vintage airplane - jul 1983

8/12/2019 Vintage Airplane - Jul 1983

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STRAIGHT ND LEVEL

Guest Editorial byClaude GrayDirector, EAA Antique/Classic Division

The members of the EAA Antique/Classic Board ofDirectors have been encouraged to submit articles present-ing their ideas and viewpoints concerning aviation mat-ters. Following is the first in a series of guest editorials,this one focusing o EAA aircraft judging.As a guest writer for this month's Straight and Level,I want to express some thoughts on subjects which I believe

are of interest to many owners and restorers of antiqueand classic aircraft.As Chairman of the EAA National Judging Committee,I wish to comment on our judging of aircraft for awardsat Oshkosh and other EAA fly-ins. The ideas, thoughtsand planning over the years have developed into what wefeel is a system of fairness in scoring. We want to givecredit to an aircraft restorer for his research, quality andworkmanship, and effort to bring an aircraft back to itsFACTORY FRESH original condition. The dictionary saysrestore means to bring back to a former condition . Thiscondition is spelled out in our Guidebook for AircraftJudging which is available from EAA Headquarters for$1.50 postpaid.The point system for grading a restoration is what weconsider the fairest way to determine the winner and therelative positions of other aircraft being judged.A study of the Antique/Classic grade sheet shows thatthe restorer has full control of both the plus and negativepoints. The plus side of grading measures quality of workmanship and appearance and does not reflect authenticity.The negative column deducts points for non-authenticitems. I will mention at this time that radios, s trobe lightsand instruments required by the FAA are not penalizedas non-authentic items.This is all very basic, but I want to emphasize the factthat most non-authentic items carry a small negativevalue and you can make up the penalty points lost with a

CLAUDE L GRAY JR.

Champion but we know from experience over the years aGrand Champion does not just happen . Top-notch quality ,appearance and authenticity are goals from the day thefirst nuts and bolts are removed during the restorationprocess.Some owners wish to modernize or customize theiraircraft. For these we have a customized category forjudging and awards. Scoring is based solely on quality andworkmanship; authenticity is not considered. The judgingcommittee will put your aircraft in the category where itwill best score - either customized or as an authenticrestoration, to your best advantage.

Each year at Oshkosh I hold ajudging forum for antiqueand classic aircraft restorers. This is open to all of you andwill be held on Sunday, July 31 at 1:30. We judges areglad to answer your questions and hear your ideas andsuggestions . In addition, the Guidebook mentioned earlieris available during Oshkosh at the Antique/Classic RedBarn.

Another topic I want to mention is the public exhibitof Howard Hughes ' great flying boat, The Spruce Goose .t is now on display next to the Queen Mary ocean linerlocated at the harbor area at Long Beach, California.I attended a pre-opening showing on April 12 and haveto say that the display is great and well worth a trip to

California to see.


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PUBLICATIONSTAFFEDITORGeneR. Chase

MANAGINGEDITORPatEtterEDITORIALASSISTANT

Norman PetersenFEATUREWRITERGeorgeA.Hardie, Jr.

EAA ANTIQUE/CLASSICDIVISION,INC.OFFICERS

President VicePresidentW. BradThomas,Jr . Jack C.Winthrop301 DodsonMill Road RouteI, Box111PilotMountain, NC 27041 Allen, TX75002919/368-2875 Home 214 727-5649919-368-2291 Office

Secretary TreasurerM. C. "Kelly" Viets E.E. "Buck" HilbertRoute2, Box 128 P.O.Box145Lyndon,KS66451 Union,IL60180913/828-3518 815/923-4591

DIRECTORSRonaldFritz Claude L.Gray,Jr.15401 SpartaAvenue 9635SylviaAvenueKentCity,MI49330 Northridge,CA91324616/678-5012 213/349-1338

DaleA.Gustafson AI Kelch7724ShadyHill Drive 66W.622N.MadisonAve.Indianapolis,IN 46274 Cedarburg,WI5301231 7/293-4430 414/377-5886RobertE. Kesel Morton W. Lester455OakridgeDrive P.O. Box3747Rochester,NY14617 Martinsvi lle,VA24112716/342-3170 703/632-4839

Arthur R. Morgan John R. Turgyan3744North51stBlvd. 1530KuserRoadMilwaukee,WI53216 Trenton,NJ08619414/442-3631 609/585-2747S. J.Wittman GeorgeS.YorkBox2672 181 SlobodaAve.Oshkosh,WI54901 Mansfield,OH44906414/235-1265 419/529-4378

