VA-Vol-16-No-11-Nov-1988

STRAIGHT AND LEVEL

This month I would like to address the subject of jUdging aircraft at the EAA Oshkosh Convention The sysshytem is well known to some but others have little knowledge of how the judgshying is actually accomplished Also some people are not in favor of judging and feel that aircraft should not be put into competition with one another On the other hand we have people who are very active in pursuing awards for their aircraft Therefore at the Conshyvention you can choose whether you would like your aircraft judged or not

You decide opon registration when you arrive at the Convention For example we had approximately 817 classics registered and only 214 ownshyers chose to have their aircraft judged Along the same line we had approxishymately 132 antiques and only 66 ownshyers chose to have their aircraft judged We have two completely separate teams of judges in the AntiqueClassic area one team for the classic aircraft and one team for the antiques

The chief judge for the classic cateshygory is George York and the chief judge for the antiques is Dale Gustafshyson Both have been in charge of this area of reponsibility for a number of years and both are very well qualified Some of the judges who work under them are past Grand Champion award winners at Oshkosh Most judges are assigned to the category of aircraft they are best acquainted with My hat is off

by Espie Butch Joyce

to all the people who judge at the Conshyvention It can be a hot and thankless job

The system used at the Convention is what we call the point system Each judge has a judging sheet and a guideline This sheet has a checklist of items with points of value for each item On one side of the sheet points are added to give a positive score On the other side of the sheet are items that are subtracted from the positive points Contenders in different categories are evaluated by several judges to determine the winners The totals are added and averaged Then the airplanes with the highest points are given recognition in different categories Top contenders for Reserve Grand Champion and Grand Champion are generally reviewed by all judges so the best possible choice can be made By using this system we have elimishynated personalities in choosing a winshyner

The EAA has a publication entitled The EAA National Judging Manual This publication is available at headshyquarters and gives you in detail all the guidelines that are used in judging of aircraft to EAA standards

Competition among the aircraft judged at Oshkosh is stiff It was my pleasure to judge for several years in the classic category and I have seen the judging between two aircraft beshycome as detailed as whether or not the

aircraft has Phillips screws or slotted screws Also such details as stainless steel safety wire versus brass safety wire have been the determining factor in who might win an award [ have seen aircraft owners come to Oshkosh expecting to win an award and be disshyappointed They would go to the judges to find out what the discrepenshycies were and return the next four or five years correcting one item before each Convention eventually winning an award

The judging system is valuable in that it has elevated the quality of restoshyrations considerably over the past years Restorations today are far superior to those of five to 10 years ago

At the awards program all the judges are introduced and the winners in each category are called out This program takes place the last Thursday night of the Convention each year at the Theater in the Woods This year Thursday will be a special day for the Convention as the awards will be made a more meaningful part of the Convenshytion 89 You will read more on the finale of EAA Oshkosh 89 in future issues

This improvement in the quality of aircraft at Oshkosh each year proves once again that having a direction and a goal pays off Lets all pull in one direction for the good of aviation Join us and have it all bull

2 NOVEMBER 1988

Tt1~

PUBLICATION STAFF PUBLISHER

Tom Poberezny

VICE-PRESIDENT MARKETING amp COMMUNICATIONS

Dick Matt

EDITOR Mark Phelps

ART DIRECTOR Mike Drucks

ADVERTISING Mary Jones

ASSOCIATE EDITORS Norman Petersen

Dick Cavin

FEATURE WRITERS George A_ Hardie Jr_

Dennis Parks

EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Carol Krone

STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS Jim Koepnick Carl Schuppel

Jeff Isom

EAA ANTIQUECLASSIC DIVISION INC

OFFICERS President Vice President

Espie Butch Joyce MC Kelly Viets 604 - Hwy Street Rt 2 Box 128

Madison NC 27025 Lyndon KS 66451 919427-0216 913828-3518

Secretary Treasurer George S York EE Buck Hilbert

181 Sloboda Ave PO Box 145 Mansfield OH 44906 Union IL 60180

419529-4378 815923-4591

DIRECTORS Robert C Bob Brauer John S Copeland

9345 S Hoyne 9 Joanne Drive Chicago IL 60620 Westborough MA 01581

312779-2105 508366-7245

Philip Coulson William A Eickhoff 28415 Springbrook Dr 415 15thAve NE

Lawton MI 49065 St PeterSburg FL 33704 616624-6490 813823-2339

Charles Harris Stan Gomoll 3933 South Peoria 1042 90th Lane N E PO Box 904038 Minneapolis MN 55434 Tu lsa OK 74105 6121784-1172

918742-7311 Robert D Bob Lumley Dale A Gustafson N104 W20387

7724 Shady Hill Drive Willow Creek Rd Indianapolis IN 46278 Colgate WI53107

317293-4430 414255-6832

Arthur R Morgan Gene Morris 3744 North 51st Blvd 115C Steve Court RR 2 Milwaukee WI 53216 Roanoke TX 76262

414442-3631 817491-9110

Daniel Neuman SH Wes Schmid 1521 Berne Circle W 2359 Lefeber Avenue

Minneapolis MN 55421 Wauwatosa WI 53213 612571-0893 414771-1545

DIRECTOR EMERITUS SJ Wittman

7200 SE 85th Lane Ocala FL 32672

904245-7768

ADVISORS John A Fogerty Steven C Neese

RR 2 Box 70 2009 Highland Ave Roberts WI 54023 Albert Lea MN 56007

715425-2455 507373-1674

Peter Hawks Sky Way Bid Suite 204

655 Sky Way San Carlos Airport

San Carlos CA 94070 415591 -7191

NOVEMBER 1988 Vol 16 No 11 Copyright copy1988 by the EM AntiqueClassic Division Inc All rights reserved

Contents

2 Straight and Levelby Espie Butch Joyce

4 AC Newsby Mark Phelps

6 Members Projectsby Norm Petersen

7 Planes and People

8 Vintage Literatureby Dennis Parks

9 Letters to the Editor

10 Pass It To Buckby EE Buck Hilbert

14 Oshkosh Shotsby Norm Petersen

16 Phantom Dreamsby Mark Phelps

22 Ups and Downs of a J-2

Page 16

Page 22

Interview by Gene Chase

26 Welcome New Members

27 Vintage Trader

31 Mystery Planeby George Hardie Jr

FRONT COVER Doug Combs flies his Luscombe Phantom over the Nevada landscape If it hadnt been so dry at Oshkosh for this years Convention this air-to-air photo would have had a unique backshydrop As it was it looks like it could have been over southern Wisconshysin (Photo by Randall Hoopingarner)

