard work rebuilding it from the wreck I had bought I seemed to have no th ought of the probability of drowning

Suddenly all eight cylinders started firing I made a slight right turn into the light northwest breeze passed under the railroad bridge then made a shallow

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 1 1

JOHN MILLER CONTINUED

climb to a few hundred feet over the water and finally turned back to the airport On the way I got myself calmed down a little but was shivering from exshycitement I was elated at saving the airplane but disappointed at fouling up the poppy drop timing

An hour or so after landing as I exshypected I saw the big open touring car with the group of legionnaires come speeding toward the airport to berate me for fouling up their carefully made plan The car slid to a stop in a cloud of dust All four doors swung open and the six or eight legionnaires burst out and ran toward me I braced myself for their asshysault They jumped all over me shaking both of my hands and all talking to me at once enthusiastically thanking me for such a perfectly timed bombingI

They said that as the buglers were playing taps they did not hear me comshying and were disappointed that all of their precise plans and timing were wasted Then just as the final notes of taps sounded the poppies silently rained over the crowd as a complete surprise They had not heard the whistling wires of the biplane over the sounding of taps And since they were looking at the buglers and standing at attention they did not see the plane pass overhead I had flown it slightly to the right of Main Street slightly behind them to allow the NW breeze to drift the poppies to the crowd They could not thank me enough nor understand how I could have timed the drop so well and silently

Little did they know nor did I tell them of my professional secret II They said that the notes of taps and the popshypies silently snowing down from the sky was so impressive that thousands of people had tears in their eyes the emoshytion was so intense Yes little did they know I wish I could have been there much more than where I was I can still plainly see those deadly 600-volt wires under the wheels the tails kid barely clearing the dock and the wheels alshymost rolling on the water

Did I ever learn from that expeshyrience

That same J-1 Standard still exshyists in 2003 12 APRIL 2003

T

Go Around To flare or not to flare

DOUG STEWART NAFI MASTER INSTRUCTOR

The storm had been intense weather conditions one could tracking up the stationary front easily see the way the wind was along the East Coast but now it caused (I didnt say cussed alshywas being chased out into the though it often was) to rotor as it North Atlantic by a strong high blew over these trees The powder that was building into New Eng- snow that had been dumped in land With the high pressure the trees during the storm could came blue skies that are normally be seen as it first blew up and saved for the desert southwest then rolled rapidly down in the and visibilities that are rarely vortices that the trees created matched here in But it was sum-

Massachusetts To ADD TO THE MIX mer now and if a especially now in pilot was not

the summer A ROW OF PINE well versed in But the isobars reading the tershy

were jam-packed TREES LINES THE rain it was easy together and the to get lured into

wind was howl- APPROACH TO a low approach ing The winds to the runway To were gusting more THE NORTH OF some pilots the than 35 knots 2600 feet of run-coming across the runway at a 70- to

THE EXTENDED way seemed very short and thus

85-degree angle It was not the

CENTERLINE OF they could be fooled into trying

kind of day to be landing here unshy

RUNWAY 29shy a low approach in an attempt to

less you had your put it on the crosswind landing techniques numbersI This type of approach mastered In the pattern an inshy rarely worked because the lowshystructor was teaching those level wind shear created severe techniques to a student We prefer turbulence on a low approach to teach a sideslip approach in The best approach in these conshycrosswind conditions to fledgling di tions was a high slipping students That way they do not approach with an aim point have to deal with the transition about 500 feet down the runshyfrom a crab to a slip as they also way This way a pilot could stay try to figure out how and when to out of most of the turbulence commence their flare and although the slip could lead

To add to the mix a row of pine a pilot to think that the crossshytrees lines the approach to the wind capabilities had been north of the extended centerline exceeded it was rare that this of Runway 29-the runway in use would continue all the way to this day In the winter in similar the runway As an aircraft got

past the trees and close to the ground surface friction usually slowed the wind enough to alshyIowa pilot to straighten things out and land without incident

Also coming from the west along with the high pressure was a small homebuilt hot rod it was a tandem taildragger with short stubby wings and large empenshynage and rudder In the rear seat was the owner who had yet to obtain his tail wheel endorsement and thus had been along for the ride all the way from the West Coast Sitting at the controls in front was the pilot in command His tailwheel time had been grandfathered as years ago he had flown as a commercial pilot in a Beech 18 But before flying this aircraft he had never flown a small single-engine tailwheel airshyplane It was also rare that he ever landed three point usually wheeling on the twin Beech They arrived just as the wind was at its peak

Making their downwind anshynouncement over the UNICOM the voice on the other end of the UNICOM warned them to be on their toes Their approach was not too high and not too low but a little too fast As they tried to bleed off speed the turbulence was bouncing them all over the place They decided to go around

The second approach was higher but this time too high and it was obvious that a goshyaround would be needed again The voice from the UNICOM opshyerator admonished them yet again

to be careful They knew that many eyes were on them On their third approach they decided to come in low and fast Apshyproach speed for this aircraft is about 80 knots They were doing at least 100 knots As they flew through the turbulence the little aircraft was bounced around like a cork in rapids

The plane floated and floated down the runway bleeding off all the excessive speed It finally touched down with less than 600 feet of runway remaining It was still too fast I know that a little extra speed is sometimes used in a wheel landing but this was abshysurd As the end of the runway loomed the plane drifted off the right side of the runway tail still up in a level attitude If braking had been poor on the pavement it was going to be worse in the gravel the wheels were now on

The runway ends in a steep drop-off of about 20 feet To the right of the runway at the top of the drop-off were two poplar trees One of them had about a 10-inch diameter the other was approximately 6 inches As the leading edge of the wing hit these trees they were snapped as if a karate master were demonstrating his skill The airplane spun 540 degrees and crashed into the holshylow going backward Coming to a stop upright the two souls aboard scrambled out of the plane with the pilot collapsing only a few steps from the wreckage his back badly broken

Jve often told my students that any landing you can walk away from is a good landing If you can use the plane again its a great landing This one was only going to count as a good landing And just barely at that

To this day a question remains unanswered in my mind Why did they not go around a third time Why didnt they fly to an airport less than 16 miles to the west that had a runway aligned

almost directly with the wind and that was also twice as long and twice as wide Get-there-itis Pride Only the pilot in comshymand that day can answer those questions

My mentor and friend Safety Program Manager Bob Martens has often said that the go-around is the most neglected maneuver in flying How right he is I have personally witnessed several accishydents that miraculously were not fatal that were the direct reshysult of go-arounds gone bad In more than one instance getshythere-itis or pride played a large role Why do we get the mentalshyity that we have to land at this airport I remember one blusshytery New Years Day when I went to four different airports before finding a runway where I didnt run out of crosswind capability in a T-tailed Arrow

Pilots do some pretty dumb things when they think their peers are observing them One of them is trying to force a landing gone bad thinking that they will be thought of as less than comshypetent if they have to go around But the opposite is true It shows cautious good sense I have freshyquently told students just learning to land that they should not be reluctant to go around thinking that I will think poorly of them I tell them quite honshyestly that I wont remember how many times they might have to go around but I will never forget the one time they fail to go around and crash

So next time youre flying why not practice some go-arounds Reshymember its power first Full power smoothly and steadily not slammed in Then clean up the configuration as necessary as you transition to best angle climb speed If you have the good sense to go around when necessary and the skill to do it properly you will be more than a good pilot youll be a great pilot

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 13

Taldn There is no paint like the air

Off

I sit by the east window watchshying the clouds made red and blue by the sun that sets beshyhind me with a cup of Earl Grey tea warm and gold with

local honey I smell it sweetly minshygling with the scent of avgas and engine oil which drifts up from my blue jeans as I think of where Ive just been Mostly I am bent over a computer or my watercolor table painting rushing under the weight of deadlines absorbed in the small world of color on a flat piece of French paper with hands stressed from the tension of working tiny brushes There is little room for error with watercolors

14 APRIL 2003

But if I stop painting to look up and out the yellow nose of an airshyplane is right there poking out of the long metal machine shed hangar right there to remind me of the larger picture

LONNI SUE JOHNSON

So when I can take a break if the weather is good for it we go flying

The 1946 Piper J-3 Cub is perfect for an escape Simple and old-fashshyioned it goes even slower than the little aluminum Cessna I learned to fly in Its small tail wheel gives it an eager nose-high stance It is the color of school buses with an eleshygant black lightning bolt from nose to tail With the wings overhead it makes good shade for a lawn chair and is a big yellow umbrella when its raining Best of all in the air there is nothing to block the view of the earth

Its light for an airplane Even with its 35-foot 8-inch wings wider

than a New York City brownstone and Continental 90 horse engine it weighs only 884 pounds with both tanks full Its angular steel armature is stretched drum-like with shiny fabric resilient to the touch-almost like a big 3-D canvas primed yellow and ready to go

But this is no painterly illusion And its not that light

I can lift the tail wheel up for a few seconds if necessary but I mostly move it around by rolling large slow semicircles

I savor the preflight inspection and let it take a long time Partly beshycause even with lots of exercise carrying firewood and piling bales of hay and eating as much ice cream as possible I am still not as tall or strong as most of my male pilot friends

To check the wing tank and wash the windshield I need a ladder and I have to slow down to position it without scraping the landing gear or in winter the newly painted yelshylow skis Climbing down I press my

hands against the cowling warm from the engine heater to limber them for reaching inside to unplug its long orange extension cord

Looking up I can examine the aileron cables and pulleys while unshytying the wings I love the feel of ropes and knots and remember the old-timer who showed me the speshyciallore and cleverness of their invention

I live well into the country where keeping mice in their place and not in my stuff is a constant battle I reshytrieve the old pair of pantyhose toes heavy with mothballs which hang down inside the tail Then I pull off the quilted cowl cover and the miceshyhunting cat or two who sleep there

On wheels it is just possible by rocking the Cub a bit to get it to roll out of the hangar almost by itself Then with a rope and the banner tow release I loop the tail to the doorpost so it doesnt go flying

without me Standing in front of the right

wheel I get set to start the engine by flipping the propeller Some of my taller friends can wedge their left foot under the front of the tire and reach up to grasp the back edge of the prop but being smaller I dont have the same wingspan they do so I use two rubber chocks strung toshygether with ropes

From painting there are no rings on my right hand and no untucked scarves or baggy sleeves to get caught I pull the propeller through from the back my left hand in the cockpit by the mixture control Five times Then I switch on the magnetos and give one more sharp pull to start it

With the satisfying clicking of the engine at idle with its wind in my face I get in

Every time I sit in that Cub I start to grin and cant stop until I get out again

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15

A fat red folding cushion on the back seat lets me reach the rudders and heel brakes Underneath is a piece of nonskid carpet pad that keeps it from wobbling Careful not to hit the throttle I bend over the front seat to release the tow lever fish the chocks inside and poke them into the back to nestle with my purse and the extra quart of oil

People offer their help and I have met many nice men but I need to be able to do everything myself even if it takes more time because here

there is usually no one else around The hilltop runway is a roller

coaster wide but short with an average elevation of 1993 feet When it is too windy to fly or the clouds scrape by too low the tershyrain has become familiar with walks and mowing

When my Cub and I finally taxi out run up and depart upward over the edge of the hill to the north Otshysego Lake shows suddenly below off the left wing

Writer James Fenimore Cooper

called it a glimmer glass It is a long sliver of shimmering mirror reflectshying up versions of the hills and clouds and the little yellow Cub above And when completely frozen its an endless new runway

Henry David Thoreau wrote 1 A lake is the landscapes most beautishyful and expressive feature It is earths eye looking into which the beholder measures the depth of his own nature

I long for this escape from the close-up perspective of life at the

computer and the drawing table and for the humility of becoming tiny in a big space The view of the lake makes the transformation complete

It also provides points for practicing maneuvers Wings line up against its serene length to measure 360-degree turns and a series of lazy-eights The blue ignition harnesses quiver against the yellow cowling as the cylinders black heads brush along the wide peaceful circle of horizon

16 APRIL 2003

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17

I like going so slowly too as airshyplanes go Only a dive can get us going more than 80 mph

Looking down the farm melts into the undulating grid of fields and hedgerows Especially in the evenings with the cool lattice of shadows stretching With each seashyson a fresh pattern is woven in appropriate threads of color

The freedom is complete Just by working the stick and rudder I can go up down left or right-anyshywhere I am not attached to

18 APRIL 2003

anything but the Cub I am always amazed to see my own shadow surfing across the fields beneath me

I like being an aerial spy I watch tiny tractors drawing stripes in deep brown fields and boats pulling triangular white wakes I discover new destinations for walks traces of old roads through the woods green-gray boulders dropped by the glacier in its reshytreat I see weather coming and feel it as the wind changes against the thin fabric of the fuselage I notice where the cows have grazed paths and who drives up to see me while Im gone

Coming back I watch the lime green flag at mid-field and a bright orange windsock at the north end Sometimes there is no clear best landing direction The wind often swirls from both ways at once To the east are more hints wood smoke from the house or milk room studio or the pond with its surface scum unshyruffled or pleated up at one end or the other

On the downwind leg the field always looks way too short tilted and windy to use When I first moved here from Connecticut where the runshy

ways are mostly long flat and paved I could not imagine that I would ever be able to land here in one piece The local Cub pilots teased relentlessly All the second spring I was here I practiced shortening landings on longer runways until I felt ready Finally when I did come home solo it was almost easy and I wondered what had taken me so long

Now I relish the short slow apshyproach at 55-60 miles an hour watching for deer and turkeys Its a quiet idling glide in sumshymer but with power in the winter to keep the exposed cylinders warm enough to go around if necessary Each touchdown is exshyhilarating

Back down the lumpy lane we go the Cub and I-plump tires bouncing me in the red seat door open if its warm enough wings just missing the leaning hops barn and the bright gas tanks past the milk house and its grand old hay

barn with three silos and sending cats running every which way

In his journal in September of 1851 Thoreau wrote I wish to see the earth through the medium of much air or heaven for there is no paint like the air

How could he have known It s uphill into the hangar If I

shut down as close as possible facshying the entrance I can walk the tail around in perfect alignment for the winch Its a manual one with a long cable

To pull the Cub in it takes turnshying the crank forever If I were strong enough to pick up the tail and lift it all of the way in itd be done in half a minute Instead the winch winds up as the sun slips down the western ridge The barn is illuminated in a red satushyrated moment I begin to think again of the pain tings on my table The clicking resounds out into the hay fields to the ends of the silos blue shadow

Each time I put the Cub away I think of the time Ive spent Next time Ill take even longer

Lonni Sue Johnson watercolorist and cat wrangler aLso serves as the secretary ofEAA Chapter 1070 in Cooperstown New York

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19

~ss BY EE

No mistake taildraggers are here to stay Builders like American Champion Maule Air and Waco Classic are still building new airshyplanes and there are a number of the old Champs Luscombes T-Carts Cessnas and others still out there being restored and flown by both old and new generation pilots

Despite Phil Boyers (AOPA) expeshyrience in learning to handle a taildragger they can still be a lot of fun There is no doubt they require a certain amount of finesse and knowledge of basic airplane hanshydling that isnt required of the tri-gear installation The tri-gear takes a lot of the sweat out of operashytions It eliminates the uphill climb into a seat on the modern airliner puts better visibility over the nose helps in a maximum braking situashytion and gives the pilot something to put on the yellow taxi line

The nose over tendency of early airplanes put skids up front so if they did get the tail high the skid would help to prevent damage to the proshypeller Witness the wing tip skids on Curtiss JNs and DHs in the event of a ground loop Look at the accident and mishap pictures some of the old magshyazines publish and youll see the reason for these skids

The taildragger does have an inshynate tendency to ground loop Just try shoving a tricycle backwards and watch how quickly it ground loops On the other hand going forward is a little more stable and predictable Since we are talking tail wheels lets get back to them

Look at that little wheel back there It doesnt look like much but it is one third of your landing gear yet it does 90 percent of the work at low speeds in controlling the airshy

20 APRIL 2003

BUCK HILBERT EAA 21 VAA 5 PO Box 424 UNION IL 60180

Tail wheels plane on the ground As insignifishycant as it looks it drags through the mud and dust snow and water on pavement or dirt it does its job It keeps you in control provided you make sure its connected and funcshytional with the steering cables and springs attached properly inflated lubricated and equipped with reashysonably decent tread on the tire

The first thing that tells you its working right is the wear on the tail wheel tire If your main gear is out of whack and the airplane dogtrots or crabs while running on the ground uneven wear will show in the tail wheel tire quickly Especially in one of the 6-by-2-inch hard rubber tires Also if the tread is down to where you see a crack along the center get a new tire Inside that rubber molded tire is a cable ring that re-enforces the tire If you see a crack there is a good chance that tire is about to come apart and jam itself between the wheel and the yoke and youll lose control The money spent on a new tire is a mini percentage of what it will cost to reshypair your airplane and overcome the embarrassment that goes with breakshying an airplane

Dont let the phrase taildragger intimidate you Learning to use it and use it properly is just another phase of flight Literally millions of words have been written about how to use the tail wheel and Im not about to reiterate any or all of them Im just going to exshyplain how they work what they are made of and how to take care of them

As with most man-made contrapshytions there are many varied ideas in how to produce them and how effecshytive they are Back in the Jenny days there were skids some fixed and some partially steerable The technique in those days was to shove the stick forshy

ward to take the weight off the skid and fly the tail around using a combishynation of power and rudder alone The rigid skid didnt give much and it imposed side loads on the structure With no brakes the biplane reqUired a pretty large turning radius

The next development was a bungee shock absorber that also swiveled some fifteen degrees This gave some leeway and made the turnshying radius a little smaller The side forces and drag were still there

Then someone put a wheel in place of the skid plate Now they could move the airplane a lot easier but that complicated things because the drag of the skid was all they had for braking With the slick steel plate that friction was gone So some kind of brakes had to be installed on the main gear Next that little wheel on the end of the skid had to swivel so we could really turn short

Various deSigners came out with designs Heath Airplane Company came out with one of the first steershyable tail wheels Other manufacturers followed suit and that function coushypled with individual brakes made ground handling much much easier

Experiments followed with various types of installations including a trailshying spring similar to automotive design which was secured to the tail longerons It is common on Cessnas Aeroncas Taylorcrafts and Pipers The telescoping tail post type like the instalshylation on the Aeronca K Fleet and others and the articulated and hinged installations all came about and all worked with varying degrees of success

A lot depended on the weight and support the little tail wheel had to

carry Look at the DC-3 and the B-17 On these heavier aircraft the tail wheel design had to follow the reshyquirements North American had their own design so did Stinson and Fairchild They all had their unique problems and solved them Some were successful others with someshywhat less than pleasant results

I used to think that the old time pishylots like Amelia and Post and some of those other early record-setting pioshyneers were lousy pilots because they ground looped on occasion In reality they did a terrific job considering the equipment they had to work with Their mishaps were the proof needed to improve the design and function of this little wheel in the back

The steerable was soon improved even further by adding a full swivel feature Now we could really turn around in a tight radius Furthermore the airplane could now be pushed backwards without lifting the tail off the ground or disconnecting the steershying cables This free wheeling feature could also be a trap if the operator wasnt aware of it

How does it work Good question All the designs have common conshytrols usually an arm or steering tiller that transfers the rudder input to the tail wheel assembly Done either with solid arms or cables and usually incorshyporating some sort of shock absorbing device such as springs it gives it a litshytle slack so as not to overpower the rudder action

Pushing rudder will direct the steershying in the direction you want to go Once headed that way you neutralize the rudder input until you want to change direction Neutralizing or censhytering the control will then allow the tail wheel to trail and youll proceed in a straight line

The swivel feature allows the wheel to trail and has some free movement on either side of neutral This soaks up little variations in the runway or sod surface and still allows you conshytrol if your input asks for more

To prevent the unit from going into full swivel a monkey-motion cam arrangement in all the designs

kicks in if you reach the extreme limit of the steerable travel Once this limit releases that cam you have a full swiveling wheel To put it back in the steerable mode the wheel must again trail which releases the cam action and centers itself

This sounds confusing but in realshyity its like there is a notch in the trail position jump out of that notch and you re freewheeling To get back into the notch roll straight ahead a little ways and itll snap back in To get out of that notch you need a full rudder application and a side load

Some airplanes have a manual tail wheel lock The Boeing Kaydet comshymonly known as the Stearman which the Navy used for primary training had a reputation for belittling pilots It was a real ground looper so they inshystalled a manual tail wheel lock This would not allow the tail wheel to go into the full swivel position The 15shyor 20-degree steering input was still there but the full swivel was locked out Some of the Waco aircraft also have this feature It works but the one caveat is dont forget to unlock it to make a sharp turn at the taxiway The locking mechanism will break and then enhance the mechanics job security Ask any DC-3 B-17 or T-6 maintenance technician

Routine preflight of the tail wheel assembly should take real precedence while doing your walk around Again this is your primary control Are the cables attached Are the clips that hold the springs to the steering arms worn Does the tire look good Inflashytion Unusual wear Wiggle the rudder do the cables actually steer the wheel Push a little to impose a side load make sure the attach paints are tight No excess movement Does it lean or show signs of sloppiness Does it look right From the side is the pivot line perpendicular to the ground does everything look right Is the spring sagging One cant be too picky preflighting this little monster It can spell disaster if it isnt controlshylable and we dont want that

So now we finish the preflight and count the wings and wheel The cockshy

pit check is complete and we have the engine running If it s clear ahead open the throttle and move off the tied own using rudder in the direction you want to turn Once the turn is esshytablished neutralize the rudder Now you can test the brakes and see that they are working and then forget them A good steerable tail wheel will respond without braking

Now we get to the basics of how to handle the controls If you are a seashyplane pilot youve already mastered this business of flying the controls If you have a headwind you hold back pressure on the stick to keep the tail wheelan the ground In a tail wind forward pressure again to keep the tail wheelan the ground In a direct crosswind neutralize the elevator and aileron into the wind For a quartershying headwind aileron into the wind and place back pressure on the elevashytor For a quartering tail wind stick AWAY from the wind and place forshyward pressure on the elevator

All this is to keep that tail wheel firmly in contact with the ground to assure control Flying the ailerons in a crosswind keeps pressure on the down aileron and keeps the upwind wing down Taxiing crosswind and in a crosswind takeoff aileron into the wind and opposite rudder to keep it going straight

Practice this Taxi around on the ground until you get the feel of how effective the rudder and the tail wheel steering is Be a little aggressive and experiment a little preferably on a wide grass runway where a little slipshypage can give you a margin for error

If visibility over the nose presents a problem then 15 turn 15 right look left down your route of taxi 15 left and look out the right side If you see its clear then no need to make an 15 of yourself over and over again Only when you want to be sure nothshying is in front of you

Place the centerline markings of the taxiway and the runway between your feet and keep them there There is a parallax error and if the line is between your feet then you are on center and you are assured of wing tip clearance

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21

bull bull

To turn around on a narrow strip plan your turn so the wind will help you Taxi along the downwind edge ofthe strip and make your 180 into the wind The weathervane effect on your airplane will help to initiate the turn Ease up a little on the back pressure as you start into the turn and this will make the tail come around more easily

You are working that tail wheel to your advantage Keep that in mind and visualize the forces your control input is accomplishing Use the brakes sparingly and only as an aid if you aren t turning as sharp as you like or to avoid a problem

After a sharp turn and the tail wheel has fully swiveled roll straight ahead for a bit to get it back in the notch or steerable position Feel the resistance in the rudder pedals when its in the steerable position The rudshyder will feel loose and ineffective if its swiveling The roll straight ahead and a neutral rudder will again enshygage that centering device

Practice those S turns and the 180s on the runway and the strip Play the elevator and the ailerons and again visualize and practice the effect youre looking for Half an hour of taxi time practice wont hurt a bit Once those feet wake up to the fact that THEY control the airplane on the ground your flying will come easy

Dont go out and try this on a day when the wind is blowing up a frenzy Not until youve had enough practice at light crosswinds and tail winds Moderate to heavy winds can really play tricks For example taxishying downwind in a heavy wind can have a reverse effect on the controls You poke in left rudder the rudder swings in that direction the wind pushes against it and you get a reshyverse effect Your ailerons also have a reverse effect going downwind Sometimes its absolutely necessary to have a wing walker on the upwind side to hold that wing down I dont advocate operations in winds strong enough to lift a wing Wait until conshyditions improve and then go fly K

Over to youlr -BtcJ

bull bullI I

A l r e r _ 1t Co_ tl ng _

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Visit wwwsportaircom for a complete listing of workshops

Workshop Schedule April 26-27 2003 Watsonville CA

SHEET METAL COMPOSITE CONSTRUCT FABRIC COVERING ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS

amp AVIONICS

May 16-18 2003 Oshkosh WI RVASSEMBLY

May 16-18 2003 Griffin (Atlanta) GA TIG WELDING

June 6-8 2003 Corona CA RVASSEMBLY

June 21-222003 Frederick MD SHEET METAL COMPOSITE CONSTRUCT FABRIC COVERING ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS

amp AVIONICS GAS WELDING

June 27-29 2003 Griffin (Atlanta) GA RVASSEMBLY TIG WELDING

22 APRIL 2003

be put back on the airplane at any time to make it totally original

liThe original bubble-type windshyshield had been changed to a flat wrap but we found we could duplishycate the original by cutting down an Ercoupe unit At the same time we built a new turtledeck structure to bring it back down to the original lines You sit pretty low in the airshyplane and a previous owner had raised the turtledeck in an apparent effort at increasing the visibility

When we got ready to work on the trim system we realized we didshyn t know exactly how it went together It has two tabs and is comshypletely cable operated with cables coming in through both stabilizers

Looking like a pampered pooch anxiously waiting for a treat from its masshyter the Pasped s extensive metal work meant a lot of time was spent at the English wheel eliminating dents and dings from the comshy

z ~ pound curved surfaces Clt o J t-Z

~ lt UJ o

to a mixer in the fuselage Everyshything had been taken apart and the blueprints didn t show much but again we got enough ideas about how it worked from the photos that we eventually figured it out Its amazing how much harder it is to put something together that you didnt take apart

Some work had been done on the airplane prior to Brown receiving it into his shop including part of the woodwork for the wings

Tom says New spars had been cut and new ribs built so I took all of the wing parts over to my brother Steve who has a wing shop about 3 miles from my place He routed the spars and assembled the pile of parts into wings He specializes in aircraft wing work and he does all of mine We trade labor back and forth and are constantly helping each other

A 165-hp Warner seems to be just the right amount of power for the Skyshylark giving it reasonable performance for an antique airplane Although it looks similar to an Aeronca Le it s a much bigger airplane-looking at the photo of Tom and Buzz you can see the tops of their heads only reach to the middle of the cowl

on our respective projects The ribs were in good shape for the most part and it took him about two months to finish the wings which is pretty good considering how big the wings are

He had to build new ailerons which use box spars The blueprints were a little help but we had one aileron to use as a pattern so that wasnt terribly difficult but it did take time

From the day it was originally built the airplane had been phoshytographed quite a number of times as it passed through various owners hands Those photos would pop up in magazines and in each it is painted a dark red which Tom says wasnt the original color

lilt came out of the factory painted white with black trim A short time later however it was painted red and thats the way it stayed for the next 50 years Buzz wanted it original so we went back to the factory colors

Tom worked on the airplane full time for two years getting it ready for its first flight on July 8 2002 with the goal of making Oshkosh barely two weeks later Tom made the first flights and says it was no problem

liOn that first one I was a little worried because we didnt really know much about how the airplane flew and I was taking off from my brothers little 900-foot farm strip but there was no problem at all The

airplane accelerated really well and with all of that wing area it sort of levitated into the air The stall speed is well under 40 miles per hour so it doesnt take long to get it in the air

W hen it s light it climbs at about 800 feet per minute and it usually cruises at about 110 mph depending on how hard you want to push it

In general you might say it feels slow because of those big wings The ailerons are actually pretty nice however They have just the right amount of differential There isnt enough elevator or rudder however and it takes a long time for the trim to have effect

liThe center section flap is over 9 feet long and 2 feet wide so it really works You come over the fence at about 45 mph and touch down at something under 40 mph

liThe landing gear is really soft and forgiving and its pretty hard to get in trouble when youre moving that slow as long as you are on grass It changes personality entirely howshyever when you put it on pavement

So now that its finished was it worth all the work

Buzz Penny sums it up I wanted something unique that I could take to fly-ins and feel confident in it and the Skylark is exactly that Its comfortable and has great visibility Plus Im absolutely guaranteed that Im not going to find another one tied down next to m e no matter where we go and I like that

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 9

In 1928 I was flying two World War I airplanes at the old Poughkeepshysie Airport later replaced by the present Dutchess County Airport where I still fly in 2003 The two airshyplanes were a]N-4 ]enny and a]-1 Standard The latter involved in the following event was powered by a 220-hp Hispano-Suiza water-cooled V-8 engine from a SPAD made in France in WW 1 It was a good engine for its day but well just read n see

On May 29 1928 the day before Memorial Day a group of American Legions came to the grass field hangarless airport and asked a favor A bronze plaque was to be dedicated in memory of Poughkeepsie men who had lost their lives in the Euroshypean War 1917-1918 The ceremony was to be held on Memorial Day inshystead of as originally planned for the November 11 Armistice Day which would have been the 10th annivershysary of the signing of the armistice ending the war The plaque had alshyready been installed on the old City Hall on Main Street but covered by a shroud to be dropped during the cershyemony sponsored by the Legion

The men asked me to participate in the dedication by dropping from the air over the assemblage a large numshyber of the little artificial poppies The Legionnaires sold these flowers all over the United States to raise funds (poppies from In Flanders Fields) I was happy to do so The men said that a very large crowd was expected to asshysemble in front of the City Hall at Main and Washington streets for the ceremony including one or two Army generals politicians of course and many veterans and the relatives of men lost in the war

There were to be several buglers who 10 APRIL 2003

would be standing in front of the plaque to play taps just before the shroud was dropped As you who are old enough to remember the European War later named World War I the armistice was signed according to legshyend at the 11th minute of the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 Therefore it was planned to have the buglers sound taps and finish just at 1111 am They wanted the popshypies to start falling just as the 11th minute approached (at the 10th) as the last notes of taps were sounding That required precise timing I agreed to try and since one of the men who worked for the railroad had an accurate Hamilshyton watch I synchronized my Waltham wristwatch with it They then left a large box of the poppies

The direct line distance from the field to the target was 4-12 miles which would take just that number of minutes at the 65-70 mph cruising speed of the biplane against an exshypected 5 mph wind However I planned to take off early and try to time the pass exactly over the target The plane had no airspeed indicator and I had only the one opportunity to hit the target on time so I had to time it accurately over landmarks guessing the airspeed of the plane

Main Street and the course to the target were almost parallel but conshyverged The street was level to the target but then dropped downhill for a little more than half a mile to the 12-mile wide Hudson River The Main Street trolley car tracks with their overhead 600-volt wires also led right down to the dock at the river Remember that The big iron railroad bridge is about 38-mile north of that point

My plan was to charge along Main

Street descending toward the target in a silent power-off glide This way I could get an accurate drop directly over the crowd at low altitude withshyout noise which might drown out the sounding of taps

Of course that would bend the new air regulations but they did not want the poppies spread all over the city just the assemblage It was to be a complete surprise event After the drop I planned to silently glide down the grade of Main Street for about a block or two then resume power gradshyually and flyaway over the river That afternoon I made a practice flight at higher altitude to test the timing

Memorial Day turned out to be perfect weather clear and cool with a light NW breeze I had the plane out and ready for warm-up and was exshypecting another pilot friend to sit in the cockpit while I cranked the big 9shyfoot 2-inch left-hand Hamilton wood propeller (I still have it) I was 6 foot 2-12 inches tall and 175 pounds and did not allow anyone else to crank it It was not only bigger than most proshypeliers but left-hand propellers were rare and unsafe for an inexperienced person All aircraft engines were started by hand-cranking the proshypeliers in those days a perilous art

I had another friend non pilot who was ready to ride in the front cockpit to dump the poppies overboard on my signal In those open airplanes the pishylot sat in the rear cockpit The time came to warm up the engine but the other pilot did not Ample time was needed to warm up the big water-cooled engine and I was getting desperate Someone should be in the rear cockpit

even a choke There brass primer cups with

valves on the intake manifold After putting about a thimbleful of gasoshyline in each cup the valves were opened to drain the gas down into the manifold and then closed To do all that it was necessary to stand on one of the wheels to reach themshyfirst one side of the plane then the other The propeller was then pulled about two revolutions to take the prime into the cylinders The priming charge would then be repeated to provide fuel for the starting engine

The person pulling the propeller would get one blade into the proper position and call switch on to the person in the cockpit who would turn the magneto switch on and anshyswer switch on The propeller would then be pulled through the first compression briskly and the enshygine should start

Well tha t did happen but not every time by any means If not then the person in the cockpit ca lled switch off and it was then necessary to get the propeller into the proper pomiddot si tion for another pull If not successful after two or three times it was necessary to go through the entire priming and starting process again This procedure continued until a sucshycessful start was achieved It could be rather strenuous work for even a husky person on the propeller I had develshyoped good propeller-pulling muscles for it took a lot of strength

With my nonpilot friend at the pishylots cockpit to work the switch I started the above procedure about 30 minutes before the scheduled poppy drop not too much time So I cranked that prop and cranked it again and again priming in between My heart

WaKf~r and it was now 11 04 am I had to get into the air by 1105 am to make the drop on schedule In despershyation I gave it another swing then another and suddenly the engine came to life I dove behind the revolvshying propeller on hands and knees and pulled the two chocks from the wheels They were tied together by a rope so a single pull did it The plane rolled forward and I rolled on my back as the lower wing passed over me Then I jumped for the rear cockpit as my friend scrambled to get into the front cockpit No time for any cereshymony seat belt warm-up magneto check just go

With the engine and its gallons of cooling water stone cold you can imagshyine how reluctant it was to respond to the open throttle Accelerating pumps had not been invented The engine burped snorted backfired and popped as the plane slowly accelerated lifted off and barely got up over the trees with the help of pucker factor

A gentle turn toward Poughkeepsie and a bare climb with the weak engine put us on our way just over the treeshytops The engine gave intermittent bursts of power between noisy pops and bangs I had a naked sensat ion without my safety belt but there was no time to let go of the controls to fasshyten it I just had to keep the engine running until it warmed and gained some precious altitude I intercepted Main Street at about 400 feet and folshylowed it With the target about a mile and a half ahead I finally reached about 700 feet altitude About a mile from the target I had the engine going well but then had to start my fast glide to the target So I throttled it to id le for the silent approach I knew that I was late but was too busy to look at my wristwatch while judging the steep

almost closed and proceeded down the grade of Main Street toward the river About a block past the target I dared to start using power But the enshygine was cold again and started backfiring With the windmilling proshypeller turning it gave precious little power I was descending steeper than Main Street and getting closer to those deadly 600-volt trolley wires trying to coax some power out of the engine

Of course the carburetor had iced up and there was no carburetor heat on those engines The only way to get rid of it was to pump the throttle and cause the backfiring to blow the ice out of the carb venturi I was just able to keep above the wires As the enshygine banged and snorted down to the river I tried to figure how to get beshyyond the wires and over the dock to dunk my plane into the water

It looked like I would barely clear the dock in a stall and then get wet I could see the spot where we would hit We cleared the wires by a few feet and then down to the water still with intermittent power I held the plane barely above the surface in ground efshyfect Wond erful Good o ld ground effect We floated out over the water only about four feet above it farther and farther away from shore still tryshying to coax more power o ut of the engine I was determined to save my beautiful airplane which had cost me six months of hard work rebuilding it from the wreck I had bought I seemed to have no th ought of the probability of drowning

Suddenly all eight cylinders started firing I made a slight right turn into the light northwest breeze passed under the railroad bridge then made a shallow

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 1 1

JOHN MILLER CONTINUED

climb to a few hundred feet over the water and finally turned back to the airport On the way I got myself calmed down a little but was shivering from exshycitement I was elated at saving the airplane but disappointed at fouling up the poppy drop timing

An hour or so after landing as I exshypected I saw the big open touring car with the group of legionnaires come speeding toward the airport to berate me for fouling up their carefully made plan The car slid to a stop in a cloud of dust All four doors swung open and the six or eight legionnaires burst out and ran toward me I braced myself for their asshysault They jumped all over me shaking both of my hands and all talking to me at once enthusiastically thanking me for such a perfectly timed bombingI

They said that as the buglers were playing taps they did not hear me comshying and were disappointed that all of their precise plans and timing were wasted Then just as the final notes of taps sounded the poppies silently rained over the crowd as a complete surprise They had not heard the whistling wires of the biplane over the sounding of taps And since they were looking at the buglers and standing at attention they did not see the plane pass overhead I had flown it slightly to the right of Main Street slightly behind them to allow the NW breeze to drift the poppies to the crowd They could not thank me enough nor understand how I could have timed the drop so well and silently

Little did they know nor did I tell them of my professional secret II They said that the notes of taps and the popshypies silently snowing down from the sky was so impressive that thousands of people had tears in their eyes the emoshytion was so intense Yes little did they know I wish I could have been there much more than where I was I can still plainly see those deadly 600-volt wires under the wheels the tails kid barely clearing the dock and the wheels alshymost rolling on the water

Did I ever learn from that expeshyrience

That same J-1 Standard still exshyists in 2003 12 APRIL 2003

T

Go Around To flare or not to flare

DOUG STEWART NAFI MASTER INSTRUCTOR

The storm had been intense weather conditions one could tracking up the stationary front easily see the way the wind was along the East Coast but now it caused (I didnt say cussed alshywas being chased out into the though it often was) to rotor as it North Atlantic by a strong high blew over these trees The powder that was building into New Eng- snow that had been dumped in land With the high pressure the trees during the storm could came blue skies that are normally be seen as it first blew up and saved for the desert southwest then rolled rapidly down in the and visibilities that are rarely vortices that the trees created matched here in But it was sum-

Massachusetts To ADD TO THE MIX mer now and if a especially now in pilot was not

the summer A ROW OF PINE well versed in But the isobars reading the tershy

were jam-packed TREES LINES THE rain it was easy together and the to get lured into

wind was howl- APPROACH TO a low approach ing The winds to the runway To were gusting more THE NORTH OF some pilots the than 35 knots 2600 feet of run-coming across the runway at a 70- to

THE EXTENDED way seemed very short and thus

85-degree angle It was not the

CENTERLINE OF they could be fooled into trying

kind of day to be landing here unshy

RUNWAY 29shy a low approach in an attempt to

less you had your put it on the crosswind landing techniques numbersI This type of approach mastered In the pattern an inshy rarely worked because the lowshystructor was teaching those level wind shear created severe techniques to a student We prefer turbulence on a low approach to teach a sideslip approach in The best approach in these conshycrosswind conditions to fledgling di tions was a high slipping students That way they do not approach with an aim point have to deal with the transition about 500 feet down the runshyfrom a crab to a slip as they also way This way a pilot could stay try to figure out how and when to out of most of the turbulence commence their flare and although the slip could lead

To add to the mix a row of pine a pilot to think that the crossshytrees lines the approach to the wind capabilities had been north of the extended centerline exceeded it was rare that this of Runway 29-the runway in use would continue all the way to this day In the winter in similar the runway As an aircraft got

past the trees and close to the ground surface friction usually slowed the wind enough to alshyIowa pilot to straighten things out and land without incident

Also coming from the west along with the high pressure was a small homebuilt hot rod it was a tandem taildragger with short stubby wings and large empenshynage and rudder In the rear seat was the owner who had yet to obtain his tail wheel endorsement and thus had been along for the ride all the way from the West Coast Sitting at the controls in front was the pilot in command His tailwheel time had been grandfathered as years ago he had flown as a commercial pilot in a Beech 18 But before flying this aircraft he had never flown a small single-engine tailwheel airshyplane It was also rare that he ever landed three point usually wheeling on the twin Beech They arrived just as the wind was at its peak