ADVISORS

JULY 1983 Vol.11 No.7COPYRIGHT 1983EAA ANTIQUE/CLASSICDIVISION,INC.,ALL RIGHTSRESERVED

Contents2 StraightandLevel

byClaudeGray4 AlCNewsbyGeneChase4 Antique/ClassicForumsScheduleatOshkosh'835 WileyPostandtheWinnieMae-GoldenAnniversarybyJoe Haynes10 Sun'n Fun'83PhotosbyGeneChase12 BordenlThompsonAeroplanePostersfromthe1930sbyGeneChase14 TedKosten'sPictureAlbumbyGeneChase16 MysteryPlanebyGeorgeHardie16 Calendarof Events17 Lettersto theEditor18 BookReview

byGeneChase

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Page14FRONTCOVER... DaveJameson,VicePresidentoftheEAAAviationFoundation circlesfor alanding at Burlington,WI on 6/16/73, in hisimmaculate1929 Lockheed Vegapainted to representWiley Post'srecord-sellingVega .(PhotobyLeeFray)

BACK COVER . . , Photographedat Oshkosh '82is this beautifullypolished1950Cessna 140A,N9467A,SIN15469,ownedbyRichardL. Harris(EAA115323 ,AlC6353)of2119Grand ,Carthage,MO64836.RichardiscurrentlyassignedtoNortonAirForceBase ,SanBernardino,CA.


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CULVER PQ14 GROUPIS FORMING

TedR. Heineman (EAA 99481), 2111 S. Grand Ave. ,Santa Ana , CA 92705, tel. 714/979-4233 is restoring aCulver PQ14 and is anxious to contact others with aninterest in this seriesof aircraft it was alsoknownasthe TD2Cand NR-D.Tededitsanewsletterwhichcontainsclassifiedadsplusother informationofinterest, forexample: Mark Eaton, tel. 509/924-4241 has a Culver wingwhichhe willgiveaway"free".

LANDING GEAR BUILKHEADSAND AILERONS AVAILABLE

FOR CESSNA 120 140 AIRCRAFT

Univair Aircraft Corporation, Aurora, Colorado an-nouncesthat it isnowproducinglanding gear bulkheadsand aileronsfor the Cessna120/140seriesaircraft.Bothoftheseitems have beenhard tofindforseveralyears.Thelanding gear bulkheads are made of high strengthsteelalloy. Theyare part numbered 3-U0411496for theleftsideand3-U0411495-1forthe right side.Theaileronswhich are finished in the bare 2024T3alcladaluminum,are part numbered 3-U0424000 for the left and 3U0424000-1 forthe right.For additionalinformationon these and other Cessna120/140parts, contactUnivair Aircraft Corporation,Rt.3,Box59,Aurora,CO80011,303/364-7661.

LAST REMINDER TOATTEND THE CHAPTERSUPER SPECTACULAR

AT OSHKOSH '83Meet and hear EAA Founder and President PaulPoberezny, EAA Aviation Foundation President TomPoberezny and key staff members. They will present aprogram explaining the full range ofEAAendeavorsandhow Chapters and members can actively participate in

them .This program should be a top priority for Chapterofficers and members attending Oshkosh '83. Put it onyour Convention schedule. It will take place Monday,August 1at 9:00a .m.in Forum Tent #2 at Oshkosh'83.

TYPE CLUBS AT OSHKOSH '83The followingTypeClubshave reservedspacesin theAntique/Classic HospitalityTent near the Red Barn atOshkosh'83:1. LuscombeAssociationJohn B. Bergeson615W.MayMt.Pleasant, MI488585171773-34362. SwiftMuseum Foundation, Inc .PeggyReynolds,ManagerCharlie Nelson,PresidentP.O .Box644Athens,TN 373033. International Cessna 120/140AssociationJim Merwin(contactperson)663 121st Lane NWCoonRapids,MN554336121755-00404. AeroncaAviatorsClubJoe Dickey511Terrace Lake RoadColumbus,IN 47201812/342-68785. Little RoundEngine FlyersKen Williams331East Franklin St .Portage, WI53901

We are pleased with the response to this first-timeactivity at the Convention and we predict it willbecomea popular functionof the Antique/ClassicDivision.The Chairman of this activity isEspie"Butch"Joyce,Box468,Madison,NC27025.

ANTIQUE/CLASSIC FORUM SCHEDULE AT OSHKOSH '83


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Don Pratt photo collection)and Harold Gatty n a sel....._ - Post without his eye

and the

WINNIE MAEQoQdetl u 4 ~ ~ [ u e l g a l y

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(L.C. Clark photo courtesy Pratt & Wh itney)Wiley Post (R) watches Lionel Clark(center) as the Wasp engine is preparedat Floyd Bennett Field for the 1933 flight .

(Photo courtesy Mobil Oil)Post and the Winnie Mae at Floyd BennettField prio r to the Mobil Oil Co. tour. Notethe battered engine cowl and right landinggear from the Flat, Alaska mishap. Thecockpit entry steps are extended on theleft fuselage side and the tail skid hasbeen replaced with a wheel.

