VA-Vol-32-No-4-April-2004

VOL 32 No4 APRIL 2004

2 VAA NEWSHG Frautschy

4 AEROMAIL

5 THE MORE THINGS CHANGE AN EDITORIAL BY EAAS FOUNDERPaul H Poberezny

6 FLIGHT OF THREE CLEARED TO LAND TO EAA AIRVENTURE VIA OPEN COCKPITSSue Packer

8 THE VINTAGE INSTRUCTOR ARE YOU READY FOR A NEW FLYING SEASON Doug Stewart

10 PERSISTENCE DICK AND PATSY JACKSONS SIKORSKY s-39 HG Frautschy

18 C-180 AT THE BEGINNING RED AND MARILYNS OLDEST 180 Budd Davisson

22 A TRIBUTE TO COLE PALEN AND HIS FRIEND GORDON BAINBRIDGE THE EARLY DAYS AT THE AERODROME Ev Cassagneres

26 MYSTERY PLANEHG Frautschy

27 NEW MEMBERS

28 PASS IT TO BUCK WHAT IFBuck Hilbert

29 CALENDAR

30 CLASSIFED ADS

EAA PUBLICATIONS

Publisher TOM POBEREZNY Editor-in-Chief scon SPANGLER Executive Editor MIKE DIFRISCO News Editor RIC REYNOLDS Photography Staff JIM KOEPNICK Production Manager JULIE RUSSO Advertising Sales LOY HICKMAN

913-268middot6646 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 BUDD DAVISSON

DOUG STEWART JOHN MILLER

Front Cover Dick Jackson has worked off and on for 40 years to complete the restoration of what has become the world s oldest flying Sikorsky aircraft the only flying Sikorsky S-39 Amphibion EAA photo by LeeAnn Abrams shot with a Canon EOS-ln EAA Cessna 210 photo plane flown by Bruce Moore

Back Cover In keeping with our oldest of their type flying theme this is Red Hamilton and Marilyn Bose s Cessna 180 Serial No 30002 the oldest Cessna 180 flying EAA photo by LeeAnn Abrams shot with a Canon EOSshyIn EAA photo plane flown by Walt Dorlac

s TBcL EL ESPIE BUTCH JOYCE

PRESIDENT VINTAGE ASSOCIATION

Knocking the rust off

Here in the Carolinas its beshyginning to sound and smell like spring Through the

window next to my computer I can see and hear the robins and a few flowers are beginning to peek out of the ground

Lots of things are growing inshycluding my schedule Ive been able to make a lot of headway on my Luscombe project before the schedule gremlins got control of me I have everything cleaned up and ready for the paint gun Ive mounted the new instrument panel on a jig outside of the airshyframe and Ive wired it to my handy Radio Shack power supply Everything seems to be functionshying perfectly I cant wait to finish but I ll have to hold off for just about a month

I have been spending the last week or so getting the motor home ready to go to Lakeland Florida to attend the Sun n Fun EAA Fly-In Norma and I will spend almost two weeks at the event Ill be doing volunteer work for the Vintage Aircraft Associashytion and Norma will be at work with the Aviation Unlimited Agencys display booth

Since we spend this amount of time at Sun n Fun and almost three weeks at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh we have found that a motor home is the best way for us to travel Once we get back from Sun n Fun we are home for a little more than a week and then we will be off to Oshkosh for the VAA and EAA board meetings That will last for about five days We will leave directly from Oshkosh for

Las Vegas to attend the AlA (Aviashytion Insurance Association) convention for five days Were home for three or four days and then we move on to the VAA Chapshyter 3 Fly-In which will take place at the Burlington North Carolina airport This fly-in is only about 4S miles from the house Its a great time and were able to enjoy it with our local friends

So I guess the old paint gun will have to stay on the workbench for a month or so Sometimes the things you enjoy the most are those you have to wait for

This April issue lands in your mailbox about the same time many of you will be brushing off the dust and pushing the airplane out of the hangar for the first time in many months Before you strap in and head off into the blue Id ask you to stop and think for just a moment

First do a thorough preflight inspection Look over the airplane as though you were flying it for the first time and didnt know any of its past history Pull an inshyspection plate off and peek inside with a flashlight Youd be surshyprised where some critters can get to in an airplanes structure Look in the wing at the inter-rib lacing Does it show signs of being chewed on If it does keep lookshying The nest is in there somewhere If youre uncomfortshyable pulling off the inspection plates and looking inside ask a friend whos an airframe and powshyerplant (AampP) mechanic to help you Most would be pleased to see an owneroperator who has that

much interest in the mechanical condition of his or her airplane Every year we have a rash of in shysurance losses called in right after the first nice weekend in the country An engine failure or a pishylots rusty aviation skills are usually to blame

Its a shame but sometimes these losses mean not only a damshyage claim to property but also a claim due to the injury of a loved one Knock off your personal cobshywebs with a few laps with a flight instructor in the back or on your right side Springtime is a great time to schedule your flight reshyview If you live in an area that doesn t have a flight instructor current in the type of airplane you fly then be careful and make a couple of solo flights before takshying up your buddies For those first post-winter flights pick your days carefully Windy condishytions you would have easily handled in the fall may prove to be too much for your rusty feet in the spring Take it easy and youll have your airplane to enjoy for the entire season instead of sitshyting by the runway and watching everyone else have fun

Lets all be careful out there and pull in the right direction for the good of aviation Remember we are better together Join us and have it all