Making their downwind anshynouncement over the UNICOM the voice on the other end of the UNICOM warned them to be on their toes Their approach was not too high and not too low but a little too fast As they tried to bleed off speed the turbulence was bouncing them all over the place They decided to go around

The second approach was higher but this time too high and it was obvious that a goshyaround would be needed again The voice from the UNICOM opshyerator admonished them yet again

to be careful They knew that many eyes were on them On their third approach they decided to come in low and fast Apshyproach speed for this aircraft is about 80 knots They were doing at least 100 knots As they flew through the turbulence the little aircraft was bounced around like a cork in rapids

The plane floated and floated down the runway bleeding off all the excessive speed It finally touched down with less than 600 feet of runway remaining It was still too fast I know that a little extra speed is sometimes used in a wheel landing but this was abshysurd As the end of the runway loomed the plane drifted off the right side of the runway tail still up in a level attitude If braking had been poor on the pavement it was going to be worse in the gravel the wheels were now on

The runway ends in a steep drop-off of about 20 feet To the right of the runway at the top of the drop-off were two poplar trees One of them had about a 10-inch diameter the other was approximately 6 inches As the leading edge of the wing hit these trees they were snapped as if a karate master were demonstrating his skill The airplane spun 540 degrees and crashed into the holshylow going backward Coming to a stop upright the two souls aboard scrambled out of the plane with the pilot collapsing only a few steps from the wreckage his back badly broken

Jve often told my students that any landing you can walk away from is a good landing If you can use the plane again its a great landing This one was only going to count as a good landing And just barely at that

To this day a question remains unanswered in my mind Why did they not go around a third time Why didnt they fly to an airport less than 16 miles to the west that had a runway aligned

almost directly with the wind and that was also twice as long and twice as wide Get-there-itis Pride Only the pilot in comshymand that day can answer those questions

My mentor and friend Safety Program Manager Bob Martens has often said that the go-around is the most neglected maneuver in flying How right he is I have personally witnessed several accishydents that miraculously were not fatal that were the direct reshysult of go-arounds gone bad In more than one instance getshythere-itis or pride played a large role Why do we get the mentalshyity that we have to land at this airport I remember one blusshytery New Years Day when I went to four different airports before finding a runway where I didnt run out of crosswind capability in a T-tailed Arrow

Pilots do some pretty dumb things when they think their peers are observing them One of them is trying to force a landing gone bad thinking that they will be thought of as less than comshypetent if they have to go around But the opposite is true It shows cautious good sense I have freshyquently told students just learning to land that they should not be reluctant to go around thinking that I will think poorly of them I tell them quite honshyestly that I wont remember how many times they might have to go around but I will never forget the one time they fail to go around and crash

So next time youre flying why not practice some go-arounds Reshymember its power first Full power smoothly and steadily not slammed in Then clean up the configuration as necessary as you transition to best angle climb speed If you have the good sense to go around when necessary and the skill to do it properly you will be more than a good pilot youll be a great pilot

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 13

Taldn There is no paint like the air

Off

I sit by the east window watchshying the clouds made red and blue by the sun that sets beshyhind me with a cup of Earl Grey tea warm and gold with

local honey I smell it sweetly minshygling with the scent of avgas and engine oil which drifts up from my blue jeans as I think of where Ive just been Mostly I am bent over a computer or my watercolor table painting rushing under the weight of deadlines absorbed in the small world of color on a flat piece of French paper with hands stressed from the tension of working tiny brushes There is little room for error with watercolors

14 APRIL 2003

But if I stop painting to look up and out the yellow nose of an airshyplane is right there poking out of the long metal machine shed hangar right there to remind me of the larger picture

LONNI SUE JOHNSON

So when I can take a break if the weather is good for it we go flying

The 1946 Piper J-3 Cub is perfect for an escape Simple and old-fashshyioned it goes even slower than the little aluminum Cessna I learned to fly in Its small tail wheel gives it an eager nose-high stance It is the color of school buses with an eleshygant black lightning bolt from nose to tail With the wings overhead it makes good shade for a lawn chair and is a big yellow umbrella when its raining Best of all in the air there is nothing to block the view of the earth

Its light for an airplane Even with its 35-foot 8-inch wings wider

than a New York City brownstone and Continental 90 horse engine it weighs only 884 pounds with both tanks full Its angular steel armature is stretched drum-like with shiny fabric resilient to the touch-almost like a big 3-D canvas primed yellow and ready to go

But this is no painterly illusion And its not that light

I can lift the tail wheel up for a few seconds if necessary but I mostly move it around by rolling large slow semicircles

I savor the preflight inspection and let it take a long time Partly beshycause even with lots of exercise carrying firewood and piling bales of hay and eating as much ice cream as possible I am still not as tall or strong as most of my male pilot friends

To check the wing tank and wash the windshield I need a ladder and I have to slow down to position it without scraping the landing gear or in winter the newly painted yelshylow skis Climbing down I press my

hands against the cowling warm from the engine heater to limber them for reaching inside to unplug its long orange extension cord

Looking up I can examine the aileron cables and pulleys while unshytying the wings I love the feel of ropes and knots and remember the old-timer who showed me the speshyciallore and cleverness of their invention

I live well into the country where keeping mice in their place and not in my stuff is a constant battle I reshytrieve the old pair of pantyhose toes heavy with mothballs which hang down inside the tail Then I pull off the quilted cowl cover and the miceshyhunting cat or two who sleep there

On wheels it is just possible by rocking the Cub a bit to get it to roll out of the hangar almost by itself Then with a rope and the banner tow release I loop the tail to the doorpost so it doesnt go flying

without me Standing in front of the right

wheel I get set to start the engine by flipping the propeller Some of my taller friends can wedge their left foot under the front of the tire and reach up to grasp the back edge of the prop but being smaller I dont have the same wingspan they do so I use two rubber chocks strung toshygether with ropes

From painting there are no rings on my right hand and no untucked scarves or baggy sleeves to get caught I pull the propeller through from the back my left hand in the cockpit by the mixture control Five times Then I switch on the magnetos and give one more sharp pull to start it

With the satisfying clicking of the engine at idle with its wind in my face I get in

Every time I sit in that Cub I start to grin and cant stop until I get out again

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15

A fat red folding cushion on the back seat lets me reach the rudders and heel brakes Underneath is a piece of nonskid carpet pad that keeps it from wobbling Careful not to hit the throttle I bend over the front seat to release the tow lever fish the chocks inside and poke them into the back to nestle with my purse and the extra quart of oil

People offer their help and I have met many nice men but I need to be able to do everything myself even if it takes more time because here

there is usually no one else around The hilltop runway is a roller

coaster wide but short with an average elevation of 1993 feet When it is too windy to fly or the clouds scrape by too low the tershyrain has become familiar with walks and mowing

When my Cub and I finally taxi out run up and depart upward over the edge of the hill to the north Otshysego Lake shows suddenly below off the left wing

Writer James Fenimore Cooper

called it a glimmer glass It is a long sliver of shimmering mirror reflectshying up versions of the hills and clouds and the little yellow Cub above And when completely frozen its an endless new runway

Henry David Thoreau wrote 1 A lake is the landscapes most beautishyful and expressive feature It is earths eye looking into which the beholder measures the depth of his own nature

I long for this escape from the close-up perspective of life at the

computer and the drawing table and for the humility of becoming tiny in a big space The view of the lake makes the transformation complete

It also provides points for practicing maneuvers Wings line up against its serene length to measure 360-degree turns and a series of lazy-eights The blue ignition harnesses quiver against the yellow cowling as the cylinders black heads brush along the wide peaceful circle of horizon

16 APRIL 2003

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17

I like going so slowly too as airshyplanes go Only a dive can get us going more than 80 mph

Looking down the farm melts into the undulating grid of fields and hedgerows Especially in the evenings with the cool lattice of shadows stretching With each seashyson a fresh pattern is woven in appropriate threads of color

The freedom is complete Just by working the stick and rudder I can go up down left or right-anyshywhere I am not attached to

18 APRIL 2003

anything but the Cub I am always amazed to see my own shadow surfing across the fields beneath me

I like being an aerial spy I watch tiny tractors drawing stripes in deep brown fields and boats pulling triangular white wakes I discover new destinations for walks traces of old roads through the woods green-gray boulders dropped by the glacier in its reshytreat I see weather coming and feel it as the wind changes against the thin fabric of the fuselage I notice where the cows have grazed paths and who drives up to see me while Im gone

Coming back I watch the lime green flag at mid-field and a bright orange windsock at the north end Sometimes there is no clear best landing direction The wind often swirls from both ways at once To the east are more hints wood smoke from the house or milk room studio or the pond with its surface scum unshyruffled or pleated up at one end or the other

On the downwind leg the field always looks way too short tilted and windy to use When I first moved here from Connecticut where the runshy

ways are mostly long flat and paved I could not imagine that I would ever be able to land here in one piece The local Cub pilots teased relentlessly All the second spring I was here I practiced shortening landings on longer runways until I felt ready Finally when I did come home solo it was almost easy and I wondered what had taken me so long

Now I relish the short slow apshyproach at 55-60 miles an hour watching for deer and turkeys Its a quiet idling glide in sumshymer but with power in the winter to keep the exposed cylinders warm enough to go around if necessary Each touchdown is exshyhilarating

Back down the lumpy lane we go the Cub and I-plump tires bouncing me in the red seat door open if its warm enough wings just missing the leaning hops barn and the bright gas tanks past the milk house and its grand old hay

barn with three silos and sending cats running every which way

In his journal in September of 1851 Thoreau wrote I wish to see the earth through the medium of much air or heaven for there is no paint like the air

How could he have known It s uphill into the hangar If I

shut down as close as possible facshying the entrance I can walk the tail around in perfect alignment for the winch Its a manual one with a long cable

To pull the Cub in it takes turnshying the crank forever If I were strong enough to pick up the tail and lift it all of the way in itd be done in half a minute Instead the winch winds up as the sun slips down the western ridge The barn is illuminated in a red satushyrated moment I begin to think again of the pain tings on my table The clicking resounds out into the hay fields to the ends of the silos blue shadow

Each time I put the Cub away I think of the time Ive spent Next time Ill take even longer

Lonni Sue Johnson watercolorist and cat wrangler aLso serves as the secretary ofEAA Chapter 1070 in Cooperstown New York

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19

~ss BY EE

No mistake taildraggers are here to stay Builders like American Champion Maule Air and Waco Classic are still building new airshyplanes and there are a number of the old Champs Luscombes T-Carts Cessnas and others still out there being restored and flown by both old and new generation pilots

Despite Phil Boyers (AOPA) expeshyrience in learning to handle a taildragger they can still be a lot of fun There is no doubt they require a certain amount of finesse and knowledge of basic airplane hanshydling that isnt required of the tri-gear installation The tri-gear takes a lot of the sweat out of operashytions It eliminates the uphill climb into a seat on the modern airliner puts better visibility over the nose helps in a maximum braking situashytion and gives the pilot something to put on the yellow taxi line

The nose over tendency of early airplanes put skids up front so if they did get the tail high the skid would help to prevent damage to the proshypeller Witness the wing tip skids on Curtiss JNs and DHs in the event of a ground loop Look at the accident and mishap pictures some of the old magshyazines publish and youll see the reason for these skids

The taildragger does have an inshynate tendency to ground loop Just try shoving a tricycle backwards and watch how quickly it ground loops On the other hand going forward is a little more stable and predictable Since we are talking tail wheels lets get back to them

Look at that little wheel back there It doesnt look like much but it is one third of your landing gear yet it does 90 percent of the work at low speeds in controlling the airshy

20 APRIL 2003

BUCK HILBERT EAA 21 VAA 5 PO Box 424 UNION IL 60180

Tail wheels plane on the ground As insignifishycant as it looks it drags through the mud and dust snow and water on pavement or dirt it does its job It keeps you in control provided you make sure its connected and funcshytional with the steering cables and springs attached properly inflated lubricated and equipped with reashysonably decent tread on the tire

The first thing that tells you its working right is the wear on the tail wheel tire If your main gear is out of whack and the airplane dogtrots or crabs while running on the ground uneven wear will show in the tail wheel tire quickly Especially in one of the 6-by-2-inch hard rubber tires Also if the tread is down to where you see a crack along the center get a new tire Inside that rubber molded tire is a cable ring that re-enforces the tire If you see a crack there is a good chance that tire is about to come apart and jam itself between the wheel and the yoke and youll lose control The money spent on a new tire is a mini percentage of what it will cost to reshypair your airplane and overcome the embarrassment that goes with breakshying an airplane

Dont let the phrase taildragger intimidate you Learning to use it and use it properly is just another phase of flight Literally millions of words have been written about how to use the tail wheel and Im not about to reiterate any or all of them Im just going to exshyplain how they work what they are made of and how to take care of them

As with most man-made contrapshytions there are many varied ideas in how to produce them and how effecshytive they are Back in the Jenny days there were skids some fixed and some partially steerable The technique in those days was to shove the stick forshy

ward to take the weight off the skid and fly the tail around using a combishynation of power and rudder alone The rigid skid didnt give much and it imposed side loads on the structure With no brakes the biplane reqUired a pretty large turning radius

The next development was a bungee shock absorber that also swiveled some fifteen degrees This gave some leeway and made the turnshying radius a little smaller The side forces and drag were still there

Then someone put a wheel in place of the skid plate Now they could move the airplane a lot easier but that complicated things because the drag of the skid was all they had for braking With the slick steel plate that friction was gone So some kind of brakes had to be installed on the main gear Next that little wheel on the end of the skid had to swivel so we could really turn short

Various deSigners came out with designs Heath Airplane Company came out with one of the first steershyable tail wheels Other manufacturers followed suit and that function coushypled with individual brakes made ground handling much much easier

Experiments followed with various types of installations including a trailshying spring similar to automotive design which was secured to the tail longerons It is common on Cessnas Aeroncas Taylorcrafts and Pipers The telescoping tail post type like the instalshylation on the Aeronca K Fleet and others and the articulated and hinged installations all came about and all worked with varying degrees of success

A lot depended on the weight and support the little tail wheel had to

carry Look at the DC-3 and the B-17 On these heavier aircraft the tail wheel design had to follow the reshyquirements North American had their own design so did Stinson and Fairchild They all had their unique problems and solved them Some were successful others with someshywhat less than pleasant results

I used to think that the old time pishylots like Amelia and Post and some of those other early record-setting pioshyneers were lousy pilots because they ground looped on occasion In reality they did a terrific job considering the equipment they had to work with Their mishaps were the proof needed to improve the design and function of this little wheel in the back

The steerable was soon improved even further by adding a full swivel feature Now we could really turn around in a tight radius Furthermore the airplane could now be pushed backwards without lifting the tail off the ground or disconnecting the steershying cables This free wheeling feature could also be a trap if the operator wasnt aware of it

How does it work Good question All the designs have common conshytrols usually an arm or steering tiller that transfers the rudder input to the tail wheel assembly Done either with solid arms or cables and usually incorshyporating some sort of shock absorbing device such as springs it gives it a litshytle slack so as not to overpower the rudder action

Pushing rudder will direct the steershying in the direction you want to go Once headed that way you neutralize the rudder input until you want to change direction Neutralizing or censhytering the control will then allow the tail wheel to trail and youll proceed in a straight line

The swivel feature allows the wheel to trail and has some free movement on either side of neutral This soaks up little variations in the runway or sod surface and still allows you conshytrol if your input asks for more

To prevent the unit from going into full swivel a monkey-motion cam arrangement in all the designs

kicks in if you reach the extreme limit of the steerable travel Once this limit releases that cam you have a full swiveling wheel To put it back in the steerable mode the wheel must again trail which releases the cam action and centers itself

This sounds confusing but in realshyity its like there is a notch in the trail position jump out of that notch and you re freewheeling To get back into the notch roll straight ahead a little ways and itll snap back in To get out of that notch you need a full rudder application and a side load

Some airplanes have a manual tail wheel lock The Boeing Kaydet comshymonly known as the Stearman which the Navy used for primary training had a reputation for belittling pilots It was a real ground looper so they inshystalled a manual tail wheel lock This would not allow the tail wheel to go into the full swivel position The 15shyor 20-degree steering input was still there but the full swivel was locked out Some of the Waco aircraft also have this feature It works but the one caveat is dont forget to unlock it to make a sharp turn at the taxiway The locking mechanism will break and then enhance the mechanics job security Ask any DC-3 B-17 or T-6 maintenance technician

Routine preflight of the tail wheel assembly should take real precedence while doing your walk around Again this is your primary control Are the cables attached Are the clips that hold the springs to the steering arms worn Does the tire look good Inflashytion Unusual wear Wiggle the rudder do the cables actually steer the wheel Push a little to impose a side load make sure the attach paints are tight No excess movement Does it lean or show signs of sloppiness Does it look right From the side is the pivot line perpendicular to the ground does everything look right Is the spring sagging One cant be too picky preflighting this little monster It can spell disaster if it isnt controlshylable and we dont want that

So now we finish the preflight and count the wings and wheel The cockshy

pit check is complete and we have the engine running If it s clear ahead open the throttle and move off the tied own using rudder in the direction you want to turn Once the turn is esshytablished neutralize the rudder Now you can test the brakes and see that they are working and then forget them A good steerable tail wheel will respond without braking

Now we get to the basics of how to handle the controls If you are a seashyplane pilot youve already mastered this business of flying the controls If you have a headwind you hold back pressure on the stick to keep the tail wheelan the ground In a tail wind forward pressure again to keep the tail wheelan the ground In a direct crosswind neutralize the elevator and aileron into the wind For a quartershying headwind aileron into the wind and place back pressure on the elevashytor For a quartering tail wind stick AWAY from the wind and place forshyward pressure on the elevator

All this is to keep that tail wheel firmly in contact with the ground to assure control Flying the ailerons in a crosswind keeps pressure on the down aileron and keeps the upwind wing down Taxiing crosswind and in a crosswind takeoff aileron into the wind and opposite rudder to keep it going straight

Practice this Taxi around on the ground until you get the feel of how effective the rudder and the tail wheel steering is Be a little aggressive and experiment a little preferably on a wide grass runway where a little slipshypage can give you a margin for error

If visibility over the nose presents a problem then 15 turn 15 right look left down your route of taxi 15 left and look out the right side If you see its clear then no need to make an 15 of yourself over and over again Only when you want to be sure nothshying is in front of you

Place the centerline markings of the taxiway and the runway between your feet and keep them there There is a parallax error and if the line is between your feet then you are on center and you are assured of wing tip clearance

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21

bull bull

To turn around on a narrow strip plan your turn so the wind will help you Taxi along the downwind edge ofthe strip and make your 180 into the wind The weathervane effect on your airplane will help to initiate the turn Ease up a little on the back pressure as you start into the turn and this will make the tail come around more easily

You are working that tail wheel to your advantage Keep that in mind and visualize the forces your control input is accomplishing Use the brakes sparingly and only as an aid if you aren t turning as sharp as you like or to avoid a problem

After a sharp turn and the tail wheel has fully swiveled roll straight ahead for a bit to get it back in the notch or steerable position Feel the resistance in the rudder pedals when its in the steerable position The rudshyder will feel loose and ineffective if its swiveling The roll straight ahead and a neutral rudder will again enshygage that centering device

Practice those S turns and the 180s on the runway and the strip Play the elevator and the ailerons and again visualize and practice the effect youre looking for Half an hour of taxi time practice wont hurt a bit Once those feet wake up to the fact that THEY control the airplane on the ground your flying will come easy

Dont go out and try this on a day when the wind is blowing up a frenzy Not until youve had enough practice at light crosswinds and tail winds Moderate to heavy winds can really play tricks For example taxishying downwind in a heavy wind can have a reverse effect on the controls You poke in left rudder the rudder swings in that direction the wind pushes against it and you get a reshyverse effect Your ailerons also have a reverse effect going downwind Sometimes its absolutely necessary to have a wing walker on the upwind side to hold that wing down I dont advocate operations in winds strong enough to lift a wing Wait until conshyditions improve and then go fly K

Over to youlr -BtcJ

bull bullI I

A l r e r _ 1t Co_ tl ng _

wwwpolyfibercom wwwaircraflsprucecom

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22 APRIL 2003

In 1928 I was flying two World War I airplanes at the old Poughkeepshysie Airport later replaced by the present Dutchess County Airport where I still fly in 2003 The two airshyplanes were a]N-4 ]enny and a]-1 Standard The latter involved in the following event was powered by a 220-hp Hispano-Suiza water-cooled V-8 engine from a SPAD made in France in WW 1 It was a good engine for its day but well just read n see

On May 29 1928 the day before Memorial Day a group of American Legions came to the grass field hangarless airport and asked a favor A bronze plaque was to be dedicated in memory of Poughkeepsie men who had lost their lives in the Euroshypean War 1917-1918 The ceremony was to be held on Memorial Day inshystead of as originally planned for the November 11 Armistice Day which would have been the 10th annivershysary of the signing of the armistice ending the war The plaque had alshyready been installed on the old City Hall on Main Street but covered by a shroud to be dropped during the cershyemony sponsored by the Legion

The men asked me to participate in the dedication by dropping from the air over the assemblage a large numshyber of the little artificial poppies The Legionnaires sold these flowers all over the United States to raise funds (poppies from In Flanders Fields) I was happy to do so The men said that a very large crowd was expected to asshysemble in front of the City Hall at Main and Washington streets for the ceremony including one or two Army generals politicians of course and many veterans and the relatives of men lost in the war

There were to be several buglers who 10 APRIL 2003

would be standing in front of the plaque to play taps just before the shroud was dropped As you who are old enough to remember the European War later named World War I the armistice was signed according to legshyend at the 11th minute of the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 Therefore it was planned to have the buglers sound taps and finish just at 1111 am They wanted the popshypies to start falling just as the 11th minute approached (at the 10th) as the last notes of taps were sounding That required precise timing I agreed to try and since one of the men who worked for the railroad had an accurate Hamilshyton watch I synchronized my Waltham wristwatch with it They then left a large box of the poppies

The direct line distance from the field to the target was 4-12 miles which would take just that number of minutes at the 65-70 mph cruising speed of the biplane against an exshypected 5 mph wind However I planned to take off early and try to time the pass exactly over the target The plane had no airspeed indicator and I had only the one opportunity to hit the target on time so I had to time it accurately over landmarks guessing the airspeed of the plane

Main Street and the course to the target were almost parallel but conshyverged The street was level to the target but then dropped downhill for a little more than half a mile to the 12-mile wide Hudson River The Main Street trolley car tracks with their overhead 600-volt wires also led right down to the dock at the river Remember that The big iron railroad bridge is about 38-mile north of that point

My plan was to charge along Main

Street descending toward the target in a silent power-off glide This way I could get an accurate drop directly over the crowd at low altitude withshyout noise which might drown out the sounding of taps

Of course that would bend the new air regulations but they did not want the poppies spread all over the city just the assemblage It was to be a complete surprise event After the drop I planned to silently glide down the grade of Main Street for about a block or two then resume power gradshyually and flyaway over the river That afternoon I made a practice flight at higher altitude to test the timing

Memorial Day turned out to be perfect weather clear and cool with a light NW breeze I had the plane out and ready for warm-up and was exshypecting another pilot friend to sit in the cockpit while I cranked the big 9shyfoot 2-inch left-hand Hamilton wood propeller (I still have it) I was 6 foot 2-12 inches tall and 175 pounds and did not allow anyone else to crank it It was not only bigger than most proshypeliers but left-hand propellers were rare and unsafe for an inexperienced person All aircraft engines were started by hand-cranking the proshypeliers in those days a perilous art

I had another friend non pilot who was ready to ride in the front cockpit to dump the poppies overboard on my signal In those open airplanes the pishylot sat in the rear cockpit The time came to warm up the engine but the other pilot did not Ample time was needed to warm up the big water-cooled engine and I was getting desperate Someone should be in the rear cockpit

even a choke There brass primer cups with

valves on the intake manifold After putting about a thimbleful of gasoshyline in each cup the valves were opened to drain the gas down into the manifold and then closed To do all that it was necessary to stand on one of the wheels to reach themshyfirst one side of the plane then the other The propeller was then pulled about two revolutions to take the prime into the cylinders The priming charge would then be repeated to provide fuel for the starting engine

The person pulling the propeller would get one blade into the proper position and call switch on to the person in the cockpit who would turn the magneto switch on and anshyswer switch on The propeller would then be pulled through the first compression briskly and the enshygine should start

Well tha t did happen but not every time by any means If not then the person in the cockpit ca lled switch off and it was then necessary to get the propeller into the proper pomiddot si tion for another pull If not successful after two or three times it was necessary to go through the entire priming and starting process again This procedure continued until a sucshycessful start was achieved It could be rather strenuous work for even a husky person on the propeller I had develshyoped good propeller-pulling muscles for it took a lot of strength

With my nonpilot friend at the pishylots cockpit to work the switch I started the above procedure about 30 minutes before the scheduled poppy drop not too much time So I cranked that prop and cranked it again and again priming in between My heart

WaKf~r and it was now 11 04 am I had to get into the air by 1105 am to make the drop on schedule In despershyation I gave it another swing then another and suddenly the engine came to life I dove behind the revolvshying propeller on hands and knees and pulled the two chocks from the wheels They were tied together by a rope so a single pull did it The plane rolled forward and I rolled on my back as the lower wing passed over me Then I jumped for the rear cockpit as my friend scrambled to get into the front cockpit No time for any cereshymony seat belt warm-up magneto check just go

With the engine and its gallons of cooling water stone cold you can imagshyine how reluctant it was to respond to the open throttle Accelerating pumps had not been invented The engine burped snorted backfired and popped as the plane slowly accelerated lifted off and barely got up over the trees with the help of pucker factor

A gentle turn toward Poughkeepsie and a bare climb with the weak engine put us on our way just over the treeshytops The engine gave intermittent bursts of power between noisy pops and bangs I had a naked sensat ion without my safety belt but there was no time to let go of the controls to fasshyten it I just had to keep the engine running until it warmed and gained some precious altitude I intercepted Main Street at about 400 feet and folshylowed it With the target about a mile and a half ahead I finally reached about 700 feet altitude About a mile from the target I had the engine going well but then had to start my fast glide to the target So I throttled it to id le for the silent approach I knew that I was late but was too busy to look at my wristwatch while judging the steep

almost closed and proceeded down the grade of Main Street toward the river About a block past the target I dared to start using power But the enshygine was cold again and started backfiring With the windmilling proshypeller turning it gave precious little power I was descending steeper than Main Street and getting closer to those deadly 600-volt trolley wires trying to coax some power out of the engine

Of course the carburetor had iced up and there was no carburetor heat on those engines The only way to get rid of it was to pump the throttle and cause the backfiring to blow the ice out of the carb venturi I was just able to keep above the wires As the enshygine banged and snorted down to the river I tried to figure how to get beshyyond the wires and over the dock to dunk my plane into the water

It looked like I would barely clear the dock in a stall and then get wet I could see the spot where we would hit We cleared the wires by a few feet and then down to the water still with intermittent power I held the plane barely above the surface in ground efshyfect Wond erful Good o ld ground effect We floated out over the water only about four feet above it farther and farther away from shore still tryshying to coax more power o ut of the engine I was determined to save my beautiful airplane which had cost me six months of hard work rebuilding it from the wreck I had bought I seemed to have no th ought of the probability of drowning

Suddenly all eight cylinders started firing I made a slight right turn into the light northwest breeze passed under the railroad bridge then made a shallow

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 1 1

JOHN MILLER CONTINUED

climb to a few hundred feet over the water and finally turned back to the airport On the way I got myself calmed down a little but was shivering from exshycitement I was elated at saving the airplane but disappointed at fouling up the poppy drop timing

An hour or so after landing as I exshypected I saw the big open touring car with the group of legionnaires come speeding toward the airport to berate me for fouling up their carefully made plan The car slid to a stop in a cloud of dust All four doors swung open and the six or eight legionnaires burst out and ran toward me I braced myself for their asshysault They jumped all over me shaking both of my hands and all talking to me at once enthusiastically thanking me for such a perfectly timed bombingI

They said that as the buglers were playing taps they did not hear me comshying and were disappointed that all of their precise plans and timing were wasted Then just as the final notes of taps sounded the poppies silently rained over the crowd as a complete surprise They had not heard the whistling wires of the biplane over the sounding of taps And since they were looking at the buglers and standing at attention they did not see the plane pass overhead I had flown it slightly to the right of Main Street slightly behind them to allow the NW breeze to drift the poppies to the crowd They could not thank me enough nor understand how I could have timed the drop so well and silently

Little did they know nor did I tell them of my professional secret II They said that the notes of taps and the popshypies silently snowing down from the sky was so impressive that thousands of people had tears in their eyes the emoshytion was so intense Yes little did they know I wish I could have been there much more than where I was I can still plainly see those deadly 600-volt wires under the wheels the tails kid barely clearing the dock and the wheels alshymost rolling on the water

Did I ever learn from that expeshyrience

That same J-1 Standard still exshyists in 2003 12 APRIL 2003

T

Go Around To flare or not to flare

DOUG STEWART NAFI MASTER INSTRUCTOR

The storm had been intense weather conditions one could tracking up the stationary front easily see the way the wind was along the East Coast but now it caused (I didnt say cussed alshywas being chased out into the though it often was) to rotor as it North Atlantic by a strong high blew over these trees The powder that was building into New Eng- snow that had been dumped in land With the high pressure the trees during the storm could came blue skies that are normally be seen as it first blew up and saved for the desert southwest then rolled rapidly down in the and visibilities that are rarely vortices that the trees created matched here in But it was sum-

Massachusetts To ADD TO THE MIX mer now and if a especially now in pilot was not

the summer A ROW OF PINE well versed in But the isobars reading the tershy

were jam-packed TREES LINES THE rain it was easy together and the to get lured into

wind was howl- APPROACH TO a low approach ing The winds to the runway To were gusting more THE NORTH OF some pilots the than 35 knots 2600 feet of run-coming across the runway at a 70- to

THE EXTENDED way seemed very short and thus

85-degree angle It was not the

CENTERLINE OF they could be fooled into trying

kind of day to be landing here unshy

RUNWAY 29shy a low approach in an attempt to

less you had your put it on the crosswind landing techniques numbersI This type of approach mastered In the pattern an inshy rarely worked because the lowshystructor was teaching those level wind shear created severe techniques to a student We prefer turbulence on a low approach to teach a sideslip approach in The best approach in these conshycrosswind conditions to fledgling di tions was a high slipping students That way they do not approach with an aim point have to deal with the transition about 500 feet down the runshyfrom a crab to a slip as they also way This way a pilot could stay try to figure out how and when to out of most of the turbulence commence their flare and although the slip could lead

To add to the mix a row of pine a pilot to think that the crossshytrees lines the approach to the wind capabilities had been north of the extended centerline exceeded it was rare that this of Runway 29-the runway in use would continue all the way to this day In the winter in similar the runway As an aircraft got

past the trees and close to the ground surface friction usually slowed the wind enough to alshyIowa pilot to straighten things out and land without incident

Also coming from the west along with the high pressure was a small homebuilt hot rod it was a tandem taildragger with short stubby wings and large empenshynage and rudder In the rear seat was the owner who had yet to obtain his tail wheel endorsement and thus had been along for the ride all the way from the West Coast Sitting at the controls in front was the pilot in command His tailwheel time had been grandfathered as years ago he had flown as a commercial pilot in a Beech 18 But before flying this aircraft he had never flown a small single-engine tailwheel airshyplane It was also rare that he ever landed three point usually wheeling on the twin Beech They arrived just as the wind was at its peak

Making their downwind anshynouncement over the UNICOM the voice on the other end of the UNICOM warned them to be on their toes Their approach was not too high and not too low but a little too fast As they tried to bleed off speed the turbulence was bouncing them all over the place They decided to go around

The second approach was higher but this time too high and it was obvious that a goshyaround would be needed again The voice from the UNICOM opshyerator admonished them yet again

to be careful They knew that many eyes were on them On their third approach they decided to come in low and fast Apshyproach speed for this aircraft is about 80 knots They were doing at least 100 knots As they flew through the turbulence the little aircraft was bounced around like a cork in rapids

The plane floated and floated down the runway bleeding off all the excessive speed It finally touched down with less than 600 feet of runway remaining It was still too fast I know that a little extra speed is sometimes used in a wheel landing but this was abshysurd As the end of the runway loomed the plane drifted off the right side of the runway tail still up in a level attitude If braking had been poor on the pavement it was going to be worse in the gravel the wheels were now on

The runway ends in a steep drop-off of about 20 feet To the right of the runway at the top of the drop-off were two poplar trees One of them had about a 10-inch diameter the other was approximately 6 inches As the leading edge of the wing hit these trees they were snapped as if a karate master were demonstrating his skill The airplane spun 540 degrees and crashed into the holshylow going backward Coming to a stop upright the two souls aboard scrambled out of the plane with the pilot collapsing only a few steps from the wreckage his back badly broken

Jve often told my students that any landing you can walk away from is a good landing If you can use the plane again its a great landing This one was only going to count as a good landing And just barely at that

To this day a question remains unanswered in my mind Why did they not go around a third time Why didnt they fly to an airport less than 16 miles to the west that had a runway aligned

almost directly with the wind and that was also twice as long and twice as wide Get-there-itis Pride Only the pilot in comshymand that day can answer those questions

My mentor and friend Safety Program Manager Bob Martens has often said that the go-around is the most neglected maneuver in flying How right he is I have personally witnessed several accishydents that miraculously were not fatal that were the direct reshysult of go-arounds gone bad In more than one instance getshythere-itis or pride played a large role Why do we get the mentalshyity that we have to land at this airport I remember one blusshytery New Years Day when I went to four different airports before finding a runway where I didnt run out of crosswind capability in a T-tailed Arrow

Pilots do some pretty dumb things when they think their peers are observing them One of them is trying to force a landing gone bad thinking that they will be thought of as less than comshypetent if they have to go around But the opposite is true It shows cautious good sense I have freshyquently told students just learning to land that they should not be reluctant to go around thinking that I will think poorly of them I tell them quite honshyestly that I wont remember how many times they might have to go around but I will never forget the one time they fail to go around and crash

So next time youre flying why not practice some go-arounds Reshymember its power first Full power smoothly and steadily not slammed in Then clean up the configuration as necessary as you transition to best angle climb speed If you have the good sense to go around when necessary and the skill to do it properly you will be more than a good pilot youll be a great pilot

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 13

Taldn There is no paint like the air

Off

I sit by the east window watchshying the clouds made red and blue by the sun that sets beshyhind me with a cup of Earl Grey tea warm and gold with

local honey I smell it sweetly minshygling with the scent of avgas and engine oil which drifts up from my blue jeans as I think of where Ive just been Mostly I am bent over a computer or my watercolor table painting rushing under the weight of deadlines absorbed in the small world of color on a flat piece of French paper with hands stressed from the tension of working tiny brushes There is little room for error with watercolors

14 APRIL 2003

But if I stop painting to look up and out the yellow nose of an airshyplane is right there poking out of the long metal machine shed hangar right there to remind me of the larger picture

LONNI SUE JOHNSON

So when I can take a break if the weather is good for it we go flying

The 1946 Piper J-3 Cub is perfect for an escape Simple and old-fashshyioned it goes even slower than the little aluminum Cessna I learned to fly in Its small tail wheel gives it an eager nose-high stance It is the color of school buses with an eleshygant black lightning bolt from nose to tail With the wings overhead it makes good shade for a lawn chair and is a big yellow umbrella when its raining Best of all in the air there is nothing to block the view of the earth

Its light for an airplane Even with its 35-foot 8-inch wings wider

than a New York City brownstone and Continental 90 horse engine it weighs only 884 pounds with both tanks full Its angular steel armature is stretched drum-like with shiny fabric resilient to the touch-almost like a big 3-D canvas primed yellow and ready to go

But this is no painterly illusion And its not that light

I can lift the tail wheel up for a few seconds if necessary but I mostly move it around by rolling large slow semicircles

I savor the preflight inspection and let it take a long time Partly beshycause even with lots of exercise carrying firewood and piling bales of hay and eating as much ice cream as possible I am still not as tall or strong as most of my male pilot friends

To check the wing tank and wash the windshield I need a ladder and I have to slow down to position it without scraping the landing gear or in winter the newly painted yelshylow skis Climbing down I press my

hands against the cowling warm from the engine heater to limber them for reaching inside to unplug its long orange extension cord

Looking up I can examine the aileron cables and pulleys while unshytying the wings I love the feel of ropes and knots and remember the old-timer who showed me the speshyciallore and cleverness of their invention

I live well into the country where keeping mice in their place and not in my stuff is a constant battle I reshytrieve the old pair of pantyhose toes heavy with mothballs which hang down inside the tail Then I pull off the quilted cowl cover and the miceshyhunting cat or two who sleep there

On wheels it is just possible by rocking the Cub a bit to get it to roll out of the hangar almost by itself Then with a rope and the banner tow release I loop the tail to the doorpost so it doesnt go flying

without me Standing in front of the right

wheel I get set to start the engine by flipping the propeller Some of my taller friends can wedge their left foot under the front of the tire and reach up to grasp the back edge of the prop but being smaller I dont have the same wingspan they do so I use two rubber chocks strung toshygether with ropes

From painting there are no rings on my right hand and no untucked scarves or baggy sleeves to get caught I pull the propeller through from the back my left hand in the cockpit by the mixture control Five times Then I switch on the magnetos and give one more sharp pull to start it

With the satisfying clicking of the engine at idle with its wind in my face I get in

Every time I sit in that Cub I start to grin and cant stop until I get out again

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15

A fat red folding cushion on the back seat lets me reach the rudders and heel brakes Underneath is a piece of nonskid carpet pad that keeps it from wobbling Careful not to hit the throttle I bend over the front seat to release the tow lever fish the chocks inside and poke them into the back to nestle with my purse and the extra quart of oil

People offer their help and I have met many nice men but I need to be able to do everything myself even if it takes more time because here

there is usually no one else around The hilltop runway is a roller

coaster wide but short with an average elevation of 1993 feet When it is too windy to fly or the clouds scrape by too low the tershyrain has become familiar with walks and mowing

When my Cub and I finally taxi out run up and depart upward over the edge of the hill to the north Otshysego Lake shows suddenly below off the left wing

Writer James Fenimore Cooper

called it a glimmer glass It is a long sliver of shimmering mirror reflectshying up versions of the hills and clouds and the little yellow Cub above And when completely frozen its an endless new runway

Henry David Thoreau wrote 1 A lake is the landscapes most beautishyful and expressive feature It is earths eye looking into which the beholder measures the depth of his own nature

I long for this escape from the close-up perspective of life at the

computer and the drawing table and for the humility of becoming tiny in a big space The view of the lake makes the transformation complete

It also provides points for practicing maneuvers Wings line up against its serene length to measure 360-degree turns and a series of lazy-eights The blue ignition harnesses quiver against the yellow cowling as the cylinders black heads brush along the wide peaceful circle of horizon

16 APRIL 2003

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17

I like going so slowly too as airshyplanes go Only a dive can get us going more than 80 mph

Looking down the farm melts into the undulating grid of fields and hedgerows Especially in the evenings with the cool lattice of shadows stretching With each seashyson a fresh pattern is woven in appropriate threads of color

The freedom is complete Just by working the stick and rudder I can go up down left or right-anyshywhere I am not attached to

18 APRIL 2003

anything but the Cub I am always amazed to see my own shadow surfing across the fields beneath me

I like being an aerial spy I watch tiny tractors drawing stripes in deep brown fields and boats pulling triangular white wakes I discover new destinations for walks traces of old roads through the woods green-gray boulders dropped by the glacier in its reshytreat I see weather coming and feel it as the wind changes against the thin fabric of the fuselage I notice where the cows have grazed paths and who drives up to see me while Im gone