(Photo from E M Johnson collection)Jimmy Mattern and his Century of Prog-ress Lockheed Vega at San Angelo(Texas) irport, February 1933. He had


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fair at Lawton, Oklahoma when Art Smith performed ina Curtiss Pusher.During 1917 he spent many hours around the Fort SillAirfield hoping to find a way into flight training. He wasable to enroll in the Army Radio School at Norman duringWWI. After the war Post did not return to the new familyfarm near Chickasha, but became a roughneck in theOklahoma oil fields near Walters. In 1919 he paid $25 toCapt. Ear l Zimmerman for his first airplane flight. In 1920the Post family moved to a new farm near Maysville, southof Oklahoma City, but Wiley Post did not like farming anddeepened his commitment to an aviation career.

In 1922 Post was back in the oil fields near Wewokawhen Burrell Tibbs brought in his "Texas Topnotch Flier s"for an airshow. Post talked Tibbs into letting him make aparachute jump and then signed on with the flying circus.He made 99 jumps over the next two years. During thisperiod of jumping he wrangled some flight inst ruction fromSam Bartel in a IN-4 Jenny .Post soloed in 1926 and set his sights on owning hisown airplane. In October he lost his left eye in an oil fieldaccident and received a settlement of 1 ,698.25, part ofwhich he used to buy a damaged Canuck and had ArtOakley in Ardmore repair it. He used the Canuck tobarnstorm with fellow pilot "Red" Gray.In 1927 Post met Powell Briscoe and F. C. Hall , whowere oil partners in Duncan, Oklahoma. They were buyinga Travel Air 4000 so as not to miss an oil deal. Post signedon as their personal pilot after much persistence and flewthem throughout Oklahoma and Texas on business andhunting trips. Post and the airplane proved to be a valuableasset to the two oilmen and also bonded a close friendship.The Travel Air was traded in for an early Lockheed Vega,NC7954, which Hall named "Winnie Mae" after his daughter.Business was becoming soft in 1929 and Hall and Briscoe sold the Vega back to Lockheed. Wiley Post signed onwith Lockheed as a delivery pilot and he used the HallBriscoe Vega to fly escort for some of Edna GardnerWhyte's friends in the first Women's Air Derby, SantaMonica - Cleveland, for the 1929 National Air Races. Inthis competition Louise Thaden was first in a Travel Air,Gladys O'Donnell was second in a Waco, Amelia Earhartwas third in a Vega, and Blanche Noyes was fourth in aTravel Air. t was during this race that Amelia met Postand they became friends and in later years Amelia con

suIted with Post on her various record flights and herround-the-world flight.In 1930 Hall ordered a new Vega 5-B from Lockheedpowered by a Pratt Whitney Wasp, and brought Postback on the payroll as his pilot. This Vega was registered

NC105W and was named Winnie Mae. Post had theairplane modified with extra fuel tanks , lowered the wingincidence 2, and the registration changed to NR105W.Post flew the Winnie Mae in the 1930 National Air Racesfrom Los Angeles to Chicago winning it at 192 mph. Thisdistance race excited Hall and he and Post started talkingabout the ultimate in distance flight . . . around the worldThis had only been accomplished twice , first by theArmy Air Services' World Cruisers in six months andsecond by the German Graf Zeppelin in 21 days. Post

enlisted the aid of Harold Gatty, an Australian who taughtnavigation in Los Angeles. They plotted a course acrossthe Atlantic to Germany, across Russia to Alaska anddown across Canada to New York and estimated they couldcomplete the flight in less than 10 days.Post had the Winnie Mae modified to provide a set ofblind instruments for Harold Gatty and Harold had developed an optical drift and ground speed instrument for

the flight. On 23 June 1931 Post and Gatty departedRoosevelt Field, New York in the Winnie Mae for Englandvia Harbour Grace. From England into Berlin and thenon to Moscow and across poorly charted Siberia and intoAlaska. From Alaska, Post and Gatty headed for homeacross Canada to Cleveland and back to Roosevelt Field,New York , making the trip in eight days, 15 hours and51 minutes. For the 15,474-mile flight they averaged 146mph representing quite a record for 1931. After the flightPost began to think of another flight , only this time so oand completing it in less than a week.Hall who had sponsored the '31 flight was unable tosponsor another so Post solicited aid from aviation friendsin Oklahoma. Jimmy Mattern of San Angelo , Texas attempted to beat Post's record in 1932 but his Vega wasforced down in Russia . The money backing was completein 1933 and Post was able to equip the Winnie Mae withan autopilot developed by Lawrence Sperry, a radio direction finder developed by the Army Air Corps, and a Smithcontrollable propeller on the Pratt Whitney Wasp. Thebiggest hurdle was overcome when Socony-Vacuum (MobilOil) agreed to sponsor Post by supplying Mobil gas, oil,