REAR COVER This is a Howard Levy photo of a Pitcairn PA-7 Mailwing The aircraft is currently registered to Stephen Pitcairn a member of the Board of Directors of EAA

The words EM ULTRALIGHT FLY WITH THE FIRST TEAM SPORT AVIATION and the logos of EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION INC EM INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION EM ANTIQUECLASSIC DIVISION INC INTERNATIONAL AEROBATIC CLUB INC WARBIRDS OF AMERICA INC are registered trademarks THE EAA SKY SHOPPE and logos of the EM AVIATION FOUNDATION INC and EM ULTRALIGHT CONVENTION are trademarks of the above associations and their use by any person other than the above associations is strictly prohibited 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 contributor Material should be sent to Editor The VINTAGE AIRPLANE Wittman Airfield 3000 Poberezny Rd Oshkosh WI 54903-3086 Phone 414426-4800 The VINTAGE AIRPLANE (ISSN 0091-6943) is published and owned exclusively by EAA AntiquelClassic Division Inc of the Experimental Aircraft Association Inc and is published monthly at Wittman Airfield 3000 Poberezny Rd Oshkosh WI 54903-3086 Second Class Postage paid at Oshkosh WI 54901 and additional mailing offices Membershyship rates for EM AntiqueClassic Division Inc are $1800 for current EAA members for 12 month period of which $1200 is for the publication of The VINTAGE AIRPLANE Membership is open to all who are interested in aviation ADVERTISING - AntiqueClassic Division does not guarantee or endorse any product offered through our advertisshying We invite constructive criticism and welcome any report of inferior merchandise obtained through our advertising so that corrective mmeasures can be taken Postmaster Send address changes to EM AntiqueClassic Division Inc Wittman Airfield 3000 Poberezny Rd Wittman Airfield Oshkosh WI 54903-3086

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 3

Compiled by Mark Phelps

The Stearman open for business

NEW YORKER IN AIC PARADISE

Nino Lama of Ithaca New York president of the new Straight-Tail Cessna Club attended the EAA Chapshyter One Fly-in at Gilbert Field in Winshyterhaven Florida Chapter President Rod Spanier greeted Nino and made sure he met all the folks he had been reading about for years in SPORT AVIshyATION and THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE Nino got busy with his camera and recorded the following shots He also invites interested parties to join his Straight-Tail Cessna Club at 28 Forest Acre Drive Ithaca New York 14850 Tel 607273-4184 Dues are $)500 a year and there is a quarshyterly newsletter He says that since the club was formed hes averaging a member a day and currently has 110Doc Duff Nino and Boeing Stearman happy Cessna owners signed up

Doc Duff and Nino (notice smile)

4 NOVEMBER 1988

Lyle Flagg Nino and the Corben Baby Ace

Merle Lilly and his Emeraude

Bill Doty Jr and fiancee Cindy Choate Bill is a captain for Northwest Airlines Cindy is a private pilot He proposed in the Vultee at 12000 feet

FLYING BOBCATS TYPE CLUB Jon Larson called to point out that

not only did we spell his name wrong but neglected to mention his FL YING BOBCATS in our annual type club list Those interested in the club for owners and enthusiasts of the Cessna T-50 twin officially named the Bobcat and often called the Bamboo Bomber can contact Jon at 3821 53rd Street Southshyeast Auburn Washington 98002 Tel 206833-1068 There is a quarterly newsletter and dues are by voluntary donation

Bill Doty Jr Cindy Choate Bill Doty Sr and Pat Doty with the Vultee

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 5

MEMBERS PROTECTS u

by Norm Petersen

Frank has owned and operated the Sandwich Airport for 30 years at one time he had seven J-3 Cubs on the line at $750 per hour - wet He now has two J-3s which he enjoys in retirement along with two sons who are also pilots We look forward to seeing 396 at EAA Oshkosh 89

Above Busy recovering his Stinson 10 N26279 SIN 7560 is Ron Ferrara (EAA 299659 AlC 11862) of 683 Rampart Lane Murfreesboro TN 37130 The rebuild inshycludes all new wood cables and Stits covering Ron who is President of EAA Chapter 419 says the Stinson has a C-85 Continental engine with an 8-quart oil sump and has 40 gallons of fuel on board The status of the rebuild is at the six month mark

6 NOVEMBER 1988

Brand new AntiqueClassic member Frank Ament (EAA 308832 AlC 12877) PO Box 66 Sandwich IL 60548 sent in the photos of his totally restored Piper J-3 Cub NC92396 SIN 16858 on which he spent hundreds and hundreds of tenshyder loving hours during the rebuild He was even able to persuade Sensenich to build an original five-lamination wood prop for the J-3 Equipped with a Scott 3200 tailwheel the Cub is especially nice on rough sod

Below This very pretty 1946 Globe Swift N78120 SIN 2120 is owned by Ed Davis (EAA 319926) of 1135 Lakeside Court Naperville IL 60565 Purchased in Tulsa OK in 1987 the Swift has been completely refurbished with new glass new Airtex interior EL T Narco Escort II and strobes The aircraft was completely disassemshybled stripped primed and painted with Imron The colors are white with burshygundygrey stripes The landing gear overhaul included retractordown lock actuators and struts Ed reports the Swift has 1700 hours total time with 900 hours SMOH on the 125 hp Continental engine The all-metal two-place Swift is based at Clow Airport

Planes amp People Stewart Wescott and his 1952 D35 Bonanza

By volunteers of the AntiqueClassic Press Committee Larry OAttilio and Pamela Foard Co-Chairmen (EAA 150262 AC 8265) 1820 N 166th St Brokfield WI 53005