Coming back I watch the lime green flag at mid-field and a bright orange windsock at the north end Sometimes there is no clear best landing direction The wind often swirls from both ways at once To the east are more hints wood smoke from the house or milk room studio or the pond with its surface scum unshyruffled or pleated up at one end or the other

On the downwind leg the field always looks way too short tilted and windy to use When I first moved here from Connecticut where the runshy

ways are mostly long flat and paved I could not imagine that I would ever be able to land here in one piece The local Cub pilots teased relentlessly All the second spring I was here I practiced shortening landings on longer runways until I felt ready Finally when I did come home solo it was almost easy and I wondered what had taken me so long

Now I relish the short slow apshyproach at 55-60 miles an hour watching for deer and turkeys Its a quiet idling glide in sumshymer but with power in the winter to keep the exposed cylinders warm enough to go around if necessary Each touchdown is exshyhilarating

Back down the lumpy lane we go the Cub and I-plump tires bouncing me in the red seat door open if its warm enough wings just missing the leaning hops barn and the bright gas tanks past the milk house and its grand old hay

barn with three silos and sending cats running every which way

In his journal in September of 1851 Thoreau wrote I wish to see the earth through the medium of much air or heaven for there is no paint like the air

How could he have known It s uphill into the hangar If I

shut down as close as possible facshying the entrance I can walk the tail around in perfect alignment for the winch Its a manual one with a long cable

To pull the Cub in it takes turnshying the crank forever If I were strong enough to pick up the tail and lift it all of the way in itd be done in half a minute Instead the winch winds up as the sun slips down the western ridge The barn is illuminated in a red satushyrated moment I begin to think again of the pain tings on my table The clicking resounds out into the hay fields to the ends of the silos blue shadow

Each time I put the Cub away I think of the time Ive spent Next time Ill take even longer

Lonni Sue Johnson watercolorist and cat wrangler aLso serves as the secretary ofEAA Chapter 1070 in Cooperstown New York

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19

~ss BY EE

No mistake taildraggers are here to stay Builders like American Champion Maule Air and Waco Classic are still building new airshyplanes and there are a number of the old Champs Luscombes T-Carts Cessnas and others still out there being restored and flown by both old and new generation pilots

Despite Phil Boyers (AOPA) expeshyrience in learning to handle a taildragger they can still be a lot of fun There is no doubt they require a certain amount of finesse and knowledge of basic airplane hanshydling that isnt required of the tri-gear installation The tri-gear takes a lot of the sweat out of operashytions It eliminates the uphill climb into a seat on the modern airliner puts better visibility over the nose helps in a maximum braking situashytion and gives the pilot something to put on the yellow taxi line

The nose over tendency of early airplanes put skids up front so if they did get the tail high the skid would help to prevent damage to the proshypeller Witness the wing tip skids on Curtiss JNs and DHs in the event of a ground loop Look at the accident and mishap pictures some of the old magshyazines publish and youll see the reason for these skids

The taildragger does have an inshynate tendency to ground loop Just try shoving a tricycle backwards and watch how quickly it ground loops On the other hand going forward is a little more stable and predictable Since we are talking tail wheels lets get back to them

Look at that little wheel back there It doesnt look like much but it is one third of your landing gear yet it does 90 percent of the work at low speeds in controlling the airshy

20 APRIL 2003

BUCK HILBERT EAA 21 VAA 5 PO Box 424 UNION IL 60180

Tail wheels plane on the ground As insignifishycant as it looks it drags through the mud and dust snow and water on pavement or dirt it does its job It keeps you in control provided you make sure its connected and funcshytional with the steering cables and springs attached properly inflated lubricated and equipped with reashysonably decent tread on the tire

The first thing that tells you its working right is the wear on the tail wheel tire If your main gear is out of whack and the airplane dogtrots or crabs while running on the ground uneven wear will show in the tail wheel tire quickly Especially in one of the 6-by-2-inch hard rubber tires Also if the tread is down to where you see a crack along the center get a new tire Inside that rubber molded tire is a cable ring that re-enforces the tire If you see a crack there is a good chance that tire is about to come apart and jam itself between the wheel and the yoke and youll lose control The money spent on a new tire is a mini percentage of what it will cost to reshypair your airplane and overcome the embarrassment that goes with breakshying an airplane

Dont let the phrase taildragger intimidate you Learning to use it and use it properly is just another phase of flight Literally millions of words have been written about how to use the tail wheel and Im not about to reiterate any or all of them Im just going to exshyplain how they work what they are made of and how to take care of them

As with most man-made contrapshytions there are many varied ideas in how to produce them and how effecshytive they are Back in the Jenny days there were skids some fixed and some partially steerable The technique in those days was to shove the stick forshy

ward to take the weight off the skid and fly the tail around using a combishynation of power and rudder alone The rigid skid didnt give much and it imposed side loads on the structure With no brakes the biplane reqUired a pretty large turning radius

The next development was a bungee shock absorber that also swiveled some fifteen degrees This gave some leeway and made the turnshying radius a little smaller The side forces and drag were still there

Then someone put a wheel in place of the skid plate Now they could move the airplane a lot easier but that complicated things because the drag of the skid was all they had for braking With the slick steel plate that friction was gone So some kind of brakes had to be installed on the main gear Next that little wheel on the end of the skid had to swivel so we could really turn short

Various deSigners came out with designs Heath Airplane Company came out with one of the first steershyable tail wheels Other manufacturers followed suit and that function coushypled with individual brakes made ground handling much much easier

Experiments followed with various types of installations including a trailshying spring similar to automotive design which was secured to the tail longerons It is common on Cessnas Aeroncas Taylorcrafts and Pipers The telescoping tail post type like the instalshylation on the Aeronca K Fleet and others and the articulated and hinged installations all came about and all worked with varying degrees of success

A lot depended on the weight and support the little tail wheel had to

carry Look at the DC-3 and the B-17 On these heavier aircraft the tail wheel design had to follow the reshyquirements North American had their own design so did Stinson and Fairchild They all had their unique problems and solved them Some were successful others with someshywhat less than pleasant results

I used to think that the old time pishylots like Amelia and Post and some of those other early record-setting pioshyneers were lousy pilots because they ground looped on occasion In reality they did a terrific job considering the equipment they had to work with Their mishaps were the proof needed to improve the design and function of this little wheel in the back

The steerable was soon improved even further by adding a full swivel feature Now we could really turn around in a tight radius Furthermore the airplane could now be pushed backwards without lifting the tail off the ground or disconnecting the steershying cables This free wheeling feature could also be a trap if the operator wasnt aware of it

How does it work Good question All the designs have common conshytrols usually an arm or steering tiller that transfers the rudder input to the tail wheel assembly Done either with solid arms or cables and usually incorshyporating some sort of shock absorbing device such as springs it gives it a litshytle slack so as not to overpower the rudder action

Pushing rudder will direct the steershying in the direction you want to go Once headed that way you neutralize the rudder input until you want to change direction Neutralizing or censhytering the control will then allow the tail wheel to trail and youll proceed in a straight line

The swivel feature allows the wheel to trail and has some free movement on either side of neutral This soaks up little variations in the runway or sod surface and still allows you conshytrol if your input asks for more

To prevent the unit from going into full swivel a monkey-motion cam arrangement in all the designs

kicks in if you reach the extreme limit of the steerable travel Once this limit releases that cam you have a full swiveling wheel To put it back in the steerable mode the wheel must again trail which releases the cam action and centers itself

This sounds confusing but in realshyity its like there is a notch in the trail position jump out of that notch and you re freewheeling To get back into the notch roll straight ahead a little ways and itll snap back in To get out of that notch you need a full rudder application and a side load

Some airplanes have a manual tail wheel lock The Boeing Kaydet comshymonly known as the Stearman which the Navy used for primary training had a reputation for belittling pilots It was a real ground looper so they inshystalled a manual tail wheel lock This would not allow the tail wheel to go into the full swivel position The 15shyor 20-degree steering input was still there but the full swivel was locked out Some of the Waco aircraft also have this feature It works but the one caveat is dont forget to unlock it to make a sharp turn at the taxiway The locking mechanism will break and then enhance the mechanics job security Ask any DC-3 B-17 or T-6 maintenance technician

Routine preflight of the tail wheel assembly should take real precedence while doing your walk around Again this is your primary control Are the cables attached Are the clips that hold the springs to the steering arms worn Does the tire look good Inflashytion Unusual wear Wiggle the rudder do the cables actually steer the wheel Push a little to impose a side load make sure the attach paints are tight No excess movement Does it lean or show signs of sloppiness Does it look right From the side is the pivot line perpendicular to the ground does everything look right Is the spring sagging One cant be too picky preflighting this little monster It can spell disaster if it isnt controlshylable and we dont want that

So now we finish the preflight and count the wings and wheel The cockshy

pit check is complete and we have the engine running If it s clear ahead open the throttle and move off the tied own using rudder in the direction you want to turn Once the turn is esshytablished neutralize the rudder Now you can test the brakes and see that they are working and then forget them A good steerable tail wheel will respond without braking

Now we get to the basics of how to handle the controls If you are a seashyplane pilot youve already mastered this business of flying the controls If you have a headwind you hold back pressure on the stick to keep the tail wheelan the ground In a tail wind forward pressure again to keep the tail wheelan the ground In a direct crosswind neutralize the elevator and aileron into the wind For a quartershying headwind aileron into the wind and place back pressure on the elevashytor For a quartering tail wind stick AWAY from the wind and place forshyward pressure on the elevator

All this is to keep that tail wheel firmly in contact with the ground to assure control Flying the ailerons in a crosswind keeps pressure on the down aileron and keeps the upwind wing down Taxiing crosswind and in a crosswind takeoff aileron into the wind and opposite rudder to keep it going straight

Practice this Taxi around on the ground until you get the feel of how effective the rudder and the tail wheel steering is Be a little aggressive and experiment a little preferably on a wide grass runway where a little slipshypage can give you a margin for error

If visibility over the nose presents a problem then 15 turn 15 right look left down your route of taxi 15 left and look out the right side If you see its clear then no need to make an 15 of yourself over and over again Only when you want to be sure nothshying is in front of you

Place the centerline markings of the taxiway and the runway between your feet and keep them there There is a parallax error and if the line is between your feet then you are on center and you are assured of wing tip clearance

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21

bull bull

To turn around on a narrow strip plan your turn so the wind will help you Taxi along the downwind edge ofthe strip and make your 180 into the wind The weathervane effect on your airplane will help to initiate the turn Ease up a little on the back pressure as you start into the turn and this will make the tail come around more easily

You are working that tail wheel to your advantage Keep that in mind and visualize the forces your control input is accomplishing Use the brakes sparingly and only as an aid if you aren t turning as sharp as you like or to avoid a problem

After a sharp turn and the tail wheel has fully swiveled roll straight ahead for a bit to get it back in the notch or steerable position Feel the resistance in the rudder pedals when its in the steerable position The rudshyder will feel loose and ineffective if its swiveling The roll straight ahead and a neutral rudder will again enshygage that centering device

Practice those S turns and the 180s on the runway and the strip Play the elevator and the ailerons and again visualize and practice the effect youre looking for Half an hour of taxi time practice wont hurt a bit Once those feet wake up to the fact that THEY control the airplane on the ground your flying will come easy

Dont go out and try this on a day when the wind is blowing up a frenzy Not until youve had enough practice at light crosswinds and tail winds Moderate to heavy winds can really play tricks For example taxishying downwind in a heavy wind can have a reverse effect on the controls You poke in left rudder the rudder swings in that direction the wind pushes against it and you get a reshyverse effect Your ailerons also have a reverse effect going downwind Sometimes its absolutely necessary to have a wing walker on the upwind side to hold that wing down I dont advocate operations in winds strong enough to lift a wing Wait until conshyditions improve and then go fly K

Over to youlr -BtcJ

bull bullI I

A l r e r _ 1t Co_ tl ng _

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22 APRIL 2003

even a choke There brass primer cups with

valves on the intake manifold After putting about a thimbleful of gasoshyline in each cup the valves were opened to drain the gas down into the manifold and then closed To do all that it was necessary to stand on one of the wheels to reach themshyfirst one side of the plane then the other The propeller was then pulled about two revolutions to take the prime into the cylinders The priming charge would then be repeated to provide fuel for the starting engine

The person pulling the propeller would get one blade into the proper position and call switch on to the person in the cockpit who would turn the magneto switch on and anshyswer switch on The propeller would then be pulled through the first compression briskly and the enshygine should start

Well tha t did happen but not every time by any means If not then the person in the cockpit ca lled switch off and it was then necessary to get the propeller into the proper pomiddot si tion for another pull If not successful after two or three times it was necessary to go through the entire priming and starting process again This procedure continued until a sucshycessful start was achieved It could be rather strenuous work for even a husky person on the propeller I had develshyoped good propeller-pulling muscles for it took a lot of strength

With my nonpilot friend at the pishylots cockpit to work the switch I started the above procedure about 30 minutes before the scheduled poppy drop not too much time So I cranked that prop and cranked it again and again priming in between My heart

WaKf~r and it was now 11 04 am I had to get into the air by 1105 am to make the drop on schedule In despershyation I gave it another swing then another and suddenly the engine came to life I dove behind the revolvshying propeller on hands and knees and pulled the two chocks from the wheels They were tied together by a rope so a single pull did it The plane rolled forward and I rolled on my back as the lower wing passed over me Then I jumped for the rear cockpit as my friend scrambled to get into the front cockpit No time for any cereshymony seat belt warm-up magneto check just go

With the engine and its gallons of cooling water stone cold you can imagshyine how reluctant it was to respond to the open throttle Accelerating pumps had not been invented The engine burped snorted backfired and popped as the plane slowly accelerated lifted off and barely got up over the trees with the help of pucker factor

A gentle turn toward Poughkeepsie and a bare climb with the weak engine put us on our way just over the treeshytops The engine gave intermittent bursts of power between noisy pops and bangs I had a naked sensat ion without my safety belt but there was no time to let go of the controls to fasshyten it I just had to keep the engine running until it warmed and gained some precious altitude I intercepted Main Street at about 400 feet and folshylowed it With the target about a mile and a half ahead I finally reached about 700 feet altitude About a mile from the target I had the engine going well but then had to start my fast glide to the target So I throttled it to id le for the silent approach I knew that I was late but was too busy to look at my wristwatch while judging the steep

almost closed and proceeded down the grade of Main Street toward the river About a block past the target I dared to start using power But the enshygine was cold again and started backfiring With the windmilling proshypeller turning it gave precious little power I was descending steeper than Main Street and getting closer to those deadly 600-volt trolley wires trying to coax some power out of the engine

Of course the carburetor had iced up and there was no carburetor heat on those engines The only way to get rid of it was to pump the throttle and cause the backfiring to blow the ice out of the carb venturi I was just able to keep above the wires As the enshygine banged and snorted down to the river I tried to figure how to get beshyyond the wires and over the dock to dunk my plane into the water

It looked like I would barely clear the dock in a stall and then get wet I could see the spot where we would hit We cleared the wires by a few feet and then down to the water still with intermittent power I held the plane barely above the surface in ground efshyfect Wond erful Good o ld ground effect We floated out over the water only about four feet above it farther and farther away from shore still tryshying to coax more power o ut of the engine I was determined to save my beautiful airplane which had cost me six months of hard work rebuilding it from the wreck I had bought I seemed to have no th ought of the probability of drowning

Suddenly all eight cylinders started firing I made a slight right turn into the light northwest breeze passed under the railroad bridge then made a shallow

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 1 1

JOHN MILLER CONTINUED

climb to a few hundred feet over the water and finally turned back to the airport On the way I got myself calmed down a little but was shivering from exshycitement I was elated at saving the airplane but disappointed at fouling up the poppy drop timing

An hour or so after landing as I exshypected I saw the big open touring car with the group of legionnaires come speeding toward the airport to berate me for fouling up their carefully made plan The car slid to a stop in a cloud of dust All four doors swung open and the six or eight legionnaires burst out and ran toward me I braced myself for their asshysault They jumped all over me shaking both of my hands and all talking to me at once enthusiastically thanking me for such a perfectly timed bombingI

They said that as the buglers were playing taps they did not hear me comshying and were disappointed that all of their precise plans and timing were wasted Then just as the final notes of taps sounded the poppies silently rained over the crowd as a complete surprise They had not heard the whistling wires of the biplane over the sounding of taps And since they were looking at the buglers and standing at attention they did not see the plane pass overhead I had flown it slightly to the right of Main Street slightly behind them to allow the NW breeze to drift the poppies to the crowd They could not thank me enough nor understand how I could have timed the drop so well and silently

Little did they know nor did I tell them of my professional secret II They said that the notes of taps and the popshypies silently snowing down from the sky was so impressive that thousands of people had tears in their eyes the emoshytion was so intense Yes little did they know I wish I could have been there much more than where I was I can still plainly see those deadly 600-volt wires under the wheels the tails kid barely clearing the dock and the wheels alshymost rolling on the water

Did I ever learn from that expeshyrience

That same J-1 Standard still exshyists in 2003 12 APRIL 2003

T

Go Around To flare or not to flare

DOUG STEWART NAFI MASTER INSTRUCTOR

The storm had been intense weather conditions one could tracking up the stationary front easily see the way the wind was along the East Coast but now it caused (I didnt say cussed alshywas being chased out into the though it often was) to rotor as it North Atlantic by a strong high blew over these trees The powder that was building into New Eng- snow that had been dumped in land With the high pressure the trees during the storm could came blue skies that are normally be seen as it first blew up and saved for the desert southwest then rolled rapidly down in the and visibilities that are rarely vortices that the trees created matched here in But it was sum-

Massachusetts To ADD TO THE MIX mer now and if a especially now in pilot was not

the summer A ROW OF PINE well versed in But the isobars reading the tershy

were jam-packed TREES LINES THE rain it was easy together and the to get lured into

wind was howl- APPROACH TO a low approach ing The winds to the runway To were gusting more THE NORTH OF some pilots the than 35 knots 2600 feet of run-coming across the runway at a 70- to

THE EXTENDED way seemed very short and thus

85-degree angle It was not the

CENTERLINE OF they could be fooled into trying

kind of day to be landing here unshy

RUNWAY 29shy a low approach in an attempt to

less you had your put it on the crosswind landing techniques numbersI This type of approach mastered In the pattern an inshy rarely worked because the lowshystructor was teaching those level wind shear created severe techniques to a student We prefer turbulence on a low approach to teach a sideslip approach in The best approach in these conshycrosswind conditions to fledgling di tions was a high slipping students That way they do not approach with an aim point have to deal with the transition about 500 feet down the runshyfrom a crab to a slip as they also way This way a pilot could stay try to figure out how and when to out of most of the turbulence commence their flare and although the slip could lead

To add to the mix a row of pine a pilot to think that the crossshytrees lines the approach to the wind capabilities had been north of the extended centerline exceeded it was rare that this of Runway 29-the runway in use would continue all the way to this day In the winter in similar the runway As an aircraft got

past the trees and close to the ground surface friction usually slowed the wind enough to alshyIowa pilot to straighten things out and land without incident

Also coming from the west along with the high pressure was a small homebuilt hot rod it was a tandem taildragger with short stubby wings and large empenshynage and rudder In the rear seat was the owner who had yet to obtain his tail wheel endorsement and thus had been along for the ride all the way from the West Coast Sitting at the controls in front was the pilot in command His tailwheel time had been grandfathered as years ago he had flown as a commercial pilot in a Beech 18 But before flying this aircraft he had never flown a small single-engine tailwheel airshyplane It was also rare that he ever landed three point usually wheeling on the twin Beech They arrived just as the wind was at its peak

Making their downwind anshynouncement over the UNICOM the voice on the other end of the UNICOM warned them to be on their toes Their approach was not too high and not too low but a little too fast As they tried to bleed off speed the turbulence was bouncing them all over the place They decided to go around

The second approach was higher but this time too high and it was obvious that a goshyaround would be needed again The voice from the UNICOM opshyerator admonished them yet again

to be careful They knew that many eyes were on them On their third approach they decided to come in low and fast Apshyproach speed for this aircraft is about 80 knots They were doing at least 100 knots As they flew through the turbulence the little aircraft was bounced around like a cork in rapids

The plane floated and floated down the runway bleeding off all the excessive speed It finally touched down with less than 600 feet of runway remaining It was still too fast I know that a little extra speed is sometimes used in a wheel landing but this was abshysurd As the end of the runway loomed the plane drifted off the right side of the runway tail still up in a level attitude If braking had been poor on the pavement it was going to be worse in the gravel the wheels were now on

The runway ends in a steep drop-off of about 20 feet To the right of the runway at the top of the drop-off were two poplar trees One of them had about a 10-inch diameter the other was approximately 6 inches As the leading edge of the wing hit these trees they were snapped as if a karate master were demonstrating his skill The airplane spun 540 degrees and crashed into the holshylow going backward Coming to a stop upright the two souls aboard scrambled out of the plane with the pilot collapsing only a few steps from the wreckage his back badly broken

Jve often told my students that any landing you can walk away from is a good landing If you can use the plane again its a great landing This one was only going to count as a good landing And just barely at that

To this day a question remains unanswered in my mind Why did they not go around a third time Why didnt they fly to an airport less than 16 miles to the west that had a runway aligned

almost directly with the wind and that was also twice as long and twice as wide Get-there-itis Pride Only the pilot in comshymand that day can answer those questions

My mentor and friend Safety Program Manager Bob Martens has often said that the go-around is the most neglected maneuver in flying How right he is I have personally witnessed several accishydents that miraculously were not fatal that were the direct reshysult of go-arounds gone bad In more than one instance getshythere-itis or pride played a large role Why do we get the mentalshyity that we have to land at this airport I remember one blusshytery New Years Day when I went to four different airports before finding a runway where I didnt run out of crosswind capability in a T-tailed Arrow

Pilots do some pretty dumb things when they think their peers are observing them One of them is trying to force a landing gone bad thinking that they will be thought of as less than comshypetent if they have to go around But the opposite is true It shows cautious good sense I have freshyquently told students just learning to land that they should not be reluctant to go around thinking that I will think poorly of them I tell them quite honshyestly that I wont remember how many times they might have to go around but I will never forget the one time they fail to go around and crash

So next time youre flying why not practice some go-arounds Reshymember its power first Full power smoothly and steadily not slammed in Then clean up the configuration as necessary as you transition to best angle climb speed If you have the good sense to go around when necessary and the skill to do it properly you will be more than a good pilot youll be a great pilot

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 13

Taldn There is no paint like the air

Off

I sit by the east window watchshying the clouds made red and blue by the sun that sets beshyhind me with a cup of Earl Grey tea warm and gold with

local honey I smell it sweetly minshygling with the scent of avgas and engine oil which drifts up from my blue jeans as I think of where Ive just been Mostly I am bent over a computer or my watercolor table painting rushing under the weight of deadlines absorbed in the small world of color on a flat piece of French paper with hands stressed from the tension of working tiny brushes There is little room for error with watercolors

14 APRIL 2003

But if I stop painting to look up and out the yellow nose of an airshyplane is right there poking out of the long metal machine shed hangar right there to remind me of the larger picture

LONNI SUE JOHNSON

So when I can take a break if the weather is good for it we go flying

The 1946 Piper J-3 Cub is perfect for an escape Simple and old-fashshyioned it goes even slower than the little aluminum Cessna I learned to fly in Its small tail wheel gives it an eager nose-high stance It is the color of school buses with an eleshygant black lightning bolt from nose to tail With the wings overhead it makes good shade for a lawn chair and is a big yellow umbrella when its raining Best of all in the air there is nothing to block the view of the earth

Its light for an airplane Even with its 35-foot 8-inch wings wider

than a New York City brownstone and Continental 90 horse engine it weighs only 884 pounds with both tanks full Its angular steel armature is stretched drum-like with shiny fabric resilient to the touch-almost like a big 3-D canvas primed yellow and ready to go

But this is no painterly illusion And its not that light

I can lift the tail wheel up for a few seconds if necessary but I mostly move it around by rolling large slow semicircles

I savor the preflight inspection and let it take a long time Partly beshycause even with lots of exercise carrying firewood and piling bales of hay and eating as much ice cream as possible I am still not as tall or strong as most of my male pilot friends

To check the wing tank and wash the windshield I need a ladder and I have to slow down to position it without scraping the landing gear or in winter the newly painted yelshylow skis Climbing down I press my

hands against the cowling warm from the engine heater to limber them for reaching inside to unplug its long orange extension cord

Looking up I can examine the aileron cables and pulleys while unshytying the wings I love the feel of ropes and knots and remember the old-timer who showed me the speshyciallore and cleverness of their invention

I live well into the country where keeping mice in their place and not in my stuff is a constant battle I reshytrieve the old pair of pantyhose toes heavy with mothballs which hang down inside the tail Then I pull off the quilted cowl cover and the miceshyhunting cat or two who sleep there

On wheels it is just possible by rocking the Cub a bit to get it to roll out of the hangar almost by itself Then with a rope and the banner tow release I loop the tail to the doorpost so it doesnt go flying

without me Standing in front of the right

wheel I get set to start the engine by flipping the propeller Some of my taller friends can wedge their left foot under the front of the tire and reach up to grasp the back edge of the prop but being smaller I dont have the same wingspan they do so I use two rubber chocks strung toshygether with ropes

From painting there are no rings on my right hand and no untucked scarves or baggy sleeves to get caught I pull the propeller through from the back my left hand in the cockpit by the mixture control Five times Then I switch on the magnetos and give one more sharp pull to start it

With the satisfying clicking of the engine at idle with its wind in my face I get in

Every time I sit in that Cub I start to grin and cant stop until I get out again

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15

A fat red folding cushion on the back seat lets me reach the rudders and heel brakes Underneath is a piece of nonskid carpet pad that keeps it from wobbling Careful not to hit the throttle I bend over the front seat to release the tow lever fish the chocks inside and poke them into the back to nestle with my purse and the extra quart of oil

People offer their help and I have met many nice men but I need to be able to do everything myself even if it takes more time because here

there is usually no one else around The hilltop runway is a roller

coaster wide but short with an average elevation of 1993 feet When it is too windy to fly or the clouds scrape by too low the tershyrain has become familiar with walks and mowing

When my Cub and I finally taxi out run up and depart upward over the edge of the hill to the north Otshysego Lake shows suddenly below off the left wing

Writer James Fenimore Cooper

called it a glimmer glass It is a long sliver of shimmering mirror reflectshying up versions of the hills and clouds and the little yellow Cub above And when completely frozen its an endless new runway

Henry David Thoreau wrote 1 A lake is the landscapes most beautishyful and expressive feature It is earths eye looking into which the beholder measures the depth of his own nature

I long for this escape from the close-up perspective of life at the

computer and the drawing table and for the humility of becoming tiny in a big space The view of the lake makes the transformation complete

It also provides points for practicing maneuvers Wings line up against its serene length to measure 360-degree turns and a series of lazy-eights The blue ignition harnesses quiver against the yellow cowling as the cylinders black heads brush along the wide peaceful circle of horizon

16 APRIL 2003

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17

I like going so slowly too as airshyplanes go Only a dive can get us going more than 80 mph

Looking down the farm melts into the undulating grid of fields and hedgerows Especially in the evenings with the cool lattice of shadows stretching With each seashyson a fresh pattern is woven in appropriate threads of color

The freedom is complete Just by working the stick and rudder I can go up down left or right-anyshywhere I am not attached to

18 APRIL 2003

anything but the Cub I am always amazed to see my own shadow surfing across the fields beneath me

I like being an aerial spy I watch tiny tractors drawing stripes in deep brown fields and boats pulling triangular white wakes I discover new destinations for walks traces of old roads through the woods green-gray boulders dropped by the glacier in its reshytreat I see weather coming and feel it as the wind changes against the thin fabric of the fuselage I notice where the cows have grazed paths and who drives up to see me while Im gone

Coming back I watch the lime green flag at mid-field and a bright orange windsock at the north end Sometimes there is no clear best landing direction The wind often swirls from both ways at once To the east are more hints wood smoke from the house or milk room studio or the pond with its surface scum unshyruffled or pleated up at one end or the other

On the downwind leg the field always looks way too short tilted and windy to use When I first moved here from Connecticut where the runshy

ways are mostly long flat and paved I could not imagine that I would ever be able to land here in one piece The local Cub pilots teased relentlessly All the second spring I was here I practiced shortening landings on longer runways until I felt ready Finally when I did come home solo it was almost easy and I wondered what had taken me so long

Now I relish the short slow apshyproach at 55-60 miles an hour watching for deer and turkeys Its a quiet idling glide in sumshymer but with power in the winter to keep the exposed cylinders warm enough to go around if necessary Each touchdown is exshyhilarating

Back down the lumpy lane we go the Cub and I-plump tires bouncing me in the red seat door open if its warm enough wings just missing the leaning hops barn and the bright gas tanks past the milk house and its grand old hay

barn with three silos and sending cats running every which way

In his journal in September of 1851 Thoreau wrote I wish to see the earth through the medium of much air or heaven for there is no paint like the air

How could he have known It s uphill into the hangar If I

shut down as close as possible facshying the entrance I can walk the tail around in perfect alignment for the winch Its a manual one with a long cable

To pull the Cub in it takes turnshying the crank forever If I were strong enough to pick up the tail and lift it all of the way in itd be done in half a minute Instead the winch winds up as the sun slips down the western ridge The barn is illuminated in a red satushyrated moment I begin to think again of the pain tings on my table The clicking resounds out into the hay fields to the ends of the silos blue shadow

Each time I put the Cub away I think of the time Ive spent Next time Ill take even longer

Lonni Sue Johnson watercolorist and cat wrangler aLso serves as the secretary ofEAA Chapter 1070 in Cooperstown New York

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19

~ss BY EE

No mistake taildraggers are here to stay Builders like American Champion Maule Air and Waco Classic are still building new airshyplanes and there are a number of the old Champs Luscombes T-Carts Cessnas and others still out there being restored and flown by both old and new generation pilots

Despite Phil Boyers (AOPA) expeshyrience in learning to handle a taildragger they can still be a lot of fun There is no doubt they require a certain amount of finesse and knowledge of basic airplane hanshydling that isnt required of the tri-gear installation The tri-gear takes a lot of the sweat out of operashytions It eliminates the uphill climb into a seat on the modern airliner puts better visibility over the nose helps in a maximum braking situashytion and gives the pilot something to put on the yellow taxi line

The nose over tendency of early airplanes put skids up front so if they did get the tail high the skid would help to prevent damage to the proshypeller Witness the wing tip skids on Curtiss JNs and DHs in the event of a ground loop Look at the accident and mishap pictures some of the old magshyazines publish and youll see the reason for these skids

The taildragger does have an inshynate tendency to ground loop Just try shoving a tricycle backwards and watch how quickly it ground loops On the other hand going forward is a little more stable and predictable Since we are talking tail wheels lets get back to them

Look at that little wheel back there It doesnt look like much but it is one third of your landing gear yet it does 90 percent of the work at low speeds in controlling the airshy

20 APRIL 2003

BUCK HILBERT EAA 21 VAA 5 PO Box 424 UNION IL 60180

Tail wheels plane on the ground As insignifishycant as it looks it drags through the mud and dust snow and water on pavement or dirt it does its job It keeps you in control provided you make sure its connected and funcshytional with the steering cables and springs attached properly inflated lubricated and equipped with reashysonably decent tread on the tire

The first thing that tells you its working right is the wear on the tail wheel tire If your main gear is out of whack and the airplane dogtrots or crabs while running on the ground uneven wear will show in the tail wheel tire quickly Especially in one of the 6-by-2-inch hard rubber tires Also if the tread is down to where you see a crack along the center get a new tire Inside that rubber molded tire is a cable ring that re-enforces the tire If you see a crack there is a good chance that tire is about to come apart and jam itself between the wheel and the yoke and youll lose control The money spent on a new tire is a mini percentage of what it will cost to reshypair your airplane and overcome the embarrassment that goes with breakshying an airplane

Dont let the phrase taildragger intimidate you Learning to use it and use it properly is just another phase of flight Literally millions of words have been written about how to use the tail wheel and Im not about to reiterate any or all of them Im just going to exshyplain how they work what they are made of and how to take care of them

As with most man-made contrapshytions there are many varied ideas in how to produce them and how effecshytive they are Back in the Jenny days there were skids some fixed and some partially steerable The technique in those days was to shove the stick forshy

ward to take the weight off the skid and fly the tail around using a combishynation of power and rudder alone The rigid skid didnt give much and it imposed side loads on the structure With no brakes the biplane reqUired a pretty large turning radius

The next development was a bungee shock absorber that also swiveled some fifteen degrees This gave some leeway and made the turnshying radius a little smaller The side forces and drag were still there

Then someone put a wheel in place of the skid plate Now they could move the airplane a lot easier but that complicated things because the drag of the skid was all they had for braking With the slick steel plate that friction was gone So some kind of brakes had to be installed on the main gear Next that little wheel on the end of the skid had to swivel so we could really turn short

Various deSigners came out with designs Heath Airplane Company came out with one of the first steershyable tail wheels Other manufacturers followed suit and that function coushypled with individual brakes made ground handling much much easier

Experiments followed with various types of installations including a trailshying spring similar to automotive design which was secured to the tail longerons It is common on Cessnas Aeroncas Taylorcrafts and Pipers The telescoping tail post type like the instalshylation on the Aeronca K Fleet and others and the articulated and hinged installations all came about and all worked with varying degrees of success

A lot depended on the weight and support the little tail wheel had to

carry Look at the DC-3 and the B-17 On these heavier aircraft the tail wheel design had to follow the reshyquirements North American had their own design so did Stinson and Fairchild They all had their unique problems and solved them Some were successful others with someshywhat less than pleasant results

I used to think that the old time pishylots like Amelia and Post and some of those other early record-setting pioshyneers were lousy pilots because they ground looped on occasion In reality they did a terrific job considering the equipment they had to work with Their mishaps were the proof needed to improve the design and function of this little wheel in the back

The steerable was soon improved even further by adding a full swivel feature Now we could really turn around in a tight radius Furthermore the airplane could now be pushed backwards without lifting the tail off the ground or disconnecting the steershying cables This free wheeling feature could also be a trap if the operator wasnt aware of it

How does it work Good question All the designs have common conshytrols usually an arm or steering tiller that transfers the rudder input to the tail wheel assembly Done either with solid arms or cables and usually incorshyporating some sort of shock absorbing device such as springs it gives it a litshytle slack so as not to overpower the rudder action

Pushing rudder will direct the steershying in the direction you want to go Once headed that way you neutralize the rudder input until you want to change direction Neutralizing or censhytering the control will then allow the tail wheel to trail and youll proceed in a straight line

The swivel feature allows the wheel to trail and has some free movement on either side of neutral This soaks up little variations in the runway or sod surface and still allows you conshytrol if your input asks for more

To prevent the unit from going into full swivel a monkey-motion cam arrangement in all the designs

kicks in if you reach the extreme limit of the steerable travel Once this limit releases that cam you have a full swiveling wheel To put it back in the steerable mode the wheel must again trail which releases the cam action and centers itself

This sounds confusing but in realshyity its like there is a notch in the trail position jump out of that notch and you re freewheeling To get back into the notch roll straight ahead a little ways and itll snap back in To get out of that notch you need a full rudder application and a side load

Some airplanes have a manual tail wheel lock The Boeing Kaydet comshymonly known as the Stearman which the Navy used for primary training had a reputation for belittling pilots It was a real ground looper so they inshystalled a manual tail wheel lock This would not allow the tail wheel to go into the full swivel position The 15shyor 20-degree steering input was still there but the full swivel was locked out Some of the Waco aircraft also have this feature It works but the one caveat is dont forget to unlock it to make a sharp turn at the taxiway The locking mechanism will break and then enhance the mechanics job security Ask any DC-3 B-17 or T-6 maintenance technician

Routine preflight of the tail wheel assembly should take real precedence while doing your walk around Again this is your primary control Are the cables attached Are the clips that hold the springs to the steering arms worn Does the tire look good Inflashytion Unusual wear Wiggle the rudder do the cables actually steer the wheel Push a little to impose a side load make sure the attach paints are tight No excess movement Does it lean or show signs of sloppiness Does it look right From the side is the pivot line perpendicular to the ground does everything look right Is the spring sagging One cant be too picky preflighting this little monster It can spell disaster if it isnt controlshylable and we dont want that

So now we finish the preflight and count the wings and wheel The cockshy

pit check is complete and we have the engine running If it s clear ahead open the throttle and move off the tied own using rudder in the direction you want to turn Once the turn is esshytablished neutralize the rudder Now you can test the brakes and see that they are working and then forget them A good steerable tail wheel will respond without braking

Now we get to the basics of how to handle the controls If you are a seashyplane pilot youve already mastered this business of flying the controls If you have a headwind you hold back pressure on the stick to keep the tail wheelan the ground In a tail wind forward pressure again to keep the tail wheelan the ground In a direct crosswind neutralize the elevator and aileron into the wind For a quartershying headwind aileron into the wind and place back pressure on the elevashytor For a quartering tail wind stick AWAY from the wind and place forshyward pressure on the elevator

All this is to keep that tail wheel firmly in contact with the ground to assure control Flying the ailerons in a crosswind keeps pressure on the down aileron and keeps the upwind wing down Taxiing crosswind and in a crosswind takeoff aileron into the wind and opposite rudder to keep it going straight

Practice this Taxi around on the ground until you get the feel of how effective the rudder and the tail wheel steering is Be a little aggressive and experiment a little preferably on a wide grass runway where a little slipshypage can give you a margin for error

If visibility over the nose presents a problem then 15 turn 15 right look left down your route of taxi 15 left and look out the right side If you see its clear then no need to make an 15 of yourself over and over again Only when you want to be sure nothshying is in front of you

Place the centerline markings of the taxiway and the runway between your feet and keep them there There is a parallax error and if the line is between your feet then you are on center and you are assured of wing tip clearance

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21

bull bull

To turn around on a narrow strip plan your turn so the wind will help you Taxi along the downwind edge ofthe strip and make your 180 into the wind The weathervane effect on your airplane will help to initiate the turn Ease up a little on the back pressure as you start into the turn and this will make the tail come around more easily

You are working that tail wheel to your advantage Keep that in mind and visualize the forces your control input is accomplishing Use the brakes sparingly and only as an aid if you aren t turning as sharp as you like or to avoid a problem

After a sharp turn and the tail wheel has fully swiveled roll straight ahead for a bit to get it back in the notch or steerable position Feel the resistance in the rudder pedals when its in the steerable position The rudshyder will feel loose and ineffective if its swiveling The roll straight ahead and a neutral rudder will again enshygage that centering device

Practice those S turns and the 180s on the runway and the strip Play the elevator and the ailerons and again visualize and practice the effect youre looking for Half an hour of taxi time practice wont hurt a bit Once those feet wake up to the fact that THEY control the airplane on the ground your flying will come easy

Dont go out and try this on a day when the wind is blowing up a frenzy Not until youve had enough practice at light crosswinds and tail winds Moderate to heavy winds can really play tricks For example taxishying downwind in a heavy wind can have a reverse effect on the controls You poke in left rudder the rudder swings in that direction the wind pushes against it and you get a reshyverse effect Your ailerons also have a reverse effect going downwind Sometimes its absolutely necessary to have a wing walker on the upwind side to hold that wing down I dont advocate operations in winds strong enough to lift a wing Wait until conshyditions improve and then go fly K

Over to youlr -BtcJ

bull bullI I

A l r e r _ 1t Co_ tl ng _

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22 APRIL 2003

JOHN MILLER CONTINUED

climb to a few hundred feet over the water and finally turned back to the airport On the way I got myself calmed down a little but was shivering from exshycitement I was elated at saving the airplane but disappointed at fouling up the poppy drop timing

An hour or so after landing as I exshypected I saw the big open touring car with the group of legionnaires come speeding toward the airport to berate me for fouling up their carefully made plan The car slid to a stop in a cloud of dust All four doors swung open and the six or eight legionnaires burst out and ran toward me I braced myself for their asshysault They jumped all over me shaking both of my hands and all talking to me at once enthusiastically thanking me for such a perfectly timed bombingI