(Photo courtesy Pratt Whitney)Post and the Winnie Mae in flight prior to
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(Photo courtesy Mobil Oil)Post strikes a pose atop the WinnieMae similar to the night of 22 ulyat the end of his record solo flightat Floyd Bennett Field. Note thepaint missing from the wing leadingedge and the (later) added Mobildecals.

and grease for the engine rocker arms Socony-Vacuum midnight of the 14th it appeared the s torms were movingCompass Liquid, and aircraft liquid for the autopilot . and would continue to do so. Post decided it was time to go .Post was almost prevented from making the fl ight At 5:10 a .m . 15 July , 1933 Post sat in the Winnie Maewhen the Russian trading company, Amtrog demanded on the Flatbush Avenue end of Floyd Bennett Field with$1000 cash advance to cover any emergencies. The Rus the nose pointed toward Jamaica Bay and all in strumentssians had incurred certain costs in the rescue of Mattern were go . After a 1900 foot ru n, Post lifted the Winnie Maeand the salvage of the airplane in 1932. Mr . C. B Ames off the runway and she was airborne on her way aroundof the Texas Company (Texaco Oil) persuaded the Russians the world again. Shortly after lift-off Post encountered fogto agree to a $1500 letter of credit . This completed the and clouds so he turned on the autopilot and proceeded onfinal clearances necessary for the flight. instruments for the next 90 minutes, breaking out overJimmy Mattern had prepared his bizarre-looking Vega Cape Cod on course."Century of Progress" for a solo round-the-world flight and The next landfall was the rocky coast of Nova Scotiahe departed Floyd Bennett Field 3 June 1933 across the and here he was able to tune in St. John's, Newfoundland,Atlantic on his second round-the-world attempt. The press and put his ADF to work, plus receiving updated weatherwriters gave a lot of attention to the two flights and tried reports. The sky was clear until about halfway across theto create a competition. Post was still in Oklahoma City Atlantic where he caught up 'With the storms which hadhaving the Braniff Airlines' maintenance shop complete kept him grounded in New York. He climbed to 11,000the repairs and modification on the Winnie Mae and stated feet but was still in clouds and rain .

he was not going to be rushed even if Mattern made it in Going on instruments again , Post picked up a Britishfour days. S. E. Perry of the Braniff shop signed off the radio station in Manchester which was providing a specialcertificate of repairs for the Winnie Mae on 10 June and broadcast for Wiley Post and saying that "Lindbergh neverthe Department of Commerce inspector completed its in had anything like this in 1927." As he brought his radiospection and certification and relicensed the Winnie Mae compass to bear on the signal Post thought to himself thatNRI05W. he and Gatty didn't have that problem either in 1931

On 14 June Post departed Oklahoma City for New York Post dropped down through the broken clouds over thevia Washington, DC, the same time Jimmy Mattern was Irish Sea and raced across England and over the Northspeeding across Siberia on his round-the-world attempt. Sea as the cloud base almost put him on the deck. CrossingMattern had the Bering Sea almost in sight when his the low coastline of Northern Europe, Post and the Winnie


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Photo ourtesy Mobil Oil)Wiley Post and the spruced-u p nnie Mae prior to his departure fromFloyd Bennett Field on the Mobiltour. A new Smith propeller hasreplaced the borrowed fixed-pitchprop from Alaska.

to Koenigsberg in East Prussia when he discovered someof his charts missing. The autopilot began to leak badlyand the weather moved in to keep him grounded. He wasable to catch six hours of much needed sleep.Now behind schedule he decided to make an unscheduled stop at Moscow to get the autopilot fixed. Postdeparted Koenigsberg in such great haste he forgot hissuitcase and flew for five hours through rain and cloudsto land at Octobrisky Field Moscow. Russian mechanicsfound the loose line in the autopilot and repaired and

serviced it while Russian doctors examined Post for fatigue. Post told the surprised doctors that Americans ofpioneer stock could o for a week without sleep.After f4hours in Moscow Post was in the air headingfor Novo-Sibirsk Siberia. This was a stressful flight as heencountered clouds and fog requiring seven hours ofinstru-ment flying. He climbed to 21 000 feet for a brief time butcould not break out on top.He became apprehensive at one point as he worked hisway through a pass in the Ural Mountains where the tops

were 6000 feet higher than his altitude. The Moscow-NovoSibirsk leg required f4 hours where upon landing Postwas met by Miss Fay Gillis of New York who was a pilot .She was fluent in Russian as she had been in the countrysince 1930 with her father. Faye was instrumental inhelping with the refueling of the Winnie Mae and hadprepared handwritten instructions and charts for the re

Within a few hours Post and Winnie Mae were airborneagain heading for Khabarovsk and after the 4f -hourflight he found he was making 150 mph. As the WinnieMae was refueled Post spent two hours studying the Russian weather maps which Jimmy Mattern had helped theRussians prepare with his Bering Sea area reports.