It is not surprising to find that many pilots developed their interest in airplanes at an early age Stewart Wesshycott saw his first plane when he was four and wanted one for Christmas He was obliged with a low-wing toy airplane that he kept for years That toy led to some bigger airplanes in adult life including a Cherokee 180 Cessna 172 and 150 and the Bonanza pictured here Stewart is also working on a Glasair that is 40 percent comshy

pleted He lives right on an airport and can taxi to his house We are reminded of the sunny times in which the federal government envisioned this situation for most Americans That was when some dreamers on the Potomac thought a roadable plane should be developed so we could commute by air Well let us not drool but compliment Stewart for making that idea a personal reality

The Bonanza really is pretty the way Stewart has it painted - beige with orange and dark brown trim Notable additions to this 1952 airplane include tip tanks Clevelands Beech tail imshyprovements 20 gallon fuselage tank one-piece windshield and a Continenshytal E225 The upholstery has sheepskin covers and the IFR panel includes

KXJ55s and a Northstar loran Incishydentally Stewart reports no mid-contishynent gap with hi s Northstar when crossing the US from his home base in Washington state This is an airplane that likes the long trips so Stewart is able to talk of hi s experiences flying to Alaska north of the Arctic Circle That trip took him up the Trench (Watson Lake to McKenzie) and over the fie lds of the great Gold Rush When he got to Eagle the locals thought he was the mail plane Though he stayed with the townspeople it wasnt at the Plazashymeaning no running water or any conshyveniences Well it sti ll sounds interestshying and we bet it is an experience we should all have sometime Hmmmmm bull

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 7

by ()enni~ Vark~

Civil Flying 1919

With the end of the war in Europe the growth and development of civil aviation began for earnest in America Though the most representative feature of the era was barnstorming and the air mail era there were also efforts at commercial passenger service

One of these efforts was the estabshylishment of a passenger service based in Manhattan to ferry Wall Street brokshyers from Long Island The service was started by Lawrence Sperry and Howshyard Heindel This service kept a small fleet of seaplanes busy picking up pashytrons in the morning and landing them in Manhattan in time for the start of the business day

The planes were also used to give joy rides around the area The followshying newspaper accounts give some idea of the public reaction to the flights which were given from the Cliffton Hotel at Patchogue Long Island and East Hampton New York in the sumshymer of 1919

The aircraft used was a Curtiss Type F Flying Boat The Sperry flying boat became one of the first to be adapted to amphibious operation by the instalshylation of a retractable landing gear in 1915

The clippings below came from mashyterials in the library that belonged to Howard Heindell who later developed the Argonaut Pilgrim amphibian

Curtiss Type F Flying Boat

EAST HAMPTON N Y FRIDAY JULY 18 1919

AEROPLANE HERE SUNDAY

Everyone Will Have Opporshytunity to Fly

WILL LAND ON DAVIDS LAN

Sperrr Corp SeDdin Out FlriD Howard Heindell formerly proshyduction manarer at Gardn City of

Machine to Demonltrte Sal the Curtirs Co wall in town on Wecimiddot nesday of thi week making arrangeshyand San Flrln ments fOT 8 landing place fot his fly-

SEE An Electrifying Novelty -- Commencing FRIDAY JULY 25th ---THE--shy

THRILLS-SenSatiOnal and a Physical Benefit Sperry

AERO FLYING BOAT Take-Off Daily-Beach Front-HOTEL CLIFFTON

Will male revuJar Siahl-Sccini Trip Over amplid abolll Palchoaue Ba1 m aerial divcnUcmeol ia ofcrccf Ihe amUHmCllI lovini public at Ih Domioal coet of

$1500 PER ROUND TRIP

__ 2 and 4 Passenger (Slli~~-oa) still flying

SPECIAL NOTICE- OwiDa to lisnilccf CIIftCmClll bull thi city we advise YOII 10 mue early appoiDlment with ow pilot Lieut WIWAM W ALTON HQU) ClidCoA PhoD 38

Safctt PlaDct-Saflaquo Devica-Safety Pilob Th mOIl weaaive lAd lomplteIfunaiahed lliaht o uiz~OQ iu America

SPERRY FLYING CORPORATION F~e III FARMINGDALpound L J N Y 04Ice Iry 783S

Lawredc41 Sperry Pret William SlotrDler Maallut Piredot

B

8 NOVEMBER 1988

ing machine which he is brin~illt down frCnl Southampton on Sund8~ He ha~ with him Lieut Idward Frost of the British Royal Flyinjr Corps Lieut Frot hu Rown planes iR Cnnshyad Fnnre and En~IRnd and Ilt the ti~e of the ~igning of the armistic was on the French front Bofh of these pilots are coming to Eallt Hampshyton in the interests of th4 Sperry Flyinll Corloration which believes that the quickest vay to Rcquaint the ~eopl( with flying is to give them an opportun ity to finrl Ollt how lale lind sate it i ~ They fly 8 Curtilll 100 horllc power biplane the same as is Uged by the U S Government

While at Southampton these two pilots carr cd 214 personB Rnd tmiddoterj o~ of them _WIIS jrreatly pleased with the-sensation and excitement of the trial - Several ot the passeng(rll shewed their interest In flying by comshying to the fiel daily for a ride thouj(-h the ir Irving Terry proshyprietor of the Irving Houlle has heeon p every day since the pilots hay lIeen in Southampton

Howard Heinrlell has had seYell yesrII experienc~ tn the fl ying gamc ~d a18lt1 had charj1c of the prolit1e--shytioll of the luccc~sul N-C fly ing boata which madc the cross-AtlanU~ flight It i1 the intention of the Sperry Flying Corporation te conshytinue this pa~genler air scrvice of Um~ bland tbrouglout the mOJItb ctII

J~h~t_ f ~ p~ofe ih~ t~~ u t- 1 LI 1j1llt rertnflr f they will have plenty of 1J1Pi~ catldl for ridell dariqg theil lItay 1ftshyEaqt l-lampton )_

1he flying machine will ~ IImlio Davids Inne allrl will IIlske tlJilt helt(lquarters while in East l~aft~

Airplane Trips Prove Popular at Patchogue

ItCIAI n ~~rATCH TO THPI IIKft Ln)