They said that as the buglers were playing taps they did not hear me comshying and were disappointed that all of their precise plans and timing were wasted Then just as the final notes of taps sounded the poppies silently rained over the crowd as a complete surprise They had not heard the whistling wires of the biplane over the sounding of taps And since they were looking at the buglers and standing at attention they did not see the plane pass overhead I had flown it slightly to the right of Main Street slightly behind them to allow the NW breeze to drift the poppies to the crowd They could not thank me enough nor understand how I could have timed the drop so well and silently

Little did they know nor did I tell them of my professional secret II They said that the notes of taps and the popshypies silently snowing down from the sky was so impressive that thousands of people had tears in their eyes the emoshytion was so intense Yes little did they know I wish I could have been there much more than where I was I can still plainly see those deadly 600-volt wires under the wheels the tails kid barely clearing the dock and the wheels alshymost rolling on the water

Did I ever learn from that expeshyrience

That same J-1 Standard still exshyists in 2003 12 APRIL 2003

T

Go Around To flare or not to flare

DOUG STEWART NAFI MASTER INSTRUCTOR

The storm had been intense weather conditions one could tracking up the stationary front easily see the way the wind was along the East Coast but now it caused (I didnt say cussed alshywas being chased out into the though it often was) to rotor as it North Atlantic by a strong high blew over these trees The powder that was building into New Eng- snow that had been dumped in land With the high pressure the trees during the storm could came blue skies that are normally be seen as it first blew up and saved for the desert southwest then rolled rapidly down in the and visibilities that are rarely vortices that the trees created matched here in But it was sum-

Massachusetts To ADD TO THE MIX mer now and if a especially now in pilot was not

the summer A ROW OF PINE well versed in But the isobars reading the tershy

were jam-packed TREES LINES THE rain it was easy together and the to get lured into

wind was howl- APPROACH TO a low approach ing The winds to the runway To were gusting more THE NORTH OF some pilots the than 35 knots 2600 feet of run-coming across the runway at a 70- to

THE EXTENDED way seemed very short and thus

85-degree angle It was not the

CENTERLINE OF they could be fooled into trying

kind of day to be landing here unshy

RUNWAY 29shy a low approach in an attempt to

less you had your put it on the crosswind landing techniques numbersI This type of approach mastered In the pattern an inshy rarely worked because the lowshystructor was teaching those level wind shear created severe techniques to a student We prefer turbulence on a low approach to teach a sideslip approach in The best approach in these conshycrosswind conditions to fledgling di tions was a high slipping students That way they do not approach with an aim point have to deal with the transition about 500 feet down the runshyfrom a crab to a slip as they also way This way a pilot could stay try to figure out how and when to out of most of the turbulence commence their flare and although the slip could lead

To add to the mix a row of pine a pilot to think that the crossshytrees lines the approach to the wind capabilities had been north of the extended centerline exceeded it was rare that this of Runway 29-the runway in use would continue all the way to this day In the winter in similar the runway As an aircraft got

past the trees and close to the ground surface friction usually slowed the wind enough to alshyIowa pilot to straighten things out and land without incident

Also coming from the west along with the high pressure was a small homebuilt hot rod it was a tandem taildragger with short stubby wings and large empenshynage and rudder In the rear seat was the owner who had yet to obtain his tail wheel endorsement and thus had been along for the ride all the way from the West Coast Sitting at the controls in front was the pilot in command His tailwheel time had been grandfathered as years ago he had flown as a commercial pilot in a Beech 18 But before flying this aircraft he had never flown a small single-engine tailwheel airshyplane It was also rare that he ever landed three point usually wheeling on the twin Beech They arrived just as the wind was at its peak

Making their downwind anshynouncement over the UNICOM the voice on the other end of the UNICOM warned them to be on their toes Their approach was not too high and not too low but a little too fast As they tried to bleed off speed the turbulence was bouncing them all over the place They decided to go around

The second approach was higher but this time too high and it was obvious that a goshyaround would be needed again The voice from the UNICOM opshyerator admonished them yet again

to be careful They knew that many eyes were on them On their third approach they decided to come in low and fast Apshyproach speed for this aircraft is about 80 knots They were doing at least 100 knots As they flew through the turbulence the little aircraft was bounced around like a cork in rapids

The plane floated and floated down the runway bleeding off all the excessive speed It finally touched down with less than 600 feet of runway remaining It was still too fast I know that a little extra speed is sometimes used in a wheel landing but this was abshysurd As the end of the runway loomed the plane drifted off the right side of the runway tail still up in a level attitude If braking had been poor on the pavement it was going to be worse in the gravel the wheels were now on

The runway ends in a steep drop-off of about 20 feet To the right of the runway at the top of the drop-off were two poplar trees One of them had about a 10-inch diameter the other was approximately 6 inches As the leading edge of the wing hit these trees they were snapped as if a karate master were demonstrating his skill The airplane spun 540 degrees and crashed into the holshylow going backward Coming to a stop upright the two souls aboard scrambled out of the plane with the pilot collapsing only a few steps from the wreckage his back badly broken

Jve often told my students that any landing you can walk away from is a good landing If you can use the plane again its a great landing This one was only going to count as a good landing And just barely at that

To this day a question remains unanswered in my mind Why did they not go around a third time Why didnt they fly to an airport less than 16 miles to the west that had a runway aligned

almost directly with the wind and that was also twice as long and twice as wide Get-there-itis Pride Only the pilot in comshymand that day can answer those questions

My mentor and friend Safety Program Manager Bob Martens has often said that the go-around is the most neglected maneuver in flying How right he is I have personally witnessed several accishydents that miraculously were not fatal that were the direct reshysult of go-arounds gone bad In more than one instance getshythere-itis or pride played a large role Why do we get the mentalshyity that we have to land at this airport I remember one blusshytery New Years Day when I went to four different airports before finding a runway where I didnt run out of crosswind capability in a T-tailed Arrow

Pilots do some pretty dumb things when they think their peers are observing them One of them is trying to force a landing gone bad thinking that they will be thought of as less than comshypetent if they have to go around But the opposite is true It shows cautious good sense I have freshyquently told students just learning to land that they should not be reluctant to go around thinking that I will think poorly of them I tell them quite honshyestly that I wont remember how many times they might have to go around but I will never forget the one time they fail to go around and crash

So next time youre flying why not practice some go-arounds Reshymember its power first Full power smoothly and steadily not slammed in Then clean up the configuration as necessary as you transition to best angle climb speed If you have the good sense to go around when necessary and the skill to do it properly you will be more than a good pilot youll be a great pilot

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 13

Taldn There is no paint like the air

Off

I sit by the east window watchshying the clouds made red and blue by the sun that sets beshyhind me with a cup of Earl Grey tea warm and gold with

local honey I smell it sweetly minshygling with the scent of avgas and engine oil which drifts up from my blue jeans as I think of where Ive just been Mostly I am bent over a computer or my watercolor table painting rushing under the weight of deadlines absorbed in the small world of color on a flat piece of French paper with hands stressed from the tension of working tiny brushes There is little room for error with watercolors

14 APRIL 2003

But if I stop painting to look up and out the yellow nose of an airshyplane is right there poking out of the long metal machine shed hangar right there to remind me of the larger picture

LONNI SUE JOHNSON

So when I can take a break if the weather is good for it we go flying

The 1946 Piper J-3 Cub is perfect for an escape Simple and old-fashshyioned it goes even slower than the little aluminum Cessna I learned to fly in Its small tail wheel gives it an eager nose-high stance It is the color of school buses with an eleshygant black lightning bolt from nose to tail With the wings overhead it makes good shade for a lawn chair and is a big yellow umbrella when its raining Best of all in the air there is nothing to block the view of the earth

Its light for an airplane Even with its 35-foot 8-inch wings wider

than a New York City brownstone and Continental 90 horse engine it weighs only 884 pounds with both tanks full Its angular steel armature is stretched drum-like with shiny fabric resilient to the touch-almost like a big 3-D canvas primed yellow and ready to go

But this is no painterly illusion And its not that light

I can lift the tail wheel up for a few seconds if necessary but I mostly move it around by rolling large slow semicircles

I savor the preflight inspection and let it take a long time Partly beshycause even with lots of exercise carrying firewood and piling bales of hay and eating as much ice cream as possible I am still not as tall or strong as most of my male pilot friends

To check the wing tank and wash the windshield I need a ladder and I have to slow down to position it without scraping the landing gear or in winter the newly painted yelshylow skis Climbing down I press my

hands against the cowling warm from the engine heater to limber them for reaching inside to unplug its long orange extension cord

Looking up I can examine the aileron cables and pulleys while unshytying the wings I love the feel of ropes and knots and remember the old-timer who showed me the speshyciallore and cleverness of their invention

I live well into the country where keeping mice in their place and not in my stuff is a constant battle I reshytrieve the old pair of pantyhose toes heavy with mothballs which hang down inside the tail Then I pull off the quilted cowl cover and the miceshyhunting cat or two who sleep there

On wheels it is just possible by rocking the Cub a bit to get it to roll out of the hangar almost by itself Then with a rope and the banner tow release I loop the tail to the doorpost so it doesnt go flying

without me Standing in front of the right

wheel I get set to start the engine by flipping the propeller Some of my taller friends can wedge their left foot under the front of the tire and reach up to grasp the back edge of the prop but being smaller I dont have the same wingspan they do so I use two rubber chocks strung toshygether with ropes

From painting there are no rings on my right hand and no untucked scarves or baggy sleeves to get caught I pull the propeller through from the back my left hand in the cockpit by the mixture control Five times Then I switch on the magnetos and give one more sharp pull to start it

With the satisfying clicking of the engine at idle with its wind in my face I get in

Every time I sit in that Cub I start to grin and cant stop until I get out again

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15

A fat red folding cushion on the back seat lets me reach the rudders and heel brakes Underneath is a piece of nonskid carpet pad that keeps it from wobbling Careful not to hit the throttle I bend over the front seat to release the tow lever fish the chocks inside and poke them into the back to nestle with my purse and the extra quart of oil

People offer their help and I have met many nice men but I need to be able to do everything myself even if it takes more time because here

there is usually no one else around The hilltop runway is a roller

coaster wide but short with an average elevation of 1993 feet When it is too windy to fly or the clouds scrape by too low the tershyrain has become familiar with walks and mowing

When my Cub and I finally taxi out run up and depart upward over the edge of the hill to the north Otshysego Lake shows suddenly below off the left wing

Writer James Fenimore Cooper

called it a glimmer glass It is a long sliver of shimmering mirror reflectshying up versions of the hills and clouds and the little yellow Cub above And when completely frozen its an endless new runway

Henry David Thoreau wrote 1 A lake is the landscapes most beautishyful and expressive feature It is earths eye looking into which the beholder measures the depth of his own nature

I long for this escape from the close-up perspective of life at the

computer and the drawing table and for the humility of becoming tiny in a big space The view of the lake makes the transformation complete

It also provides points for practicing maneuvers Wings line up against its serene length to measure 360-degree turns and a series of lazy-eights The blue ignition harnesses quiver against the yellow cowling as the cylinders black heads brush along the wide peaceful circle of horizon

16 APRIL 2003

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17

I like going so slowly too as airshyplanes go Only a dive can get us going more than 80 mph

Looking down the farm melts into the undulating grid of fields and hedgerows Especially in the evenings with the cool lattice of shadows stretching With each seashyson a fresh pattern is woven in appropriate threads of color

The freedom is complete Just by working the stick and rudder I can go up down left or right-anyshywhere I am not attached to

18 APRIL 2003

anything but the Cub I am always amazed to see my own shadow surfing across the fields beneath me

I like being an aerial spy I watch tiny tractors drawing stripes in deep brown fields and boats pulling triangular white wakes I discover new destinations for walks traces of old roads through the woods green-gray boulders dropped by the glacier in its reshytreat I see weather coming and feel it as the wind changes against the thin fabric of the fuselage I notice where the cows have grazed paths and who drives up to see me while Im gone

Coming back I watch the lime green flag at mid-field and a bright orange windsock at the north end Sometimes there is no clear best landing direction The wind often swirls from both ways at once To the east are more hints wood smoke from the house or milk room studio or the pond with its surface scum unshyruffled or pleated up at one end or the other

On the downwind leg the field always looks way too short tilted and windy to use When I first moved here from Connecticut where the runshy

ways are mostly long flat and paved I could not imagine that I would ever be able to land here in one piece The local Cub pilots teased relentlessly All the second spring I was here I practiced shortening landings on longer runways until I felt ready Finally when I did come home solo it was almost easy and I wondered what had taken me so long

Now I relish the short slow apshyproach at 55-60 miles an hour watching for deer and turkeys Its a quiet idling glide in sumshymer but with power in the winter to keep the exposed cylinders warm enough to go around if necessary Each touchdown is exshyhilarating

Back down the lumpy lane we go the Cub and I-plump tires bouncing me in the red seat door open if its warm enough wings just missing the leaning hops barn and the bright gas tanks past the milk house and its grand old hay

barn with three silos and sending cats running every which way

In his journal in September of 1851 Thoreau wrote I wish to see the earth through the medium of much air or heaven for there is no paint like the air

How could he have known It s uphill into the hangar If I

shut down as close as possible facshying the entrance I can walk the tail around in perfect alignment for the winch Its a manual one with a long cable

To pull the Cub in it takes turnshying the crank forever If I were strong enough to pick up the tail and lift it all of the way in itd be done in half a minute Instead the winch winds up as the sun slips down the western ridge The barn is illuminated in a red satushyrated moment I begin to think again of the pain tings on my table The clicking resounds out into the hay fields to the ends of the silos blue shadow

Each time I put the Cub away I think of the time Ive spent Next time Ill take even longer

Lonni Sue Johnson watercolorist and cat wrangler aLso serves as the secretary ofEAA Chapter 1070 in Cooperstown New York

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19

~ss BY EE

No mistake taildraggers are here to stay Builders like American Champion Maule Air and Waco Classic are still building new airshyplanes and there are a number of the old Champs Luscombes T-Carts Cessnas and others still out there being restored and flown by both old and new generation pilots

Despite Phil Boyers (AOPA) expeshyrience in learning to handle a taildragger they can still be a lot of fun There is no doubt they require a certain amount of finesse and knowledge of basic airplane hanshydling that isnt required of the tri-gear installation The tri-gear takes a lot of the sweat out of operashytions It eliminates the uphill climb into a seat on the modern airliner puts better visibility over the nose helps in a maximum braking situashytion and gives the pilot something to put on the yellow taxi line

The nose over tendency of early airplanes put skids up front so if they did get the tail high the skid would help to prevent damage to the proshypeller Witness the wing tip skids on Curtiss JNs and DHs in the event of a ground loop Look at the accident and mishap pictures some of the old magshyazines publish and youll see the reason for these skids

The taildragger does have an inshynate tendency to ground loop Just try shoving a tricycle backwards and watch how quickly it ground loops On the other hand going forward is a little more stable and predictable Since we are talking tail wheels lets get back to them

Look at that little wheel back there It doesnt look like much but it is one third of your landing gear yet it does 90 percent of the work at low speeds in controlling the airshy

20 APRIL 2003

BUCK HILBERT EAA 21 VAA 5 PO Box 424 UNION IL 60180

Tail wheels plane on the ground As insignifishycant as it looks it drags through the mud and dust snow and water on pavement or dirt it does its job It keeps you in control provided you make sure its connected and funcshytional with the steering cables and springs attached properly inflated lubricated and equipped with reashysonably decent tread on the tire

The first thing that tells you its working right is the wear on the tail wheel tire If your main gear is out of whack and the airplane dogtrots or crabs while running on the ground uneven wear will show in the tail wheel tire quickly Especially in one of the 6-by-2-inch hard rubber tires Also if the tread is down to where you see a crack along the center get a new tire Inside that rubber molded tire is a cable ring that re-enforces the tire If you see a crack there is a good chance that tire is about to come apart and jam itself between the wheel and the yoke and youll lose control The money spent on a new tire is a mini percentage of what it will cost to reshypair your airplane and overcome the embarrassment that goes with breakshying an airplane

Dont let the phrase taildragger intimidate you Learning to use it and use it properly is just another phase of flight Literally millions of words have been written about how to use the tail wheel and Im not about to reiterate any or all of them Im just going to exshyplain how they work what they are made of and how to take care of them

As with most man-made contrapshytions there are many varied ideas in how to produce them and how effecshytive they are Back in the Jenny days there were skids some fixed and some partially steerable The technique in those days was to shove the stick forshy

ward to take the weight off the skid and fly the tail around using a combishynation of power and rudder alone The rigid skid didnt give much and it imposed side loads on the structure With no brakes the biplane reqUired a pretty large turning radius

The next development was a bungee shock absorber that also swiveled some fifteen degrees This gave some leeway and made the turnshying radius a little smaller The side forces and drag were still there

Then someone put a wheel in place of the skid plate Now they could move the airplane a lot easier but that complicated things because the drag of the skid was all they had for braking With the slick steel plate that friction was gone So some kind of brakes had to be installed on the main gear Next that little wheel on the end of the skid had to swivel so we could really turn short

Various deSigners came out with designs Heath Airplane Company came out with one of the first steershyable tail wheels Other manufacturers followed suit and that function coushypled with individual brakes made ground handling much much easier

Experiments followed with various types of installations including a trailshying spring similar to automotive design which was secured to the tail longerons It is common on Cessnas Aeroncas Taylorcrafts and Pipers The telescoping tail post type like the instalshylation on the Aeronca K Fleet and others and the articulated and hinged installations all came about and all worked with varying degrees of success

A lot depended on the weight and support the little tail wheel had to

carry Look at the DC-3 and the B-17 On these heavier aircraft the tail wheel design had to follow the reshyquirements North American had their own design so did Stinson and Fairchild They all had their unique problems and solved them Some were successful others with someshywhat less than pleasant results

I used to think that the old time pishylots like Amelia and Post and some of those other early record-setting pioshyneers were lousy pilots because they ground looped on occasion In reality they did a terrific job considering the equipment they had to work with Their mishaps were the proof needed to improve the design and function of this little wheel in the back

The steerable was soon improved even further by adding a full swivel feature Now we could really turn around in a tight radius Furthermore the airplane could now be pushed backwards without lifting the tail off the ground or disconnecting the steershying cables This free wheeling feature could also be a trap if the operator wasnt aware of it

How does it work Good question All the designs have common conshytrols usually an arm or steering tiller that transfers the rudder input to the tail wheel assembly Done either with solid arms or cables and usually incorshyporating some sort of shock absorbing device such as springs it gives it a litshytle slack so as not to overpower the rudder action

Pushing rudder will direct the steershying in the direction you want to go Once headed that way you neutralize the rudder input until you want to change direction Neutralizing or censhytering the control will then allow the tail wheel to trail and youll proceed in a straight line

The swivel feature allows the wheel to trail and has some free movement on either side of neutral This soaks up little variations in the runway or sod surface and still allows you conshytrol if your input asks for more

To prevent the unit from going into full swivel a monkey-motion cam arrangement in all the designs

kicks in if you reach the extreme limit of the steerable travel Once this limit releases that cam you have a full swiveling wheel To put it back in the steerable mode the wheel must again trail which releases the cam action and centers itself

This sounds confusing but in realshyity its like there is a notch in the trail position jump out of that notch and you re freewheeling To get back into the notch roll straight ahead a little ways and itll snap back in To get out of that notch you need a full rudder application and a side load

Some airplanes have a manual tail wheel lock The Boeing Kaydet comshymonly known as the Stearman which the Navy used for primary training had a reputation for belittling pilots It was a real ground looper so they inshystalled a manual tail wheel lock This would not allow the tail wheel to go into the full swivel position The 15shyor 20-degree steering input was still there but the full swivel was locked out Some of the Waco aircraft also have this feature It works but the one caveat is dont forget to unlock it to make a sharp turn at the taxiway The locking mechanism will break and then enhance the mechanics job security Ask any DC-3 B-17 or T-6 maintenance technician

Routine preflight of the tail wheel assembly should take real precedence while doing your walk around Again this is your primary control Are the cables attached Are the clips that hold the springs to the steering arms worn Does the tire look good Inflashytion Unusual wear Wiggle the rudder do the cables actually steer the wheel Push a little to impose a side load make sure the attach paints are tight No excess movement Does it lean or show signs of sloppiness Does it look right From the side is the pivot line perpendicular to the ground does everything look right Is the spring sagging One cant be too picky preflighting this little monster It can spell disaster if it isnt controlshylable and we dont want that

So now we finish the preflight and count the wings and wheel The cockshy

pit check is complete and we have the engine running If it s clear ahead open the throttle and move off the tied own using rudder in the direction you want to turn Once the turn is esshytablished neutralize the rudder Now you can test the brakes and see that they are working and then forget them A good steerable tail wheel will respond without braking

Now we get to the basics of how to handle the controls If you are a seashyplane pilot youve already mastered this business of flying the controls If you have a headwind you hold back pressure on the stick to keep the tail wheelan the ground In a tail wind forward pressure again to keep the tail wheelan the ground In a direct crosswind neutralize the elevator and aileron into the wind For a quartershying headwind aileron into the wind and place back pressure on the elevashytor For a quartering tail wind stick AWAY from the wind and place forshyward pressure on the elevator

All this is to keep that tail wheel firmly in contact with the ground to assure control Flying the ailerons in a crosswind keeps pressure on the down aileron and keeps the upwind wing down Taxiing crosswind and in a crosswind takeoff aileron into the wind and opposite rudder to keep it going straight

Practice this Taxi around on the ground until you get the feel of how effective the rudder and the tail wheel steering is Be a little aggressive and experiment a little preferably on a wide grass runway where a little slipshypage can give you a margin for error

If visibility over the nose presents a problem then 15 turn 15 right look left down your route of taxi 15 left and look out the right side If you see its clear then no need to make an 15 of yourself over and over again Only when you want to be sure nothshying is in front of you

Place the centerline markings of the taxiway and the runway between your feet and keep them there There is a parallax error and if the line is between your feet then you are on center and you are assured of wing tip clearance

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21

bull bull

To turn around on a narrow strip plan your turn so the wind will help you Taxi along the downwind edge ofthe strip and make your 180 into the wind The weathervane effect on your airplane will help to initiate the turn Ease up a little on the back pressure as you start into the turn and this will make the tail come around more easily

You are working that tail wheel to your advantage Keep that in mind and visualize the forces your control input is accomplishing Use the brakes sparingly and only as an aid if you aren t turning as sharp as you like or to avoid a problem

After a sharp turn and the tail wheel has fully swiveled roll straight ahead for a bit to get it back in the notch or steerable position Feel the resistance in the rudder pedals when its in the steerable position The rudshyder will feel loose and ineffective if its swiveling The roll straight ahead and a neutral rudder will again enshygage that centering device

Practice those S turns and the 180s on the runway and the strip Play the elevator and the ailerons and again visualize and practice the effect youre looking for Half an hour of taxi time practice wont hurt a bit Once those feet wake up to the fact that THEY control the airplane on the ground your flying will come easy

Dont go out and try this on a day when the wind is blowing up a frenzy Not until youve had enough practice at light crosswinds and tail winds Moderate to heavy winds can really play tricks For example taxishying downwind in a heavy wind can have a reverse effect on the controls You poke in left rudder the rudder swings in that direction the wind pushes against it and you get a reshyverse effect Your ailerons also have a reverse effect going downwind Sometimes its absolutely necessary to have a wing walker on the upwind side to hold that wing down I dont advocate operations in winds strong enough to lift a wing Wait until conshyditions improve and then go fly K

Over to youlr -BtcJ

bull bullI I

A l r e r _ 1t Co_ tl ng _

wwwpolyfibercom wwwaircraflsprucecom

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June 27-29 2003 Griffin (Atlanta) GA RVASSEMBLY TIG WELDING

22 APRIL 2003

past the trees and close to the ground surface friction usually slowed the wind enough to alshyIowa pilot to straighten things out and land without incident

Also coming from the west along with the high pressure was a small homebuilt hot rod it was a tandem taildragger with short stubby wings and large empenshynage and rudder In the rear seat was the owner who had yet to obtain his tail wheel endorsement and thus had been along for the ride all the way from the West Coast Sitting at the controls in front was the pilot in command His tailwheel time had been grandfathered as years ago he had flown as a commercial pilot in a Beech 18 But before flying this aircraft he had never flown a small single-engine tailwheel airshyplane It was also rare that he ever landed three point usually wheeling on the twin Beech They arrived just as the wind was at its peak

Making their downwind anshynouncement over the UNICOM the voice on the other end of the UNICOM warned them to be on their toes Their approach was not too high and not too low but a little too fast As they tried to bleed off speed the turbulence was bouncing them all over the place They decided to go around

The second approach was higher but this time too high and it was obvious that a goshyaround would be needed again The voice from the UNICOM opshyerator admonished them yet again

to be careful They knew that many eyes were on them On their third approach they decided to come in low and fast Apshyproach speed for this aircraft is about 80 knots They were doing at least 100 knots As they flew through the turbulence the little aircraft was bounced around like a cork in rapids

The plane floated and floated down the runway bleeding off all the excessive speed It finally touched down with less than 600 feet of runway remaining It was still too fast I know that a little extra speed is sometimes used in a wheel landing but this was abshysurd As the end of the runway loomed the plane drifted off the right side of the runway tail still up in a level attitude If braking had been poor on the pavement it was going to be worse in the gravel the wheels were now on

The runway ends in a steep drop-off of about 20 feet To the right of the runway at the top of the drop-off were two poplar trees One of them had about a 10-inch diameter the other was approximately 6 inches As the leading edge of the wing hit these trees they were snapped as if a karate master were demonstrating his skill The airplane spun 540 degrees and crashed into the holshylow going backward Coming to a stop upright the two souls aboard scrambled out of the plane with the pilot collapsing only a few steps from the wreckage his back badly broken

Jve often told my students that any landing you can walk away from is a good landing If you can use the plane again its a great landing This one was only going to count as a good landing And just barely at that

To this day a question remains unanswered in my mind Why did they not go around a third time Why didnt they fly to an airport less than 16 miles to the west that had a runway aligned

almost directly with the wind and that was also twice as long and twice as wide Get-there-itis Pride Only the pilot in comshymand that day can answer those questions

My mentor and friend Safety Program Manager Bob Martens has often said that the go-around is the most neglected maneuver in flying How right he is I have personally witnessed several accishydents that miraculously were not fatal that were the direct reshysult of go-arounds gone bad In more than one instance getshythere-itis or pride played a large role Why do we get the mentalshyity that we have to land at this airport I remember one blusshytery New Years Day when I went to four different airports before finding a runway where I didnt run out of crosswind capability in a T-tailed Arrow

Pilots do some pretty dumb things when they think their peers are observing them One of them is trying to force a landing gone bad thinking that they will be thought of as less than comshypetent if they have to go around But the opposite is true It shows cautious good sense I have freshyquently told students just learning to land that they should not be reluctant to go around thinking that I will think poorly of them I tell them quite honshyestly that I wont remember how many times they might have to go around but I will never forget the one time they fail to go around and crash

So next time youre flying why not practice some go-arounds Reshymember its power first Full power smoothly and steadily not slammed in Then clean up the configuration as necessary as you transition to best angle climb speed If you have the good sense to go around when necessary and the skill to do it properly you will be more than a good pilot youll be a great pilot

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 13

Taldn There is no paint like the air

Off

I sit by the east window watchshying the clouds made red and blue by the sun that sets beshyhind me with a cup of Earl Grey tea warm and gold with

local honey I smell it sweetly minshygling with the scent of avgas and engine oil which drifts up from my blue jeans as I think of where Ive just been Mostly I am bent over a computer or my watercolor table painting rushing under the weight of deadlines absorbed in the small world of color on a flat piece of French paper with hands stressed from the tension of working tiny brushes There is little room for error with watercolors

14 APRIL 2003

But if I stop painting to look up and out the yellow nose of an airshyplane is right there poking out of the long metal machine shed hangar right there to remind me of the larger picture

LONNI SUE JOHNSON

So when I can take a break if the weather is good for it we go flying

The 1946 Piper J-3 Cub is perfect for an escape Simple and old-fashshyioned it goes even slower than the little aluminum Cessna I learned to fly in Its small tail wheel gives it an eager nose-high stance It is the color of school buses with an eleshygant black lightning bolt from nose to tail With the wings overhead it makes good shade for a lawn chair and is a big yellow umbrella when its raining Best of all in the air there is nothing to block the view of the earth

Its light for an airplane Even with its 35-foot 8-inch wings wider

than a New York City brownstone and Continental 90 horse engine it weighs only 884 pounds with both tanks full Its angular steel armature is stretched drum-like with shiny fabric resilient to the touch-almost like a big 3-D canvas primed yellow and ready to go

But this is no painterly illusion And its not that light

I can lift the tail wheel up for a few seconds if necessary but I mostly move it around by rolling large slow semicircles

I savor the preflight inspection and let it take a long time Partly beshycause even with lots of exercise carrying firewood and piling bales of hay and eating as much ice cream as possible I am still not as tall or strong as most of my male pilot friends

To check the wing tank and wash the windshield I need a ladder and I have to slow down to position it without scraping the landing gear or in winter the newly painted yelshylow skis Climbing down I press my

hands against the cowling warm from the engine heater to limber them for reaching inside to unplug its long orange extension cord

Looking up I can examine the aileron cables and pulleys while unshytying the wings I love the feel of ropes and knots and remember the old-timer who showed me the speshyciallore and cleverness of their invention

I live well into the country where keeping mice in their place and not in my stuff is a constant battle I reshytrieve the old pair of pantyhose toes heavy with mothballs which hang down inside the tail Then I pull off the quilted cowl cover and the miceshyhunting cat or two who sleep there

On wheels it is just possible by rocking the Cub a bit to get it to roll out of the hangar almost by itself Then with a rope and the banner tow release I loop the tail to the doorpost so it doesnt go flying

without me Standing in front of the right

wheel I get set to start the engine by flipping the propeller Some of my taller friends can wedge their left foot under the front of the tire and reach up to grasp the back edge of the prop but being smaller I dont have the same wingspan they do so I use two rubber chocks strung toshygether with ropes

From painting there are no rings on my right hand and no untucked scarves or baggy sleeves to get caught I pull the propeller through from the back my left hand in the cockpit by the mixture control Five times Then I switch on the magnetos and give one more sharp pull to start it

With the satisfying clicking of the engine at idle with its wind in my face I get in

Every time I sit in that Cub I start to grin and cant stop until I get out again

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15

A fat red folding cushion on the back seat lets me reach the rudders and heel brakes Underneath is a piece of nonskid carpet pad that keeps it from wobbling Careful not to hit the throttle I bend over the front seat to release the tow lever fish the chocks inside and poke them into the back to nestle with my purse and the extra quart of oil

People offer their help and I have met many nice men but I need to be able to do everything myself even if it takes more time because here

there is usually no one else around The hilltop runway is a roller

coaster wide but short with an average elevation of 1993 feet When it is too windy to fly or the clouds scrape by too low the tershyrain has become familiar with walks and mowing

When my Cub and I finally taxi out run up and depart upward over the edge of the hill to the north Otshysego Lake shows suddenly below off the left wing

Writer James Fenimore Cooper

called it a glimmer glass It is a long sliver of shimmering mirror reflectshying up versions of the hills and clouds and the little yellow Cub above And when completely frozen its an endless new runway

Henry David Thoreau wrote 1 A lake is the landscapes most beautishyful and expressive feature It is earths eye looking into which the beholder measures the depth of his own nature

I long for this escape from the close-up perspective of life at the

computer and the drawing table and for the humility of becoming tiny in a big space The view of the lake makes the transformation complete

It also provides points for practicing maneuvers Wings line up against its serene length to measure 360-degree turns and a series of lazy-eights The blue ignition harnesses quiver against the yellow cowling as the cylinders black heads brush along the wide peaceful circle of horizon

16 APRIL 2003

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17

I like going so slowly too as airshyplanes go Only a dive can get us going more than 80 mph

Looking down the farm melts into the undulating grid of fields and hedgerows Especially in the evenings with the cool lattice of shadows stretching With each seashyson a fresh pattern is woven in appropriate threads of color

The freedom is complete Just by working the stick and rudder I can go up down left or right-anyshywhere I am not attached to

18 APRIL 2003

anything but the Cub I am always amazed to see my own shadow surfing across the fields beneath me

I like being an aerial spy I watch tiny tractors drawing stripes in deep brown fields and boats pulling triangular white wakes I discover new destinations for walks traces of old roads through the woods green-gray boulders dropped by the glacier in its reshytreat I see weather coming and feel it as the wind changes against the thin fabric of the fuselage I notice where the cows have grazed paths and who drives up to see me while Im gone

Coming back I watch the lime green flag at mid-field and a bright orange windsock at the north end Sometimes there is no clear best landing direction The wind often swirls from both ways at once To the east are more hints wood smoke from the house or milk room studio or the pond with its surface scum unshyruffled or pleated up at one end or the other

On the downwind leg the field always looks way too short tilted and windy to use When I first moved here from Connecticut where the runshy

ways are mostly long flat and paved I could not imagine that I would ever be able to land here in one piece The local Cub pilots teased relentlessly All the second spring I was here I practiced shortening landings on longer runways until I felt ready Finally when I did come home solo it was almost easy and I wondered what had taken me so long

Now I relish the short slow apshyproach at 55-60 miles an hour watching for deer and turkeys Its a quiet idling glide in sumshymer but with power in the winter to keep the exposed cylinders warm enough to go around if necessary Each touchdown is exshyhilarating

Back down the lumpy lane we go the Cub and I-plump tires bouncing me in the red seat door open if its warm enough wings just missing the leaning hops barn and the bright gas tanks past the milk house and its grand old hay

barn with three silos and sending cats running every which way

In his journal in September of 1851 Thoreau wrote I wish to see the earth through the medium of much air or heaven for there is no paint like the air

How could he have known It s uphill into the hangar If I

shut down as close as possible facshying the entrance I can walk the tail around in perfect alignment for the winch Its a manual one with a long cable

To pull the Cub in it takes turnshying the crank forever If I were strong enough to pick up the tail and lift it all of the way in itd be done in half a minute Instead the winch winds up as the sun slips down the western ridge The barn is illuminated in a red satushyrated moment I begin to think again of the pain tings on my table The clicking resounds out into the hay fields to the ends of the silos blue shadow

Each time I put the Cub away I think of the time Ive spent Next time Ill take even longer

Lonni Sue Johnson watercolorist and cat wrangler aLso serves as the secretary ofEAA Chapter 1070 in Cooperstown New York

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19

~ss BY EE

No mistake taildraggers are here to stay Builders like American Champion Maule Air and Waco Classic are still building new airshyplanes and there are a number of the old Champs Luscombes T-Carts Cessnas and others still out there being restored and flown by both old and new generation pilots

Despite Phil Boyers (AOPA) expeshyrience in learning to handle a taildragger they can still be a lot of fun There is no doubt they require a certain amount of finesse and knowledge of basic airplane hanshydling that isnt required of the tri-gear installation The tri-gear takes a lot of the sweat out of operashytions It eliminates the uphill climb into a seat on the modern airliner puts better visibility over the nose helps in a maximum braking situashytion and gives the pilot something to put on the yellow taxi line

The nose over tendency of early airplanes put skids up front so if they did get the tail high the skid would help to prevent damage to the proshypeller Witness the wing tip skids on Curtiss JNs and DHs in the event of a ground loop Look at the accident and mishap pictures some of the old magshyazines publish and youll see the reason for these skids

The taildragger does have an inshynate tendency to ground loop Just try shoving a tricycle backwards and watch how quickly it ground loops On the other hand going forward is a little more stable and predictable Since we are talking tail wheels lets get back to them

Look at that little wheel back there It doesnt look like much but it is one third of your landing gear yet it does 90 percent of the work at low speeds in controlling the airshy

20 APRIL 2003

BUCK HILBERT EAA 21 VAA 5 PO Box 424 UNION IL 60180

Tail wheels plane on the ground As insignifishycant as it looks it drags through the mud and dust snow and water on pavement or dirt it does its job It keeps you in control provided you make sure its connected and funcshytional with the steering cables and springs attached properly inflated lubricated and equipped with reashysonably decent tread on the tire

The first thing that tells you its working right is the wear on the tail wheel tire If your main gear is out of whack and the airplane dogtrots or crabs while running on the ground uneven wear will show in the tail wheel tire quickly Especially in one of the 6-by-2-inch hard rubber tires Also if the tread is down to where you see a crack along the center get a new tire Inside that rubber molded tire is a cable ring that re-enforces the tire If you see a crack there is a good chance that tire is about to come apart and jam itself between the wheel and the yoke and youll lose control The money spent on a new tire is a mini percentage of what it will cost to reshypair your airplane and overcome the embarrassment that goes with breakshying an airplane

Dont let the phrase taildragger intimidate you Learning to use it and use it properly is just another phase of flight Literally millions of words have been written about how to use the tail wheel and Im not about to reiterate any or all of them Im just going to exshyplain how they work what they are made of and how to take care of them

As with most man-made contrapshytions there are many varied ideas in how to produce them and how effecshytive they are Back in the Jenny days there were skids some fixed and some partially steerable The technique in those days was to shove the stick forshy

ward to take the weight off the skid and fly the tail around using a combishynation of power and rudder alone The rigid skid didnt give much and it imposed side loads on the structure With no brakes the biplane reqUired a pretty large turning radius

The next development was a bungee shock absorber that also swiveled some fifteen degrees This gave some leeway and made the turnshying radius a little smaller The side forces and drag were still there

Then someone put a wheel in place of the skid plate Now they could move the airplane a lot easier but that complicated things because the drag of the skid was all they had for braking With the slick steel plate that friction was gone So some kind of brakes had to be installed on the main gear Next that little wheel on the end of the skid had to swivel so we could really turn short

Various deSigners came out with designs Heath Airplane Company came out with one of the first steershyable tail wheels Other manufacturers followed suit and that function coushypled with individual brakes made ground handling much much easier

Experiments followed with various types of installations including a trailshying spring similar to automotive design which was secured to the tail longerons It is common on Cessnas Aeroncas Taylorcrafts and Pipers The telescoping tail post type like the instalshylation on the Aeronca K Fleet and others and the articulated and hinged installations all came about and all worked with varying degrees of success

A lot depended on the weight and support the little tail wheel had to

carry Look at the DC-3 and the B-17 On these heavier aircraft the tail wheel design had to follow the reshyquirements North American had their own design so did Stinson and Fairchild They all had their unique problems and solved them Some were successful others with someshywhat less than pleasant results

I used to think that the old time pishylots like Amelia and Post and some of those other early record-setting pioshyneers were lousy pilots because they ground looped on occasion In reality they did a terrific job considering the equipment they had to work with Their mishaps were the proof needed to improve the design and function of this little wheel in the back

The steerable was soon improved even further by adding a full swivel feature Now we could really turn around in a tight radius Furthermore the airplane could now be pushed backwards without lifting the tail off the ground or disconnecting the steershying cables This free wheeling feature could also be a trap if the operator wasnt aware of it

How does it work Good question All the designs have common conshytrols usually an arm or steering tiller that transfers the rudder input to the tail wheel assembly Done either with solid arms or cables and usually incorshyporating some sort of shock absorbing device such as springs it gives it a litshytle slack so as not to overpower the rudder action

Pushing rudder will direct the steershying in the direction you want to go Once headed that way you neutralize the rudder input until you want to change direction Neutralizing or censhytering the control will then allow the tail wheel to trail and youll proceed in a straight line

The swivel feature allows the wheel to trail and has some free movement on either side of neutral This soaks up little variations in the runway or sod surface and still allows you conshytrol if your input asks for more