This next leg of 3 100 miles was tough for a fresh pilotand Post was fatigued and the weather was bad. DepartingKhabarovsk and heading across the sea of Okhotsk heplunged into a barrier of clouds and went on auto-pilot.The 15 000 foot peaks of the Kamchatka Peninsula wereobscured in this murk and when he broke out after sevenhours he found himself over a heavy cloud layer coveringthe Gulfof Amadyr where Mattern stood by on the Russianradio sweating out his passage.

The hours rolled on until the mountains of the SewardPeninsula appeared through the propeller arc and Poststarted a gradual descent to 3 000 feet making landfall atCape Prince ofWales Alaska . Post next headed the WinnieMae southeast to announce his arrival over Nome andthen headed east toward Fairbanks . Again clouds obscuredthe terrain and Post could not pick up the radio at Fair-banks. He began to veer southwest looking for a holespotting something familiar on his charts.

He spotted the mining settlement of Flat about 300miles southwest of Fairbanks and circled for a landing.The crude strip at Flat was only 700 feet long with a ditch


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Best Custom Antique Award winner was this Howard DGA-15P, N68119, SN 909 owned by Dan Kumler EAA 84965, AlC1026), Ocala, FL.

1929 Fleet , N7629B, SN 157, with a 125 hp Kinner B-5 owned by G Thompson,St. Cloud, FL.

y


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Tom Hegy (EAA 6849) flew t is 1946 Piper PA -12 Super Cruiser N C ~ C l ~ l t He was much more comfortable, especiallyAir flies to Sun n Fun.

1946 Culver V N8442B, S N V-98, powered with a Continental 85-12FHJ engine.Owner Is Paul A. Jenkins, Hawthorne, FL. This is a seldom-seen aircraft at fly-insthese days.Fun

T Shase


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, 'MM'M'M', W BEECHCR FT C 7 R

BEECHCRAFT C17RMore nostalgia ... EAA member Russell G Karl of

Peru Illinois recently donated twelve original ThompsonMalted Milk posters to the EAA Aviation FoundationLibrary six of which had not been available to us whenwe published a series of 28 posters in previous issues ofthe Magazine. The Beechcraft C17R presented here is thefirst of the six and will be followed by the Stout Sky CarSeversky Pursuit X18Y Curtiss Hawk BF2C-1 CurtissCondor Bomber and Boeing P-26A.

t ' - - - - - I I - . . . = = = ~ + _ - - - - _ _ r [I .


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hun.....n"ii...""....U . . . . .h...iAliZiiiii"iiillihhhhliihiiili".i1imiiimhiiiini...... I""'",,,'IhhihhhiiihiiihhliiiiiiU.. ii,,,mh .. iiihliihlllhhhiihliiilihhhihliihiiUhUhhhlhiihiiiiillhlh"'iiiiiiiAiiimUiihiiiiN

BORDEN/THOMPSON~ E R O P L N EPOSTERSFROM THE

1930'sArticle Number 29

y Gene Chase" '''''' ... '' '' ' 11 , ,,,,,,.,,11 ',,'' 1 ...''''''"'''''''''1111'''' ' 1'1 " '' ' '1''' ' ' ' ' ' ' , ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' , , , ' '... ' ' ' ' ' ' . 'W_'M 'I 'I ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' I ' ' 'I IM' , , ,onr''''''MW'MM._''''sI'''' FlSM' W,

The Stout Sky Car will be featured next month

which isn't even listed as one of the BordenlThompsonposters!The following information on the Model C17R is fromJoseph P. Juptner's "U.8. Civil Aircraft - Vol. 7 .The C17R was a negative-stagger-wing cabin biplanewith seating for four or five, and powered with a WrightR-975-E3 engine of 420 hp . In 1936 Louise Thaden andBlanche Noyes won the famous Bendix Trophy race in aC17R flying from New York to Los Angeles in 14 hrs ., 55min.ATC #604 was issued to this aircraft on 5/6/36 with


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FROM TED KOSTON'S

PICTURE ALBUMy Gene haseThese photos are from the collection of well knownaviation photographer Ted J. Koston EAA 44514, NC131, 38 Le Moyne Parkway, ak Park , IL 60302.

One of only two flying in the world , this1931 Stinson SM6000B, N11153, SN 5 21was photographed at Oshkosh 72 duringone of its many passenger carryingflights The plane was originally fabriccovered but this example has beenmetalized. This Stinson is currentlyowned by Robert C. Boyd (EAA 68366) ofAthol , IO .


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Only three examples are believed tohave been manufactured by Waco of this1932 Model IBA, N12453, S N 3603. Thisrare plane seats two, side-by-side in theopen cockpit, and was photographed atthe DuPage Airshow, West Chicago, IL inuly 1972. It has been owned and flownfor many years by Dr. Ed Packard (EAA43925, AlC 329 of South Bend, IN.