VINTAGE AIRPLANE

VAA 5 SBA Solicits EAA on Air Tour NPRM Information

The controversial FAA National Air Tour Safety Standards notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) was the subject of a recent meeting with the Small Business Administration (SBA) in Washington DC EAA Vice President of Government Affairs Doug Macnair was among those who presented to SBA the hardships the proposed regulations would imshypose on many small aviation enterprises

SBA officials wanted to know how many Part 91 operators the NPRM would affect how it would affect their revenue and what it would cost them to meet the proposed reshyquirements EAA showed SBA how the rule would affect airfields flight schools and charitable organizashytions and it presented alternatives that would allow the FAA to achieve its regulatory goals while reducing the burden on small businesses

EAA which has submitted its fishynal comments to the FAA feels the NPRM imposes restrictive requireshyments on the air tour industry that are unnecessary and not supported by the data Worse the rule reaches beyond the air tour industry and adds new requirements for flight schools that conduct casual sightshyseeing flights Single-ship sightseeing operations and operations that proshyvide rides in vintage and historically significant aircraft

If implemented the NPRM would likely force hundreds of operators out of business and ground historishycally significant aircraft because they couldnt feasibly comply with the new requirements The NPRM also would increase the requirements for pilots and sponsoring organizations engaging in charitable airlifts and community fundraising flight events EAA calls on FAA to withshydraw the proposed rule and develop a new proposal that incorporates the comments and concerns of the opershyators and public

APRIL 2004

There is little supporting data to justify the proposed wide-sweeping changes said Earl Lawrence EAA vice president of industry and regushylatory affairs For example the NPRM would require a 1920s-era airshyplane operating at a nontowered Midwestern airport to comply with the same operational and adminisshytrative requirements as a helicopter constructed under current requireshyments and operated in continuous service over the Grand Canyon That indicates that the authors didshynt follow past regulatory practice of producing regulations that are reshysponsive to the wide variety of aircraft and operations conducted in the United States

FAA extended the official comshyment period to April 19 2004 to solicit more input from the air tour industry and other aviation organizations

EAA Works to Preserve Ethanol Labels

Working with the Wisconsin Ethanol Producers EAA recently helped craft a compromise bill that gas stations will continue to identify gasoline that contains ethanol The original bill would have removed this requirement unless the pump dispensed reformulated gasoline at an airport for use as aircraft fuel EAA which holds a series of suppleshymental type certificates (STCs) that allow aircraft owners to use auto fushyels argued that clear ethanol labeling was needed with automoshytive gasoline for flight safety reasons

All current automotive gasoline STCs specifically exclude any gasoshyline that contains ethanol said Earl Lawrence EAA vice president of inshydustry and regulatory affairs Most auto fuel used in aircraft is purshychased at a local service station not at an airport And most auto fuel users purchase their gas from only one station a station that they learn from experience provides a safe fuel for their aircraft Under the original

proposed legislation stations could switch to an ethanol blend gasoline without informing consumers inshycluding aircraft users

EAAs proposed compromise lanshyguage A retail dealer of petroleum products shall post in a conspicuous place and in a conspicuous manner on or near the entrance to the filling station garage or other place where the petroleum products are being ofshyfered for sale a notice stating for each device that dispenses petroshyleum products whether the device dispenses a gasoline-ethanol fuel blend and the grade of the petroshyleum product being dispensed

Multiple issues with gasoline oxyshygenated with ethanol in aircraft use include vapor lock and material compatibility issues

No Appointment Necessary Medical Assistance has a new shinshy

gle on the EAA Members Only home page at httpmembers eaa orghome Easily recognizable and easy to navishygate the site is home to up-to-date information on airman medical certishyfication the EAA Aeromedical Advisory program and EAA Pilot Adshyvocates There are also useful resource links articles and downloadable FAA forms to help resolve a medical issue and keep you flying

EAA Members Have Year-Round Free Museum Admission

Starting March I 2004 EAA members gained free admission to the world-class EAA AirVenture Mushyseum by simply showing their EAA membership card The new yearshyround admission policy thanks EAA members for their support in making our world-class museum possible said Museum Director Adam Smith It also encourages members to bring family and friends to enjoy the facility more often

EAAers visiting their museum reshyceive a special sticker that identifies them as members Nonmembers can join EAA at the museum admissions

2

Get Your EAA AirVenture Planning Guide The EAA AirVenture Planning Guide will help you arrange your visit to

Oshkosh from July 27 to August 2 Now available on the EAA AirVenture website at wwwairventureorg youll find useful information about the many lodging options handicapped services driving directions commercial flight information vehicle rental ground transportation services and more View online or print the four-page PDF file and youll be well on your way to mapshyping your EAA AirVenture adventure

HOMEBUILT CAMPING Many VAA members who have interests in the homebuilt area are aware that

the parking areas for custom-built aircraft have been expanded In recent years Starting with EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2004 the pilots of customshybuilt aircraft who prefer to camp with their airplanes will have a new location The southwestern corner of the custom-built parking area (just to the north of the Fly Market) has been designated as homebuilt camping Showers and other facilities are being readied for this shift in camping areas For the VAA it means that some additional parking areas will open up If youve ever thought about camping with your vintage airplane plan to spend

a week with your fellow vintage aviators at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2004