To prevent the unit from going into full swivel a monkey-motion cam arrangement in all the designs

kicks in if you reach the extreme limit of the steerable travel Once this limit releases that cam you have a full swiveling wheel To put it back in the steerable mode the wheel must again trail which releases the cam action and centers itself

This sounds confusing but in realshyity its like there is a notch in the trail position jump out of that notch and you re freewheeling To get back into the notch roll straight ahead a little ways and itll snap back in To get out of that notch you need a full rudder application and a side load

Some airplanes have a manual tail wheel lock The Boeing Kaydet comshymonly known as the Stearman which the Navy used for primary training had a reputation for belittling pilots It was a real ground looper so they inshystalled a manual tail wheel lock This would not allow the tail wheel to go into the full swivel position The 15shyor 20-degree steering input was still there but the full swivel was locked out Some of the Waco aircraft also have this feature It works but the one caveat is dont forget to unlock it to make a sharp turn at the taxiway The locking mechanism will break and then enhance the mechanics job security Ask any DC-3 B-17 or T-6 maintenance technician

Routine preflight of the tail wheel assembly should take real precedence while doing your walk around Again this is your primary control Are the cables attached Are the clips that hold the springs to the steering arms worn Does the tire look good Inflashytion Unusual wear Wiggle the rudder do the cables actually steer the wheel Push a little to impose a side load make sure the attach paints are tight No excess movement Does it lean or show signs of sloppiness Does it look right From the side is the pivot line perpendicular to the ground does everything look right Is the spring sagging One cant be too picky preflighting this little monster It can spell disaster if it isnt controlshylable and we dont want that

So now we finish the preflight and count the wings and wheel The cockshy

pit check is complete and we have the engine running If it s clear ahead open the throttle and move off the tied own using rudder in the direction you want to turn Once the turn is esshytablished neutralize the rudder Now you can test the brakes and see that they are working and then forget them A good steerable tail wheel will respond without braking

Now we get to the basics of how to handle the controls If you are a seashyplane pilot youve already mastered this business of flying the controls If you have a headwind you hold back pressure on the stick to keep the tail wheelan the ground In a tail wind forward pressure again to keep the tail wheelan the ground In a direct crosswind neutralize the elevator and aileron into the wind For a quartershying headwind aileron into the wind and place back pressure on the elevashytor For a quartering tail wind stick AWAY from the wind and place forshyward pressure on the elevator

All this is to keep that tail wheel firmly in contact with the ground to assure control Flying the ailerons in a crosswind keeps pressure on the down aileron and keeps the upwind wing down Taxiing crosswind and in a crosswind takeoff aileron into the wind and opposite rudder to keep it going straight

Practice this Taxi around on the ground until you get the feel of how effective the rudder and the tail wheel steering is Be a little aggressive and experiment a little preferably on a wide grass runway where a little slipshypage can give you a margin for error

If visibility over the nose presents a problem then 15 turn 15 right look left down your route of taxi 15 left and look out the right side If you see its clear then no need to make an 15 of yourself over and over again Only when you want to be sure nothshying is in front of you

Place the centerline markings of the taxiway and the runway between your feet and keep them there There is a parallax error and if the line is between your feet then you are on center and you are assured of wing tip clearance

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21

bull bull

To turn around on a narrow strip plan your turn so the wind will help you Taxi along the downwind edge ofthe strip and make your 180 into the wind The weathervane effect on your airplane will help to initiate the turn Ease up a little on the back pressure as you start into the turn and this will make the tail come around more easily

You are working that tail wheel to your advantage Keep that in mind and visualize the forces your control input is accomplishing Use the brakes sparingly and only as an aid if you aren t turning as sharp as you like or to avoid a problem

After a sharp turn and the tail wheel has fully swiveled roll straight ahead for a bit to get it back in the notch or steerable position Feel the resistance in the rudder pedals when its in the steerable position The rudshyder will feel loose and ineffective if its swiveling The roll straight ahead and a neutral rudder will again enshygage that centering device

Practice those S turns and the 180s on the runway and the strip Play the elevator and the ailerons and again visualize and practice the effect youre looking for Half an hour of taxi time practice wont hurt a bit Once those feet wake up to the fact that THEY control the airplane on the ground your flying will come easy

Dont go out and try this on a day when the wind is blowing up a frenzy Not until youve had enough practice at light crosswinds and tail winds Moderate to heavy winds can really play tricks For example taxishying downwind in a heavy wind can have a reverse effect on the controls You poke in left rudder the rudder swings in that direction the wind pushes against it and you get a reshyverse effect Your ailerons also have a reverse effect going downwind Sometimes its absolutely necessary to have a wing walker on the upwind side to hold that wing down I dont advocate operations in winds strong enough to lift a wing Wait until conshyditions improve and then go fly K

Over to youlr -BtcJ

bull bullI I

A l r e r _ 1t Co_ tl ng _

wwwpolyfibercom wwwaircraflsprucecom

1-800-WORKSHOP 1-800-967-5746

sportaireaaorg

Visit wwwsportaircom for a complete listing of workshops

Workshop Schedule April 26-27 2003 Watsonville CA

SHEET METAL COMPOSITE CONSTRUCT FABRIC COVERING ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS

amp AVIONICS

May 16-18 2003 Oshkosh WI RVASSEMBLY

May 16-18 2003 Griffin (Atlanta) GA TIG WELDING

June 6-8 2003 Corona CA RVASSEMBLY

June 21-222003 Frederick MD SHEET METAL COMPOSITE CONSTRUCT FABRIC COVERING ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS

amp AVIONICS GAS WELDING

June 27-29 2003 Griffin (Atlanta) GA RVASSEMBLY TIG WELDING

22 APRIL 2003

Taldn There is no paint like the air

Off

I sit by the east window watchshying the clouds made red and blue by the sun that sets beshyhind me with a cup of Earl Grey tea warm and gold with

local honey I smell it sweetly minshygling with the scent of avgas and engine oil which drifts up from my blue jeans as I think of where Ive just been Mostly I am bent over a computer or my watercolor table painting rushing under the weight of deadlines absorbed in the small world of color on a flat piece of French paper with hands stressed from the tension of working tiny brushes There is little room for error with watercolors

14 APRIL 2003

But if I stop painting to look up and out the yellow nose of an airshyplane is right there poking out of the long metal machine shed hangar right there to remind me of the larger picture

LONNI SUE JOHNSON

So when I can take a break if the weather is good for it we go flying

The 1946 Piper J-3 Cub is perfect for an escape Simple and old-fashshyioned it goes even slower than the little aluminum Cessna I learned to fly in Its small tail wheel gives it an eager nose-high stance It is the color of school buses with an eleshygant black lightning bolt from nose to tail With the wings overhead it makes good shade for a lawn chair and is a big yellow umbrella when its raining Best of all in the air there is nothing to block the view of the earth

Its light for an airplane Even with its 35-foot 8-inch wings wider

than a New York City brownstone and Continental 90 horse engine it weighs only 884 pounds with both tanks full Its angular steel armature is stretched drum-like with shiny fabric resilient to the touch-almost like a big 3-D canvas primed yellow and ready to go

But this is no painterly illusion And its not that light

I can lift the tail wheel up for a few seconds if necessary but I mostly move it around by rolling large slow semicircles

I savor the preflight inspection and let it take a long time Partly beshycause even with lots of exercise carrying firewood and piling bales of hay and eating as much ice cream as possible I am still not as tall or strong as most of my male pilot friends

To check the wing tank and wash the windshield I need a ladder and I have to slow down to position it without scraping the landing gear or in winter the newly painted yelshylow skis Climbing down I press my

hands against the cowling warm from the engine heater to limber them for reaching inside to unplug its long orange extension cord

Looking up I can examine the aileron cables and pulleys while unshytying the wings I love the feel of ropes and knots and remember the old-timer who showed me the speshyciallore and cleverness of their invention

I live well into the country where keeping mice in their place and not in my stuff is a constant battle I reshytrieve the old pair of pantyhose toes heavy with mothballs which hang down inside the tail Then I pull off the quilted cowl cover and the miceshyhunting cat or two who sleep there

On wheels it is just possible by rocking the Cub a bit to get it to roll out of the hangar almost by itself Then with a rope and the banner tow release I loop the tail to the doorpost so it doesnt go flying

without me Standing in front of the right

wheel I get set to start the engine by flipping the propeller Some of my taller friends can wedge their left foot under the front of the tire and reach up to grasp the back edge of the prop but being smaller I dont have the same wingspan they do so I use two rubber chocks strung toshygether with ropes

From painting there are no rings on my right hand and no untucked scarves or baggy sleeves to get caught I pull the propeller through from the back my left hand in the cockpit by the mixture control Five times Then I switch on the magnetos and give one more sharp pull to start it

With the satisfying clicking of the engine at idle with its wind in my face I get in

Every time I sit in that Cub I start to grin and cant stop until I get out again

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15

A fat red folding cushion on the back seat lets me reach the rudders and heel brakes Underneath is a piece of nonskid carpet pad that keeps it from wobbling Careful not to hit the throttle I bend over the front seat to release the tow lever fish the chocks inside and poke them into the back to nestle with my purse and the extra quart of oil

People offer their help and I have met many nice men but I need to be able to do everything myself even if it takes more time because here

there is usually no one else around The hilltop runway is a roller

coaster wide but short with an average elevation of 1993 feet When it is too windy to fly or the clouds scrape by too low the tershyrain has become familiar with walks and mowing

When my Cub and I finally taxi out run up and depart upward over the edge of the hill to the north Otshysego Lake shows suddenly below off the left wing

Writer James Fenimore Cooper

called it a glimmer glass It is a long sliver of shimmering mirror reflectshying up versions of the hills and clouds and the little yellow Cub above And when completely frozen its an endless new runway

Henry David Thoreau wrote 1 A lake is the landscapes most beautishyful and expressive feature It is earths eye looking into which the beholder measures the depth of his own nature

I long for this escape from the close-up perspective of life at the

computer and the drawing table and for the humility of becoming tiny in a big space The view of the lake makes the transformation complete

It also provides points for practicing maneuvers Wings line up against its serene length to measure 360-degree turns and a series of lazy-eights The blue ignition harnesses quiver against the yellow cowling as the cylinders black heads brush along the wide peaceful circle of horizon

16 APRIL 2003

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17

I like going so slowly too as airshyplanes go Only a dive can get us going more than 80 mph

Looking down the farm melts into the undulating grid of fields and hedgerows Especially in the evenings with the cool lattice of shadows stretching With each seashyson a fresh pattern is woven in appropriate threads of color

The freedom is complete Just by working the stick and rudder I can go up down left or right-anyshywhere I am not attached to

18 APRIL 2003

anything but the Cub I am always amazed to see my own shadow surfing across the fields beneath me

I like being an aerial spy I watch tiny tractors drawing stripes in deep brown fields and boats pulling triangular white wakes I discover new destinations for walks traces of old roads through the woods green-gray boulders dropped by the glacier in its reshytreat I see weather coming and feel it as the wind changes against the thin fabric of the fuselage I notice where the cows have grazed paths and who drives up to see me while Im gone

Coming back I watch the lime green flag at mid-field and a bright orange windsock at the north end Sometimes there is no clear best landing direction The wind often swirls from both ways at once To the east are more hints wood smoke from the house or milk room studio or the pond with its surface scum unshyruffled or pleated up at one end or the other

On the downwind leg the field always looks way too short tilted and windy to use When I first moved here from Connecticut where the runshy

ways are mostly long flat and paved I could not imagine that I would ever be able to land here in one piece The local Cub pilots teased relentlessly All the second spring I was here I practiced shortening landings on longer runways until I felt ready Finally when I did come home solo it was almost easy and I wondered what had taken me so long

Now I relish the short slow apshyproach at 55-60 miles an hour watching for deer and turkeys Its a quiet idling glide in sumshymer but with power in the winter to keep the exposed cylinders warm enough to go around if necessary Each touchdown is exshyhilarating

Back down the lumpy lane we go the Cub and I-plump tires bouncing me in the red seat door open if its warm enough wings just missing the leaning hops barn and the bright gas tanks past the milk house and its grand old hay

barn with three silos and sending cats running every which way

In his journal in September of 1851 Thoreau wrote I wish to see the earth through the medium of much air or heaven for there is no paint like the air

How could he have known It s uphill into the hangar If I

shut down as close as possible facshying the entrance I can walk the tail around in perfect alignment for the winch Its a manual one with a long cable

To pull the Cub in it takes turnshying the crank forever If I were strong enough to pick up the tail and lift it all of the way in itd be done in half a minute Instead the winch winds up as the sun slips down the western ridge The barn is illuminated in a red satushyrated moment I begin to think again of the pain tings on my table The clicking resounds out into the hay fields to the ends of the silos blue shadow

Each time I put the Cub away I think of the time Ive spent Next time Ill take even longer

Lonni Sue Johnson watercolorist and cat wrangler aLso serves as the secretary ofEAA Chapter 1070 in Cooperstown New York

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19

~ss BY EE

No mistake taildraggers are here to stay Builders like American Champion Maule Air and Waco Classic are still building new airshyplanes and there are a number of the old Champs Luscombes T-Carts Cessnas and others still out there being restored and flown by both old and new generation pilots

Despite Phil Boyers (AOPA) expeshyrience in learning to handle a taildragger they can still be a lot of fun There is no doubt they require a certain amount of finesse and knowledge of basic airplane hanshydling that isnt required of the tri-gear installation The tri-gear takes a lot of the sweat out of operashytions It eliminates the uphill climb into a seat on the modern airliner puts better visibility over the nose helps in a maximum braking situashytion and gives the pilot something to put on the yellow taxi line

The nose over tendency of early airplanes put skids up front so if they did get the tail high the skid would help to prevent damage to the proshypeller Witness the wing tip skids on Curtiss JNs and DHs in the event of a ground loop Look at the accident and mishap pictures some of the old magshyazines publish and youll see the reason for these skids

The taildragger does have an inshynate tendency to ground loop Just try shoving a tricycle backwards and watch how quickly it ground loops On the other hand going forward is a little more stable and predictable Since we are talking tail wheels lets get back to them

Look at that little wheel back there It doesnt look like much but it is one third of your landing gear yet it does 90 percent of the work at low speeds in controlling the airshy

20 APRIL 2003

BUCK HILBERT EAA 21 VAA 5 PO Box 424 UNION IL 60180

Tail wheels plane on the ground As insignifishycant as it looks it drags through the mud and dust snow and water on pavement or dirt it does its job It keeps you in control provided you make sure its connected and funcshytional with the steering cables and springs attached properly inflated lubricated and equipped with reashysonably decent tread on the tire

The first thing that tells you its working right is the wear on the tail wheel tire If your main gear is out of whack and the airplane dogtrots or crabs while running on the ground uneven wear will show in the tail wheel tire quickly Especially in one of the 6-by-2-inch hard rubber tires Also if the tread is down to where you see a crack along the center get a new tire Inside that rubber molded tire is a cable ring that re-enforces the tire If you see a crack there is a good chance that tire is about to come apart and jam itself between the wheel and the yoke and youll lose control The money spent on a new tire is a mini percentage of what it will cost to reshypair your airplane and overcome the embarrassment that goes with breakshying an airplane

Dont let the phrase taildragger intimidate you Learning to use it and use it properly is just another phase of flight Literally millions of words have been written about how to use the tail wheel and Im not about to reiterate any or all of them Im just going to exshyplain how they work what they are made of and how to take care of them

As with most man-made contrapshytions there are many varied ideas in how to produce them and how effecshytive they are Back in the Jenny days there were skids some fixed and some partially steerable The technique in those days was to shove the stick forshy

ward to take the weight off the skid and fly the tail around using a combishynation of power and rudder alone The rigid skid didnt give much and it imposed side loads on the structure With no brakes the biplane reqUired a pretty large turning radius

The next development was a bungee shock absorber that also swiveled some fifteen degrees This gave some leeway and made the turnshying radius a little smaller The side forces and drag were still there

Then someone put a wheel in place of the skid plate Now they could move the airplane a lot easier but that complicated things because the drag of the skid was all they had for braking With the slick steel plate that friction was gone So some kind of brakes had to be installed on the main gear Next that little wheel on the end of the skid had to swivel so we could really turn short

Various deSigners came out with designs Heath Airplane Company came out with one of the first steershyable tail wheels Other manufacturers followed suit and that function coushypled with individual brakes made ground handling much much easier

Experiments followed with various types of installations including a trailshying spring similar to automotive design which was secured to the tail longerons It is common on Cessnas Aeroncas Taylorcrafts and Pipers The telescoping tail post type like the instalshylation on the Aeronca K Fleet and others and the articulated and hinged installations all came about and all worked with varying degrees of success

A lot depended on the weight and support the little tail wheel had to

carry Look at the DC-3 and the B-17 On these heavier aircraft the tail wheel design had to follow the reshyquirements North American had their own design so did Stinson and Fairchild They all had their unique problems and solved them Some were successful others with someshywhat less than pleasant results

I used to think that the old time pishylots like Amelia and Post and some of those other early record-setting pioshyneers were lousy pilots because they ground looped on occasion In reality they did a terrific job considering the equipment they had to work with Their mishaps were the proof needed to improve the design and function of this little wheel in the back

The steerable was soon improved even further by adding a full swivel feature Now we could really turn around in a tight radius Furthermore the airplane could now be pushed backwards without lifting the tail off the ground or disconnecting the steershying cables This free wheeling feature could also be a trap if the operator wasnt aware of it

How does it work Good question All the designs have common conshytrols usually an arm or steering tiller that transfers the rudder input to the tail wheel assembly Done either with solid arms or cables and usually incorshyporating some sort of shock absorbing device such as springs it gives it a litshytle slack so as not to overpower the rudder action

Pushing rudder will direct the steershying in the direction you want to go Once headed that way you neutralize the rudder input until you want to change direction Neutralizing or censhytering the control will then allow the tail wheel to trail and youll proceed in a straight line

The swivel feature allows the wheel to trail and has some free movement on either side of neutral This soaks up little variations in the runway or sod surface and still allows you conshytrol if your input asks for more

To prevent the unit from going into full swivel a monkey-motion cam arrangement in all the designs

kicks in if you reach the extreme limit of the steerable travel Once this limit releases that cam you have a full swiveling wheel To put it back in the steerable mode the wheel must again trail which releases the cam action and centers itself

This sounds confusing but in realshyity its like there is a notch in the trail position jump out of that notch and you re freewheeling To get back into the notch roll straight ahead a little ways and itll snap back in To get out of that notch you need a full rudder application and a side load

Some airplanes have a manual tail wheel lock The Boeing Kaydet comshymonly known as the Stearman which the Navy used for primary training had a reputation for belittling pilots It was a real ground looper so they inshystalled a manual tail wheel lock This would not allow the tail wheel to go into the full swivel position The 15shyor 20-degree steering input was still there but the full swivel was locked out Some of the Waco aircraft also have this feature It works but the one caveat is dont forget to unlock it to make a sharp turn at the taxiway The locking mechanism will break and then enhance the mechanics job security Ask any DC-3 B-17 or T-6 maintenance technician

Routine preflight of the tail wheel assembly should take real precedence while doing your walk around Again this is your primary control Are the cables attached Are the clips that hold the springs to the steering arms worn Does the tire look good Inflashytion Unusual wear Wiggle the rudder do the cables actually steer the wheel Push a little to impose a side load make sure the attach paints are tight No excess movement Does it lean or show signs of sloppiness Does it look right From the side is the pivot line perpendicular to the ground does everything look right Is the spring sagging One cant be too picky preflighting this little monster It can spell disaster if it isnt controlshylable and we dont want that

So now we finish the preflight and count the wings and wheel The cockshy

pit check is complete and we have the engine running If it s clear ahead open the throttle and move off the tied own using rudder in the direction you want to turn Once the turn is esshytablished neutralize the rudder Now you can test the brakes and see that they are working and then forget them A good steerable tail wheel will respond without braking

Now we get to the basics of how to handle the controls If you are a seashyplane pilot youve already mastered this business of flying the controls If you have a headwind you hold back pressure on the stick to keep the tail wheelan the ground In a tail wind forward pressure again to keep the tail wheelan the ground In a direct crosswind neutralize the elevator and aileron into the wind For a quartershying headwind aileron into the wind and place back pressure on the elevashytor For a quartering tail wind stick AWAY from the wind and place forshyward pressure on the elevator

All this is to keep that tail wheel firmly in contact with the ground to assure control Flying the ailerons in a crosswind keeps pressure on the down aileron and keeps the upwind wing down Taxiing crosswind and in a crosswind takeoff aileron into the wind and opposite rudder to keep it going straight

Practice this Taxi around on the ground until you get the feel of how effective the rudder and the tail wheel steering is Be a little aggressive and experiment a little preferably on a wide grass runway where a little slipshypage can give you a margin for error

If visibility over the nose presents a problem then 15 turn 15 right look left down your route of taxi 15 left and look out the right side If you see its clear then no need to make an 15 of yourself over and over again Only when you want to be sure nothshying is in front of you

Place the centerline markings of the taxiway and the runway between your feet and keep them there There is a parallax error and if the line is between your feet then you are on center and you are assured of wing tip clearance

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21

bull bull

To turn around on a narrow strip plan your turn so the wind will help you Taxi along the downwind edge ofthe strip and make your 180 into the wind The weathervane effect on your airplane will help to initiate the turn Ease up a little on the back pressure as you start into the turn and this will make the tail come around more easily

You are working that tail wheel to your advantage Keep that in mind and visualize the forces your control input is accomplishing Use the brakes sparingly and only as an aid if you aren t turning as sharp as you like or to avoid a problem

After a sharp turn and the tail wheel has fully swiveled roll straight ahead for a bit to get it back in the notch or steerable position Feel the resistance in the rudder pedals when its in the steerable position The rudshyder will feel loose and ineffective if its swiveling The roll straight ahead and a neutral rudder will again enshygage that centering device

Practice those S turns and the 180s on the runway and the strip Play the elevator and the ailerons and again visualize and practice the effect youre looking for Half an hour of taxi time practice wont hurt a bit Once those feet wake up to the fact that THEY control the airplane on the ground your flying will come easy

Dont go out and try this on a day when the wind is blowing up a frenzy Not until youve had enough practice at light crosswinds and tail winds Moderate to heavy winds can really play tricks For example taxishying downwind in a heavy wind can have a reverse effect on the controls You poke in left rudder the rudder swings in that direction the wind pushes against it and you get a reshyverse effect Your ailerons also have a reverse effect going downwind Sometimes its absolutely necessary to have a wing walker on the upwind side to hold that wing down I dont advocate operations in winds strong enough to lift a wing Wait until conshyditions improve and then go fly K

Over to youlr -BtcJ

bull bullI I

A l r e r _ 1t Co_ tl ng _

wwwpolyfibercom wwwaircraflsprucecom

1-800-WORKSHOP 1-800-967-5746

sportaireaaorg

Visit wwwsportaircom for a complete listing of workshops

Workshop Schedule April 26-27 2003 Watsonville CA

SHEET METAL COMPOSITE CONSTRUCT FABRIC COVERING ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS

amp AVIONICS

May 16-18 2003 Oshkosh WI RVASSEMBLY

May 16-18 2003 Griffin (Atlanta) GA TIG WELDING

June 6-8 2003 Corona CA RVASSEMBLY

June 21-222003 Frederick MD SHEET METAL COMPOSITE CONSTRUCT FABRIC COVERING ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS

amp AVIONICS GAS WELDING

June 27-29 2003 Griffin (Atlanta) GA RVASSEMBLY TIG WELDING

22 APRIL 2003

than a New York City brownstone and Continental 90 horse engine it weighs only 884 pounds with both tanks full Its angular steel armature is stretched drum-like with shiny fabric resilient to the touch-almost like a big 3-D canvas primed yellow and ready to go

But this is no painterly illusion And its not that light

I can lift the tail wheel up for a few seconds if necessary but I mostly move it around by rolling large slow semicircles

I savor the preflight inspection and let it take a long time Partly beshycause even with lots of exercise carrying firewood and piling bales of hay and eating as much ice cream as possible I am still not as tall or strong as most of my male pilot friends

To check the wing tank and wash the windshield I need a ladder and I have to slow down to position it without scraping the landing gear or in winter the newly painted yelshylow skis Climbing down I press my

hands against the cowling warm from the engine heater to limber them for reaching inside to unplug its long orange extension cord

Looking up I can examine the aileron cables and pulleys while unshytying the wings I love the feel of ropes and knots and remember the old-timer who showed me the speshyciallore and cleverness of their invention

I live well into the country where keeping mice in their place and not in my stuff is a constant battle I reshytrieve the old pair of pantyhose toes heavy with mothballs which hang down inside the tail Then I pull off the quilted cowl cover and the miceshyhunting cat or two who sleep there

On wheels it is just possible by rocking the Cub a bit to get it to roll out of the hangar almost by itself Then with a rope and the banner tow release I loop the tail to the doorpost so it doesnt go flying

without me Standing in front of the right

wheel I get set to start the engine by flipping the propeller Some of my taller friends can wedge their left foot under the front of the tire and reach up to grasp the back edge of the prop but being smaller I dont have the same wingspan they do so I use two rubber chocks strung toshygether with ropes

From painting there are no rings on my right hand and no untucked scarves or baggy sleeves to get caught I pull the propeller through from the back my left hand in the cockpit by the mixture control Five times Then I switch on the magnetos and give one more sharp pull to start it

With the satisfying clicking of the engine at idle with its wind in my face I get in

Every time I sit in that Cub I start to grin and cant stop until I get out again

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15

A fat red folding cushion on the back seat lets me reach the rudders and heel brakes Underneath is a piece of nonskid carpet pad that keeps it from wobbling Careful not to hit the throttle I bend over the front seat to release the tow lever fish the chocks inside and poke them into the back to nestle with my purse and the extra quart of oil

People offer their help and I have met many nice men but I need to be able to do everything myself even if it takes more time because here

there is usually no one else around The hilltop runway is a roller

coaster wide but short with an average elevation of 1993 feet When it is too windy to fly or the clouds scrape by too low the tershyrain has become familiar with walks and mowing

When my Cub and I finally taxi out run up and depart upward over the edge of the hill to the north Otshysego Lake shows suddenly below off the left wing

Writer James Fenimore Cooper

called it a glimmer glass It is a long sliver of shimmering mirror reflectshying up versions of the hills and clouds and the little yellow Cub above And when completely frozen its an endless new runway

Henry David Thoreau wrote 1 A lake is the landscapes most beautishyful and expressive feature It is earths eye looking into which the beholder measures the depth of his own nature

I long for this escape from the close-up perspective of life at the

computer and the drawing table and for the humility of becoming tiny in a big space The view of the lake makes the transformation complete

It also provides points for practicing maneuvers Wings line up against its serene length to measure 360-degree turns and a series of lazy-eights The blue ignition harnesses quiver against the yellow cowling as the cylinders black heads brush along the wide peaceful circle of horizon

16 APRIL 2003

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17

I like going so slowly too as airshyplanes go Only a dive can get us going more than 80 mph

Looking down the farm melts into the undulating grid of fields and hedgerows Especially in the evenings with the cool lattice of shadows stretching With each seashyson a fresh pattern is woven in appropriate threads of color

The freedom is complete Just by working the stick and rudder I can go up down left or right-anyshywhere I am not attached to

18 APRIL 2003

anything but the Cub I am always amazed to see my own shadow surfing across the fields beneath me

I like being an aerial spy I watch tiny tractors drawing stripes in deep brown fields and boats pulling triangular white wakes I discover new destinations for walks traces of old roads through the woods green-gray boulders dropped by the glacier in its reshytreat I see weather coming and feel it as the wind changes against the thin fabric of the fuselage I notice where the cows have grazed paths and who drives up to see me while Im gone

Coming back I watch the lime green flag at mid-field and a bright orange windsock at the north end Sometimes there is no clear best landing direction The wind often swirls from both ways at once To the east are more hints wood smoke from the house or milk room studio or the pond with its surface scum unshyruffled or pleated up at one end or the other

On the downwind leg the field always looks way too short tilted and windy to use When I first moved here from Connecticut where the runshy

ways are mostly long flat and paved I could not imagine that I would ever be able to land here in one piece The local Cub pilots teased relentlessly All the second spring I was here I practiced shortening landings on longer runways until I felt ready Finally when I did come home solo it was almost easy and I wondered what had taken me so long

Now I relish the short slow apshyproach at 55-60 miles an hour watching for deer and turkeys Its a quiet idling glide in sumshymer but with power in the winter to keep the exposed cylinders warm enough to go around if necessary Each touchdown is exshyhilarating

Back down the lumpy lane we go the Cub and I-plump tires bouncing me in the red seat door open if its warm enough wings just missing the leaning hops barn and the bright gas tanks past the milk house and its grand old hay

barn with three silos and sending cats running every which way

In his journal in September of 1851 Thoreau wrote I wish to see the earth through the medium of much air or heaven for there is no paint like the air

How could he have known It s uphill into the hangar If I

shut down as close as possible facshying the entrance I can walk the tail around in perfect alignment for the winch Its a manual one with a long cable

To pull the Cub in it takes turnshying the crank forever If I were strong enough to pick up the tail and lift it all of the way in itd be done in half a minute Instead the winch winds up as the sun slips down the western ridge The barn is illuminated in a red satushyrated moment I begin to think again of the pain tings on my table The clicking resounds out into the hay fields to the ends of the silos blue shadow

Each time I put the Cub away I think of the time Ive spent Next time Ill take even longer

Lonni Sue Johnson watercolorist and cat wrangler aLso serves as the secretary ofEAA Chapter 1070 in Cooperstown New York

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19

~ss BY EE

No mistake taildraggers are here to stay Builders like American Champion Maule Air and Waco Classic are still building new airshyplanes and there are a number of the old Champs Luscombes T-Carts Cessnas and others still out there being restored and flown by both old and new generation pilots

Despite Phil Boyers (AOPA) expeshyrience in learning to handle a taildragger they can still be a lot of fun There is no doubt they require a certain amount of finesse and knowledge of basic airplane hanshydling that isnt required of the tri-gear installation The tri-gear takes a lot of the sweat out of operashytions It eliminates the uphill climb into a seat on the modern airliner puts better visibility over the nose helps in a maximum braking situashytion and gives the pilot something to put on the yellow taxi line

The nose over tendency of early airplanes put skids up front so if they did get the tail high the skid would help to prevent damage to the proshypeller Witness the wing tip skids on Curtiss JNs and DHs in the event of a ground loop Look at the accident and mishap pictures some of the old magshyazines publish and youll see the reason for these skids

The taildragger does have an inshynate tendency to ground loop Just try shoving a tricycle backwards and watch how quickly it ground loops On the other hand going forward is a little more stable and predictable Since we are talking tail wheels lets get back to them

Look at that little wheel back there It doesnt look like much but it is one third of your landing gear yet it does 90 percent of the work at low speeds in controlling the airshy

20 APRIL 2003

BUCK HILBERT EAA 21 VAA 5 PO Box 424 UNION IL 60180

Tail wheels plane on the ground As insignifishycant as it looks it drags through the mud and dust snow and water on pavement or dirt it does its job It keeps you in control provided you make sure its connected and funcshytional with the steering cables and springs attached properly inflated lubricated and equipped with reashysonably decent tread on the tire

The first thing that tells you its working right is the wear on the tail wheel tire If your main gear is out of whack and the airplane dogtrots or crabs while running on the ground uneven wear will show in the tail wheel tire quickly Especially in one of the 6-by-2-inch hard rubber tires Also if the tread is down to where you see a crack along the center get a new tire Inside that rubber molded tire is a cable ring that re-enforces the tire If you see a crack there is a good chance that tire is about to come apart and jam itself between the wheel and the yoke and youll lose control The money spent on a new tire is a mini percentage of what it will cost to reshypair your airplane and overcome the embarrassment that goes with breakshying an airplane

Dont let the phrase taildragger intimidate you Learning to use it and use it properly is just another phase of flight Literally millions of words have been written about how to use the tail wheel and Im not about to reiterate any or all of them Im just going to exshyplain how they work what they are made of and how to take care of them

As with most man-made contrapshytions there are many varied ideas in how to produce them and how effecshytive they are Back in the Jenny days there were skids some fixed and some partially steerable The technique in those days was to shove the stick forshy

ward to take the weight off the skid and fly the tail around using a combishynation of power and rudder alone The rigid skid didnt give much and it imposed side loads on the structure With no brakes the biplane reqUired a pretty large turning radius

The next development was a bungee shock absorber that also swiveled some fifteen degrees This gave some leeway and made the turnshying radius a little smaller The side forces and drag were still there

Then someone put a wheel in place of the skid plate Now they could move the airplane a lot easier but that complicated things because the drag of the skid was all they had for braking With the slick steel plate that friction was gone So some kind of brakes had to be installed on the main gear Next that little wheel on the end of the skid had to swivel so we could really turn short

Various deSigners came out with designs Heath Airplane Company came out with one of the first steershyable tail wheels Other manufacturers followed suit and that function coushypled with individual brakes made ground handling much much easier

Experiments followed with various types of installations including a trailshying spring similar to automotive design which was secured to the tail longerons It is common on Cessnas Aeroncas Taylorcrafts and Pipers The telescoping tail post type like the instalshylation on the Aeronca K Fleet and others and the articulated and hinged installations all came about and all worked with varying degrees of success

A lot depended on the weight and support the little tail wheel had to

carry Look at the DC-3 and the B-17 On these heavier aircraft the tail wheel design had to follow the reshyquirements North American had their own design so did Stinson and Fairchild They all had their unique problems and solved them Some were successful others with someshywhat less than pleasant results

I used to think that the old time pishylots like Amelia and Post and some of those other early record-setting pioshyneers were lousy pilots because they ground looped on occasion In reality they did a terrific job considering the equipment they had to work with Their mishaps were the proof needed to improve the design and function of this little wheel in the back

The steerable was soon improved even further by adding a full swivel feature Now we could really turn around in a tight radius Furthermore the airplane could now be pushed backwards without lifting the tail off the ground or disconnecting the steershying cables This free wheeling feature could also be a trap if the operator wasnt aware of it

How does it work Good question All the designs have common conshytrols usually an arm or steering tiller that transfers the rudder input to the tail wheel assembly Done either with solid arms or cables and usually incorshyporating some sort of shock absorbing device such as springs it gives it a litshytle slack so as not to overpower the rudder action

Pushing rudder will direct the steershying in the direction you want to go Once headed that way you neutralize the rudder input until you want to change direction Neutralizing or censhytering the control will then allow the tail wheel to trail and youll proceed in a straight line

The swivel feature allows the wheel to trail and has some free movement on either side of neutral This soaks up little variations in the runway or sod surface and still allows you conshytrol if your input asks for more

To prevent the unit from going into full swivel a monkey-motion cam arrangement in all the designs

kicks in if you reach the extreme limit of the steerable travel Once this limit releases that cam you have a full swiveling wheel To put it back in the steerable mode the wheel must again trail which releases the cam action and centers itself

This sounds confusing but in realshyity its like there is a notch in the trail position jump out of that notch and you re freewheeling To get back into the notch roll straight ahead a little ways and itll snap back in To get out of that notch you need a full rudder application and a side load

Some airplanes have a manual tail wheel lock The Boeing Kaydet comshymonly known as the Stearman which the Navy used for primary training had a reputation for belittling pilots It was a real ground looper so they inshystalled a manual tail wheel lock This would not allow the tail wheel to go into the full swivel position The 15shyor 20-degree steering input was still there but the full swivel was locked out Some of the Waco aircraft also have this feature It works but the one caveat is dont forget to unlock it to make a sharp turn at the taxiway The locking mechanism will break and then enhance the mechanics job security Ask any DC-3 B-17 or T-6 maintenance technician

Routine preflight of the tail wheel assembly should take real precedence while doing your walk around Again this is your primary control Are the cables attached Are the clips that hold the springs to the steering arms worn Does the tire look good Inflashytion Unusual wear Wiggle the rudder do the cables actually steer the wheel Push a little to impose a side load make sure the attach paints are tight No excess movement Does it lean or show signs of sloppiness Does it look right From the side is the pivot line perpendicular to the ground does everything look right Is the spring sagging One cant be too picky preflighting this little monster It can spell disaster if it isnt controlshylable and we dont want that

So now we finish the preflight and count the wings and wheel The cockshy

pit check is complete and we have the engine running If it s clear ahead open the throttle and move off the tied own using rudder in the direction you want to turn Once the turn is esshytablished neutralize the rudder Now you can test the brakes and see that they are working and then forget them A good steerable tail wheel will respond without braking

Now we get to the basics of how to handle the controls If you are a seashyplane pilot youve already mastered this business of flying the controls If you have a headwind you hold back pressure on the stick to keep the tail wheelan the ground In a tail wind forward pressure again to keep the tail wheelan the ground In a direct crosswind neutralize the elevator and aileron into the wind For a quartershying headwind aileron into the wind and place back pressure on the elevashytor For a quartering tail wind stick AWAY from the wind and place forshyward pressure on the elevator

All this is to keep that tail wheel firmly in contact with the ground to assure control Flying the ailerons in a crosswind keeps pressure on the down aileron and keeps the upwind wing down Taxiing crosswind and in a crosswind takeoff aileron into the wind and opposite rudder to keep it going straight

Practice this Taxi around on the ground until you get the feel of how effective the rudder and the tail wheel steering is Be a little aggressive and experiment a little preferably on a wide grass runway where a little slipshypage can give you a margin for error

If visibility over the nose presents a problem then 15 turn 15 right look left down your route of taxi 15 left and look out the right side If you see its clear then no need to make an 15 of yourself over and over again Only when you want to be sure nothshying is in front of you

Place the centerline markings of the taxiway and the runway between your feet and keep them there There is a parallax error and if the line is between your feet then you are on center and you are assured of wing tip clearance

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21

bull bull

To turn around on a narrow strip plan your turn so the wind will help you Taxi along the downwind edge ofthe strip and make your 180 into the wind The weathervane effect on your airplane will help to initiate the turn Ease up a little on the back pressure as you start into the turn and this will make the tail come around more easily

You are working that tail wheel to your advantage Keep that in mind and visualize the forces your control input is accomplishing Use the brakes sparingly and only as an aid if you aren t turning as sharp as you like or to avoid a problem

After a sharp turn and the tail wheel has fully swiveled roll straight ahead for a bit to get it back in the notch or steerable position Feel the resistance in the rudder pedals when its in the steerable position The rudshyder will feel loose and ineffective if its swiveling The roll straight ahead and a neutral rudder will again enshygage that centering device

Practice those S turns and the 180s on the runway and the strip Play the elevator and the ailerons and again visualize and practice the effect youre looking for Half an hour of taxi time practice wont hurt a bit Once those feet wake up to the fact that THEY control the airplane on the ground your flying will come easy

Dont go out and try this on a day when the wind is blowing up a frenzy Not until youve had enough practice at light crosswinds and tail winds Moderate to heavy winds can really play tricks For example taxishying downwind in a heavy wind can have a reverse effect on the controls You poke in left rudder the rudder swings in that direction the wind pushes against it and you get a reshyverse effect Your ailerons also have a reverse effect going downwind Sometimes its absolutely necessary to have a wing walker on the upwind side to hold that wing down I dont advocate operations in winds strong enough to lift a wing Wait until conshyditions improve and then go fly K

Over to youlr -BtcJ

bull bullI I

A l r e r _ 1t Co_ tl ng _

wwwpolyfibercom wwwaircraflsprucecom

1-800-WORKSHOP 1-800-967-5746

sportaireaaorg

Visit wwwsportaircom for a complete listing of workshops

Workshop Schedule April 26-27 2003 Watsonville CA

SHEET METAL COMPOSITE CONSTRUCT FABRIC COVERING ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS

amp AVIONICS

May 16-18 2003 Oshkosh WI RVASSEMBLY

May 16-18 2003 Griffin (Atlanta) GA TIG WELDING

June 6-8 2003 Corona CA RVASSEMBLY

June 21-222003 Frederick MD SHEET METAL COMPOSITE CONSTRUCT FABRIC COVERING ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS

amp AVIONICS GAS WELDING

June 27-29 2003 Griffin (Atlanta) GA RVASSEMBLY TIG WELDING

22 APRIL 2003

A fat red folding cushion on the back seat lets me reach the rudders and heel brakes Underneath is a piece of nonskid carpet pad that keeps it from wobbling Careful not to hit the throttle I bend over the front seat to release the tow lever fish the chocks inside and poke them into the back to nestle with my purse and the extra quart of oil