The only flying example of a Vultree V-1-A,this Special, NC16099, SIN 25 was builtin 1936 and delivered to publisher Wm.Randolph Hearst. It was restored from abasket case by Harold W. Johnston ofPueblo, CO and first flown by him in 1971.Seen here at Oshkosh '72 with im Bede'sDouglas DC-3 in the background. Thisplane was featured in a cover story in theAugust 1980 issue of The VINTAGEAIRPLANE


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CALENDAR OF EVENTS

MYSTERY PLANEBy George Hardie

Many old-timers will recognize thelocation ofthis month's Mystery Planephoto . The sign above the door of thehangar in the background reads "33rdDivision Aviation," and the hangarwith the tower on top next to it alsobelongs to that unit. Submitted bymember Mike Rezich who took thephoto, the designer-builder of theairplane is well known for his speedylittle homebuilt still popular today.Answers will be published in the September 1983 issue of The VINT GEAIRPLANE.Mike also responded to our requestin the April issue for comments on ourMystery Plane column:"I kind of agree with you that theMystery shots ought to be of airplanesof the Golden Age, from about 1926through 1940. Most of the airplanesof that day were all interesting andhand crafted; even the so-called production airplanes were not exactlyalike, such as all of the 53 Lairds thatMatty produced - there were not twoexactly alike."The average age of the EAA andAntique fellows is around 40 or 45years old. Airplanes built prior toWorld War 1 could only be identifiedby hardnose historians such as GeorgeHardie or myself."Member Ted Businger offers a

different view:"Please don't remove the MysteryPlane section - it is half the fun ofVINT GE IRPL NE. Many timesthe plane is easily recognized, butothers have t have a part in our Division too, so 1 don't always send in myanswer. Those I cannot recognize arepart of the learning process, and thatis what EAA is all about."We 'd like to hear from more of youon your views of how to make thecolumn more interesting At presstime only one correct answer was received identifying the Mystery Planein the May issue as a Caproni Biplane:Gentlemen:The May issue of The VINT GEIRPL NE shows a Caproni Biplaneas the Mystery Plane. Lt. Tito Falconiflew daily at the 1933 Los AngelesNational Air Races. He did the firstoutside loop I had ever seen, starting

from about 1,000' a.g.l. 1 wonder ifhesurvived WWII?Ernst Udet also flew in this meet.

- =en

He picked up a scarf with a hook onthe lower wing tip. Udet learned divebombing there from a squadron ofMarines flying F4B-4s.Hoot Gibson crashed his J-5 Swallow in the Will Rogers trophy race .How about an article on Fred Lund,test pilot for Waco in the early thirties? H. M Richey, M.D., F.A.C.S.(EAA 82806, A /C 1221 )2425 Cedar RidgeWaco, TX 76708

JULY 2-3 - SUSSEX, NEW JERSEY - 1983 Feslival of Flight Fly-In atSussex County Airport . Sponsored by EAA AlC Chapter 7 and EAA Chapters 73 and 238. All invited. Fly market, square dance. food, campingpermitted . Contact Ann Fennimore, 4 Ridge Road, Succasunna, NJ 07876.2 1 /584-4154 .

JULY 2-4 - BLAKESBURG, IOWA - Second Annual Aeronca Fly-In atAntique Airfield. Aircraft judging, awards, forums and meetings of severaltype clubs. For further information contact Aeronca Club, 1432 28th Ct. ,Kenosha, WI 53140, 414/522-9014 or Antique Airplane Association , Rt. 2,Box 172, Ottumwa, IA 52501 , 515/938-2773.JULY 8-10 - ALLIANCE, OHIO - Annual Taylorcraft Fly -lrJReunion atBarbers Field. Factory tours. many activities. Contact Allan Zollitsch, 37Taft Ave . Lancaster . NY 14086, 716/681 -1675 or Bruce Bixler, 12809Greenbower Rd., Alliance, OH 44601 , 216/823-9748.JULY 9 - GEORGINA TOWNSHIP, ONTARIO, CANADA - 3rd AnnualAntique, Sport and Specialty Aircraft Fly-In and Brunch at Georgina CivicCentre Air Park. Contact Dick Shelton , Box 385, Sutton West, Ontario,Canada LOE 1RO. 4161722-3295.JULY 10 - BROOKFIELD. WISCONSIN - Bob Huggins and F. S. ToneyDay at Capitol Drive Airport. Everyone welcome. For information contact