PATClluOL rmiddot I I MnnltlAl-Th~

~pelll 1ClI l l1rc of Inttr~~t Ytstlnhty wa3 tile fIIlhlll In front uf tile Clltrlon Holel o f A Cu rt1~~ 10 ~ f1~lnA bORt of the Sperry Fl r ln Corpornllon ot ArmlnshyII L I Itlot W P Wlton and AllfllltshyAIIII PlIot 1- J lIrennn wtrfl kEpt JUIII AU day tul(lnlf up va~8ellger~ at onf

dollar 1 mInute fare The hydoalrplan~ whIch hall hen lIamad he Cliff ton 1 vl~lled ull dllY by hundlJds ot 1I0journcu who cum In lulomol ~~8 About tlfty pre IlcCol11mcdntctl )middot f~fIrday

ATCHoaUES AERIAL TAXI Pal c hoIIE L 1bull1111) 25 -middot - Y IIII l 11I

It n ll or R IIport L I f o rrn ~ rl y a JiEllt r nant In Ih e LT H Air (rvl ee nlshyrlv E d hlre ThllrsilllY oflern on n with n N ode I 1no hOrHl pnw r n y ln~ h oa t iro m the Sperry C orporation pl a nt Itt Jmilyvi1c with which h e will heglnshy

11 1n- thill Rftrnoon make dnlly p~shy(n e l arrylng flights over tho Great toul h Ua~middot

ThE hoat I moortd In front of t1 c CIIITt o n Hotel n ear the ro o t o r Ray amiddoto IIIIf thE adut or will mako tho C llfUdn III hea ilquultcl fhlR 1M p a rt of the III- r) c Onlpa n y plan to QClualnt th Jgtohllt with fllnl b y Ilvln~ 11 an opshyportunity 10 10 up In 1 laCe machlno wlth n klllcd pilot or A f c c The J Igtt n has bcen worked out with ueec~ III ROllthampton nnd EaRt H a mpton At fi(OuthllOlpton al o ne tho IIpcrry avlllshy1(0111 hae tnken up nertrly 250 pass CIlshyJrs Jnlng Tprry p r oprlEtor ot the l rvln 1I0u~c liked It l0 ell he went ~p IICVCTRI da)8 In lIucccslllon

Th~ fnt erprtsc Is In eha~e or IIshyIam Rtotrmcr manaIncent director of 1he ~perry Flying Corporation aoll loard Helndell formerly production nanRlet of the Curtllll plampnt at Gar aen Citybullbull

Letters TO The Edito~

TAYLORCRAFTER Dear Mark

My apologies to you for taking so long to get a letter off to you I enjoyed the article on my Taylorcraft (Taylorshycraft smanship June) very much I can t te ll you what a thrill it was to see my airplane on the cover That was an unexpected surpri se Thanks too for the extra copies We have had one framed and it is hangi ng in our family room I look forward to see ing you agai n sometime I am continu ing the restoration of my Cul ver Cadet and am looking for a Fairchild 24 to fl y now and restore later If you know of any please let me know Thanks again

AC Hutson 104 Woolman Lane Griffin Georgia 30223

BUT IT HAD A BIG SINK Dear Mr Phelps Reference is made on page 3 of the June issue of THE VINTA GE AIRPLANE wherein is fo und the legend for your back cover picture of the Boe ing 80- B trimotor I quote thi s in part There was also a bathroom with hot and cold running water The italics are mine Now I was in the airline industry for many years and not once did [ ever hear o f anyone taking a bath on an airpl ane~r of any airplane which was equipped for such an act of personal hygiene Sure ly your reference is to what is properl y called a lavatory or just as accurately but less de licately perhaps the to ile t Most av ishyation fo lks are fine upstanding friendl y and intell igent people but for some reason an awful lot of them seem to have dozed-off during their gramshy

mar classes Even the leading aviation magazines often place more emphasis on slang and trade jargon than on simshypie straightforward and prec ise Enshyg li sh [s there some immutable law which prevents us fro m being literate

Since rely

Edward Peck Waddy Kentucky

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 9

PASS II 10--1] An information exchange column with input from readers

by Buck Hilbert (EAA 21 AIC 5) PO Box 145 Union IL 60180

Wow A 35-70 Porterfield And the person I said it to was looking all around for a rifle not an aeroplane This was his first exposure to the Porshyterfield Flyabout of the mid-1930s We were at the Waco Fly-in at Hamilton Ohio and the year was either 1973 or 74 This poor little machine was setshyting in a hangar looking just about as shabby as 30 years of neglect could make it I was drawn to it as were a few other people and eventually Bill Hogan gave me the owners phone number

I called the fella only to find out there was no way he was going to sell it especially to me I guess I came on kind of strong with my remarks as to how could he do that to the poor airplane and if he left it that way much longer itd be nothing but scrap rather than junk like it was now I guess I woke him up though because from the

records I see that he had the Hogans recover it for him and then overhaul the engine as well This was all done in 1974 the Hogans flew the airplane a couple of hours and then put it back in the hangar again With about 130 hours total time on the airframe and almost a zero-time engine SMOH

Again I was down at the Waco reunshyion-this time in 1982 In talking to Bill I learned that the airplane was still there and still just setting Again I called the man and this time he was no more happy to hear from me than he was the last time This was my fathers airplane and Im not about to sell it Well again I took him to task about it just setting and deteriorating and insisted that he do something with it He did He sold it to Dick Simpson a friend of a friend who had grown up with the Hogans and had known about this airplane from the very first time it

10 NOVEMBER 1988

E E Buck Hilbert

landed at Hamilton This was okay with me Even though I was disapshypointed that I didnt get the machine I knew that Dick would really take care of it

Now the real attraction I had to this machine is that I could remember when I was a budding Iineboy at the old Elmshyhurst Airport outside Chicago This was a new airplane then A racy-sporty performance machine in comparison to the Cubs Taylorcrafts and Aeroncas of that day This even had a round enshygine on it with 70 horsepower It would race along at 95 mph indicated That was a flat 25 big ones better than your average Cub Of course the stall speed was also 20 mph faster but it sure was a good cross-country airplane I would add here that someshyday I hoped I could handle one of those hot little airplanes Now here it is fifty years later and I have just come in from the hangar where one of these little jewels is ensconced I flew it home here in Union Illinois all the way from Birmingham Alabama

When Dick finally was able to purshychase the Porterfield a couple of things came to light The total time on the airplane was estimated to be less than 140 hours It had been delivered from the Porterfield factory at Kansas City to Hamilton Ohio in 1936 a new airplane It never left Hamilton until Dick came and picked it up and flew it home to Birmingham Alabama