People offer their help and I have met many nice men but I need to be able to do everything myself even if it takes more time because here

there is usually no one else around The hilltop runway is a roller

coaster wide but short with an average elevation of 1993 feet When it is too windy to fly or the clouds scrape by too low the tershyrain has become familiar with walks and mowing

When my Cub and I finally taxi out run up and depart upward over the edge of the hill to the north Otshysego Lake shows suddenly below off the left wing

Writer James Fenimore Cooper

called it a glimmer glass It is a long sliver of shimmering mirror reflectshying up versions of the hills and clouds and the little yellow Cub above And when completely frozen its an endless new runway

Henry David Thoreau wrote 1 A lake is the landscapes most beautishyful and expressive feature It is earths eye looking into which the beholder measures the depth of his own nature

I long for this escape from the close-up perspective of life at the

computer and the drawing table and for the humility of becoming tiny in a big space The view of the lake makes the transformation complete

It also provides points for practicing maneuvers Wings line up against its serene length to measure 360-degree turns and a series of lazy-eights The blue ignition harnesses quiver against the yellow cowling as the cylinders black heads brush along the wide peaceful circle of horizon

16 APRIL 2003

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17

I like going so slowly too as airshyplanes go Only a dive can get us going more than 80 mph

Looking down the farm melts into the undulating grid of fields and hedgerows Especially in the evenings with the cool lattice of shadows stretching With each seashyson a fresh pattern is woven in appropriate threads of color

The freedom is complete Just by working the stick and rudder I can go up down left or right-anyshywhere I am not attached to

18 APRIL 2003

anything but the Cub I am always amazed to see my own shadow surfing across the fields beneath me

I like being an aerial spy I watch tiny tractors drawing stripes in deep brown fields and boats pulling triangular white wakes I discover new destinations for walks traces of old roads through the woods green-gray boulders dropped by the glacier in its reshytreat I see weather coming and feel it as the wind changes against the thin fabric of the fuselage I notice where the cows have grazed paths and who drives up to see me while Im gone

Coming back I watch the lime green flag at mid-field and a bright orange windsock at the north end Sometimes there is no clear best landing direction The wind often swirls from both ways at once To the east are more hints wood smoke from the house or milk room studio or the pond with its surface scum unshyruffled or pleated up at one end or the other

On the downwind leg the field always looks way too short tilted and windy to use When I first moved here from Connecticut where the runshy

ways are mostly long flat and paved I could not imagine that I would ever be able to land here in one piece The local Cub pilots teased relentlessly All the second spring I was here I practiced shortening landings on longer runways until I felt ready Finally when I did come home solo it was almost easy and I wondered what had taken me so long

Now I relish the short slow apshyproach at 55-60 miles an hour watching for deer and turkeys Its a quiet idling glide in sumshymer but with power in the winter to keep the exposed cylinders warm enough to go around if necessary Each touchdown is exshyhilarating

Back down the lumpy lane we go the Cub and I-plump tires bouncing me in the red seat door open if its warm enough wings just missing the leaning hops barn and the bright gas tanks past the milk house and its grand old hay

barn with three silos and sending cats running every which way

In his journal in September of 1851 Thoreau wrote I wish to see the earth through the medium of much air or heaven for there is no paint like the air

How could he have known It s uphill into the hangar If I

shut down as close as possible facshying the entrance I can walk the tail around in perfect alignment for the winch Its a manual one with a long cable

To pull the Cub in it takes turnshying the crank forever If I were strong enough to pick up the tail and lift it all of the way in itd be done in half a minute Instead the winch winds up as the sun slips down the western ridge The barn is illuminated in a red satushyrated moment I begin to think again of the pain tings on my table The clicking resounds out into the hay fields to the ends of the silos blue shadow

Each time I put the Cub away I think of the time Ive spent Next time Ill take even longer

Lonni Sue Johnson watercolorist and cat wrangler aLso serves as the secretary ofEAA Chapter 1070 in Cooperstown New York

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19

~ss BY EE

No mistake taildraggers are here to stay Builders like American Champion Maule Air and Waco Classic are still building new airshyplanes and there are a number of the old Champs Luscombes T-Carts Cessnas and others still out there being restored and flown by both old and new generation pilots

Despite Phil Boyers (AOPA) expeshyrience in learning to handle a taildragger they can still be a lot of fun There is no doubt they require a certain amount of finesse and knowledge of basic airplane hanshydling that isnt required of the tri-gear installation The tri-gear takes a lot of the sweat out of operashytions It eliminates the uphill climb into a seat on the modern airliner puts better visibility over the nose helps in a maximum braking situashytion and gives the pilot something to put on the yellow taxi line

The nose over tendency of early airplanes put skids up front so if they did get the tail high the skid would help to prevent damage to the proshypeller Witness the wing tip skids on Curtiss JNs and DHs in the event of a ground loop Look at the accident and mishap pictures some of the old magshyazines publish and youll see the reason for these skids

The taildragger does have an inshynate tendency to ground loop Just try shoving a tricycle backwards and watch how quickly it ground loops On the other hand going forward is a little more stable and predictable Since we are talking tail wheels lets get back to them

Look at that little wheel back there It doesnt look like much but it is one third of your landing gear yet it does 90 percent of the work at low speeds in controlling the airshy

20 APRIL 2003

BUCK HILBERT EAA 21 VAA 5 PO Box 424 UNION IL 60180

Tail wheels plane on the ground As insignifishycant as it looks it drags through the mud and dust snow and water on pavement or dirt it does its job It keeps you in control provided you make sure its connected and funcshytional with the steering cables and springs attached properly inflated lubricated and equipped with reashysonably decent tread on the tire

The first thing that tells you its working right is the wear on the tail wheel tire If your main gear is out of whack and the airplane dogtrots or crabs while running on the ground uneven wear will show in the tail wheel tire quickly Especially in one of the 6-by-2-inch hard rubber tires Also if the tread is down to where you see a crack along the center get a new tire Inside that rubber molded tire is a cable ring that re-enforces the tire If you see a crack there is a good chance that tire is about to come apart and jam itself between the wheel and the yoke and youll lose control The money spent on a new tire is a mini percentage of what it will cost to reshypair your airplane and overcome the embarrassment that goes with breakshying an airplane

Dont let the phrase taildragger intimidate you Learning to use it and use it properly is just another phase of flight Literally millions of words have been written about how to use the tail wheel and Im not about to reiterate any or all of them Im just going to exshyplain how they work what they are made of and how to take care of them

As with most man-made contrapshytions there are many varied ideas in how to produce them and how effecshytive they are Back in the Jenny days there were skids some fixed and some partially steerable The technique in those days was to shove the stick forshy

ward to take the weight off the skid and fly the tail around using a combishynation of power and rudder alone The rigid skid didnt give much and it imposed side loads on the structure With no brakes the biplane reqUired a pretty large turning radius

The next development was a bungee shock absorber that also swiveled some fifteen degrees This gave some leeway and made the turnshying radius a little smaller The side forces and drag were still there

Then someone put a wheel in place of the skid plate Now they could move the airplane a lot easier but that complicated things because the drag of the skid was all they had for braking With the slick steel plate that friction was gone So some kind of brakes had to be installed on the main gear Next that little wheel on the end of the skid had to swivel so we could really turn short

Various deSigners came out with designs Heath Airplane Company came out with one of the first steershyable tail wheels Other manufacturers followed suit and that function coushypled with individual brakes made ground handling much much easier

Experiments followed with various types of installations including a trailshying spring similar to automotive design which was secured to the tail longerons It is common on Cessnas Aeroncas Taylorcrafts and Pipers The telescoping tail post type like the instalshylation on the Aeronca K Fleet and others and the articulated and hinged installations all came about and all worked with varying degrees of success

A lot depended on the weight and support the little tail wheel had to

carry Look at the DC-3 and the B-17 On these heavier aircraft the tail wheel design had to follow the reshyquirements North American had their own design so did Stinson and Fairchild They all had their unique problems and solved them Some were successful others with someshywhat less than pleasant results

I used to think that the old time pishylots like Amelia and Post and some of those other early record-setting pioshyneers were lousy pilots because they ground looped on occasion In reality they did a terrific job considering the equipment they had to work with Their mishaps were the proof needed to improve the design and function of this little wheel in the back

The steerable was soon improved even further by adding a full swivel feature Now we could really turn around in a tight radius Furthermore the airplane could now be pushed backwards without lifting the tail off the ground or disconnecting the steershying cables This free wheeling feature could also be a trap if the operator wasnt aware of it

How does it work Good question All the designs have common conshytrols usually an arm or steering tiller that transfers the rudder input to the tail wheel assembly Done either with solid arms or cables and usually incorshyporating some sort of shock absorbing device such as springs it gives it a litshytle slack so as not to overpower the rudder action

Pushing rudder will direct the steershying in the direction you want to go Once headed that way you neutralize the rudder input until you want to change direction Neutralizing or censhytering the control will then allow the tail wheel to trail and youll proceed in a straight line

The swivel feature allows the wheel to trail and has some free movement on either side of neutral This soaks up little variations in the runway or sod surface and still allows you conshytrol if your input asks for more

To prevent the unit from going into full swivel a monkey-motion cam arrangement in all the designs

kicks in if you reach the extreme limit of the steerable travel Once this limit releases that cam you have a full swiveling wheel To put it back in the steerable mode the wheel must again trail which releases the cam action and centers itself

This sounds confusing but in realshyity its like there is a notch in the trail position jump out of that notch and you re freewheeling To get back into the notch roll straight ahead a little ways and itll snap back in To get out of that notch you need a full rudder application and a side load

Some airplanes have a manual tail wheel lock The Boeing Kaydet comshymonly known as the Stearman which the Navy used for primary training had a reputation for belittling pilots It was a real ground looper so they inshystalled a manual tail wheel lock This would not allow the tail wheel to go into the full swivel position The 15shyor 20-degree steering input was still there but the full swivel was locked out Some of the Waco aircraft also have this feature It works but the one caveat is dont forget to unlock it to make a sharp turn at the taxiway The locking mechanism will break and then enhance the mechanics job security Ask any DC-3 B-17 or T-6 maintenance technician

Routine preflight of the tail wheel assembly should take real precedence while doing your walk around Again this is your primary control Are the cables attached Are the clips that hold the springs to the steering arms worn Does the tire look good Inflashytion Unusual wear Wiggle the rudder do the cables actually steer the wheel Push a little to impose a side load make sure the attach paints are tight No excess movement Does it lean or show signs of sloppiness Does it look right From the side is the pivot line perpendicular to the ground does everything look right Is the spring sagging One cant be too picky preflighting this little monster It can spell disaster if it isnt controlshylable and we dont want that

So now we finish the preflight and count the wings and wheel The cockshy

pit check is complete and we have the engine running If it s clear ahead open the throttle and move off the tied own using rudder in the direction you want to turn Once the turn is esshytablished neutralize the rudder Now you can test the brakes and see that they are working and then forget them A good steerable tail wheel will respond without braking

Now we get to the basics of how to handle the controls If you are a seashyplane pilot youve already mastered this business of flying the controls If you have a headwind you hold back pressure on the stick to keep the tail wheelan the ground In a tail wind forward pressure again to keep the tail wheelan the ground In a direct crosswind neutralize the elevator and aileron into the wind For a quartershying headwind aileron into the wind and place back pressure on the elevashytor For a quartering tail wind stick AWAY from the wind and place forshyward pressure on the elevator

All this is to keep that tail wheel firmly in contact with the ground to assure control Flying the ailerons in a crosswind keeps pressure on the down aileron and keeps the upwind wing down Taxiing crosswind and in a crosswind takeoff aileron into the wind and opposite rudder to keep it going straight

Practice this Taxi around on the ground until you get the feel of how effective the rudder and the tail wheel steering is Be a little aggressive and experiment a little preferably on a wide grass runway where a little slipshypage can give you a margin for error

If visibility over the nose presents a problem then 15 turn 15 right look left down your route of taxi 15 left and look out the right side If you see its clear then no need to make an 15 of yourself over and over again Only when you want to be sure nothshying is in front of you

Place the centerline markings of the taxiway and the runway between your feet and keep them there There is a parallax error and if the line is between your feet then you are on center and you are assured of wing tip clearance

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21

bull bull

To turn around on a narrow strip plan your turn so the wind will help you Taxi along the downwind edge ofthe strip and make your 180 into the wind The weathervane effect on your airplane will help to initiate the turn Ease up a little on the back pressure as you start into the turn and this will make the tail come around more easily

You are working that tail wheel to your advantage Keep that in mind and visualize the forces your control input is accomplishing Use the brakes sparingly and only as an aid if you aren t turning as sharp as you like or to avoid a problem

After a sharp turn and the tail wheel has fully swiveled roll straight ahead for a bit to get it back in the notch or steerable position Feel the resistance in the rudder pedals when its in the steerable position The rudshyder will feel loose and ineffective if its swiveling The roll straight ahead and a neutral rudder will again enshygage that centering device

Practice those S turns and the 180s on the runway and the strip Play the elevator and the ailerons and again visualize and practice the effect youre looking for Half an hour of taxi time practice wont hurt a bit Once those feet wake up to the fact that THEY control the airplane on the ground your flying will come easy

Dont go out and try this on a day when the wind is blowing up a frenzy Not until youve had enough practice at light crosswinds and tail winds Moderate to heavy winds can really play tricks For example taxishying downwind in a heavy wind can have a reverse effect on the controls You poke in left rudder the rudder swings in that direction the wind pushes against it and you get a reshyverse effect Your ailerons also have a reverse effect going downwind Sometimes its absolutely necessary to have a wing walker on the upwind side to hold that wing down I dont advocate operations in winds strong enough to lift a wing Wait until conshyditions improve and then go fly K

Over to youlr -BtcJ

bull bullI I

A l r e r _ 1t Co_ tl ng _

wwwpolyfibercom wwwaircraflsprucecom

1-800-WORKSHOP 1-800-967-5746

sportaireaaorg

Visit wwwsportaircom for a complete listing of workshops

Workshop Schedule April 26-27 2003 Watsonville CA

SHEET METAL COMPOSITE CONSTRUCT FABRIC COVERING ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS

amp AVIONICS

May 16-18 2003 Oshkosh WI RVASSEMBLY

May 16-18 2003 Griffin (Atlanta) GA TIG WELDING

June 6-8 2003 Corona CA RVASSEMBLY

June 21-222003 Frederick MD SHEET METAL COMPOSITE CONSTRUCT FABRIC COVERING ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS

amp AVIONICS GAS WELDING

June 27-29 2003 Griffin (Atlanta) GA RVASSEMBLY TIG WELDING

22 APRIL 2003

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17

I like going so slowly too as airshyplanes go Only a dive can get us going more than 80 mph

Looking down the farm melts into the undulating grid of fields and hedgerows Especially in the evenings with the cool lattice of shadows stretching With each seashyson a fresh pattern is woven in appropriate threads of color

The freedom is complete Just by working the stick and rudder I can go up down left or right-anyshywhere I am not attached to

18 APRIL 2003

anything but the Cub I am always amazed to see my own shadow surfing across the fields beneath me

I like being an aerial spy I watch tiny tractors drawing stripes in deep brown fields and boats pulling triangular white wakes I discover new destinations for walks traces of old roads through the woods green-gray boulders dropped by the glacier in its reshytreat I see weather coming and feel it as the wind changes against the thin fabric of the fuselage I notice where the cows have grazed paths and who drives up to see me while Im gone

Coming back I watch the lime green flag at mid-field and a bright orange windsock at the north end Sometimes there is no clear best landing direction The wind often swirls from both ways at once To the east are more hints wood smoke from the house or milk room studio or the pond with its surface scum unshyruffled or pleated up at one end or the other

On the downwind leg the field always looks way too short tilted and windy to use When I first moved here from Connecticut where the runshy

ways are mostly long flat and paved I could not imagine that I would ever be able to land here in one piece The local Cub pilots teased relentlessly All the second spring I was here I practiced shortening landings on longer runways until I felt ready Finally when I did come home solo it was almost easy and I wondered what had taken me so long

Now I relish the short slow apshyproach at 55-60 miles an hour watching for deer and turkeys Its a quiet idling glide in sumshymer but with power in the winter to keep the exposed cylinders warm enough to go around if necessary Each touchdown is exshyhilarating

Back down the lumpy lane we go the Cub and I-plump tires bouncing me in the red seat door open if its warm enough wings just missing the leaning hops barn and the bright gas tanks past the milk house and its grand old hay

barn with three silos and sending cats running every which way

In his journal in September of 1851 Thoreau wrote I wish to see the earth through the medium of much air or heaven for there is no paint like the air

How could he have known It s uphill into the hangar If I

shut down as close as possible facshying the entrance I can walk the tail around in perfect alignment for the winch Its a manual one with a long cable

To pull the Cub in it takes turnshying the crank forever If I were strong enough to pick up the tail and lift it all of the way in itd be done in half a minute Instead the winch winds up as the sun slips down the western ridge The barn is illuminated in a red satushyrated moment I begin to think again of the pain tings on my table The clicking resounds out into the hay fields to the ends of the silos blue shadow

Each time I put the Cub away I think of the time Ive spent Next time Ill take even longer

Lonni Sue Johnson watercolorist and cat wrangler aLso serves as the secretary ofEAA Chapter 1070 in Cooperstown New York

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19

~ss BY EE

No mistake taildraggers are here to stay Builders like American Champion Maule Air and Waco Classic are still building new airshyplanes and there are a number of the old Champs Luscombes T-Carts Cessnas and others still out there being restored and flown by both old and new generation pilots

Despite Phil Boyers (AOPA) expeshyrience in learning to handle a taildragger they can still be a lot of fun There is no doubt they require a certain amount of finesse and knowledge of basic airplane hanshydling that isnt required of the tri-gear installation The tri-gear takes a lot of the sweat out of operashytions It eliminates the uphill climb into a seat on the modern airliner puts better visibility over the nose helps in a maximum braking situashytion and gives the pilot something to put on the yellow taxi line

The nose over tendency of early airplanes put skids up front so if they did get the tail high the skid would help to prevent damage to the proshypeller Witness the wing tip skids on Curtiss JNs and DHs in the event of a ground loop Look at the accident and mishap pictures some of the old magshyazines publish and youll see the reason for these skids

The taildragger does have an inshynate tendency to ground loop Just try shoving a tricycle backwards and watch how quickly it ground loops On the other hand going forward is a little more stable and predictable Since we are talking tail wheels lets get back to them

Look at that little wheel back there It doesnt look like much but it is one third of your landing gear yet it does 90 percent of the work at low speeds in controlling the airshy

20 APRIL 2003

BUCK HILBERT EAA 21 VAA 5 PO Box 424 UNION IL 60180

Tail wheels plane on the ground As insignifishycant as it looks it drags through the mud and dust snow and water on pavement or dirt it does its job It keeps you in control provided you make sure its connected and funcshytional with the steering cables and springs attached properly inflated lubricated and equipped with reashysonably decent tread on the tire

The first thing that tells you its working right is the wear on the tail wheel tire If your main gear is out of whack and the airplane dogtrots or crabs while running on the ground uneven wear will show in the tail wheel tire quickly Especially in one of the 6-by-2-inch hard rubber tires Also if the tread is down to where you see a crack along the center get a new tire Inside that rubber molded tire is a cable ring that re-enforces the tire If you see a crack there is a good chance that tire is about to come apart and jam itself between the wheel and the yoke and youll lose control The money spent on a new tire is a mini percentage of what it will cost to reshypair your airplane and overcome the embarrassment that goes with breakshying an airplane

Dont let the phrase taildragger intimidate you Learning to use it and use it properly is just another phase of flight Literally millions of words have been written about how to use the tail wheel and Im not about to reiterate any or all of them Im just going to exshyplain how they work what they are made of and how to take care of them

As with most man-made contrapshytions there are many varied ideas in how to produce them and how effecshytive they are Back in the Jenny days there were skids some fixed and some partially steerable The technique in those days was to shove the stick forshy

ward to take the weight off the skid and fly the tail around using a combishynation of power and rudder alone The rigid skid didnt give much and it imposed side loads on the structure With no brakes the biplane reqUired a pretty large turning radius

The next development was a bungee shock absorber that also swiveled some fifteen degrees This gave some leeway and made the turnshying radius a little smaller The side forces and drag were still there

Then someone put a wheel in place of the skid plate Now they could move the airplane a lot easier but that complicated things because the drag of the skid was all they had for braking With the slick steel plate that friction was gone So some kind of brakes had to be installed on the main gear Next that little wheel on the end of the skid had to swivel so we could really turn short

Various deSigners came out with designs Heath Airplane Company came out with one of the first steershyable tail wheels Other manufacturers followed suit and that function coushypled with individual brakes made ground handling much much easier

Experiments followed with various types of installations including a trailshying spring similar to automotive design which was secured to the tail longerons It is common on Cessnas Aeroncas Taylorcrafts and Pipers The telescoping tail post type like the instalshylation on the Aeronca K Fleet and others and the articulated and hinged installations all came about and all worked with varying degrees of success

A lot depended on the weight and support the little tail wheel had to

carry Look at the DC-3 and the B-17 On these heavier aircraft the tail wheel design had to follow the reshyquirements North American had their own design so did Stinson and Fairchild They all had their unique problems and solved them Some were successful others with someshywhat less than pleasant results

I used to think that the old time pishylots like Amelia and Post and some of those other early record-setting pioshyneers were lousy pilots because they ground looped on occasion In reality they did a terrific job considering the equipment they had to work with Their mishaps were the proof needed to improve the design and function of this little wheel in the back

The steerable was soon improved even further by adding a full swivel feature Now we could really turn around in a tight radius Furthermore the airplane could now be pushed backwards without lifting the tail off the ground or disconnecting the steershying cables This free wheeling feature could also be a trap if the operator wasnt aware of it

How does it work Good question All the designs have common conshytrols usually an arm or steering tiller that transfers the rudder input to the tail wheel assembly Done either with solid arms or cables and usually incorshyporating some sort of shock absorbing device such as springs it gives it a litshytle slack so as not to overpower the rudder action

Pushing rudder will direct the steershying in the direction you want to go Once headed that way you neutralize the rudder input until you want to change direction Neutralizing or censhytering the control will then allow the tail wheel to trail and youll proceed in a straight line

The swivel feature allows the wheel to trail and has some free movement on either side of neutral This soaks up little variations in the runway or sod surface and still allows you conshytrol if your input asks for more

To prevent the unit from going into full swivel a monkey-motion cam arrangement in all the designs

kicks in if you reach the extreme limit of the steerable travel Once this limit releases that cam you have a full swiveling wheel To put it back in the steerable mode the wheel must again trail which releases the cam action and centers itself

This sounds confusing but in realshyity its like there is a notch in the trail position jump out of that notch and you re freewheeling To get back into the notch roll straight ahead a little ways and itll snap back in To get out of that notch you need a full rudder application and a side load

Some airplanes have a manual tail wheel lock The Boeing Kaydet comshymonly known as the Stearman which the Navy used for primary training had a reputation for belittling pilots It was a real ground looper so they inshystalled a manual tail wheel lock This would not allow the tail wheel to go into the full swivel position The 15shyor 20-degree steering input was still there but the full swivel was locked out Some of the Waco aircraft also have this feature It works but the one caveat is dont forget to unlock it to make a sharp turn at the taxiway The locking mechanism will break and then enhance the mechanics job security Ask any DC-3 B-17 or T-6 maintenance technician

Routine preflight of the tail wheel assembly should take real precedence while doing your walk around Again this is your primary control Are the cables attached Are the clips that hold the springs to the steering arms worn Does the tire look good Inflashytion Unusual wear Wiggle the rudder do the cables actually steer the wheel Push a little to impose a side load make sure the attach paints are tight No excess movement Does it lean or show signs of sloppiness Does it look right From the side is the pivot line perpendicular to the ground does everything look right Is the spring sagging One cant be too picky preflighting this little monster It can spell disaster if it isnt controlshylable and we dont want that

So now we finish the preflight and count the wings and wheel The cockshy

pit check is complete and we have the engine running If it s clear ahead open the throttle and move off the tied own using rudder in the direction you want to turn Once the turn is esshytablished neutralize the rudder Now you can test the brakes and see that they are working and then forget them A good steerable tail wheel will respond without braking

Now we get to the basics of how to handle the controls If you are a seashyplane pilot youve already mastered this business of flying the controls If you have a headwind you hold back pressure on the stick to keep the tail wheelan the ground In a tail wind forward pressure again to keep the tail wheelan the ground In a direct crosswind neutralize the elevator and aileron into the wind For a quartershying headwind aileron into the wind and place back pressure on the elevashytor For a quartering tail wind stick AWAY from the wind and place forshyward pressure on the elevator

All this is to keep that tail wheel firmly in contact with the ground to assure control Flying the ailerons in a crosswind keeps pressure on the down aileron and keeps the upwind wing down Taxiing crosswind and in a crosswind takeoff aileron into the wind and opposite rudder to keep it going straight

Practice this Taxi around on the ground until you get the feel of how effective the rudder and the tail wheel steering is Be a little aggressive and experiment a little preferably on a wide grass runway where a little slipshypage can give you a margin for error

If visibility over the nose presents a problem then 15 turn 15 right look left down your route of taxi 15 left and look out the right side If you see its clear then no need to make an 15 of yourself over and over again Only when you want to be sure nothshying is in front of you

Place the centerline markings of the taxiway and the runway between your feet and keep them there There is a parallax error and if the line is between your feet then you are on center and you are assured of wing tip clearance

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21

bull bull

To turn around on a narrow strip plan your turn so the wind will help you Taxi along the downwind edge ofthe strip and make your 180 into the wind The weathervane effect on your airplane will help to initiate the turn Ease up a little on the back pressure as you start into the turn and this will make the tail come around more easily

You are working that tail wheel to your advantage Keep that in mind and visualize the forces your control input is accomplishing Use the brakes sparingly and only as an aid if you aren t turning as sharp as you like or to avoid a problem

After a sharp turn and the tail wheel has fully swiveled roll straight ahead for a bit to get it back in the notch or steerable position Feel the resistance in the rudder pedals when its in the steerable position The rudshyder will feel loose and ineffective if its swiveling The roll straight ahead and a neutral rudder will again enshygage that centering device

Practice those S turns and the 180s on the runway and the strip Play the elevator and the ailerons and again visualize and practice the effect youre looking for Half an hour of taxi time practice wont hurt a bit Once those feet wake up to the fact that THEY control the airplane on the ground your flying will come easy

Dont go out and try this on a day when the wind is blowing up a frenzy Not until youve had enough practice at light crosswinds and tail winds Moderate to heavy winds can really play tricks For example taxishying downwind in a heavy wind can have a reverse effect on the controls You poke in left rudder the rudder swings in that direction the wind pushes against it and you get a reshyverse effect Your ailerons also have a reverse effect going downwind Sometimes its absolutely necessary to have a wing walker on the upwind side to hold that wing down I dont advocate operations in winds strong enough to lift a wing Wait until conshyditions improve and then go fly K

Over to youlr -BtcJ

bull bullI I

A l r e r _ 1t Co_ tl ng _

wwwpolyfibercom wwwaircraflsprucecom

1-800-WORKSHOP 1-800-967-5746

sportaireaaorg

Visit wwwsportaircom for a complete listing of workshops

Workshop Schedule April 26-27 2003 Watsonville CA

SHEET METAL COMPOSITE CONSTRUCT FABRIC COVERING ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS

amp AVIONICS

May 16-18 2003 Oshkosh WI RVASSEMBLY

May 16-18 2003 Griffin (Atlanta) GA TIG WELDING

June 6-8 2003 Corona CA RVASSEMBLY

June 21-222003 Frederick MD SHEET METAL COMPOSITE CONSTRUCT FABRIC COVERING ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS

amp AVIONICS GAS WELDING

June 27-29 2003 Griffin (Atlanta) GA RVASSEMBLY TIG WELDING

22 APRIL 2003

I like going so slowly too as airshyplanes go Only a dive can get us going more than 80 mph

Looking down the farm melts into the undulating grid of fields and hedgerows Especially in the evenings with the cool lattice of shadows stretching With each seashyson a fresh pattern is woven in appropriate threads of color

The freedom is complete Just by working the stick and rudder I can go up down left or right-anyshywhere I am not attached to

18 APRIL 2003

anything but the Cub I am always amazed to see my own shadow surfing across the fields beneath me

I like being an aerial spy I watch tiny tractors drawing stripes in deep brown fields and boats pulling triangular white wakes I discover new destinations for walks traces of old roads through the woods green-gray boulders dropped by the glacier in its reshytreat I see weather coming and feel it as the wind changes against the thin fabric of the fuselage I notice where the cows have grazed paths and who drives up to see me while Im gone

Coming back I watch the lime green flag at mid-field and a bright orange windsock at the north end Sometimes there is no clear best landing direction The wind often swirls from both ways at once To the east are more hints wood smoke from the house or milk room studio or the pond with its surface scum unshyruffled or pleated up at one end or the other

On the downwind leg the field always looks way too short tilted and windy to use When I first moved here from Connecticut where the runshy

ways are mostly long flat and paved I could not imagine that I would ever be able to land here in one piece The local Cub pilots teased relentlessly All the second spring I was here I practiced shortening landings on longer runways until I felt ready Finally when I did come home solo it was almost easy and I wondered what had taken me so long

Now I relish the short slow apshyproach at 55-60 miles an hour watching for deer and turkeys Its a quiet idling glide in sumshymer but with power in the winter to keep the exposed cylinders warm enough to go around if necessary Each touchdown is exshyhilarating

Back down the lumpy lane we go the Cub and I-plump tires bouncing me in the red seat door open if its warm enough wings just missing the leaning hops barn and the bright gas tanks past the milk house and its grand old hay

barn with three silos and sending cats running every which way

In his journal in September of 1851 Thoreau wrote I wish to see the earth through the medium of much air or heaven for there is no paint like the air

How could he have known It s uphill into the hangar If I

shut down as close as possible facshying the entrance I can walk the tail around in perfect alignment for the winch Its a manual one with a long cable

To pull the Cub in it takes turnshying the crank forever If I were strong enough to pick up the tail and lift it all of the way in itd be done in half a minute Instead the winch winds up as the sun slips down the western ridge The barn is illuminated in a red satushyrated moment I begin to think again of the pain tings on my table The clicking resounds out into the hay fields to the ends of the silos blue shadow

Each time I put the Cub away I think of the time Ive spent Next time Ill take even longer

Lonni Sue Johnson watercolorist and cat wrangler aLso serves as the secretary ofEAA Chapter 1070 in Cooperstown New York

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19

~ss BY EE

No mistake taildraggers are here to stay Builders like American Champion Maule Air and Waco Classic are still building new airshyplanes and there are a number of the old Champs Luscombes T-Carts Cessnas and others still out there being restored and flown by both old and new generation pilots

Despite Phil Boyers (AOPA) expeshyrience in learning to handle a taildragger they can still be a lot of fun There is no doubt they require a certain amount of finesse and knowledge of basic airplane hanshydling that isnt required of the tri-gear installation The tri-gear takes a lot of the sweat out of operashytions It eliminates the uphill climb into a seat on the modern airliner puts better visibility over the nose helps in a maximum braking situashytion and gives the pilot something to put on the yellow taxi line

The nose over tendency of early airplanes put skids up front so if they did get the tail high the skid would help to prevent damage to the proshypeller Witness the wing tip skids on Curtiss JNs and DHs in the event of a ground loop Look at the accident and mishap pictures some of the old magshyazines publish and youll see the reason for these skids

The taildragger does have an inshynate tendency to ground loop Just try shoving a tricycle backwards and watch how quickly it ground loops On the other hand going forward is a little more stable and predictable Since we are talking tail wheels lets get back to them

Look at that little wheel back there It doesnt look like much but it is one third of your landing gear yet it does 90 percent of the work at low speeds in controlling the airshy

20 APRIL 2003

BUCK HILBERT EAA 21 VAA 5 PO Box 424 UNION IL 60180

Tail wheels plane on the ground As insignifishycant as it looks it drags through the mud and dust snow and water on pavement or dirt it does its job It keeps you in control provided you make sure its connected and funcshytional with the steering cables and springs attached properly inflated lubricated and equipped with reashysonably decent tread on the tire

The first thing that tells you its working right is the wear on the tail wheel tire If your main gear is out of whack and the airplane dogtrots or crabs while running on the ground uneven wear will show in the tail wheel tire quickly Especially in one of the 6-by-2-inch hard rubber tires Also if the tread is down to where you see a crack along the center get a new tire Inside that rubber molded tire is a cable ring that re-enforces the tire If you see a crack there is a good chance that tire is about to come apart and jam itself between the wheel and the yoke and youll lose control The money spent on a new tire is a mini percentage of what it will cost to reshypair your airplane and overcome the embarrassment that goes with breakshying an airplane

Dont let the phrase taildragger intimidate you Learning to use it and use it properly is just another phase of flight Literally millions of words have been written about how to use the tail wheel and Im not about to reiterate any or all of them Im just going to exshyplain how they work what they are made of and how to take care of them

As with most man-made contrapshytions there are many varied ideas in how to produce them and how effecshytive they are Back in the Jenny days there were skids some fixed and some partially steerable The technique in those days was to shove the stick forshy

ward to take the weight off the skid and fly the tail around using a combishynation of power and rudder alone The rigid skid didnt give much and it imposed side loads on the structure With no brakes the biplane reqUired a pretty large turning radius

The next development was a bungee shock absorber that also swiveled some fifteen degrees This gave some leeway and made the turnshying radius a little smaller The side forces and drag were still there

Then someone put a wheel in place of the skid plate Now they could move the airplane a lot easier but that complicated things because the drag of the skid was all they had for braking With the slick steel plate that friction was gone So some kind of brakes had to be installed on the main gear Next that little wheel on the end of the skid had to swivel so we could really turn short

Various deSigners came out with designs Heath Airplane Company came out with one of the first steershyable tail wheels Other manufacturers followed suit and that function coushypled with individual brakes made ground handling much much easier

Experiments followed with various types of installations including a trailshying spring similar to automotive design which was secured to the tail longerons It is common on Cessnas Aeroncas Taylorcrafts and Pipers The telescoping tail post type like the instalshylation on the Aeronca K Fleet and others and the articulated and hinged installations all came about and all worked with varying degrees of success

A lot depended on the weight and support the little tail wheel had to

carry Look at the DC-3 and the B-17 On these heavier aircraft the tail wheel design had to follow the reshyquirements North American had their own design so did Stinson and Fairchild They all had their unique problems and solved them Some were successful others with someshywhat less than pleasant results

I used to think that the old time pishylots like Amelia and Post and some of those other early record-setting pioshyneers were lousy pilots because they ground looped on occasion In reality they did a terrific job considering the equipment they had to work with Their mishaps were the proof needed to improve the design and function of this little wheel in the back

The steerable was soon improved even further by adding a full swivel feature Now we could really turn around in a tight radius Furthermore the airplane could now be pushed backwards without lifting the tail off the ground or disconnecting the steershying cables This free wheeling feature could also be a trap if the operator wasnt aware of it

How does it work Good question All the designs have common conshytrols usually an arm or steering tiller that transfers the rudder input to the tail wheel assembly Done either with solid arms or cables and usually incorshyporating some sort of shock absorbing device such as springs it gives it a litshytle slack so as not to overpower the rudder action

Pushing rudder will direct the steershying in the direction you want to go Once headed that way you neutralize the rudder input until you want to change direction Neutralizing or censhytering the control will then allow the tail wheel to trail and youll proceed in a straight line

The swivel feature allows the wheel to trail and has some free movement on either side of neutral This soaks up little variations in the runway or sod surface and still allows you conshytrol if your input asks for more

To prevent the unit from going into full swivel a monkey-motion cam arrangement in all the designs

kicks in if you reach the extreme limit of the steerable travel Once this limit releases that cam you have a full swiveling wheel To put it back in the steerable mode the wheel must again trail which releases the cam action and centers itself

This sounds confusing but in realshyity its like there is a notch in the trail position jump out of that notch and you re freewheeling To get back into the notch roll straight ahead a little ways and itll snap back in To get out of that notch you need a full rudder application and a side load

Some airplanes have a manual tail wheel lock The Boeing Kaydet comshymonly known as the Stearman which the Navy used for primary training had a reputation for belittling pilots It was a real ground looper so they inshystalled a manual tail wheel lock This would not allow the tail wheel to go into the full swivel position The 15shyor 20-degree steering input was still there but the full swivel was locked out Some of the Waco aircraft also have this feature It works but the one caveat is dont forget to unlock it to make a sharp turn at the taxiway The locking mechanism will break and then enhance the mechanics job security Ask any DC-3 B-17 or T-6 maintenance technician

Routine preflight of the tail wheel assembly should take real precedence while doing your walk around Again this is your primary control Are the cables attached Are the clips that hold the springs to the steering arms worn Does the tire look good Inflashytion Unusual wear Wiggle the rudder do the cables actually steer the wheel Push a little to impose a side load make sure the attach paints are tight No excess movement Does it lean or show signs of sloppiness Does it look right From the side is the pivot line perpendicular to the ground does everything look right Is the spring sagging One cant be too picky preflighting this little monster It can spell disaster if it isnt controlshylable and we dont want that

So now we finish the preflight and count the wings and wheel The cockshy

pit check is complete and we have the engine running If it s clear ahead open the throttle and move off the tied own using rudder in the direction you want to turn Once the turn is esshytablished neutralize the rudder Now you can test the brakes and see that they are working and then forget them A good steerable tail wheel will respond without braking

Now we get to the basics of how to handle the controls If you are a seashyplane pilot youve already mastered this business of flying the controls If you have a headwind you hold back pressure on the stick to keep the tail wheelan the ground In a tail wind forward pressure again to keep the tail wheelan the ground In a direct crosswind neutralize the elevator and aileron into the wind For a quartershying headwind aileron into the wind and place back pressure on the elevashytor For a quartering tail wind stick AWAY from the wind and place forshyward pressure on the elevator

All this is to keep that tail wheel firmly in contact with the ground to assure control Flying the ailerons in a crosswind keeps pressure on the down aileron and keeps the upwind wing down Taxiing crosswind and in a crosswind takeoff aileron into the wind and opposite rudder to keep it going straight

Practice this Taxi around on the ground until you get the feel of how effective the rudder and the tail wheel steering is Be a little aggressive and experiment a little preferably on a wide grass runway where a little slipshypage can give you a margin for error

If visibility over the nose presents a problem then 15 turn 15 right look left down your route of taxi 15 left and look out the right side If you see its clear then no need to make an 15 of yourself over and over again Only when you want to be sure nothshying is in front of you

Place the centerline markings of the taxiway and the runway between your feet and keep them there There is a parallax error and if the line is between your feet then you are on center and you are assured of wing tip clearance

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21

bull bull

To turn around on a narrow strip plan your turn so the wind will help you Taxi along the downwind edge ofthe strip and make your 180 into the wind The weathervane effect on your airplane will help to initiate the turn Ease up a little on the back pressure as you start into the turn and this will make the tail come around more easily

You are working that tail wheel to your advantage Keep that in mind and visualize the forces your control input is accomplishing Use the brakes sparingly and only as an aid if you aren t turning as sharp as you like or to avoid a problem

After a sharp turn and the tail wheel has fully swiveled roll straight ahead for a bit to get it back in the notch or steerable position Feel the resistance in the rudder pedals when its in the steerable position The rudshyder will feel loose and ineffective if its swiveling The roll straight ahead and a neutral rudder will again enshygage that centering device