AUGUST 5-7 - THREE FORKS, MONTANA - 6th Annual Montana AntiqueAirplane Assoc. Fly-In. Contact Bud Hall at 4061586-3933.AUGUST 8-12 - FOND DU LAC, WISCONSIN - EAA lAC InternationalAerobatic Championships. For information contact EAA, P.O. Box 229,Hales Corners, WI 53130. 414/425-4860.AUGUST 21 - WEEDSPORT, NEW YORK - Antique, Classic and HomebuiltFly-In sponsored by EAA Chapter 486 at Whitfords Airport . Pancakebreakfast and air show. Contact Herb Livingston, 1257 Gallagher Rd . - B,Baldwinsville, NY 13027.AUGUST 26-28 - TUI.SA, OKLAHOMA - Annual EAA Chapter 10 Fly-In atTulsa Downtown Airpar1


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L TT RSRichard L. "Dick" Steely8710 East San Esteban DriveScottsdale, AZ 85658Dear Dick:

I read your letter to Gene (Chase) in The VINT GEIRPL NE (March 1983, page 18) and would like to congratulate you on rebuilding the sharp looking Waco UPF-7.The statement that it is finished with acrylic lacquercontrary to my Manual recommendations caught my attention and I want to advise you that you can expect finishcracks after aging a year if the fabric is bumped or pressedfirm because acrylic is a compromise metal finish andbecomes very hard and inflexible with age.

Storing under cover will delay the onset of brittleness.I f you don't press or bend the fabric over sharp edges youshould have a fair service life; however, finish cracks willstart to appear within 100 hours flying time in the propwash areas, especially tail surfaces, and center section.When you accumulate sufficient cracks to become aproblem, write and get my Refinishing Procedure Manual.Sincerely yours,Ray Stits, PresidentStits Poly-Fiber Aircraft CoatingsP .O. Box 3084Riverside, CA 92519Dear Ray :Thank you for your letter concerning the finish on myWaco UPF-7. You are absolutely right about the finishcracking. The airplane was out of complete restorationonly two months when the first cracking appeared. Afterten hours of flight the cracking continued. The aircraftwas stored in constant 45-50F for five months. Duringthis time long hairline cracks were very noticeable. After40 hours of flight and one month in Arizona, the airplanehad over 1400 hairline cracks ranging from 3 inches to 55inches long, and many small cracks too numerous to count,both in and out of the slip stream.I had the good fortune of being contacted by your distributor, Floyd Newton, through the airport grapevine,

Note cr cks in the finish on the fin nd rudder of Richard Steely sUPF-7.

and have received your STC instructions , limitations andlegalities . This material should be sent with all fabricorders .I followed the advice of an A&P on my finish and ithas and will cost me dearly, not to mention the embarrassment, down time and number of times I had to explain thecracking problems.Hundreds of people have seen the airplane and I willkeep the attached information and pictures with theairplane wherever I go in the hopes of saving others thesame mistake.I intend to recover the Waco in 1984 with your productand this time I will FOLLOW THE STCThe process I used was: Stits 103 fabric and tapes;non-tautening butyrate dope completely through silverfinish; non-tautening butyrate dope mixed with acryliclacquer and plasticizer, compounded.I will keep you informed of any other problems thatdevelop. Sincerely yours,

Richard L. Steely WILEY POST(Continued from Page 9

Weather over the next leg to Edmonton, Canada keptPost on the ground for eight hours as he did not wish tomake a night landing at Edmonton, knowing the shortcomings of the field from the '31 flight. When he departedFairbanks he was again in the clouds and four of the ninehours were spent on instruments.This time the field at Edmonton was dry and the Winnie

Edmonton, Canada, Wiley Post had circled the world inseven days, 18 hours and 49 12 minutes, breaking his andGatty s 1931 record by 21 hours.

When Post lifted himself through the overhead hatchhe was greeted by his wife Mae , Harold Gatty and adelegation of his Oklahoma supporters. Post's first requestwas for a clean eye patch, which no one had thought tobring, and he had to settle for a clean handkerchief to tiearound his head.Wiley Post became the first person to fly around the


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BOOKREVIEW CLASSIFIEDADSBy Gene Chase

Tired of reading about instrument approaches in 727s?Bored with radios, gyros and four-stripers? This whimsical account of fun flying around grass roots airports, calledJust Plane Stories by Stan Johnson , is fast reading humorat its best. Among the topics are "The Great Egg Flight,""Coyote Studies," "Chickens Don't Fly Good" and "How toA void Bird Strikes". Available from PEA PATCH AIRLINES, 511 Terrace Lake Road, Columbus, IN 47201 for$7.00 postpaid.

FLYINGANDGLIDERMANUALS1929, 1930.19311932,1933 2.50ea.

SEND CHECKOR MONEYORDER TO:EAAAviationFoundation,Inc.