From what I have been able to learn the original owner had gone West several years before I came on the scene The estate proceedings just

The Porterfield as it appeared on its For Sale post-up

caused the poor little machine to lie idle for so long that even the original N Number was given away when it was dropped from the register It was NC 16490 The Hogans got the number NC 17490 issued to the airplane when it was re-registered and put back on the books New logs were made up to replace the originals that had somehow disappeared into the past as things sometimes do and the total times shown in these log books are backed up by the Hogans testimony They had known the machine since it arrived there

Dick Simpson took some dual in the airplane and then enough practice solo to assure himself that he could handle this hot machine After all most of his flying experience has been in Cubs and then for the past 20-or-so years in his Cesna 182 with a training wheel up front He just needed a little practice is all

Well he made it to Birmingham and flew it a little around home only to have the front main bearing in the LeBlond eat itself up Guess what Overhaul time And that he did The whole bottom came out of the engine and was re-done Then the top as well and for the next two years he had a hobby He cleaned and he lightened he reworked and he lightened he reshymoved about sixty-five pounds of batshytery-box and wiring and heavyweight plywood floorboards and baggage compartment door and side windows and extras that had been added to this airplane to help it along only it made it heavier than it really needed to be In the meantime Dick acquired an E-2 a J-2 a J-3 and still had his 182 Then he came across a Fleet Two And that was the camel that fell through the straw He suddenly realized there was

no way he could ever finish all these projects This is where I came in

I had looked at the airplane when he had it stuffed in his hangar all di sshyasssembled with the engine all apart and listened to what he was doing deshyspite the difficulty of locating parts and such I expressed a more-than-idle inshyterest in hi s final result He got it all back together after EAA Oshkosh 85 and I went down to look at it I was enthused but not enough to spend any money I had three kids in college and had just retired from UAL so I wasn t in any shape to let go of my left hip pocket flap

Then again in 86 Dick offered me the airplane and again in 87 He knew I secretly wanted it and that it was just a matter of time Well the time was NOW I went down there and flew the machine August 25th bought it and started home with it Friday the 26th Bingo Right The realization of a boyshy

hood dream I got another dream airplane Wow How lucky can you get

Well 48 minutes after I took off for Union from Talledega Alabama I was si tting on the airport at Guntersville Alabama with a three cylinder LeBshylond engine What Yes I had stuck exhaust valves on both the lower cy linshyders Dick Lusk from Guntersv ille a retired Air Force mechanic jumped in an gave me hi s full attention We diagshynosed the problem and got with it Marvel Mystery Oil and a little exershyc ise got them working again and two and a half hours later I was on my way again I was headed for Tullahoma Tennessee but circumnavigated the new ARSA at Huntsville Alabama I widened my circle of uncertainty when I cut across those big green hill s When I found the road northeast of Huntsville it was the wrong one and the town I thought was Tullahoma was Shelshybyville I decided to press on I got as far as Murfreesboro about another 25 miles north when I had a valve stick aga in This time I knew what to do I borrowed a car buzzed into town picked up a couple cans of leaded regshyular some 50-to-one outboard motor oil and a quart of Marvel Mystery into the gas tank along with the leaded regshyular and I liberally saturated the valve stems guides springs and half the rest of the airplane with the same stuff After half an hour all was working again and after being pleasantly surshyprised that the lineman knew how to prop an airplane I was on my way

Another detour around the east side of Nashville and then westward toshywards Harrisburg Illinois my planned

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 11

An interior shot of the Porterfields cockpit

RON spot I didn t get there As I was approaching Hopkinsville Kentucky just north of Fort Campbell the LeBshylond let me know it had had enough for the day I looked at my watch decided to humor the engine and landed I couldnt have picked a better place or better time The people there were super Absolutely SUPER They gave me a courtesy car and offered me all kinds of help I met one of our EAA types there Wish I knew his name for sure but Bill showed me his Bellanca Cruisair and then offered to drive me into town or help me anyway that he could When I found out that he had been working all day after putting in a full night shift out at Fort Campbell in their simulator program I suggested he go on home and get some sleep He promised that if I was there the next morning and needed help hed be more than happy to assist

I drove into town got a motel called ~ick Simpson and let him off the hook for the night and after a bowl of soup I bought some Lemon Pledge polish some more oil (Mystery and outboard) and went back out to the airplane I liberally doused all the valshyves added a little more to the gas roshytated the engine 50 or 60 times and cleaned up the whole airplane before I went back to town and sacked out

I was up at oh dark thirty and actushyally lifted off at 655 the next morning The engine was running great So great that I made it all the way to Effingham Illinois where I had planned to stop

because I knew they had auto gas Here again I was made as welcome as a warm rain in summer Courtesy car a friendly smile and a pat on the backshyside and after breakfast I was on my way again toward home I had a dozen or more alternates picked out in case the LeBlond acted up again but I threatened to call home for a trailer if it did it again and firmly told that engine it was replaceable with an 0shy290-0 if it didn t want to do the job The bluff worked and it ran like a jewel the rest of the way

A little light rain started about

Champaign Illinois and persisted all the way to Joliet which was where I had planned my next Mogas fuel stop A happy tailwind was pushing pretty good and the fuel gauge said there was plenty of reserve so I continued on to the Funny Farm I landed with six and a half gallons still in the 17-gallon tank

I guess the reason Im telling all of you about this is because in my Pass it to Buck column of last month I advocated the YFR direct type of flyshying I have just completed Well maybe it wasnt all that direct but it was YFR and it was all done about 1200 to I 500 feet above ground level and it was very scenic and without radios loran or federal assistance I saw only ONE airplane the entire way (So much for our crowded skies) And 1 never had less than eight or ten miles visibilshyity all the way home I also have a tremendous sense of personal acshycomplishment and a really nice looking airplane in my hangar to boot

A look at Juptners Yol 6 will tell you all the technical detail about the little beast You wont find thi s parshyticular airplane listed though because it was dropped from the register as I said but it is serial number 190 manshyufactured May 19 1936 Its Orangish Red with irridescent blue trim about as original as you can get It s perhaps the worlds lowest-time antique with less then 160 hours total time No dings amp cracks in the cowling or metal work and although it isn t a super sanitary trophy winner it is all original and its MINE bull