JUDGING STANDARDS If you re planning on attending EAA AirVenture Oshkosh and youd like to have

your aircraft judged during the convention wed suggest reviewing the latest copy of the Official EAA Judging Standards Manual available online at wwwvlntageaircraftorgClick on the link at the top of the page that reads How Do I Show My Plane There is also a pair of associated articles on the judging process highlighted on that same web page Even if youve reshyviewed the pages in the past there have been some changes to the rules so you may want to take a quick glance at the new document

counter and current members can on June 4-52004 purchase $10 family memberships that This nat ional event he ld in extend the free admission benefit to Bartlesvi lle since 1987 has attracted their immediate family members bip lanes from all over the Northern

The average cost of membership in Hemisphere The event is normally atshya comparable facility exceeds $50 But tended by 3000-4000 people and for just $40 (or $50 for a family) EAA 450-500 airplanes of which approxishyoffers unlimited admissions to a worldshy mately 100-140 are biplanes All of the class museum plus all the other biplanes are flown to Bartlesville benefits of EAA membership like a This year the Biplane Expos guest magazine subscription discounts on of honor will be Greg Herrick of New EAA AirVenture Oshkosh and more Brighton Minnesota who conceived The previous policy provided members organized and led the National Air with one free admission voucher each Tour 2003 which was a re-enactment year (Those vouchers already distribshy of the Ford Air Tours of 1925-1931 and uted are valid through the end of the which was done in celebration of 100 year 2004) years of powered flight The National

Air Tour 2003 consisted of more than Biplane Expo 25 aircraft of late 20s vintage flying in

The 18th Annual Biplane Expo the a group to more than 25 cities to illusshylargest gathering of biplanes by variety trate to the American public the in the world will be he ld at Frank progress made in aviation since the Phillips Field Bartlesville Oklahoma early days of aerial transportation

Herrick a recognized aviation histoshyrian an avid antique aircraft collector and an aviation publisher gained nashytional recognition in September 2003 with his re-creation of the National Air Tours of approximately 75 years ago when aerial passenger service was in its infancy

In honoring Herricks attendance the Expo will additionally invite and host a number of the antique airplanes of the National Air Tour 2003 and recognize the pilots and crews who flew the airshycraft on tour during September 2003

The event is open to the public at Frank Phillips AirfieldField Bartlesville Oklahoma on June 4-5 Gate admisshysion is $300 for adults and $100 for children on Friday June 4 and $500 for adults and $300 for children on Saturday June 5 The public will have close access to the pilots and aircraft For information contact Charles W Harris at 918-622-8400 or wwwbiplaneshyexpocom

EAA SportAir Workshop Schedule Online

If you want to learn how to build an airplane an EAA SportAir Workshyshop should be in your plans Held on weekends at locations throughshyout the country the one- two- or three-day workshops are available to EAA members at a discount A complete schedule for the remainshyder of 2004 is now available on wwwsportaircom

Untold numbers of homeshybuilders got their start at the workshops and many of them have later told EAA that building an airplane was the most satisfying and rewarding adventure of their lives EAA SportAir Workshops Dishyrector Charlie Becker reports brisk reservation activity for 2004 Our TIG welding courses are full usually a month in advance so EAA SportAir is offering two more courses this fall We have a solid curriculum for each class plus the best instructors available

For more information visit wwwsportaircom or call 800-967shy5746

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 3

A AI MMO

I read with great interest Mr Hurrys letter in the January issue of Vintage Airplane He proposed the use of Marshyvel Mystery Oil and a top oiler as a method for getting the lead buildup out of low compression engines

Introduction of MMO into the inshyduction system by a top oiler device is exactly the application for which MMO was originally intended The purpose was to remove the gum tar and sludge buildups so common in the early days of tetraethyllead and non-detergent oils Top oiler installations were comshymon in the 30s and 40s and they worked Most drivers however just dumped additives directly into the fuel tank and hoped for results

Installation of a top oiler on oldshytime auto engines is no big deal (you can coast to the curb if things dont work out) but it involves drilling the intake manifold and adding tubes hoses mounting brackets etc On an aircraft it would involve all those things and more Most importantly it could change the fuel-air mixture if the system is empty This could result in burning high dollar valves and pershyhaps an inconvenient forced landing

I will admit that the use of FAA apshyproved products is pretty mundane and experimenting is more fun Howshyever keeping that irreplaceable antique airplane of yours out of the trees at the end of the strip is very imshyportant (We have lots of pilots but antique airplanes are getting scarce)

IF YOU D LIKE TO DROP US A LINE SEND YOUR LEITERS TO VINTAGE A IRPLANE PO Box 3086 OSHKOSH WI 54903-3086 OR EMAIL US AT vintageeaaorg

APRIL 2004

There is an FAA-approved product formulated specifically for helping our low compression engines spit out the excess lead that accumulates on valves etc Its name is tricresyl phosphate It is marketed by Alcor as TCP The stuff is availab le at most pilot shops and parts suppliers at a reasonable cost and it works

I used TCP in a Jacobs L4MB enshygine for nearly 15 years with excellent results Prior to using TCP I had to freq uently p ull jugs d ue to lead buildup on the va lve faces The use of TCP so lved the problem in short order

So whats a mother to do We could build up an experimental

system to introduce an undetermined amount of a mystery product into our engine

We could put a specified amount of a known tested and FAA-approved product in the fuel and go fly

Fritz Mair Keller Texas

To clarify adding any additional equipment such as a top oiler would have to be approved by the FAA I agree with Mr Ma irs statement about TCP-it s approved and it works Why mess with success