Practice those S turns and the 180s on the runway and the strip Play the elevator and the ailerons and again visualize and practice the effect youre looking for Half an hour of taxi time practice wont hurt a bit Once those feet wake up to the fact that THEY control the airplane on the ground your flying will come easy

Dont go out and try this on a day when the wind is blowing up a frenzy Not until youve had enough practice at light crosswinds and tail winds Moderate to heavy winds can really play tricks For example taxishying downwind in a heavy wind can have a reverse effect on the controls You poke in left rudder the rudder swings in that direction the wind pushes against it and you get a reshyverse effect Your ailerons also have a reverse effect going downwind Sometimes its absolutely necessary to have a wing walker on the upwind side to hold that wing down I dont advocate operations in winds strong enough to lift a wing Wait until conshyditions improve and then go fly K

Over to youlr -BtcJ

bull bullI I

A l r e r _ 1t Co_ tl ng _

wwwpolyfibercom wwwaircraflsprucecom

1-800-WORKSHOP 1-800-967-5746

sportaireaaorg

Visit wwwsportaircom for a complete listing of workshops

Workshop Schedule April 26-27 2003 Watsonville CA

SHEET METAL COMPOSITE CONSTRUCT FABRIC COVERING ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS

amp AVIONICS

May 16-18 2003 Oshkosh WI RVASSEMBLY

May 16-18 2003 Griffin (Atlanta) GA TIG WELDING

June 6-8 2003 Corona CA RVASSEMBLY

June 21-222003 Frederick MD SHEET METAL COMPOSITE CONSTRUCT FABRIC COVERING ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS

amp AVIONICS GAS WELDING

June 27-29 2003 Griffin (Atlanta) GA RVASSEMBLY TIG WELDING

22 APRIL 2003

anything but the Cub I am always amazed to see my own shadow surfing across the fields beneath me

I like being an aerial spy I watch tiny tractors drawing stripes in deep brown fields and boats pulling triangular white wakes I discover new destinations for walks traces of old roads through the woods green-gray boulders dropped by the glacier in its reshytreat I see weather coming and feel it as the wind changes against the thin fabric of the fuselage I notice where the cows have grazed paths and who drives up to see me while Im gone

Coming back I watch the lime green flag at mid-field and a bright orange windsock at the north end Sometimes there is no clear best landing direction The wind often swirls from both ways at once To the east are more hints wood smoke from the house or milk room studio or the pond with its surface scum unshyruffled or pleated up at one end or the other

On the downwind leg the field always looks way too short tilted and windy to use When I first moved here from Connecticut where the runshy

ways are mostly long flat and paved I could not imagine that I would ever be able to land here in one piece The local Cub pilots teased relentlessly All the second spring I was here I practiced shortening landings on longer runways until I felt ready Finally when I did come home solo it was almost easy and I wondered what had taken me so long

Now I relish the short slow apshyproach at 55-60 miles an hour watching for deer and turkeys Its a quiet idling glide in sumshymer but with power in the winter to keep the exposed cylinders warm enough to go around if necessary Each touchdown is exshyhilarating

Back down the lumpy lane we go the Cub and I-plump tires bouncing me in the red seat door open if its warm enough wings just missing the leaning hops barn and the bright gas tanks past the milk house and its grand old hay

barn with three silos and sending cats running every which way

In his journal in September of 1851 Thoreau wrote I wish to see the earth through the medium of much air or heaven for there is no paint like the air

How could he have known It s uphill into the hangar If I

shut down as close as possible facshying the entrance I can walk the tail around in perfect alignment for the winch Its a manual one with a long cable

To pull the Cub in it takes turnshying the crank forever If I were strong enough to pick up the tail and lift it all of the way in itd be done in half a minute Instead the winch winds up as the sun slips down the western ridge The barn is illuminated in a red satushyrated moment I begin to think again of the pain tings on my table The clicking resounds out into the hay fields to the ends of the silos blue shadow

Each time I put the Cub away I think of the time Ive spent Next time Ill take even longer

Lonni Sue Johnson watercolorist and cat wrangler aLso serves as the secretary ofEAA Chapter 1070 in Cooperstown New York

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19

~ss BY EE

No mistake taildraggers are here to stay Builders like American Champion Maule Air and Waco Classic are still building new airshyplanes and there are a number of the old Champs Luscombes T-Carts Cessnas and others still out there being restored and flown by both old and new generation pilots

Despite Phil Boyers (AOPA) expeshyrience in learning to handle a taildragger they can still be a lot of fun There is no doubt they require a certain amount of finesse and knowledge of basic airplane hanshydling that isnt required of the tri-gear installation The tri-gear takes a lot of the sweat out of operashytions It eliminates the uphill climb into a seat on the modern airliner puts better visibility over the nose helps in a maximum braking situashytion and gives the pilot something to put on the yellow taxi line

The nose over tendency of early airplanes put skids up front so if they did get the tail high the skid would help to prevent damage to the proshypeller Witness the wing tip skids on Curtiss JNs and DHs in the event of a ground loop Look at the accident and mishap pictures some of the old magshyazines publish and youll see the reason for these skids

The taildragger does have an inshynate tendency to ground loop Just try shoving a tricycle backwards and watch how quickly it ground loops On the other hand going forward is a little more stable and predictable Since we are talking tail wheels lets get back to them

Look at that little wheel back there It doesnt look like much but it is one third of your landing gear yet it does 90 percent of the work at low speeds in controlling the airshy

20 APRIL 2003

BUCK HILBERT EAA 21 VAA 5 PO Box 424 UNION IL 60180

Tail wheels plane on the ground As insignifishycant as it looks it drags through the mud and dust snow and water on pavement or dirt it does its job It keeps you in control provided you make sure its connected and funcshytional with the steering cables and springs attached properly inflated lubricated and equipped with reashysonably decent tread on the tire

The first thing that tells you its working right is the wear on the tail wheel tire If your main gear is out of whack and the airplane dogtrots or crabs while running on the ground uneven wear will show in the tail wheel tire quickly Especially in one of the 6-by-2-inch hard rubber tires Also if the tread is down to where you see a crack along the center get a new tire Inside that rubber molded tire is a cable ring that re-enforces the tire If you see a crack there is a good chance that tire is about to come apart and jam itself between the wheel and the yoke and youll lose control The money spent on a new tire is a mini percentage of what it will cost to reshypair your airplane and overcome the embarrassment that goes with breakshying an airplane

Dont let the phrase taildragger intimidate you Learning to use it and use it properly is just another phase of flight Literally millions of words have been written about how to use the tail wheel and Im not about to reiterate any or all of them Im just going to exshyplain how they work what they are made of and how to take care of them

As with most man-made contrapshytions there are many varied ideas in how to produce them and how effecshytive they are Back in the Jenny days there were skids some fixed and some partially steerable The technique in those days was to shove the stick forshy

ward to take the weight off the skid and fly the tail around using a combishynation of power and rudder alone The rigid skid didnt give much and it imposed side loads on the structure With no brakes the biplane reqUired a pretty large turning radius

The next development was a bungee shock absorber that also swiveled some fifteen degrees This gave some leeway and made the turnshying radius a little smaller The side forces and drag were still there

Then someone put a wheel in place of the skid plate Now they could move the airplane a lot easier but that complicated things because the drag of the skid was all they had for braking With the slick steel plate that friction was gone So some kind of brakes had to be installed on the main gear Next that little wheel on the end of the skid had to swivel so we could really turn short

Various deSigners came out with designs Heath Airplane Company came out with one of the first steershyable tail wheels Other manufacturers followed suit and that function coushypled with individual brakes made ground handling much much easier

Experiments followed with various types of installations including a trailshying spring similar to automotive design which was secured to the tail longerons It is common on Cessnas Aeroncas Taylorcrafts and Pipers The telescoping tail post type like the instalshylation on the Aeronca K Fleet and others and the articulated and hinged installations all came about and all worked with varying degrees of success

A lot depended on the weight and support the little tail wheel had to

carry Look at the DC-3 and the B-17 On these heavier aircraft the tail wheel design had to follow the reshyquirements North American had their own design so did Stinson and Fairchild They all had their unique problems and solved them Some were successful others with someshywhat less than pleasant results

I used to think that the old time pishylots like Amelia and Post and some of those other early record-setting pioshyneers were lousy pilots because they ground looped on occasion In reality they did a terrific job considering the equipment they had to work with Their mishaps were the proof needed to improve the design and function of this little wheel in the back

The steerable was soon improved even further by adding a full swivel feature Now we could really turn around in a tight radius Furthermore the airplane could now be pushed backwards without lifting the tail off the ground or disconnecting the steershying cables This free wheeling feature could also be a trap if the operator wasnt aware of it

How does it work Good question All the designs have common conshytrols usually an arm or steering tiller that transfers the rudder input to the tail wheel assembly Done either with solid arms or cables and usually incorshyporating some sort of shock absorbing device such as springs it gives it a litshytle slack so as not to overpower the rudder action

Pushing rudder will direct the steershying in the direction you want to go Once headed that way you neutralize the rudder input until you want to change direction Neutralizing or censhytering the control will then allow the tail wheel to trail and youll proceed in a straight line

The swivel feature allows the wheel to trail and has some free movement on either side of neutral This soaks up little variations in the runway or sod surface and still allows you conshytrol if your input asks for more

To prevent the unit from going into full swivel a monkey-motion cam arrangement in all the designs

kicks in if you reach the extreme limit of the steerable travel Once this limit releases that cam you have a full swiveling wheel To put it back in the steerable mode the wheel must again trail which releases the cam action and centers itself

This sounds confusing but in realshyity its like there is a notch in the trail position jump out of that notch and you re freewheeling To get back into the notch roll straight ahead a little ways and itll snap back in To get out of that notch you need a full rudder application and a side load

Some airplanes have a manual tail wheel lock The Boeing Kaydet comshymonly known as the Stearman which the Navy used for primary training had a reputation for belittling pilots It was a real ground looper so they inshystalled a manual tail wheel lock This would not allow the tail wheel to go into the full swivel position The 15shyor 20-degree steering input was still there but the full swivel was locked out Some of the Waco aircraft also have this feature It works but the one caveat is dont forget to unlock it to make a sharp turn at the taxiway The locking mechanism will break and then enhance the mechanics job security Ask any DC-3 B-17 or T-6 maintenance technician

Routine preflight of the tail wheel assembly should take real precedence while doing your walk around Again this is your primary control Are the cables attached Are the clips that hold the springs to the steering arms worn Does the tire look good Inflashytion Unusual wear Wiggle the rudder do the cables actually steer the wheel Push a little to impose a side load make sure the attach paints are tight No excess movement Does it lean or show signs of sloppiness Does it look right From the side is the pivot line perpendicular to the ground does everything look right Is the spring sagging One cant be too picky preflighting this little monster It can spell disaster if it isnt controlshylable and we dont want that

So now we finish the preflight and count the wings and wheel The cockshy

pit check is complete and we have the engine running If it s clear ahead open the throttle and move off the tied own using rudder in the direction you want to turn Once the turn is esshytablished neutralize the rudder Now you can test the brakes and see that they are working and then forget them A good steerable tail wheel will respond without braking

Now we get to the basics of how to handle the controls If you are a seashyplane pilot youve already mastered this business of flying the controls If you have a headwind you hold back pressure on the stick to keep the tail wheelan the ground In a tail wind forward pressure again to keep the tail wheelan the ground In a direct crosswind neutralize the elevator and aileron into the wind For a quartershying headwind aileron into the wind and place back pressure on the elevashytor For a quartering tail wind stick AWAY from the wind and place forshyward pressure on the elevator

All this is to keep that tail wheel firmly in contact with the ground to assure control Flying the ailerons in a crosswind keeps pressure on the down aileron and keeps the upwind wing down Taxiing crosswind and in a crosswind takeoff aileron into the wind and opposite rudder to keep it going straight

Practice this Taxi around on the ground until you get the feel of how effective the rudder and the tail wheel steering is Be a little aggressive and experiment a little preferably on a wide grass runway where a little slipshypage can give you a margin for error

If visibility over the nose presents a problem then 15 turn 15 right look left down your route of taxi 15 left and look out the right side If you see its clear then no need to make an 15 of yourself over and over again Only when you want to be sure nothshying is in front of you

Place the centerline markings of the taxiway and the runway between your feet and keep them there There is a parallax error and if the line is between your feet then you are on center and you are assured of wing tip clearance

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21

bull bull

To turn around on a narrow strip plan your turn so the wind will help you Taxi along the downwind edge ofthe strip and make your 180 into the wind The weathervane effect on your airplane will help to initiate the turn Ease up a little on the back pressure as you start into the turn and this will make the tail come around more easily

You are working that tail wheel to your advantage Keep that in mind and visualize the forces your control input is accomplishing Use the brakes sparingly and only as an aid if you aren t turning as sharp as you like or to avoid a problem

After a sharp turn and the tail wheel has fully swiveled roll straight ahead for a bit to get it back in the notch or steerable position Feel the resistance in the rudder pedals when its in the steerable position The rudshyder will feel loose and ineffective if its swiveling The roll straight ahead and a neutral rudder will again enshygage that centering device

Practice those S turns and the 180s on the runway and the strip Play the elevator and the ailerons and again visualize and practice the effect youre looking for Half an hour of taxi time practice wont hurt a bit Once those feet wake up to the fact that THEY control the airplane on the ground your flying will come easy

Dont go out and try this on a day when the wind is blowing up a frenzy Not until youve had enough practice at light crosswinds and tail winds Moderate to heavy winds can really play tricks For example taxishying downwind in a heavy wind can have a reverse effect on the controls You poke in left rudder the rudder swings in that direction the wind pushes against it and you get a reshyverse effect Your ailerons also have a reverse effect going downwind Sometimes its absolutely necessary to have a wing walker on the upwind side to hold that wing down I dont advocate operations in winds strong enough to lift a wing Wait until conshyditions improve and then go fly K

Over to youlr -BtcJ

bull bullI I

A l r e r _ 1t Co_ tl ng _

wwwpolyfibercom wwwaircraflsprucecom

1-800-WORKSHOP 1-800-967-5746

sportaireaaorg

Visit wwwsportaircom for a complete listing of workshops

Workshop Schedule April 26-27 2003 Watsonville CA

SHEET METAL COMPOSITE CONSTRUCT FABRIC COVERING ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS

amp AVIONICS

May 16-18 2003 Oshkosh WI RVASSEMBLY

May 16-18 2003 Griffin (Atlanta) GA TIG WELDING

June 6-8 2003 Corona CA RVASSEMBLY

June 21-222003 Frederick MD SHEET METAL COMPOSITE CONSTRUCT FABRIC COVERING ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS

amp AVIONICS GAS WELDING

June 27-29 2003 Griffin (Atlanta) GA RVASSEMBLY TIG WELDING

22 APRIL 2003

~ss BY EE

No mistake taildraggers are here to stay Builders like American Champion Maule Air and Waco Classic are still building new airshyplanes and there are a number of the old Champs Luscombes T-Carts Cessnas and others still out there being restored and flown by both old and new generation pilots

Despite Phil Boyers (AOPA) expeshyrience in learning to handle a taildragger they can still be a lot of fun There is no doubt they require a certain amount of finesse and knowledge of basic airplane hanshydling that isnt required of the tri-gear installation The tri-gear takes a lot of the sweat out of operashytions It eliminates the uphill climb into a seat on the modern airliner puts better visibility over the nose helps in a maximum braking situashytion and gives the pilot something to put on the yellow taxi line

The nose over tendency of early airplanes put skids up front so if they did get the tail high the skid would help to prevent damage to the proshypeller Witness the wing tip skids on Curtiss JNs and DHs in the event of a ground loop Look at the accident and mishap pictures some of the old magshyazines publish and youll see the reason for these skids

The taildragger does have an inshynate tendency to ground loop Just try shoving a tricycle backwards and watch how quickly it ground loops On the other hand going forward is a little more stable and predictable Since we are talking tail wheels lets get back to them

Look at that little wheel back there It doesnt look like much but it is one third of your landing gear yet it does 90 percent of the work at low speeds in controlling the airshy

20 APRIL 2003

BUCK HILBERT EAA 21 VAA 5 PO Box 424 UNION IL 60180

Tail wheels plane on the ground As insignifishycant as it looks it drags through the mud and dust snow and water on pavement or dirt it does its job It keeps you in control provided you make sure its connected and funcshytional with the steering cables and springs attached properly inflated lubricated and equipped with reashysonably decent tread on the tire

The first thing that tells you its working right is the wear on the tail wheel tire If your main gear is out of whack and the airplane dogtrots or crabs while running on the ground uneven wear will show in the tail wheel tire quickly Especially in one of the 6-by-2-inch hard rubber tires Also if the tread is down to where you see a crack along the center get a new tire Inside that rubber molded tire is a cable ring that re-enforces the tire If you see a crack there is a good chance that tire is about to come apart and jam itself between the wheel and the yoke and youll lose control The money spent on a new tire is a mini percentage of what it will cost to reshypair your airplane and overcome the embarrassment that goes with breakshying an airplane

Dont let the phrase taildragger intimidate you Learning to use it and use it properly is just another phase of flight Literally millions of words have been written about how to use the tail wheel and Im not about to reiterate any or all of them Im just going to exshyplain how they work what they are made of and how to take care of them

As with most man-made contrapshytions there are many varied ideas in how to produce them and how effecshytive they are Back in the Jenny days there were skids some fixed and some partially steerable The technique in those days was to shove the stick forshy

ward to take the weight off the skid and fly the tail around using a combishynation of power and rudder alone The rigid skid didnt give much and it imposed side loads on the structure With no brakes the biplane reqUired a pretty large turning radius

The next development was a bungee shock absorber that also swiveled some fifteen degrees This gave some leeway and made the turnshying radius a little smaller The side forces and drag were still there

Then someone put a wheel in place of the skid plate Now they could move the airplane a lot easier but that complicated things because the drag of the skid was all they had for braking With the slick steel plate that friction was gone So some kind of brakes had to be installed on the main gear Next that little wheel on the end of the skid had to swivel so we could really turn short

Various deSigners came out with designs Heath Airplane Company came out with one of the first steershyable tail wheels Other manufacturers followed suit and that function coushypled with individual brakes made ground handling much much easier

Experiments followed with various types of installations including a trailshying spring similar to automotive design which was secured to the tail longerons It is common on Cessnas Aeroncas Taylorcrafts and Pipers The telescoping tail post type like the instalshylation on the Aeronca K Fleet and others and the articulated and hinged installations all came about and all worked with varying degrees of success

A lot depended on the weight and support the little tail wheel had to

carry Look at the DC-3 and the B-17 On these heavier aircraft the tail wheel design had to follow the reshyquirements North American had their own design so did Stinson and Fairchild They all had their unique problems and solved them Some were successful others with someshywhat less than pleasant results

I used to think that the old time pishylots like Amelia and Post and some of those other early record-setting pioshyneers were lousy pilots because they ground looped on occasion In reality they did a terrific job considering the equipment they had to work with Their mishaps were the proof needed to improve the design and function of this little wheel in the back

The steerable was soon improved even further by adding a full swivel feature Now we could really turn around in a tight radius Furthermore the airplane could now be pushed backwards without lifting the tail off the ground or disconnecting the steershying cables This free wheeling feature could also be a trap if the operator wasnt aware of it

How does it work Good question All the designs have common conshytrols usually an arm or steering tiller that transfers the rudder input to the tail wheel assembly Done either with solid arms or cables and usually incorshyporating some sort of shock absorbing device such as springs it gives it a litshytle slack so as not to overpower the rudder action

Pushing rudder will direct the steershying in the direction you want to go Once headed that way you neutralize the rudder input until you want to change direction Neutralizing or censhytering the control will then allow the tail wheel to trail and youll proceed in a straight line

The swivel feature allows the wheel to trail and has some free movement on either side of neutral This soaks up little variations in the runway or sod surface and still allows you conshytrol if your input asks for more

To prevent the unit from going into full swivel a monkey-motion cam arrangement in all the designs

kicks in if you reach the extreme limit of the steerable travel Once this limit releases that cam you have a full swiveling wheel To put it back in the steerable mode the wheel must again trail which releases the cam action and centers itself

This sounds confusing but in realshyity its like there is a notch in the trail position jump out of that notch and you re freewheeling To get back into the notch roll straight ahead a little ways and itll snap back in To get out of that notch you need a full rudder application and a side load

Some airplanes have a manual tail wheel lock The Boeing Kaydet comshymonly known as the Stearman which the Navy used for primary training had a reputation for belittling pilots It was a real ground looper so they inshystalled a manual tail wheel lock This would not allow the tail wheel to go into the full swivel position The 15shyor 20-degree steering input was still there but the full swivel was locked out Some of the Waco aircraft also have this feature It works but the one caveat is dont forget to unlock it to make a sharp turn at the taxiway The locking mechanism will break and then enhance the mechanics job security Ask any DC-3 B-17 or T-6 maintenance technician

Routine preflight of the tail wheel assembly should take real precedence while doing your walk around Again this is your primary control Are the cables attached Are the clips that hold the springs to the steering arms worn Does the tire look good Inflashytion Unusual wear Wiggle the rudder do the cables actually steer the wheel Push a little to impose a side load make sure the attach paints are tight No excess movement Does it lean or show signs of sloppiness Does it look right From the side is the pivot line perpendicular to the ground does everything look right Is the spring sagging One cant be too picky preflighting this little monster It can spell disaster if it isnt controlshylable and we dont want that

So now we finish the preflight and count the wings and wheel The cockshy

pit check is complete and we have the engine running If it s clear ahead open the throttle and move off the tied own using rudder in the direction you want to turn Once the turn is esshytablished neutralize the rudder Now you can test the brakes and see that they are working and then forget them A good steerable tail wheel will respond without braking

Now we get to the basics of how to handle the controls If you are a seashyplane pilot youve already mastered this business of flying the controls If you have a headwind you hold back pressure on the stick to keep the tail wheelan the ground In a tail wind forward pressure again to keep the tail wheelan the ground In a direct crosswind neutralize the elevator and aileron into the wind For a quartershying headwind aileron into the wind and place back pressure on the elevashytor For a quartering tail wind stick AWAY from the wind and place forshyward pressure on the elevator

All this is to keep that tail wheel firmly in contact with the ground to assure control Flying the ailerons in a crosswind keeps pressure on the down aileron and keeps the upwind wing down Taxiing crosswind and in a crosswind takeoff aileron into the wind and opposite rudder to keep it going straight

Practice this Taxi around on the ground until you get the feel of how effective the rudder and the tail wheel steering is Be a little aggressive and experiment a little preferably on a wide grass runway where a little slipshypage can give you a margin for error

If visibility over the nose presents a problem then 15 turn 15 right look left down your route of taxi 15 left and look out the right side If you see its clear then no need to make an 15 of yourself over and over again Only when you want to be sure nothshying is in front of you

Place the centerline markings of the taxiway and the runway between your feet and keep them there There is a parallax error and if the line is between your feet then you are on center and you are assured of wing tip clearance

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21

bull bull

To turn around on a narrow strip plan your turn so the wind will help you Taxi along the downwind edge ofthe strip and make your 180 into the wind The weathervane effect on your airplane will help to initiate the turn Ease up a little on the back pressure as you start into the turn and this will make the tail come around more easily

You are working that tail wheel to your advantage Keep that in mind and visualize the forces your control input is accomplishing Use the brakes sparingly and only as an aid if you aren t turning as sharp as you like or to avoid a problem

After a sharp turn and the tail wheel has fully swiveled roll straight ahead for a bit to get it back in the notch or steerable position Feel the resistance in the rudder pedals when its in the steerable position The rudshyder will feel loose and ineffective if its swiveling The roll straight ahead and a neutral rudder will again enshygage that centering device

Practice those S turns and the 180s on the runway and the strip Play the elevator and the ailerons and again visualize and practice the effect youre looking for Half an hour of taxi time practice wont hurt a bit Once those feet wake up to the fact that THEY control the airplane on the ground your flying will come easy

Dont go out and try this on a day when the wind is blowing up a frenzy Not until youve had enough practice at light crosswinds and tail winds Moderate to heavy winds can really play tricks For example taxishying downwind in a heavy wind can have a reverse effect on the controls You poke in left rudder the rudder swings in that direction the wind pushes against it and you get a reshyverse effect Your ailerons also have a reverse effect going downwind Sometimes its absolutely necessary to have a wing walker on the upwind side to hold that wing down I dont advocate operations in winds strong enough to lift a wing Wait until conshyditions improve and then go fly K

Over to youlr -BtcJ

bull bullI I

A l r e r _ 1t Co_ tl ng _

wwwpolyfibercom wwwaircraflsprucecom

1-800-WORKSHOP 1-800-967-5746

sportaireaaorg

Visit wwwsportaircom for a complete listing of workshops

Workshop Schedule April 26-27 2003 Watsonville CA

SHEET METAL COMPOSITE CONSTRUCT FABRIC COVERING ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS

amp AVIONICS

May 16-18 2003 Oshkosh WI RVASSEMBLY

May 16-18 2003 Griffin (Atlanta) GA TIG WELDING

June 6-8 2003 Corona CA RVASSEMBLY

June 21-222003 Frederick MD SHEET METAL COMPOSITE CONSTRUCT FABRIC COVERING ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS

amp AVIONICS GAS WELDING

June 27-29 2003 Griffin (Atlanta) GA RVASSEMBLY TIG WELDING

22 APRIL 2003

carry Look at the DC-3 and the B-17 On these heavier aircraft the tail wheel design had to follow the reshyquirements North American had their own design so did Stinson and Fairchild They all had their unique problems and solved them Some were successful others with someshywhat less than pleasant results

I used to think that the old time pishylots like Amelia and Post and some of those other early record-setting pioshyneers were lousy pilots because they ground looped on occasion In reality they did a terrific job considering the equipment they had to work with Their mishaps were the proof needed to improve the design and function of this little wheel in the back

The steerable was soon improved even further by adding a full swivel feature Now we could really turn around in a tight radius Furthermore the airplane could now be pushed backwards without lifting the tail off the ground or disconnecting the steershying cables This free wheeling feature could also be a trap if the operator wasnt aware of it

How does it work Good question All the designs have common conshytrols usually an arm or steering tiller that transfers the rudder input to the tail wheel assembly Done either with solid arms or cables and usually incorshyporating some sort of shock absorbing device such as springs it gives it a litshytle slack so as not to overpower the rudder action

Pushing rudder will direct the steershying in the direction you want to go Once headed that way you neutralize the rudder input until you want to change direction Neutralizing or censhytering the control will then allow the tail wheel to trail and youll proceed in a straight line

The swivel feature allows the wheel to trail and has some free movement on either side of neutral This soaks up little variations in the runway or sod surface and still allows you conshytrol if your input asks for more

To prevent the unit from going into full swivel a monkey-motion cam arrangement in all the designs

kicks in if you reach the extreme limit of the steerable travel Once this limit releases that cam you have a full swiveling wheel To put it back in the steerable mode the wheel must again trail which releases the cam action and centers itself

This sounds confusing but in realshyity its like there is a notch in the trail position jump out of that notch and you re freewheeling To get back into the notch roll straight ahead a little ways and itll snap back in To get out of that notch you need a full rudder application and a side load

Some airplanes have a manual tail wheel lock The Boeing Kaydet comshymonly known as the Stearman which the Navy used for primary training had a reputation for belittling pilots It was a real ground looper so they inshystalled a manual tail wheel lock This would not allow the tail wheel to go into the full swivel position The 15shyor 20-degree steering input was still there but the full swivel was locked out Some of the Waco aircraft also have this feature It works but the one caveat is dont forget to unlock it to make a sharp turn at the taxiway The locking mechanism will break and then enhance the mechanics job security Ask any DC-3 B-17 or T-6 maintenance technician

Routine preflight of the tail wheel assembly should take real precedence while doing your walk around Again this is your primary control Are the cables attached Are the clips that hold the springs to the steering arms worn Does the tire look good Inflashytion Unusual wear Wiggle the rudder do the cables actually steer the wheel Push a little to impose a side load make sure the attach paints are tight No excess movement Does it lean or show signs of sloppiness Does it look right From the side is the pivot line perpendicular to the ground does everything look right Is the spring sagging One cant be too picky preflighting this little monster It can spell disaster if it isnt controlshylable and we dont want that

So now we finish the preflight and count the wings and wheel The cockshy

pit check is complete and we have the engine running If it s clear ahead open the throttle and move off the tied own using rudder in the direction you want to turn Once the turn is esshytablished neutralize the rudder Now you can test the brakes and see that they are working and then forget them A good steerable tail wheel will respond without braking

Now we get to the basics of how to handle the controls If you are a seashyplane pilot youve already mastered this business of flying the controls If you have a headwind you hold back pressure on the stick to keep the tail wheelan the ground In a tail wind forward pressure again to keep the tail wheelan the ground In a direct crosswind neutralize the elevator and aileron into the wind For a quartershying headwind aileron into the wind and place back pressure on the elevashytor For a quartering tail wind stick AWAY from the wind and place forshyward pressure on the elevator

All this is to keep that tail wheel firmly in contact with the ground to assure control Flying the ailerons in a crosswind keeps pressure on the down aileron and keeps the upwind wing down Taxiing crosswind and in a crosswind takeoff aileron into the wind and opposite rudder to keep it going straight

Practice this Taxi around on the ground until you get the feel of how effective the rudder and the tail wheel steering is Be a little aggressive and experiment a little preferably on a wide grass runway where a little slipshypage can give you a margin for error

If visibility over the nose presents a problem then 15 turn 15 right look left down your route of taxi 15 left and look out the right side If you see its clear then no need to make an 15 of yourself over and over again Only when you want to be sure nothshying is in front of you

Place the centerline markings of the taxiway and the runway between your feet and keep them there There is a parallax error and if the line is between your feet then you are on center and you are assured of wing tip clearance

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21

bull bull

To turn around on a narrow strip plan your turn so the wind will help you Taxi along the downwind edge ofthe strip and make your 180 into the wind The weathervane effect on your airplane will help to initiate the turn Ease up a little on the back pressure as you start into the turn and this will make the tail come around more easily

You are working that tail wheel to your advantage Keep that in mind and visualize the forces your control input is accomplishing Use the brakes sparingly and only as an aid if you aren t turning as sharp as you like or to avoid a problem

After a sharp turn and the tail wheel has fully swiveled roll straight ahead for a bit to get it back in the notch or steerable position Feel the resistance in the rudder pedals when its in the steerable position The rudshyder will feel loose and ineffective if its swiveling The roll straight ahead and a neutral rudder will again enshygage that centering device

Practice those S turns and the 180s on the runway and the strip Play the elevator and the ailerons and again visualize and practice the effect youre looking for Half an hour of taxi time practice wont hurt a bit Once those feet wake up to the fact that THEY control the airplane on the ground your flying will come easy

Dont go out and try this on a day when the wind is blowing up a frenzy Not until youve had enough practice at light crosswinds and tail winds Moderate to heavy winds can really play tricks For example taxishying downwind in a heavy wind can have a reverse effect on the controls You poke in left rudder the rudder swings in that direction the wind pushes against it and you get a reshyverse effect Your ailerons also have a reverse effect going downwind Sometimes its absolutely necessary to have a wing walker on the upwind side to hold that wing down I dont advocate operations in winds strong enough to lift a wing Wait until conshyditions improve and then go fly K

Over to youlr -BtcJ

bull bullI I

A l r e r _ 1t Co_ tl ng _

wwwpolyfibercom wwwaircraflsprucecom

1-800-WORKSHOP 1-800-967-5746

sportaireaaorg

Visit wwwsportaircom for a complete listing of workshops

Workshop Schedule April 26-27 2003 Watsonville CA

SHEET METAL COMPOSITE CONSTRUCT FABRIC COVERING ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS

amp AVIONICS

May 16-18 2003 Oshkosh WI RVASSEMBLY

May 16-18 2003 Griffin (Atlanta) GA TIG WELDING

June 6-8 2003 Corona CA RVASSEMBLY

June 21-222003 Frederick MD SHEET METAL COMPOSITE CONSTRUCT FABRIC COVERING ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS

amp AVIONICS GAS WELDING

June 27-29 2003 Griffin (Atlanta) GA RVASSEMBLY TIG WELDING

22 APRIL 2003

bull bull

To turn around on a narrow strip plan your turn so the wind will help you Taxi along the downwind edge ofthe strip and make your 180 into the wind The weathervane effect on your airplane will help to initiate the turn Ease up a little on the back pressure as you start into the turn and this will make the tail come around more easily

You are working that tail wheel to your advantage Keep that in mind and visualize the forces your control input is accomplishing Use the brakes sparingly and only as an aid if you aren t turning as sharp as you like or to avoid a problem

After a sharp turn and the tail wheel has fully swiveled roll straight ahead for a bit to get it back in the notch or steerable position Feel the resistance in the rudder pedals when its in the steerable position The rudshyder will feel loose and ineffective if its swiveling The roll straight ahead and a neutral rudder will again enshygage that centering device

Practice those S turns and the 180s on the runway and the strip Play the elevator and the ailerons and again visualize and practice the effect youre looking for Half an hour of taxi time practice wont hurt a bit Once those feet wake up to the fact that THEY control the airplane on the ground your flying will come easy

Dont go out and try this on a day when the wind is blowing up a frenzy Not until youve had enough practice at light crosswinds and tail winds Moderate to heavy winds can really play tricks For example taxishying downwind in a heavy wind can have a reverse effect on the controls You poke in left rudder the rudder swings in that direction the wind pushes against it and you get a reshyverse effect Your ailerons also have a reverse effect going downwind Sometimes its absolutely necessary to have a wing walker on the upwind side to hold that wing down I dont advocate operations in winds strong enough to lift a wing Wait until conshyditions improve and then go fly K

Over to youlr -BtcJ

bull bullI I

A l r e r _ 1t Co_ tl ng _

wwwpolyfibercom wwwaircraflsprucecom

1-800-WORKSHOP 1-800-967-5746

sportaireaaorg

Visit wwwsportaircom for a complete listing of workshops

Workshop Schedule April 26-27 2003 Watsonville CA

SHEET METAL COMPOSITE CONSTRUCT FABRIC COVERING ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS

amp AVIONICS

May 16-18 2003 Oshkosh WI RVASSEMBLY

May 16-18 2003 Griffin (Atlanta) GA TIG WELDING

June 6-8 2003 Corona CA RVASSEMBLY

June 21-222003 Frederick MD SHEET METAL COMPOSITE CONSTRUCT FABRIC COVERING ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS

amp AVIONICS GAS WELDING

June 27-29 2003 Griffin (Atlanta) GA RVASSEMBLY TIG WELDING

22 APRIL 2003

FLY-IN CALENDAR

The following list ofcoming events is fllrnished to our readers as a matter ofinformation only and does not constitllte approval sponsorship involvement control or direction ofany event (fly-in seminars fly market etc) listed To submit an event please log on to wwweaaorgeventseventsasp Only if Intershynet access is unavailable should you send the information via mail to Att Vintage Airplane PO Box 3086 Oshkosh WI 54903-3086 Informashytion should be received fOllr months prior to the event date

APRIL I9-Fort Pierce FL-EAA Ch 908 Fly-In Pancake Breakfast Ft Pierce IntI Airport Info Paul 772-464-0538 or 772shy461-7175

APRIL 27-HalfMoon Bay CA_13th Annual Pacific Coast Dream Machines Show Half Moon Bay Airport 10am-4pm Admission $15 adults $5 (age 5-14 amp 65+) free for kids age 4 and under Parking included in price of admission Info 650-726-2328 wwwmiramareventscom

APRIL 2-8--Lakeland FL-Sun n Fun EAA Fly-In Info 863-644-2431 wwwsun-n-fimorg

MAY 2-4-Burlington NC-VAA Ch 3 Annual Spring Fly-In Alamance Cty Airport All welcome Info 843-753-7138

MAY 4-Dayton OH-EAA Ch 48 40th Anshynual Fly-In Moraine Air Park (1-73) Info Dennis 937-878-2647 or Mike 937-859shy8967 wwweaa48org

MAY 4-Rockford LL-EAA Ch 22 Fly-In Drive-In Breakfast Greater Rfd Airport Courtesy Aircraft Hanger Info 815-397-4995

MAY IO-Kennewick WA-EAA Ch 391 Fly-In Breakfast at Vista Field Info 509shy735-1664

MAY I6-I8--Kewanee IL-Midwest Aeronca Fest (and old fashioned taildragger) Fly-In Kewanee Municipal Airport KEll Info 309shy852-2594 e-mail jodydebinwnet

MAY I7-Slaton TX-South Plains Airshow Texas Air Museum Caprock Chapter Info 806-632-0063 or wwwtexshyasairmllseumnet

EAAs Countdown to Kitty Hawk Touring Pavilion presented by

aa~knfln Ford Motor Company

Key Venues in 2003 bull April 2-8 - Sun n Fun EM Fly-In

Lakeland FL bullJune 13-16 - Ford Motor Companys l00th

Anniversary Celebration Dearborn MI bullJuly 4-20 - Inventing Flight Celebration

DaytonOH bullJuly 29-Aug 4 - EM AirVenture Oshkosh

Oshkosh WI bull August 23-September 2 - Museum of

Flight Seattle WA bull December 13-17 - First Flight Centennial

Celebration Kitty Hawk NC

MAY I8--Romeoville IL-EAA Ch 15 32nd

Annual Fly-In Breakfast Lewis University Airport (LOT) 7am-Noon Info George 630-243-8213

MAY I 8--Troy OH-VAA Ch 36 Old Fashshyioned Barbeque Fly-In WACO Field (1 WF) 11am-4pmYoung Eagle Flights (Rain date for Young Eagle flights june 22 Ipm-4pm) Info 937-335-1444 e-mail dickandpattiaolcom or 937-294-1107 e-mail naviongemaircom

MAY I6-26-Fayetteville NC-Festival of Flight 2003 Info wwwfes tivalofflightorg

MAY 24-Fort Pierce FL-EAA Ch 908 FlyshyIn Pancake Breakfast Ft Pierce IntI Airport Info Paul 772-464-0538 or AI 772-461-7175

MAY 30-June I -Columbia CA-BellancashyChampion Club West Coast Fly-In BBQ Friday steak dinner mtg Saturday Advance registration strongly encourshyaged Info 518-731-6800 or wwwbellanca-championclubcom

JUNE I -Tunkhannock PA-Pancake Breakfast Skyhaven Airport 8am-1pm Info 570-836-3884 or skyhavenepixnet

JUNE 6-7-Bartlesville OK-17th Annual Biplane Expo Info Charlie Harris 918shy665-0755 Fax 918-665 -0039 wwwbiplaneexpocom

JUNE 6-8--Alliance OH-Mid-Eastern FUNK Aircraft OA Fly-In Alliance-Barber Airport 2D1 Info 216-382-4821

JUNE I4-I5-Toledo OH-EAA Ch 582 FlyshyIn Metcalf Field (TDZ) Pull-A-Plane contest Young Eagles food aircraft and auto displays 9am-5pm Info john 419shy666-0503 or wwweaa582org

JUNE I8-2I-Lock Haven PAshySentimental journey 03 William T Piper Memorial -Airport Info 570-893-4200 or wwwsentimentaljourneyfiy-in com

JUNE 2I-22-Howell MI-4th Annual Great Lakes Fly-In liVingston County Airport (OXW) Hands-on workshops seminars and more Info 517-223-3233 greatlakesflyinorg

JUNE 28--Prosser WA-EAA Ch 391 fly-In Breakfast Info 509-735-1664

JUNE 28--Quincy CA_6th Annual Antique Wings amp Wheels Pre 1950 airshycraft amp automobiles 8am-3pm Gansner Field (201) Info 530-283-4312 or alhansenjpsnet

JULY I7-20-Dayton OH-Vectren Dayton Air Show Dayton IntI airport Info 937-898-5901 or wwwdaytonairshowcom