12 NOVEMBER 1988

Oshkosh Shots

With the 145 Warner fired up Gene Chase prepares to taxi his 1933 Davis D-1-W to the AntiqueClassic area for the Parade of Flight on Tuesday afternoon Passenger in front cockpit is Lars Svarre of Nykobing (F) Denmark

The smaller the plane the bigger the crew Bill Schlapman holds the tailskld of his Heath Parasol N752Y while Munsil Williams drives the tow truck and pilot Jack Wojahn watches for traffic Note unusual amount of up elevator travel

14 NOVEMBER 1988

Heading out for West Chester PA are AlC members Tom amp Eileen Macario in their 160hp Kinner powered Starduster Too N14MM Note uN struts Great Lakes type landing gear and hand-made aluminum wheelpants Look for Tom amp Eileen next year in their newly restored PA-12 whose rebuild story has been featured in The VINTAGE AIRPLANE

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

A real eye-catcher was Dick Grigsbys 1932 WACO UEC NC18613with its brilliant orange paint scheme From Pacific Palisades CA the preHy cabin WACO won the Outstanding Award in the Silver Age competition

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15

The First Airplane To Bear Don Luscombes Name

One of the best ways to track aviashytion history is to read about its people Human triumphs tragedies and foibles are much more dynamic barometers of progress than engineering equations or corporate balance sheets It s the airplanes themselves that remain howshyever to remind us of the dreams of the people we read about

Don Luscombes career straddled the formative years of lightplane deshy16 NOVEMBER 1988

by Mark Phelps

velopment With the Monocoupe he brought pilots in out of cold open cockpits to cabin comfort He also adshyvanced aluminum monococque proshyduction technique to a practical level

opening the door for light aircraft as we know them today

Doug Combs and Linda Gamble of Incline Village Nevada own a genershyous slice of that history Doug calls it the first and the last of 22 Luscombe Phantoms built between 1934 and 1941 He says that reliable sources who worked in the Luscombe factory indicate that the cannibalized fuselage of the prototype was modified and used

to complete the last Phantom serial number 13 1 from parts in stock in 194 1 Doug brought his airplane to EAA Oshkosh 88 and flew home to Nevada with the Contemporary Age Champion Trophy The story of this airplane includes facts about the men the metal and the organization that built it

Don Luscombe drove ambulances in Paris duri ng World War I and cadged airplane rides with French pilots in exshychange for cigarettes When he reshyturned from Europe he studied mershychandising at Iowa State University and opened a small advertising agency in Davenport His taste for flying reshy

turned when he visited the local airport and he bought a crated surplus Jenny for $850 and learned to fly The Jenny and even its replacement a Swallow were too drafty and cumbersome for Luscombes taste He yearned for a two-seat airplane that he could easily trundle out of the hangar by its tailshywheel-and not have to gird himse lf in leather to fly

Inspiration came in the form of a Belgian design known as the DemontyshyPonce let that first flew in 1924 It was a cabin two-place that looked more like a fish than a bird but its cabin kept the occupants warm and unfettered by the slipstream Contrary to popular opin-

The Phantom featured a tunnel cowl-shown here with the Red Barn in the background

ion of the time the pilot was able to control the little ship without the wind in his face to guide him

Luscombe was serious enough to build a cardboard mock-up of his ideal airplane but needed more expert help to build a prototype He formed the Central States Aero Company and hired a Dubuque Iowa farmboy named Clayton Folkerts who showed a natural talent for turning cardboard concepts into nuts and bolts Thus was born the Monocoupe the airplane that brought personal flight out of the age of the open cockpit and allowed pilots to dress in shirtsleeves rather than leather armor and goggles

A succession of engines airframe improvements management changes and sales rollercoasters followed in the years leading to the Great Depression Late in 1932 sales trends looked parshyticularly disastrous Fewer than 35 airplanes had been delivered over the course of the year and the outlook for 1933 was even more bleak At the time the company was known as the Monocoupe Corporation and was owned by Phil Ball When he died in October 1933 after a series of heart atshytacks Don Luscombe left the company he had started and moved into the old Butler Blackhawk factory in Kansas City with yet another fresh idea

The Monocoupe had been a tube and fabric airplane like almost all airplanes of the day Sheet aluminum was used to form cowls wheel pants fairings and some wing leading edges but the structural construction of choice was a steel tube skeleton co-

Flying wires were added to tame groundshyhandling to a workable level

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17

vered with grade-A cotton Aluminum alloy was first produced

with an electrolytic process in 1885 The first published article on its use in aircraft appeared in Flight magazine in 1910 The German firm Durener Metallwerke developed the alloy known as duralumin for use on derigishybles and later on aircraft such as the Junkers transports Pure aluminum is next only to gold in maleability and when joined with copper and magshynesium in varying combinations proshyduces the ideal light corros ion-resisshytant alloy Aluminum used in the monococque form at is called stressedshyskin construction because the sk in itshyself takes on some of the structural load

Monococque fusel ages were introshyduced in 1912 with the French Depershydussin wood monoplane Wood forshymers were wrapped with thin plywood sheets German transports built by Junshykers had been using metal since 1915 and aluminum since 19 I 7 starting with the J4

As early as 1920 the British used stressed-skin construction on the Short Silver Streak but early alloys showed a tendency toward excessive corrosion especially when they came in contact with salt water as in seaplane applicashytions Alloys containing zinc were parshyticularly susceptible Anodizing the metal with aluminum oxide was a way to combat corrosion

When Luscombe moved to Kansas City from Saint Louis he brought hi s chief engineer Ivan Driggs and A K Longren a vigorous proponent of metal monococque fuselages Longren had built a small monococque biplane and developed a hydraulic stretch press to form its aluminum panels Previshyously all curves had to be hammered out or bent on a sheet metal brake Lusshycombe saw the stretch press as the key to low-cost high-volume production Longrens business venture had gone bankrupt and Luscombe purchased the press and its rights believing that he had discovered the route to inexpenshysive aircraft production Using that method he thought he could build a two-place all metal airplane to sell for less than $4000