Mr Hurrys letter was run primarily to point out two things first his expeshyrie nce with Marvel Mystery Oil not always mixing well with fuel Wed be curious to know ifany other members have experienced that phenomenon Many members have used MMO for years and are happy with the results and as another aviation magazine mentioned in an article a few years ago theres always been plenty ofposishytive comments about the use of the additive

Second Mr Hurrys mention of CAA approval of a top oiler device still intrigues us No other member has mentioned this CAA approval Can one of our more experienced members help fill in the blanks on this

-Editor

WRIGHT DAY SOLO Our son Elliott turned 16 on December 15 I

was hired by a major airline as a pilot just six months to the day before he was born Natushyrally while growing up he has spent many hours fly ing with me and be ing around the aircraft restorations we have had in the garage Last summer I began to officially teach him to fly

With his birthday so close to the 100th anshyniversary of flight I suggested he might want to wait a couple of days after his birthday and solo on the 17th of December He thought this would be a good idea

December 17 dawned with a high overcast and light winds We drove out to the small grass strip where we keep our 1941 DL-65 Taylorcraft (civilian vers ion of the tandem L-2) It was a chilly December morning and the air smelled like snow We cranked up the old plane and gave it time to warm up before we took it around t he patch a coup le of times Our last landing was at 1030 am We taxied back to the end of the strip where we were happy to see his mom and sister standing wa it ing to see him solo Having signed his student pilot certificate I stepped out of the Taylorshycraft gave him a pat on the back and closed the door At 1035 am December 17 2003 Elliott rolled down the runway and lifted off on his first solo flight He also became a fourth-generation pilot in the family

After two takeoffs and landings snow began to fall and using good judgment Ell iott taxied back to the old hangar Elliott s f irst response as he laughed was The tail sure comes up quicker without you sitting back there Dad

The DL-65 Elliott had j ust soloed in came out of the factory on December 15 1941 sharing the same birthday with Elliott-46 years earlier

Jim Baker Hudson Ohio

4

The More Things Change An editorial by EAAs founder

PAUL H POBEREZNY

We have received several comments regardmiddot

ing our last issue of Vintage Airplane and we

were pleased that they were favorable and that

we are able to continue to produce favorable reshy

sults However in organizations such as ours

with our many and varied interests that range

from the homebuilt antique classic contemposhy

rary rotary wing and warbird aircraft many

times we find it very difficult to gather the enmiddot

thusiasm for the overall movement which is

necessary to ensure our total success

We must assure that we have among us

both workers and a great deal of wisdom to

meet the challenges that face sportgeneral

aviation In my many travels around the counmiddot

try I am privileged to talk to many who are

involved in various phases of aviation Across

my desk each day come letters expressing unshy

happiness with aviation in one way or another

How does one in my position meet these chalmiddot

lenges of attempting to reduce taxation ward

off the continuing growth of restrictions on use

of airports or this vast ocean of air above us

All too often one believes that he or she can

join an organization and that the dues will do

the rest I must admit that I too at one time

believed this same thing but it did not take

me long to learn that this is not the solution to

our problems The solution is to develop a

strong reputable hard working force One that

is not made up of ernotion but is understandmiddot

ing and knowledgeable of the problems that

we all face-regardless of the type of aircraft

we fly I am sure that in the last few years for

example many of you are concerned with the

inability to use your own public airport as was

possible in the past that you cannot drive in

many cases to your hangar or to load and unmiddot

load your airplane on the ramp that you cannot

scale 1() and 12middotfoot fences in some areas to

get to the FAA Flight Service Station that you

cannot use the lavatory in the terminal buildmiddot

ing that you cannot walk across some ramps to request fuel for your airplane

You have been concerned with the increasmiddot ing number of control towers that spring up

across the country and the inconveniences

quite often caused by them You frequently

lash out blindly at the threemiddotletter word as beshy

ing the cause of all our problems-FAA It is

like saying Uncle Sam is bad Within any ormiddot

gan ization or group and in our government

there are many divisions departments and

chiefs who make decisions that affect our lives When a particular decision does have a

major effect on our life would it not be best

that we prepare ourselves knowledgemiddotwise to

speak authoritatively on the particular submiddot

ject whether it be TCAs airport security

possibly the need for better and improved

weather service rather than to lash out at the

threemiddotletter word and accomplish nothing but

possibly lose the cooperation of many dedishy

cated people in FAA

True there are those in FAA who perhaps

are not as qualified or have the enthusiasm

that one would expect We too in our organimiddot

zation have the same problem It may be a

chapter president an EAA member or an offishy

cer who at one time or another does not

represent the true spirit of what we are trying

to accomplish

Oshkosh time is a good example of that

spirit The great many FAA people who come

here to work-a working vacation for them as

well as for many EAA members-all serve the

multitude and quite often Though tired and

exhausted they are expected to perform permiddot

fectly or respond patiently to an individual or

group of individuals who have recently arrived

and are fresh and enthusiastic

At the present time we have three divisions

within EAA-the Warbirds the International

Aerobatic Club and the Vintage division (We

have since added an affiliate organization the

National Association of Flight Instructors

[NAFIJ-Editor) The purpose in founding these

organizations under the leadership and ummiddot

brella of EAA was to gather within our

membership those who had a particular intershy

est in assisting EAA Headquarters by helping

at our annual convention in providing forums

programs parking assistance judging award

presentations and many of the other tasks so

necessary to have a great event

Th roughout the year they shou Id aid headmiddot

quarters by instilling a spirit of cooperation in

the division members and by providing leadermiddot ship and identification for the groups specific

interests All too often this responsibility falls

back on this office and with the limited nummiddot

ber of hours in the day I find that we too

receive criticism for not being more than we

would like to be So few can only do so much

This is why EAA and your divisions need

loyalty and support and understanding that

dues are just not enough Many expect to remiddot

ceive a publication the size of SPORT AVIATION

devoted solely to antique classic and contemmiddot porary aircraft warbirds or aerobatics