Box469 HalesCorners,WI 53130Allow 4-6Weeks For Delivery

Wisconsin Residents Include 4% Sales Tax

THE JOURNA L OFTHE EARLY AEROPLANES MPLE ISSUE $4

15 CRESCENT RD. POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. 12601

Regular type, 45c per word; Bold Face, 5 c per word; ALL CAPS,55c per word. Rate covers one insertion, one issue; minimum charge,$7.00. Classified ads payable in advance, cash withorder. Send adwith payment to Advertising Department, The VINTAGE AIRPLANE P.O. Box 229, Hales Comers, WI 53130.ACRO SPORT - Single place biplane capable of unlimited aerobatics. 23 sheets of clear , easy to follow plans ,includes nearly 100 isometrical drawings, photos andexploded views . Complete parts and materials list. Fullsize wing drawings . Plans plus 88 page Builder's Manual- $60.00. Info Pack - $4 .00. Super Acro Sport WingDrawing - $15.00. Send check or money order to: ACROSPORT, INC., Box 462, Hales Corners, WI 53130. 414/425-4860 .ACRO II - The new 2-place aerobatic trainer and sportbiplane. 20 pages of easy to follow, detailed plans . Complete with isometric drawings , photos , exploded views.Plans - $85.00. Info Pack - $4 .00. Send check or moneyorder to: ACRO SPORT, INC.,P.O. Box 462 , Hales Corners, WI 53130. 414/425-4860.POBER PIXIE - VW powered parasol - unlimited inlow. cost pleasure flying. Big, roomy cockpit for the oversix foot pilot. VW power insures hard to beat 3'h gph atcruise setting. 15 large instruction sheets. Plans - $45.00.Info Pack - $4.00. Send check or money order to: ACROSPORT, INC., Box 462, Hales Corners, WI 53130. 414/425-4860.Go antique on ground and in the ai r: 1926 Std. 6 BuickSedan fully restored. AACA Senior and PreservationAwards. $15,000. M. J . Shelton, 1567 Bartram Way, EICajon, CA 92021. 619/444-2323 .WANTED:PARTS,TOOLS,MANUALS,TECH.ORDERS,SERVICE BULLETINS FOR EARLY WRIGHT 1820 FSERIES, F-50SERIES, MILITARY-04, -78, -17, -19, -20,-25, -30,-33, -37& -75. ODER,13102DAYWOODDRIVE,HOUSTON,TEXASn038 713/445-3377.1946 Stinson 108, 150 hp, 1950 'IT, 500 SMOH, Ceconite,strobe, FGP, elec. T&B, Edo 563 and mark 8, Txpdr, Mkr.$8500, without IFR pkg. $6500. 8151756-7712, home, evenings.

MEM ERSHIP INFORMATIONEAA Membership in the Experimental Aircraft Association, Inc . is $25.00 for one year, $48.00 for 2 yearsand $69.00 for 3 years. Allinclude 12 issues of Sport Aviationper year. Junior Membership(under 19years of age) is available at $15.00 annually. Family Membership is available for an additional$10.00annually. EAA Member - $18.00. Includes one year membership in EAA Antique-Classic Division, 12 monthly


19/20

J.cket - unlined tan poplin with gold andwhite braid trim. Knit waist and cuffs, zipperfront and slash pockets. Antique/Classiclogo patch on chest.Sizes - XS through XL . . . . . . . . . .. $28.95 ppdc.p- pale gold mesh with contrasting bluebill, trimmed with gold braid. Antique/Classiclogo patch on crown of cap.Sizes - M and L(adjustable rear band) .. $ 6.25 ppd 7ntIque/C c P.tcheaLarge - 4Vi across .. . .. . $ 1.75 ppdSmall - V.. ' across . ...... $ 1.75 ppdAnt!que/Cl c ec -4" across (shown left) . . . . . ..... . $ .75 ppdAv.l bIe BKkluves01 TheVINTAGE AIRPLANE1973 - March through December1974 - All are available1975 - All are available1976 - February through April, August through December1977 - January through June, August through December1978 - January through March, August, October through December1979 - All are available Send check to :1980 - January, March through July, September through December EM Antique/CI Ue DlvlUon, Inc.

1981 - All are available P.O. Box229, Hales Corners, WI 53130Allow 4-6 Weeks for Delivery1982 - February, May through December1983 - January through June Wisconsin Residents Include 5%Sales TaxPer Issue . . .. . ..... ..... .. . .. . . . . . .. ... $1.25 f'lpdLindbergh Commemorative Issue (July 1977) . .. . . .. . . . $ 1.50 ppd

Classic ownersInt.r iorlookingshabby?

Finish it right withanairtex interiorComplete interior assemblies for doityourself installation.

Custom Quality at economical prices.

CLASSIC WALNUTMiniature Scale Replicas of Your Favorite CLASSIC orANTIQUE Airplane. Meticulously Handcrafted inAmerican Black Walnut.A Truly Unique Desk Set with Matching Pen and Goldtone I.D. Plate for Gift. Award or Flying Event Trophy.Planes can be Pedestal Mounted Depicting "InFlight."or Base Mounted to Depict a " Landed" Attitude.

CJ


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vintage airplane - jul 1983

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