Driggs and Lyle Farver designed the first airplane to bear the Luscombe name The Luscombe Phantom was really an extensively updated Monoshy18 NOVEMBER 1988

coupe 0-145 powered by the Warner 145-hp Super Scarab engine It had an all-metal fuselage and aluminum spars and ribs The 150-pound fuseshylage shell could support nine tons of weight and the wings had strength in excess of any government stanshydard To be practical for production the desig n relied heavily on Lonshygrens stretch press and it soon became clear that the machine wasnt up to the task Ultimately Luscombe s Dutch metalsmith Nick Nordyke handshyformed the panels on each Phantom built He used a power ham mer to beat the metal into shape but it took far too much time to produce each panel and Nordyke s skill was irreplaceable In

that sense the Pbantom was failure Inshystead of an inexpensive airplane built by machines it became a costl y handshymade work of craftsmanship

Production woes werent the onl y drawback to the Phantom design The prototype was completed in May 1934 and flown by company test pilot Barshyton Stevenson He reported that the airplane flew just fine but became a snarling ti ger when its wheels came in contact with the earth The cantilever landing gear blended beautifully into the sleek lines of the fuselage but asshysymetrical compress ion of e ither shock absorber almost guaranteed a groundloop Simply going over a bump could cause an irreversible

m II ~ ~l t ~~flO~t ~ CO ~ ~OORJ

The compound curves of the fuselage were hand-formed by Nick Nordyke

Phantom 272Y has a vintage OF loop anshytenna mounted on the roof

The early Phantoms had the tailwheel mounted in this aft position although the Scott 3200 is a concession to modern times Later redesign of the landing-gear geometry moved the tailwheel to midshyfuselage

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19

swerve Luscombe himself said You could master the violin easier than the fancy footwork needed to avoid groundlooping Even after extensive modification of the landing gear inshycluding the addition of a supplemental flying wires between the fuselage and each gear leg the Phantom was and is a handful on the ground

In addition to the prototype 272Y seven airplanes were produced at the Kansas City facility before January 1935 In February the company moved lock stock and barrel to Trenton New

Jersey and the Mercer Airport Lusshycombe lived in an old inn on the north end of the field The building also served as the companys offices His workers lived with him in the inn or on cots in the factory Salaries often went unpaid but the company provided groceries from the meager cash flow Life wasnt easy but in the Depresshysion-hardened 1930s just having a job was more than most people could claim The Mercer Airport was also the site of Luscombes fixed base operashytion that cared for a Staggerwing two Stinsons and a Waco The Luscombe Airplane Corporation reorganized as the Luscombe Airplane Development Co

Most of 1935 was spent building

The Phantoms panel with its rounded top typifies 1930s styling 20 NOVEMBER 1988

Phantoms and rebuilding those that had rolled themselves up One airplane that had been damaged in a hard forced landing was the only one available for a demonstration flight when the wife of a Dr Tschudi from Switzerland walked in the door shopping for an airplane Don promptly took her up for a demonstration flight and nosed the Phantom over on landing flipping it on its back Nevertheless the woman wrote a check for $6000 and took a Phantom home to Europe The airplane HB-EXE subsequently toured the couple throughout the contishynent as well as the Middle East

1936 saw Luscombe produce about a half dozen Phantoms and open its School of Aeronautics The School was originally introduced as an apprenshytice training program and later became a division of the parent company Work began on a simple-to-produce two-place companion model of the Phantom and Frank Speckles won the Los Angeles based Ruth Chatterton Sportsman pilot trophy race with a Phantom

Stockholder Hal Hiramson bought a Phantom in 1937 and had it painted the shade of bronze that matched his favorshyite can of beer If that leads to any conclusions about his attitude and lifestyle they are probably accurate He cracked up his Phantom on his first landing after mistaking the brake hanshydle for the trim actuator

The young Philadelphian became enthralled with the company enough to become a director and took a personal interest in aircraft sales much to the consternation of Luscombe Hiramshysons first customer was his brother-inshylaw and he insisted on delivering the airplane to upstate New York personshyally En route he decided to see how high the Phantom would fly and blacked out somewhere above 20000 feet He awoke in a screaming power dive at over 300 mph He managed to pull out and force-land the airplane near New Brunswick New Jersey about fifty miles from Trenton The airplane sustained substantial damage to its leading edge on the pull-out Hiramson uninjured was shipped off to investigate the possibility of Euroshypean production under license

Clearly the Phantom was a transishytional airplane It had been developed in the hopes of producing an affordable craft and wound up competing with Wacos Stinsons and Fairchilds for the dollars of wealthy sportspeople with a sense of adventure--especially on landing Between 1934 and 1938 or so

the apple in the eye of Don Luscombe was still a simple airplane His enershygies were directed at the design of just such a craft The Model 90 followed using a flat-wrap metal construction technique that wasnt as pretty as the Phantoms hand-formed compound curves but much more practical With the advent of the Continental 50-hp flat engine at a low price the Model 8 evolved from that design

In 1938 an Austrian industrialist named Leopold Klotz who had fled Hishytlers Europe bought a large amount of Luscombe stock and hired a production manager who alienated the work force at the factory When Luscombe was unable to fire the man he decided to sell out In April 1939 he left the comshy

pany that bore his name Luscombe spent the rest of his life in Ambler Pennsylvania and worked on a fourshyplace airplane that was eventually known as the Colt but never went into production He died in 1965

Serial number 131 Phantom Doug and Lindas airplane was completed and test flown in 1941 The original owners rarely flew the airplane and Doug writes that it traveled from one garage and accident site to another It was returned to the factory in 1944 after suffering extensive damage One year later it returned to service four years after production with a little over I I hours per year registered on the tach From 1947 to 1952 the airplane went through three owners and a series

of minor accidents resulting in several repairs In 1952 a Mr Hayduck bought the Phantom and flew it for 58 hours before wrecking it and rebuildshying it again His efforts to metalize the wings were thwarted by the FAA as the molasses speed of the bureaucratic process worked in favor of historic preservation

Two other owners intervened from 1965 to 1982 and a great deal of val ushyable information was procured but litshytle work was done Yet another owner then trucked the airplane to Texas where six years of metalwork engine overhauling and wing fabric work began In the course of these efforts some historical artifacts were literally uncovered Under the primer on the inshyside of the fuselage several production directions signed DL were discovshyered Also a 1930s wrench was found inside a wing fairing It had generated di-electric corrosion of the metal skin that needed to be repaired