However with only 4000 members in the Divimiddot

sions (in 2004 a total of about

19OOO-Editor) the numbers are not large

enough to cover the costs of printing publishmiddot

ing and mailing a publication that can only be

increased in size through increased membermiddot

ships and funds (In 2004 the dues do cover

the cost of each of the publications-Editor)

Many times I wonder if we are not in competimiddot

tion with ourselves when we must put out

three extra publications Perhaps there is a

better way to go and yet have the identificamiddot

tion of each group with the leaders to help us

not only throughout the year but also in conmiddot

vention planning and at convention time

I would like to know your ideas and

thoughts so that I can present them to the Dimiddot

rectors of the various Divisions I can

remember when we started with the Anmiddot

tique Classic Division-for the first year we

did not charge dues and very few joined When

a dues structure was set up then people bemiddot

gan to join

I know that most of you are proud to wear

the patches of the groups you belong to and

this is as it should be-whether it is an EAA

Division the Antique Airplane Association the

Professional Race Pilots Association Soaring

Society of America or others This identificamiddot

tion of your interests and enthusiasm is seen

on jackets everywhere I take my hat off to all

of those who belong to the many organizamiddot

tions and not only support them through

membership dues but through personal dedimiddot

cation and enthusiasm

We must also use the same philosophy

with the FAA to inspire those who may not be

close to the problem or see the reality of the

situation to take a better and deeper look beshy

fore making decisions In my opinion the day

that FAA is separated from the Department of

Transportation and the President of the United

States sees fit to find and appoint a qualified

Administrator of this important function the better off we will all be

This editorial by EAA Founder and Chairshyman of the Board Paul Poberezny ran in the

September October 1975 issue ofVintage Airmiddot plane nearly 30 years ago Paul brought it to our attention a little while back remarking

that it seemed we were still working towards

many of the same goals He suggested we

run the article again to show our current

members where we ve come from and how we continue to work together as staff and volunmiddot

teer member for the betterment of aviation-HG Frautschy

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 5

To EAA AirVenture via open cockpits

July 26 2003-0shkosh conshytrol tower announced Flight of three Stearmans cleared to land Now anywhere else in

the world this would be an unshyusual event for three Stearmans to be in the traffic pattern at the same time but since the start of EAA AirshyVenture Oshkosh 2003 was only days away this was a common sight What made this flight unique however was that Richard Packer owns all three Stearmans and that three Packer family memshybers were the pilots

First to land was N9856H piloted by me This PT-I7 has been a familshyiar sight in the Past Grand Champion line since 1986 when Richard received the Gold Lindy Next to arrive were Richards most recent PT-I7 restorations Rich Packer our son was at the controls of N9856F (nicknamed Fox) and my husband Richard piloted th e third Stearman N9856G (we call this one Golf) Taxiing off Runway 18 the trio of Army Stearmans made their way to the Antique parking area to begin their stay at Oshkosh

APRIL 2004

SUE PACKER

Making the trip to Oshkosh from Radnor Ohio required a lot of preparation and some help from friends As you would imagine the front seat of each Stearman was a coveted prize and each pilot seshylected his or her passenger Since this was my first flight into Oshkosh my passenger needed prior experience with the convenshytion traffic Bill Bruns from Milwaukee Wisconsin who reshycently retired from the FAA as an air traffic controller was chosen Bill had directed aircraft into Oshkosh for many years so it was time to put him on the other end of the radio Richard s passenger was Krista Wise Krista has worked with us in restoring the aircraft At 17 years o ld Krista is an experishyenced aircraft fabric envelope seamstress rib-stitcher and sander Her normal duties at the Packer airshyport include mowing the runway and washing aircraft Richs passenshyger was a longtime friend Mark from Grand Rapids Michigan

Departing from Packer Airport (5E9) early on July 26 the three

aircraft headed west toward Chicago with Valparaiso Indiana as the first deSignated fuel stop A strong south wind however forced a stop at Warsaw Indiana for fuel When flying in formation the lead aircraft is responsible for navigation with the other aircraft following along I was in the lead aircraft so upon landing at Warshysaw both Rich and Richard promptly wanted to know where they were and why were they there For those of you familiar with the Packer family you are aware that it is hard for the Packer men to trust anything done by a Packer woman

Proceeding west we landed as a trio just southwest of Chicago at Clow airport where we made the last fuel stop before proceeding to Oshkosh (Airports with northshysouth runways were highly favored that day) While on the ground Richard called the Oshkosh conshytrol tower to alert the con trollers of our anticipated arrival With the wind now on our tail Oshkosh was just a little over an hour away

6

From a stack of parts in a hangar in Buckeye Arizona Richard and Sue Packer and the crew at Packer Aviation created two beautiful Stearmans Added to the Grand Champion Stearman restored by Richard in 1986 the trio was flown to EAA AirVenture 2003 to celebrate the first censhytury of flight

Flying north we passed through a narrow corridor between Du Page and OHare Airports On a clear day the airliners going in and out of OHare look close enough to touch On this day the haze around Chicago limited our visibilshyity The time to Oshkosh went by fast thanks to the tail wind and the excitement of arriving at Wittman Field grew as we heard on our radios Flight of three Stearmans at the Ripon and Fisk checkpoints We were greeted in the aircraft parking area by a group of special people headed up by Kristie Bruns and Audrey and Bonshynie Poberezny