AUGUST I-Oshkosh WI-BellancashyChampion Club Banquet 6 pm at Hilton Gardens Tickets available in late April $27 including dinner Info 518-731-6800 or wwwbellanca-championclubcom

AUGUST 30-Prosser WA-EAA Ch 391 20th Annual Labor Day Weekend Prosser Fly-In Info 509-735-1664

AUGUST 30-SEPTEMBER I-Cleveland OH-Cleveland Natl Air Show Info 216shy781-0747 or wwwclevelandairshowcom

AUGUST 29-3I-Saranac Lake NYshyCentennial of Flight Celebration Air Show wwwsaranaclakecomairportshtrnl

SEPTEMBER I9-20-Bartlesville OKshy47th Annual Tulsa Regional Fly-In Info Charlie Harris 918-665-0755 Fax 918shy665-0039 wwwtlIlsafiyincom

SEPTEMBER 26-28--Pottstown PAshyBellanca-Champion Club EastCoast FlyshyIn at Pottstown Municipal Airport (N47) Info 518-731-6800 or wwwbellanca-championclubcom

SEPTEMBER 27-28--Midland TX-FinashyCAF AIRSHO 2003 Midland Intl Airport Info 915-563-1000 wwwairshoorg

EAA FLY-IN SCHEDULE 2003

bull EAA Southwest Regional FIy-ln May 16-17 New Braunfels TX (KBAZ) wwwswrfimiddotorg

bull Golden West EAA Regional FIy-ln June 20-22 Marysville CA (MYV) wwwgoldenwestflyinorg

bull EAA Rocky Mountain Regional Fly-In June 28-29 Longmont CO (2V2) wwwrmrfimiddotorg

bull NortItwest EAA Fly-In July 9-13 Arlington WA (AWO) wwwnweaaorg

bull EAA AirVenture Oshkosh July 29-August 4 Oshkosh WI (OSH) wwwairventureorg

bull EAA Mid-Eastern Fly-In August 22-24 Marion OH (MNN) 440-352-1781

bull Virginia State EAA FIy-ln September 20-21 Petersburg VA (PTB) wwwvaeaaorg

bull EAA East Coast Fly-In September 13-14 Toughkenamon PA (NS) wwweastcoastflyinorg

bull EAA Southeast Regional Fly-In October 3-5 Evergreen AL (GZH) wwwserfimiddotorg

bull Coppentate EAA FIy-ln October 9-12 Phoenix AZ (A39) wwwcoppersmteorg

SKYWARD 31905 West 175 Gardner KS (K-34)

913-856-7851 wwwskywardpiotshopcom

Pilot supplies-Trltlining Aids-Airultlft Pltlrts-Aviltltion run Stuff

Located in the Heart of America for fast nationwide delivery

Avcom Mcrarlane Aviation Products Corrosion X-ReJex Compaq VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23

Since we missed having a January Mystery Plane Ive got an extra tidbit of information concerning a previous Mysshytery Plane Pete Bowers was kind enough to send these additional shots of the Eyshyerly Lee 7D Comet monoplane two of which were taken at Boeing Field The airplane was active in the mid-to-Iate 1930s and even flew out of state The Eyerly Lee was first built with an OX-S as the powerplant and then a Kinner was installed with the final engine a 130-hp Comet

BY H G FRAUTSCHY

(Above) The Eyerly Lee as it appeared equipped with an elongated nose to offset the lighter weight of the five-cylinder Kinner which reshyplaced an OX-5 The top of the cabin section is covered with corrugated aluminum all the way back to the pilots open cockpit Just behind the tail you can see the blurred image of a washyter-cooled biplane fighter on its takeoff roll

In this shot the rather grubby-looking Eyerly Lee has a Comet engine bolted to a much shorter engine mount The 130-hp Comet readily identifiable by the overhead rocker arms for valve actuation was the final engine used in the high-winger

THIS MONTH S MYSTERY PLANE COMES FROM

THE COLLECTION OF LYNN SHEREN

SEND YOUR ANSWER TO EAA VINTAGE AIRPLANE PO Box 3086

OSHKOSH WI 54903-3086 YOUR ANSWER NEEDS TO BE IN NO LATER

THAN MAY 15 2003 FOR INCLUSION IN THE J ULY 2003 ISSUE OF VINshy

TAGE AIRPLANE

You CAN ALSO SEND YOUR RESPONSE VIA E-MAIL SEND YOUR ANshy

SWER TO vintageeaaorg

B E SURE TO INCLUDE BOTH YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS (ESPECIALLY

YOUR CITY AND STATE) IN THE BODY OF YOUR NOTE AND PUT (MONTH)

MYSTERY PLANE IN THE SUBJECT LINE

24 APRIL 2003

Tim Tony and Chris Manzo Gainesville GA

bull Tim Manzo American Airlines MD-80 captain ATP-EM8110 DC-3 8727 8757 8767 DC-9

bull Tony Manzo Retired Delta Airlines 8-777 captain

bull Chris Manzo USAirways A8-320 captain ATP-8737 8757 8767 DC-9 A8320

Since we have owned our

Stearman AUA has consisshy

tently offered the best value

for our insurance needs

There is not a better choice

than AUA for vintage aircraft

owners

- Chris Manzo

The best is affordable Give AUA a call - its FREE

800-727-3823 Fly with the pros fly with AUA Inc AVIATION UNLlMlrED AGENCY

wwwauaonlinecom

The Golden Age of Aviation Series MIKES HANGAR 6 Ircran RtgtloratlOn (0

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is Practicing a TVadmiddottlmiddotOn$2295 $2495 $2295

Bellanca s Golden Age ($2495) available Dec 2002 Add $4 shipping amp handling per order

Rave Reviews

Skyways A hit of the first order

Smithsonian s National Air amp Space Archival photos and technical drawings abound

Dozens of other highly-acclaimed titles (books amp CDs) including The Legacy of the DC-3

Over 225 3-view drawings

WUul CcmylUt B~ IKe PO Box 511 Brawley CA 92227

Phone 800-952-7007 Fax 888-289-7086 E-mail bookswindcanyoncom

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812-375-1954 fax 812-314-0954 e-mail mikemikeshangarcom

Visit the Website wwwmikeshangarcom

Wheres Myamp Paint W hen you want you

paint you want ~~~ it now Not six weeks from now NOW OK When you order color paint from one of our distributors its mixed on the spot no waiting That means all of our 50 colors are always available immediately Need more later Not a problem itll match Check our web site for your nearest distributor

wwwpolyfibercom e-mail infopolyfibercom

Aircraff CoaHngs 800-362-3490

Fly high with a quality Classic interior Complete interior assemblies ready for installation

Custom quality at economical prices

bull Cushion upholstery sets bull Wall panel sets bull Headliners bull Carpet sets bull Baggage compartment sets bull Firewall covers bull Seat slings

Free catalog of complete product line

Fabric Selection Guide showing actual sample colors and styles of materials $300

Qir~RODUCTS INC 259 Lower Morrisville Rd Dept VA Fallsington PA 19054 (215) 295-4115 website wwwairtexinteriorscom Fax 800394-1247

26 APRIL 2003

The Golden Age of Aviation Series MIKES HANGAR 6 Ircran RtgtloratlOn (0

MIKES HANGAR

is Practicing a TVadmiddottlmiddotOn$2295 $2495 $2295

Bellanca s Golden Age ($2495) available Dec 2002 Add $4 shipping amp handling per order

Rave Reviews

Skyways A hit of the first order

Smithsonian s National Air amp Space Archival photos and technical drawings abound

Dozens of other highly-acclaimed titles (books amp CDs) including The Legacy of the DC-3

Over 225 3-view drawings

WUul CcmylUt B~ IKe PO Box 511 Brawley CA 92227

Phone 800-952-7007 Fax 888-289-7086 E-mail bookswindcanyoncom

website wwwwindcanyonbookscom Call or e-mail for free catalog

Great Holiday Gifts

J8111QverRd bull Columbus In 47203812middot375middot1954812middot314-0954 flU 6 i I

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We provide the following services

~ Complete Restorations

~ Custom Paint and Fabric

~ Unlimited Aerobatics to Antiques

~ Custom Acro to Custom Antique

~ Fast Award Winning Service

Award Winning Restorations

Mike Williams 3811 River Road Columbus IN 47203

812-375-1954 fax 812-314-0954 e-mail mikemikeshangarcom

Visit the Website wwwmikeshangarcom

Wheres Myamp Paint W hen you want you

paint you want ~~~ it now Not six weeks from now NOW OK When you order color paint from one of our distributors its mixed on the spot no waiting That means all of our 50 colors are always available immediately Need more later Not a problem itll match Check our web site for your nearest distributor

wwwpolyfibercom e-mail infopolyfibercom

Aircraff CoaHngs 800-362-3490

Fly high with a quality Classic interior Complete interior assemblies ready for installation

Custom quality at economical prices

bull Cushion upholstery sets bull Wall panel sets bull Headliners bull Carpet sets bull Baggage compartment sets bull Firewall covers bull Seat slings

Free catalog of complete product line

Fabric Selection Guide showing actual sample colors and styles of materials $300

Qir~RODUCTS INC 259 Lower Morrisville Rd Dept VA Fallsington PA 19054 (215) 295-4115 website wwwairtexinteriorscom Fax 800394-1247

26 APRIL 2003

NEW MEMBERS Danny Carroll Newcastle NSW Australia Scott A Stamp North Delta BC Canada John B Bakker Sebringville ON Canada Joseph Terry ODacre Rocky Mountain House ON Canada Denis Lussier Prevost Po Canada Derek Doyle Lucan Dublin Ireland Khaled Alzeedi Casablanca-Anfa Morocco Enold Johnsen Askim Norway Calixto Fortes Sta Cruz De Tenerife Spain Claudio Marin Garcia Ontigola Toledo Spain Ian Pentz Dubai United Arab Emirates Bruce Ray Enterprise AL James 0 Atkinson Mena AR Homer GEllis Fort Smith AR Jack Cole Sun City West AZ Mark Hawkins Queen Creek AZ Shy Bourgeois Santa Ynez CA Birch N Entriken Truckee CA Jerry 0 Finney Riverside CA Jerry 0 Finney Riverside CA Jaye L Matthews Ramona CA Richard McKay Rancho Palos Verdes CA Darrell Meeks Modesto CA Robert W Preiss Palm Springs CA Stan Rutiz Templeton CA James S Spitzley Cambria CA James E Hocut Powder Springs GA Jay McClure Atlanta GA John Neely Savannah GA Richard Van Iderstyne Jekyll Island GA Jack Else Cedar Rapids IA Dale E Standley Council Bluffs IA Don M Simmonds Sand Point ID Ron Cates Tallula IL Bruce S Fine Northbrook IL James M Wissemes Carol Stream IL John Anderson III Olathe KS Linda M Hanna Gardner KS Ken Balch Ashland MA Michael Kramer Olney MD John Ness White Marsh MD Robert A Parrack Elkton MD o Dale Hey Stanton MI Kenneth E Davey Lake Crystal MN Lenny Wollitz Bemidji MN Lynn Larry Pitts Webb City MO Cecil Austin Winona MS Roy Griffin McComb MS David Heath Winona MS Mike Spalding Ahoski NC Alan Larter Franklin NH George F Bigge Elmer NJ Michael Harris Hazlet NJ Ken J House Cranford NJ Robert A Kite Lawrenceville NJ Matthew Miller Manville NJ Jack Effron Poughkeepsie NY Eugene T Leavy East Northport NY Frank AVan Skiver Gloversvi lle NY Clyde C Fox Mansfield OH Ralph Goodman Cuyahoga Falls OH Thomas Inglin Hamilton OH

William Mack Hamilton OH Dolivio Cetrangolo Ada OK Brad Mendenhall Woodburn OR Terence J Connor West Chester PA James R Dugan Lansdale PA Gary G Hartle Greencastle PA Frank Lipovsek South Park PA Joseph L Campbell Dale TX Ray LEnder San Marcos TX Dewey Magee Portland TX Scott Sackett Krum TX Robert Daniels Oakton VA Jimmy Mcwhorter Louisa VA Kristian Ljungkvist Burlington VT Gerald P Mahoney Sequim WA Todd AMason Centralia WA Alfred L Schulz Spokane WA Richard E Studebaker Bow WA Michael Zyskowski Redmond WA Tom G Holz West Bend WI Mark L Langenfeld Madison WI Gene Seprish Waukesha WI Patrick R Walsh Brookfield WI Jerry Nelsen Dayton WY

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 27

Relive tIle Golden Age

of Air Racing ne Omalla AIr Races

1931middot1934

It was a 5-mile

course with eight to

L~~~~~ ten home-built

planes-----speeds up to 200 mph flying

only 100 feet off the ground Each

pilot had to race around the pylons-shy

the tall poles that marked the course

in Omaha Nebraska

Rediscover the era of this

popular American pastime in

PYLON by Wallace Peterson

Order your copy today ISBN 1-886225-89-3 80 pages

$1395 us plus $500 shIh

Dageforde Publishing Inc

1-800-216-8794 Also available at

wwwdagefordecomcatalog

PRIME CLASSIFIED REAL ESTATE

AVAILABLE ON THIS PAGE shy

$20 PER INCHPER MONTH

TO MAKE

10000+ IMPRESSIONS

CALL JULIE AT EAA HQ

920-426-6127

FOR MORE INFO_

Write an article for VINTAGE AIRPLANE

Were always looking for technical articles and photos of your latest

restoration We can t offer you money but we can make you a hero among felshy

low Vintage Aircraft enthusiasts Send your submissions to

Editor Vintage Airplane PO Box 3086

Oshkosh WI 54904

vintageeaaorg For pointers on fonnat and content feel free

to call 920middot426-4825

28 APRIL 2003

1he use of Dacron or similar modern moleriak os a substitute for coHan is a dead 9iv y 10 Ihe knowing eye They imp~ do nOllook righl on vinloge oircroh from Robert Mikesh former curolor of Ihe Nolionol Air ond Spoce

Museum in his book Resloring Museum McraN

VltiTAGE AERO FAPgtRICJ LTD PURVEYORS

Dont compromise your restoration with mooem coverings finish the job correctly with authentic fabrics

Certifilated Grade Alollon Early aircraft lollon

Imported aircraft Unen (beige and tan) German WWI Lozenge print fabril

Fabril tapes frayed straight pinked and early Amerilan pinked Waxed linen lacing lord

Pure cotton machine and hand sewing thread

Vintage Aero Fabrics ltd 316 Creekwood Dr Bardstown KY 40004 tel 502-349-1429 fax 502-349-142B website wwwovdothcom

Originol Nieuport 28 reslored by Vinloge Avionon Services

Radial Exhaust Systems Inc Jumping Branch WV 25969

27 Years Experience

15 different engines for fitting FAA Certified Repair Station XHYR068L

Antiques Warbirds Cropdusters 304-466-1752 Fax 304-466-0802

wwwradialexhaustsystemscom

Every Ohio Aircraft Interior

is a future piece of aviation history

Award Winning Vintage Interiors

Paul Workman OHIO AIRCRAFT INTERIORS

Parr Airport (421) Zanesville Ohio 43701

8007946560

VINTAGE TRADER

Something to buy sell or trade Classified Word Ads $550 per 10 words

180 words maximum with boldface lead-in on first line

Classified Display Ads One column wide (2167 inches) by 1 2 or 3 inches high at $20 per inch Black and white only and no frequency discounts

Advertising Closing Dates 10th of second month prior to desired issue date (Le January 10 is the closing date for the March issue) VAA reserves the right to reject any advertising in conflict with its poliCies Rates cover one insertion per issue Classified ads are not accepted via phone Payment must accompany order Word ads may be sent via fax (920-426-4828) or e-mail (classadseaaorg) usshying credit card payment (all cards accepted) Include name on card complete address type of card card number and expiration date Make checks payable to EAA Address advertising correshyspondence to EAA Publications Classified Ad Manager PO Box 3086 Oshkosh WI 54903-3086

BABBITT BEARING SERVICE - rod bearings main bearings bushings master roos valves pisshyton rings Call us Toll Free 1-800-233-6934 e-mail ramremfgaofcom Web site wwwramenginecom VINTAGE ENGINE MACHINE WORKS N 604 FREYA ST SPOKANE WA 99202

Airplane T-Shirts 150 Different Airplanes Available

WE PROBABLY HAVE YOUR AIRPLANE wwwairplanetshirtscom

1-800-645-7739

THERES JUST NOTHING LIKE IT ON THE WEB

wwwaviation-giftshop_com A Web Site With The Pilot In Mind

(and those who love airplanes)

For sale reluctantly Warner 145 amp 165 engines 1 each new OH and low time No tire kickers please Two Curtiss Reed props to go with above engines 1966 Helton Lark 95 Serial S Very rare PO-S certified Target Drone derivative Tri-gear Culver Cadet See Juptners Vol S-170 Total time AampE 845 hrs I just have too many toys and Im not getshyting any younger Find my name in the Officers amp Directors listing of Vintage and e-mail or call evenings E E Buck Hilbert

Flying wires available 1994 pricing Visit

wwwfyingwirescom or call 800-517-9278

Aviation Art favorites WW-I Golden Age WW-II to present wwwMotorArtWorkscom

For Sale - 1939 Spartan Executive 3500TT 10 SMOH 214-354-6418_

UC-1 Republic Twin Sea Bee Serial No 020 Approval No A6EA Reported details Lyshycoming 10-360-BID engines - total time since new 7266 hrs (each) Hartzell HC-C2YKshy2RBF propellers Total airframe time - 6050 hrs The aircraft is reported to be functional however the certificate of airworthiness is not in force (since June 17 2001) Purchaser to verify condition of aircraft and documentashytion TO BE SOLD BY SEALED BIDS (The highest bid may not necessarily be accepted) For further details and viewing by appointshyment contact Ian H Clement Solicitor to the Personal Representative

1 -105 Rainbow Road Salt Spring Island BC

Canada V8K 2V5 Phone 250 537 5505 Fax 250 537 5099

Email iclementislandnet

Relive tIle Golden Age

of Air Racing ne Omalla AIr Races

1931middot1934

It was a 5-mile

course with eight to

L~~~~~ ten home-built

planes-----speeds up to 200 mph flying

only 100 feet off the ground Each

pilot had to race around the pylons-shy

the tall poles that marked the course

in Omaha Nebraska

Rediscover the era of this

popular American pastime in

PYLON by Wallace Peterson

Order your copy today ISBN 1-886225-89-3 80 pages

$1395 us plus $500 shIh

Dageforde Publishing Inc

1-800-216-8794 Also available at

wwwdagefordecomcatalog

PRIME CLASSIFIED REAL ESTATE

AVAILABLE ON THIS PAGE shy

$20 PER INCHPER MONTH

TO MAKE

10000+ IMPRESSIONS

CALL JULIE AT EAA HQ

920-426-6127

FOR MORE INFO_

Write an article for VINTAGE AIRPLANE

Were always looking for technical articles and photos of your latest

restoration We can t offer you money but we can make you a hero among felshy

low Vintage Aircraft enthusiasts Send your submissions to

Editor Vintage Airplane PO Box 3086

Oshkosh WI 54904

vintageeaaorg For pointers on fonnat and content feel free

to call 920middot426-4825

28 APRIL 2003

1he use of Dacron or similar modern moleriak os a substitute for coHan is a dead 9iv y 10 Ihe knowing eye They imp~ do nOllook righl on vinloge oircroh from Robert Mikesh former curolor of Ihe Nolionol Air ond Spoce

Museum in his book Resloring Museum McraN

VltiTAGE AERO FAPgtRICJ LTD PURVEYORS

Dont compromise your restoration with mooem coverings finish the job correctly with authentic fabrics

Certifilated Grade Alollon Early aircraft lollon

Imported aircraft Unen (beige and tan) German WWI Lozenge print fabril

Fabril tapes frayed straight pinked and early Amerilan pinked Waxed linen lacing lord

Pure cotton machine and hand sewing thread

Vintage Aero Fabrics ltd 316 Creekwood Dr Bardstown KY 40004 tel 502-349-1429 fax 502-349-142B website wwwovdothcom

Originol Nieuport 28 reslored by Vinloge Avionon Services

Radial Exhaust Systems Inc Jumping Branch WV 25969

27 Years Experience

15 different engines for fitting FAA Certified Repair Station XHYR068L

Antiques Warbirds Cropdusters 304-466-1752 Fax 304-466-0802

wwwradialexhaustsystemscom

Every Ohio Aircraft Interior

is a future piece of aviation history

Award Winning Vintage Interiors

Paul Workman OHIO AIRCRAFT INTERIORS

Parr Airport (421) Zanesville Ohio 43701

8007946560

VINTAGE TRADER

Something to buy sell or trade Classified Word Ads $550 per 10 words

180 words maximum with boldface lead-in on first line

Classified Display Ads One column wide (2167 inches) by 1 2 or 3 inches high at $20 per inch Black and white only and no frequency discounts

Advertising Closing Dates 10th of second month prior to desired issue date (Le January 10 is the closing date for the March issue) VAA reserves the right to reject any advertising in conflict with its poliCies Rates cover one insertion per issue Classified ads are not accepted via phone Payment must accompany order Word ads may be sent via fax (920-426-4828) or e-mail (classadseaaorg) usshying credit card payment (all cards accepted) Include name on card complete address type of card card number and expiration date Make checks payable to EAA Address advertising correshyspondence to EAA Publications Classified Ad Manager PO Box 3086 Oshkosh WI 54903-3086

BABBITT BEARING SERVICE - rod bearings main bearings bushings master roos valves pisshyton rings Call us Toll Free 1-800-233-6934 e-mail ramremfgaofcom Web site wwwramenginecom VINTAGE ENGINE MACHINE WORKS N 604 FREYA ST SPOKANE WA 99202

Airplane T-Shirts 150 Different Airplanes Available

WE PROBABLY HAVE YOUR AIRPLANE wwwairplanetshirtscom

1-800-645-7739

THERES JUST NOTHING LIKE IT ON THE WEB

wwwaviation-giftshop_com A Web Site With The Pilot In Mind

(and those who love airplanes)

For sale reluctantly Warner 145 amp 165 engines 1 each new OH and low time No tire kickers please Two Curtiss Reed props to go with above engines 1966 Helton Lark 95 Serial S Very rare PO-S certified Target Drone derivative Tri-gear Culver Cadet See Juptners Vol S-170 Total time AampE 845 hrs I just have too many toys and Im not getshyting any younger Find my name in the Officers amp Directors listing of Vintage and e-mail or call evenings E E Buck Hilbert

Flying wires available 1994 pricing Visit

wwwfyingwirescom or call 800-517-9278

Aviation Art favorites WW-I Golden Age WW-II to present wwwMotorArtWorkscom

For Sale - 1939 Spartan Executive 3500TT 10 SMOH 214-354-6418_

UC-1 Republic Twin Sea Bee Serial No 020 Approval No A6EA Reported details Lyshycoming 10-360-BID engines - total time since new 7266 hrs (each) Hartzell HC-C2YKshy2RBF propellers Total airframe time - 6050 hrs The aircraft is reported to be functional however the certificate of airworthiness is not in force (since June 17 2001) Purchaser to verify condition of aircraft and documentashytion TO BE SOLD BY SEALED BIDS (The highest bid may not necessarily be accepted) For further details and viewing by appointshyment contact Ian H Clement Solicitor to the Personal Representative

1 -105 Rainbow Road Salt Spring Island BC

Canada V8K 2V5 Phone 250 537 5505 Fax 250 537 5099

Email iclementislandnet

VINTAGE AIRCRAFT

ASSOCIATION OFFICERS

President Vice-President Espie Butch Joyce George Daubner

PO Box 35584 2448 Lough Lane Greensboro NC 27425 Hartford WI 53027

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Secretary Treasurer Steve Nesse Charles W Harris

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DIRECTORS Steve Bender

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David Bennett PO Box 1188

Roseville CA 95678 916-645-6926

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John Berendt 7645 Echo Point Rd_

Cannon Falls MN 55009 507-263-2414

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Robert C ~ Bobn Brauer 9345 S Hoyne

Chicago IL 60620 773-779-2105

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Dave Clark 635 Vestal Lane

Plainfield IN 46168 317-839-4500

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Northborough MA 0 I 532 508-393-4775

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Phil Coulson 28415 Springbrook Dr

Llwton MI 49065 616-624-6490

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Roger Gomoll 8891 Airport Rd Box C2

Blaine MN 55449 763-786-3342

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Indianapolis IN 46278 317-293-4430

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Jeannie Hill PO Box 328

Harvard IL 60033 815-943-7205

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Steve Krog 1002 Heather Ln

Hartford WI 53027 262-966-7627

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Robert 0_ Bob LumJey 1265 South 124th 51 Brookfield WI 53005

262-782-2633 lumperexecpccom

Gene Morris 5936 Steve Court

Roanoke TX 76262 817-49 1-9 110

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Dean Richardson 1429 Kings Lynn Rd

Stoughton WI 53589 608-877-8485

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260-493-4724 chief7025aolcom

SH Wes Schmid 2359 Lefeber Avenue

Wauwatosa WI 53213 414-771-1545

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DIRECTORS EMERITUS

Gene Chase E_E_ Buck Hilbert 2159 Carlton Rd PO Box 424

Oshkosh WI 54904 Union 1L 60180 920-231-5002 81S-923-4591

buck7acmc_net

ADVISOR AJan Shackleton

PO Box 656 Sugar Grove IL 60554-0656

630-466-4 193 1033461772compuservecom

Membership Services DirectoryshyENJOY THE MANY BENEFITS OF EAA AND THE EAA VINTAGE AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION ~

EAA Aviation Center PO Box 3086 Oshkosh WI 54903-3086 Phone (920) 426-4800 Fax (920) 426-4873

Web Site httpwwweaaorg and httpwwwairventureorg [ middotMail vintage eaaorg

EAA and Division Membership Services 800-843-3612 FAX 920-426-6761 (800 AM-700 PM Monday-Friday CSn bull Newrenew memberships EM Divisions

(Vintage Aircraft Association lAC Warbirds) National Association of Flight Instructors (NAFI)

bull Address changes bull Merchandise sales bull Gift memberships

Programs and Activities EM AirVenture FaxmiddotOnmiddotDemand Directory 732-885-6711

Auto Fuel STCs 920-426-4843 Build restore information 920-426-4821 Chapters locatingorganizing 920-426-4876 Education 920-426-6815

bull EM Air Academy bull EM Scholarships

Flight Advisors information 920-426-6522 Flight Instructor information 920-426-6801 Flying Start Program 920-426-6847 Library Services Research 920-426-4848 Medical Questions 920-426-4821 Technical Counselors 920-426-4821 Young Eagles 920-426-4831 Benefits AUA 800-727-3823 EM Aircraft Insurance Plan 866-647-4322 Term Life and Accidental 800-241-6103 Death Insurance (Harvey Watt amp Company) Editorial 920-426-4825 FAX 920-426-4828

bull Submitting article photo bull Advertising information

EM Aviation Foundation Artifact Donations 920-426-4877 Financial Support 800-236-1025

MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION EAA

Membership in the Experimental Aircraft Associmiddot ation Inc is $40 for one year including 12 issues of SPORT AVIATION Family membership is available for an additional $10 annually Junior Membership (under 19 years of age) is available at $23 annually All major credit ca rds accep ted for membership (Add $16 for Foreign Postage)

VINTAGE AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION Current EAA members may join the Vintage

Aircraft Associaton and receive VINTAGE AIRshyPLANE magazine for an additional $36 per year

EAA Membership VINTAGE AIRPLANE magazine and one year membership in the EAA Vintage Aircraft Association is available for $46 per yea r (SPORT AVIATION magaZine not inshycluded) (Add $7 for Foreign Postage)

lAC Current EM members may join the Internamiddot

tional Aerobatic Club Inc Division and receive SPORT AEROBATICS magaZine for an addishytional $45 per year

EAA Membership SPORT AEROBATICS magaZine and one year membership in the lAC Division is available for $55 per year (SPORT

AVIATION magazine not included) (A dd $15 for Foreign Postage)

WARBIRDS Current EM members may join the EM Warmiddot

birds of America Division and receive WARBlRDS magazine for an additional $40 per year

EAA Membership WARBIRDS magazine and one year membership in the Warbirds Divishys ion is available for $50 per year (SPORT AVIATION magazine not included) (Add $7 for Foreign Postage)

EAA EXPERIMENTER Current EAA members may receive EAA

EXPERIMENTER magazine for an additional $20 per year

EM Membership and EM EXPERIMENTER magaZine is available for $30 per year (SPORT AVIATION magazine not included) (A dd $8 for Foreign Postage)

FOREIGN MEMBERSHIPS Please submit your remittance with a check or draft drawn on a United States bank payable in United States dollars Add required Foreign Postage amount for each membership

Membership dues to EAA and its divisions are not tax deductible as charitable contributions

Copyright copy2003 by the EM Vintage Aircraft Association All rights reserved

VINTAGE AIRPLANE (ISSN 0091-6943) IPM 40032445 is published and owned exclusively by the EM Vintage Aircraft Association of the Experimental Aircraft Association and is published monthly at EM Aviation Center 3000 Poberezny Rd PO Box 3088 Oshkosh Wisconsin 54903-3086 Periodicals Postage paid at Oshkosh Wisconsin 54901 and at additional mailing offices POSTMASTER Send address changes to EM Vintage Aircraft Association PO Box 3086 Oshkosh WI 54903-3086 Return Canadian issues to Station A PO Box 54 Windsor ON N9A 6J5 FOREIGN AND APO ADDRESSES - Please allow at least two montha for delivery of VINTAGE AIRPlANE to foreign and APO addresses via suriace mail ADVERTISING - Vintage Aircraft Association does not guarantee or endorse any product offered through the advertising We invite constructive criticism and welcome any report of inferior merchandise obtained through our advertiSing so that corrective measures can be taken

EDITORIAL POLICY Readers are encouraged to submit stories and photographs Policy opinions expressed in articles are solely those of the authors Responsibility for accuracy in reporting rests entirely with the oontributor No renumeration is made Material should be sent to Editor VINTAGE AIRPlANE PO Box 3086 Oshkosh WI 54903-3088 Phone 920426-4800

EAA~ and SPORT AVIATIONlt the EM Log~ and Aeronautical are registered trademarks trademarks and service marks of the Experimental Aircraft Association Inc The use of these trademar1lts and service marllts WIThout the pennission of the Experimental Aircraft Association Inc is strictly prohibited

The EM AVIATION FOUNDATION Logo is a trademark of the EM Aviation Foundation Inc The use of this trademark WIThout the pennission of the EM Aviation Foundation Inc is strictly prohibited

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 29

VAA Merchan This medium-blue shirt has the VAA on the back yoke SM Vl1183 MD V11184 LG V11185 XL V11186

Ladies Navy Polo Shirt $3295 This ladies polo shirt made of 100 cotton can be machine washed and dried It sports an all-navy VAA logo and white stripe collar and cuffs MD V11165 LG V11166 XL Vl1167

totes are embossed on one side with airplanes and the VAA logo Washable

SM VOO250 $1795 LG V00249 $1895

ORDER ONLINE httpshopeaaorg Ladies and Mens Stonewashed Denim Shirt A classic for any season this denim shirt is great for all aviation activities LADIES $3195 MENs $3295 SM V11147 MD V11161 MD Vl1148 LG V11162 LG V11149 XL V11163 XL V11160 2X Vl1164

Denim Golf Shirt

$1895 This 100 cotton golf shirt sports the VAA logo on the sleeve

This short sleeve shirt is a classic for warm weather MD Vl1135 XL Vl1137 LG Vll136 2X Vlll38

SM Vl0134 LG V10136 MD Vl 0135 XL Vl0137

Mens Burgundy Golf $1895 This golf shirt is 100 cotton with tone

on tone VAA logo on chest It sports a three color collar MD V10151 $3495 2X V11134 $3695

USA Fleece Jacket $6895 This plush jacket will show your USA and VAA pride Made of 100 acrylic it washes easily

Ladies Yellow Golf Shirt This comfortable golf shirt is 100 cotshyton machine washable Tone on tone VAA logo on front SM V10130 LG V10132 LG V10153 MD VOO913 XL VOO917 MD Vl0131 XL Vl0133 XL V11133 LG VOO916 2X VOO929

3 0 APRIL 2003

VAA Logo Decal

(Tie tack style pin)

Hooded Jersey Shirt ~ong-sleeved shirt features a

tone-on-tone VAA logo Grey or Perfect Blue Perfect Blue SM V11173 MD V11174 LG V11175 XL V11176

Grey V11177 V11179 V11180 V11181

$1199 This cast metal pin is about 3 wide A great way to show your VAA pride

TELEPHONE ORDER 800-843-3612 FROM US AND CANADA (ALL OTHERS 920-426-5912)

MAIL ORDER VINTAGE MERCHANDISE PO BOX 3086

OSHKOSH WI 54903-3086

ORDER ONLINE

httpshopeaaorg

Flag Jacket $6695 This jacket is a winner 0 better way to show your American Pride MD VOO877 XL VOO879 LG VOO878 2X VOO88O

This set of 4 clear glasses with etched design is a classic way to display the

Mini FanIFlashlight V40242 ~ SALE $495 This clever gadget features both a fan and a flashlight Batteries included

VAA logoTravel Mug VOO342 $1295 Classic stainless steel mug with plastic handle and cap Standard base fits most car cup holders

Small VAA Logo Pin VOO258 $399 This small metal pin can be displayed on your clothes then easily removed BlueGold Marbled Mug V40240 $595

Enjoy your morning coffee with this marbled coffee mug

Flat VAA Patch V00257 $199 This VAA logo patch can be ironed on your shirts coats or This 3-dimensional patch is well tailored and will other accessories look great on your clothing and accessories

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 31

3-D VAA Patch $399

Shiny metallic VAA logo decals are great in showing your VAA pride The image is printed on both sides so you can stick the decal on the inside or outside of your window

VAA Mercha

ORDER ONLINE

httpshopeaaorg

Sweatshirt Blankets These blankets are extra soft S4 in x 84 in and machine washable Ladies Stone Micro Fiber Jacket $6495

This classy jacket for women is soft to the touch water repellent and light weight with inside zipper pocket SM V11168 lG V11171 MD V11169 Xl VI1172 Mens Navy Micro Fiber Jacket MD VI0005 lG VI0006 Xl VI0007 $7195 2X VI0009 $7295 This classy navy jacket is soft to the touch water repellent and light weight with inside zippered pocket Machine wash gentle cycle

32 APRIL 2003

V00933 Gold VOll04 Burgundy

TELEPHONE ORDER 800middot843middot3612 FROM US AND CANADA (All OTHERS 920middot426middot5912)

MAIL ORDER VINTAGE MERCHANDISE PO BOX 3086

OSHKOSH WI 54903middot3086

390 horsepower can be very intimidating Best say something nice

The powertrain and suspension refinements are The S-TYPE R asserts itself between so good that you need to look at the speedometer [the competition] with authority-and a measure

to gauge your speed of elegance [the others] lack - Automobile Magazine ~ Motor Trend

Yet it also has tremendous reserves of performance--enough to give you an ear-to-ear

grin when you drive it hard Sports Car International

fl$d~Camp~ Vehicle Discount

VAA Logo Decal

(Tie tack style pin)

Hooded Jersey Shirt ~ong-sleeved shirt features a

tone-on-tone VAA logo Grey or Perfect Blue Perfect Blue SM V11173 MD V11174 LG V11175 XL V11176

Grey V11177 V11179 V11180 V11181

$1199 This cast metal pin is about 3 wide A great way to show your VAA pride

TELEPHONE ORDER 800-843-3612 FROM US AND CANADA (ALL OTHERS 920-426-5912)

MAIL ORDER VINTAGE MERCHANDISE PO BOX 3086

OSHKOSH WI 54903-3086

ORDER ONLINE

httpshopeaaorg

Flag Jacket $6695 This jacket is a winner 0 better way to show your American Pride MD VOO877 XL VOO879 LG VOO878 2X VOO88O

This set of 4 clear glasses with etched design is a classic way to display the

Mini FanIFlashlight V40242 ~ SALE $495 This clever gadget features both a fan and a flashlight Batteries included

VAA logoTravel Mug VOO342 $1295 Classic stainless steel mug with plastic handle and cap Standard base fits most car cup holders

Small VAA Logo Pin VOO258 $399 This small metal pin can be displayed on your clothes then easily removed BlueGold Marbled Mug V40240 $595

Enjoy your morning coffee with this marbled coffee mug

Flat VAA Patch V00257 $199 This VAA logo patch can be ironed on your shirts coats or This 3-dimensional patch is well tailored and will other accessories look great on your clothing and accessories

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 31

3-D VAA Patch $399

Shiny metallic VAA logo decals are great in showing your VAA pride The image is printed on both sides so you can stick the decal on the inside or outside of your window

VAA Mercha

ORDER ONLINE

httpshopeaaorg

Sweatshirt Blankets These blankets are extra soft S4 in x 84 in and machine washable Ladies Stone Micro Fiber Jacket $6495

This classy jacket for women is soft to the touch water repellent and light weight with inside zipper pocket SM V11168 lG V11171 MD V11169 Xl VI1172 Mens Navy Micro Fiber Jacket MD VI0005 lG VI0006 Xl VI0007 $7195 2X VI0009 $7295 This classy navy jacket is soft to the touch water repellent and light weight with inside zippered pocket Machine wash gentle cycle

32 APRIL 2003

V00933 Gold VOll04 Burgundy

TELEPHONE ORDER 800middot843middot3612 FROM US AND CANADA (All OTHERS 920middot426middot5912)

MAIL ORDER VINTAGE MERCHANDISE PO BOX 3086

OSHKOSH WI 54903middot3086

390 horsepower can be very intimidating Best say something nice

The powertrain and suspension refinements are The S-TYPE R asserts itself between so good that you need to look at the speedometer [the competition] with authority-and a measure

to gauge your speed of elegance [the others] lack - Automobile Magazine ~ Motor Trend

Yet it also has tremendous reserves of performance--enough to give you an ear-to-ear

grin when you drive it hard Sports Car International

fl$d~Camp~ Vehicle Discount

VAA Mercha

ORDER ONLINE

httpshopeaaorg

Sweatshirt Blankets These blankets are extra soft S4 in x 84 in and machine washable Ladies Stone Micro Fiber Jacket $6495

This classy jacket for women is soft to the touch water repellent and light weight with inside zipper pocket SM V11168 lG V11171 MD V11169 Xl VI1172 Mens Navy Micro Fiber Jacket MD VI0005 lG VI0006 Xl VI0007 $7195 2X VI0009 $7295 This classy navy jacket is soft to the touch water repellent and light weight with inside zippered pocket Machine wash gentle cycle

32 APRIL 2003

V00933 Gold VOll04 Burgundy

TELEPHONE ORDER 800middot843middot3612 FROM US AND CANADA (All OTHERS 920middot426middot5912)

MAIL ORDER VINTAGE MERCHANDISE PO BOX 3086

OSHKOSH WI 54903middot3086

390 horsepower can be very intimidating Best say something nice

The powertrain and suspension refinements are The S-TYPE R asserts itself between so good that you need to look at the speedometer [the competition] with authority-and a measure

to gauge your speed of elegance [the others] lack - Automobile Magazine ~ Motor Trend

Yet it also has tremendous reserves of performance--enough to give you an ear-to-ear

grin when you drive it hard Sports Car International

fl$d~Camp~ Vehicle Discount

390 horsepower can be very intimidating Best say something nice

The powertrain and suspension refinements are The S-TYPE R asserts itself between so good that you need to look at the speedometer [the competition] with authority-and a measure

to gauge your speed of elegance [the others] lack - Automobile Magazine ~ Motor Trend

Yet it also has tremendous reserves of performance--enough to give you an ear-to-ear

grin when you drive it hard Sports Car International

fl$d~Camp~ Vehicle Discount