At the 90-percent-complete stage Doug and Linda bought the project when the owner became disillusioned and discouraged A friend of the pair had spotted an ad in Trade-A-Plane They finished the detail and rigging work and in May 1988 accidently pershyformed the first test flight while enshygaged in a high-speed taxi test The pair flew the airplane to its current base at Chandler Arizona where re-rigging re-aligning and about 500 hours of adshyditional detail work were completed Repairs were also required on the enshygine electrical system and control cashybles Doug flew the airplane to EAA Oshkosh 88 for fellow Luscombe lovshyers to admire and enjoy

He says everything you read about difficult ground handling is true alshythough he moved the tailwheel from the forward position on the fuselage that was favored in later serial numshybers back to the rear of the tailcone where it was on the prototype Nevertheless he finds this the ultimate Luscombe True the Phantom can be classified as a failure or more charitashybly a transitional design But it represhysents a significant milestone in the lineage of todays aluminum airplanes When the Phantom was on the drawing boards aluminum airplanes were at the stage of composites today-advanced curiosities that were just too radical to be successful consumer products Its easy to look at the Phantom as a mileshystone in aviation-but looking back is always easier than looking forward Phantom 272Y flies as a tribute to Don

Bona fide Luscombe lover Doug Combs with his rare Phantom Luscombes ability to mold the future bull VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21

THE UPS AND DOWNS OF A J-2

by Gene Chase

John Hartmans J-2 Taylor Cub

Everyone who was at EAA Oshkosh 88 remembers the great storm that hit on Thursday AntiqueClassic memshybers who were near the Red Bam recall the Taylor Cub that was uprooted and heavily damaged when it struck a teleshyphone pole Only heroic action by sevshyeral volunteers and others saved the Cub and other nearby airplanes from further damage In 1987 Gene Chase interviewed John Hartman of Mack Colorado rebuilder of the Cub John subsequently sold the airplane and it was the new owner who suffered the loss In Gene s 1987 photos it s inshyteresting to note the double tiedowns a precaution that would have saved the airplane on that fateful Thursday last summer

Q (John what can you tell me about your airplane Can you give me a little of the background of it and when you got it and things like that)

A Okay I got it probably six years ago I had a Vagabond a PA 15 that I traded for it and a 46 T Craft and a 22 NOVEMBER 1988

Volkswagen bus The wind had blown the Cub over on its back and so I had to completely rebuild it

Q (Where did you get it)

A It was in Oklahoma City the young fellow there was going to college and he didnt tie it down very good out at Coles Hole where Chester Peak and Harold Malloy live and the wind blew it over Of course Ive known the kid for a long time and hed been after my Vagabond and I finally traded him

Q (Good)

A And then I restored it over oh took me about three years to restore it

Q (What fabric is on the airplane)

A Its Stits J7 and it s all Stits proshycess Its the poly fiber poly brush poly spray and then the poly tone Thats speed ray dope isnt it mostly

Q (Yes What are the colors and are they authentic)

A As near as I can tell they are It s got the three black stripes and yellow Cub yellow Stits Cub yellow The only thing that isnt authentic on it is the tail wheel and it had a skid and that dont work very good on our blacktop It was on there when I got it

Q (Tell me about the instruments )

A Well four instruments

Q (Are they original)

A They re original uh the oil tempershyature and oil pressures new rebuilt but everything else is the Cub instrushyments As near as I know its original everything

Q (Good What is the gas capacity)

A Nine gallons

Q (That s that little round tank isn t it )

A Little round tank yes bums three an hour Gives you three hours at about 58 mph You dont go very far

Q (Well how does it fly up at your elevation )

A Well its a good one-place Well not really good but its real fun to fly early in the mornings and it performs real good One of the young fellows had it up to 16000 feet one day but he got into thermals

Q (Saved some gas didn t he)

A Yes he did Most generally about 7500 is about all we can get on a sumshymer day

Q (Whats the elevation of your airshyport)

Multiple tiedowns in this 1987 photo are an ironic detail

A Its 5000 feet Mack Mesa Airport its just 20 miles west of Grand Juncshytion Its just a dirt strip 2600 feet long with a bunch of antiques there Weve got about 30 antiques on the field People just come out and work on their airplanes I quit farming in 1980 and I kept that 80 acres where the landing field was That s all Ive got now Just kept the landing field and built a house right there So I live right on the field

Q (Where is that from Grand Juncshytion )

A Its 20 miles west toward Utah just off 1-70

Q (How many hours have you flown the Cub)

A Ive been putting on about 25 30 hours for the last two years

Q (Have you had any problems with the Continental)

A No not a bit

Q (Good What fuel do you burn)

A Car gas

Q (Good J do to What prop is on it John)

A 69128 Flotorp

Q (Okay )

A It could have about a 28 pitch it should have about two more because itll red line even climbing out itll

Q (J II bet you need that high rpm though to climb with it dont you To get it up there )

A Oh yes yes The lowest pass that we can get out of there is 9 000 feet so we have to go at least 10 to get out of the valley there

Q (Thats a far piece for a 40 horse airplane )

A Yes it is

Q (Do you use Marvel Mystery Oil)

A In the oil and in the gas and I squirt it on the valve stems before each flight

Q (Good for you Did this airplane originally come with that size wheel and tire)

A No it came with airwheels and I couldnt get any so I put an adapter on so I use 800 X 4s now I hunted everywhere for those airwheel tires

Q (Theyre hard to find)

A Oh I would have loved to found a pair But very few people know that know that and can tell Course it doesnt have any brakes

Q (Have you flown it without the tailshywheel Do you have any grass any place you canfly it with just the skid)

A No Well our runways gravel and no I havent Ive got the little shoe that fit on the spring but I never have tried it

Q (How did you duplicate the artwork on the fin)

A I took a picture of the data plate and had it enlarged 30 times and then took a razor blade and cut it out and glued it on and marked it with a pencil and then hand painted it freehand

Q (You did that yourself)

A Well the wife I got her to do the painting

Q (Oh good goodfor her Yes it looks real good How did you determine the three black stripes and locate them and everything )

run 2700 climbing out at our altitude Secure again but after the damage had been done VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23