Attending EAA AirVenture each year is the highlight of the sumshymer Normally our Past Grand Champion sits just east of the Vinshytage Barn and provides a common

meeting place for acquaintances to gather for the air show or to plan the next adventure of the day This year the National Air Tour aircraft were displayed in our normal spot so we tied our aircraft south of the Vintage Aircraft Registration booth Our Past Grand Champion sat on the east side of the road facshying west and the two freshly restored aircraft faced east on the west side of the road The three Stearmans created a beautiful sight as you walked down the road

Camping in Camp Scholler is the only way to really experience the convention and we need to give special thanks to Chuck Howald and his brother Don Im normally the designated driver to pull the trailer to Oshkosh but Chuck and Don volunteered their services so Id be able to fly into

Oshkosh Thanks again With the aircraft secure and the

campsite set up we were ready to begin our week of sharing flying stories and showing off our airshycraft We set up a table between the two new Stearmans Fox and Gulf and displayed two books showing the eight-year restoration Restoring two Stearmans at the same time seems like a monumenshytal task but in many ways the second aircraft went together easshyier than you would expect The theory that the second time you do something goes faster than the first time holds true for everything but wings No matter how you look at it there are eight wings and when it comes to covering and ribshystitching and sanding the second time is not any faster than the first

Restoring aircraft that played such a vital part in history is reshywarding in itself but sharing the aircraft with people brings its own rewards Hearing the stories from current pilots mastering the art of flying an old biplane and watching an older pilot recall his first flight makes you forget the frustration of trying to get the rudder on and the sore fingers from rib-stitching

Our week at EAA AirVenture was over all too soon Our departure was planned for Saturday August 2 As the aircraft were being preflighted Kristie Bruns came out to wish Bill a good flight Since Richs aircraft did not have a front seat passenger for the flight home we convinced Kristie to come to Ohio with us She said it was an offer she could not turn down With the aircraft set for flight it was time to start the enshygines and head for home

The flight home was absolutely wonderful We had good weather and good visibility One fuel stop was planned at Valparaiso Indishyana where we serviced the aircraft and ate lunch with the local EAA Chapter Flying three Stearmans in formation cross-country is an exshyperience not to be forgotten and it was a great way to celebrate the lOOth anniversary of flight

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 7

TAGE

Are you readyfor a new

flying season DOUG STEWART

The sound of hundreds of wings in flight was distracting me from the job at hand that being to get an article written in time to meet a deadline But as I sat at the comshyputer the buzzing of all those wings was starting to get irritating How could that be A lover of flight such as myself being irritated by the sound of wings in flight Distracted perhaps for like so many of us I cannot help but stop what I am doing and look skyward whenever I hear the sounds of flight but bothered Thats cershytainly not what the sounds of flight do to me Yet here I was starting to get really upset

So I went over to the window Looking outside I could see that it was one heck of a beautiful spring day The snow was gone The grass was starting to green up The sky was inviting me to get out to the airport and add the Tennessee Red and Diana Cream of my Super Cruiser to the cerulean blue that stretched to the horizon in all dishyrections This was a day to be out flying not sitting indoors writing or tending to the honey do list This might be what was causing my irritation

But I have learned that there are times when certain responsibilities dictate that I cannot be flying no matter how badly I wish to be up in the sky So that was not the cause of my aggravation What was the cause were the hundreds

APRIL 2004

of cluster flies buzzing around the window They too were eager to get outside to stretch their wings in flight before heading to the

And so it is with many many pilots across this great land

of ours For whatever reasonthey

have managed to rationalize

not flying throughout the winter months

greening grass to propagate their species Those cluster flies appear every spring filling the windows of many older houses trying to get outside They have lain dormant in the attics of our buildings wings

folded in silent submission to the cruel elements found outside throughout the winter They cant wait for spring to come so that they can once again be airborne fulfilling their purpose here on Earth

And so it is with many many pilots across this great land of ours For whatever reason they have managed to rationalize not flying throughout the winter months They wait impatiently for that first warm spring day to head out to the airport and partake again of the gift of wings For many of these pilots it might have been at least 30 60 or maybe even 90 days or more since they last sat at the conshytrols of their aircraft But unlike the cluster flies whose instinct for flight is inborn these pilots have in many cases let their flying skills atrophy Come the first nice weekshyend day of spring they flock to the airport as do the cluster flies to the window to regain the sky Unshyfortunately it becomes quickly evident especially to those of us who have stayed current throughshyout the winter that the adage Use it or lose it is a true saying

For me those first few weekends 8

(or weekdays for those not constrained by oth er reshysponsibilities) are some of the most dangerous t imes to be flying It seems as if every pilot who has spent the winter chomping at the bit to be back in the air is taxiing for the active runway or in the pattern or en route to his or her favorite $100 burger destination And whereas the bicycle analogy (you never forget how to ride one) is indeed often true regarding the ability to fly an aircraft it is also true that if you have not flown within the past 30 days your piloting skills have probably deteriorated to a certain extent And if the last time you took the controls was before winter set in I think I could safely say that a little recurrent training might be a useful thing

It is not only stick and rudder skills that can get rusty (Did you remember to dive away from that quartering tailwind as you taxied to the runway) but also the memory of procedures and regulations might be affected For example have you remembered that if you have not flown within the previous 90 days you will need to perform three takeoffs and landings (each to a full stop if in a tailwheel airplane) before you can legally carry passengers Do you remember the right of way rules Sometimes observing the antics that ocshycur in the traffic patterns of nontowered airports makes me think that no one remembers those rules or worse yet no longer cares about them Or is it just as

winter that the best equipment for collision avoidshyance is the two eyes each of us was born with

So I have a suggestion that could help all of us who share the skies on those wonderful days of spring flyshying Why not use these early days of the season to get some recurrent training The FAA Wings program is a wonderful way to do that I certainly see more pilots attending winter safety seminars than I do in the sumshymer If you have already been in the process of improving your knowledge by attending a seminar during those dark winter months all you need to do now is get three hours of flight training one hour each of maneuvers takeoffs and landings and instrushyment flight

By getting the recurrent training of the Wings proshygram you are not only satisfying the requirements of a biennial flight review and quite possibly reducing your own personal insurance premiums but you will also make yourself a safer pilot At this time of year when your pilot skills might be at their lowest level why not use the Wings as an excellent opportunity and incentive to knock off the rust that has accumushylated over the winter Doing so will certainly aid in elevating you from being a good pilot to being a great pilot That is a never-ending endeavor we should all be taking

Doug flies a 1947 PA-12 He is the 2004 National Certificated Flight Instructor of the Year Visit his webshysite wwwdsflightcom

2004 National Certificated Fligbt Instructor of the Year

Douglas Stewart MeFI North Egremont Massachusetts

Congratulations go to Doug for earnshying the distinction of 2004 National Certificated Flight Instructor of the Year Doug holds a Master Instructor designation and operates Doug Stewart Flight Instruction (wwwdsflightcom) at Kline Kill Airport (NYl) in Ghent New York A veteran of US Army service h e is a longtime aviation safety counshyselor deSignated pilot examiner and member of the National Association of Flight Instructors

simple as the fact that pilots forget during the long ir===================-shy

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VINTAGE AIRPLANE 9

ror many pilots w~o flew t~e S-39 it ~ecame afavorite an~ one t~ey~ remem ~er for t~e rest of t~eir lives for ot~ers it woul~ ~ecome an aeronautical ~oly grail

Vintage airplanes are reshymarkable machines When you think about their longevity and the

fact that so many of them can be rebuilt with not much more than average craftsmanship and a few special tools its no wonder that roughly half of all airplanes built since World War II are still flying

But there are exceptions Many of the airplanes built before WWII did not survive the scrap drives of that time or they were tossed into the dump And some despite beshying built robustly were ridden hard and put away wet They were tools to be used and discarded when worn out and not a second thought was given to them by some who flew and owned them

The Sikorsky S-39 was one of those tools but it was a stubborn machine At first glance it looks ungainly but a more careful review of the structure and intended misshysion for the airplane gives you a real appreciation for Igor Sikorskys vision of what an amphibious airshyplane could do It could go just about any place a person wanted to be on this Earth from the Tropics to the Arctic on a windswept

SIKORSKY AMPHIBION

African plain or a beautiful blueshygreen inland lake teeming with pike and trout

It was a remarkable aircraft the little brother to the larger twinshyengine Sikorsky S-38 which was being used all over the globe to exshyplore and survey The S-39 was to be the well-heeled sportsmans personal mount or the conven ient chariot for a champion of indusshytry an airplane he could take where he wanted A person could handle and dock the airplane alone if need be and it wouldnt need as much fuel as the S-38

The S-39 proved to be rugged even more so than most seaplanes Not many were built besides the two prototypes a total of 21 airshyplanes of the S-39-A S-39-B and the final variant the S-39-C were constructed but many went on to serve for more than a decade and a few even longer than that solshydiering on into the postwar years During the war they served on search and rescue missions and as bushplanes hauling in whatever was needed

When first designed by Sikorsky the S-39 was literally a shrunkshydown version of the S-38 sporting a pair of 105-115 hp Cirrus Hermes eng ines and a pair of outriggershymounted rudders It was first flown successfully on Christmas Eve 1929 but a crash on its third test flight on December 30 nearly ended the program when famed

Sikorsky test pilot Boris Sergievsky and the project engineer Mike Gluhareff had to ride the airplane down to a marsh on Long Island Sound after one of the Cirrus Hershymes decided to quit Unable to maintain flight on the other Hershymes Sergievsky and Gluhareff managed to swim away from the ensuing wreck but the airplane was totaled Since his early days as a designer in Russia Igor Sikorsky preferred multiengine aircraft He felt that when properly designed the loss of one engine should not result in the loss of the aircraft

The S-39 became a single-engine aircraft after the accident with the prototype Although Sikorsky still would have rather installed a pair of larger engines another factor came to bear when the decision had to be made Sikorsky Aircraft had recently become a division of the United Aircraft Corp and United management made it known it preferred the airplane be powered by another United Aircraft product an engine built by the Pratt amp Whitshyney company A single 300-hp PampW Wasp Junior was mated to the S-39 airframe It could even be argued that it enhanced safety since it was unlikely that a twin-engine version wi th lower horsepower engines would have been able to maintain flight with one engine

The S-39 isnt written of very ofshyten since its design and production was taking place at the same time

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 11

The (useage hull and wing bits and pieces for 5-39 NSOV SIN 912 lies in a loading area after being reshycovered from the Alaska bush near Naknek Alaska It had been stripped of just about everything usable and was being used as a clubhouse by an 8-year-old Inuit boy and his friends When found it had small trees and undergrowth pushing up through the structure

Most often each piece had to be constructed using the original parts for patterns Here a portion of the enshygine cowling is used to create a pair of dies that were used to press louvers for the cowling

as another Sikorsky I Amphibion (Sikorskys coined term for his amshyphibious airplanes)-the four shyengine airliner being designed and built for Pan American Airways the S-40 Working closely with Pan Am consultant Charles Lindbergh Igor Sikorsky designed the airplane to be a quantum leap from the capabilishyties of the S-38 The S-39 wasnt an afterthought but understandably it didnt get a lot of notice when comshypared with its much larger brethren For many pilots who flew the S-39 it became a favorite and one theyd remember for the rest of their lives For others it would become an aeronautical holy grail 12 APRIL 2004

Dick Jackson of Rochester New Hampshire has loved vintage airshyplanes all his life Hes owned a numshyber of great ones and still owns the rare Waco Model D a closed-cockpit black biplane that comes straight out of the pages of 1930s pulp magazines like Flying Aces He also loves seaplanes and so in 1962 he started researching antique seaplanes An amshyphibian made the most sense since you didnt have to leave it outside all the time and you could just taxi up to the fuel pumps Beshying able to alight on both water and land gave plenty of opshytions for places to visit instead of beshying bound to only seaplane bases For practical reasons he ruled out wooden airframes since they didnt hold up well over the years That meant an all-metal

airframe and when the folder of research materials started to grow it became obvious that the airshyplane he was looking for was a Sikorsky Amphibion He soon disshycovered that finding one was a real challenge None were flying and there were few bits and pieces that could be found Given the way the airplane was constructed I suppose its not surprising that the parts seemed to scatter as soon as an airshyplane was deemed unairworthy

Dick Jacksons a persistent New England bUSinessman a charactershyistic that has served him well over the years while restoring the S-39 Once he decided to rebuild a Sikoshy

rsky he was going to pick apart every lead he could uncover His first major breakthrough came in 1964 when he asked his good friend Steve Rhodes to follow up on his research He gave Rhodes a list of the eight S-39s thought to be in Alaska One proved to be if not the jackpot at least a good start

At the end of the Aleutian isshyland chain is the small Inuit village called Naknek There Steve asked about the whereabouts of the reshymains of NC-50V which had been rumored to have been abandoned after being damaged in 1944 or 45 No adults knew of the airshyplane but an 8-year-old boy did-he and his buddies were usshying it as their clubhouse

By truck to King Salmon and then by airfreight to Anchorage it was finally shipped dirt and all (so no little buried parts would be lost) to New Hampshire where it arrived in 1965 Thankfully the airframe did still have its all-imshyportant nameplate Now Dick had a place to start but didnt know how long the road would be If he had he might very well have deshycided the project was pure folly

Each of the tail booms was repaired and then coated with epoxy primer

The completely new center section with its fabric covering applied You can see the fuel tanks installed in the center section which was done in the S-39C model of the airplane Earlier versions had the fuel in tanks located in the hull

The two long hatches and the smaller aft hatch allow you to gain access to th e cabin The aluminum vertical tube is a retractable handle that makes the climb up easier

the restoration but Dick was a stickshyler that the airplane be accurately re-created Since he didnt have a riding lens (which serves as an at anchor light when the airplane is sitting in the water) Dick had a new set molded He was also missshying parts to the Pioneer position lights so molds were made and new red and green lenses were cast

Dick owned an original set of 14 APRIL 2004

The engine control quadrant like the control wheel is original

Pyle landing lights which were inshystalled on many S-39s Years before the project was completed smooth-talking Larry Harmacinski talked Dick into selling the Pyle lights to him for his Waco ASO project It gets complicated after that but later when a complete set of Pyle lights was made availshyable Larry bought that set so Dick was able to buy back the set of lights hed sold Larry years before

Each part of the project had its

own little mountain to climb More than half of the wing ribs in the 52-foot wing had to be built from scratch There are 72 pieces in each rib which meant more than 1800 pieces were made for the wings ribs The center section from NC-809W proved to be unshyairworthy so a new section was built Since the unusable section

From the original Sikorsky Amshyphibian S-39 brochure

was intact it showed the technical changes needed to convert the Sshy39 to a C model Dick deviated from one method of original conshystruction-the original corrosion protection for the wings was a

combination of red lead oxide primer covered by beeswax The areas coming in contact with fabshyric were dope-proofed using tin foil For the restoration Dick chose to use epoxy primers

The tail section also required the manufacture of some new ribs along with a set of spars The rudshyder is an original part that could be repaired Even the ripples in the rudders skin surface which were there when the airplane was built have been maintained

The first major piece recovered the hull to NC-SOV was severely corshyroded Three major bulkheads needed to be replaced as well as the upper decking hatches and winshydow frames The bottom skins and the keel also had to be replaced All of the riveting was done using the same methods craftsmen at Sikorsky had used in 1930 The upset side of the rivet was rounded instead of flat All of the hardware in the airshyframe is white cadmium plated and all nuts that must be safetied are done so with cotter pins-no elastic stop nuts were used All of the conshytrol cables are spliced with no compression fittings used

The interior is strikingly origishynal Since both fabric and leather upholstery samples were found from the various S-39s Dick and

Patsy chose to use leather for the seat cushions and the interior side panels were reproduced from mashyhogany using the original parts as patterns The instrument panel is equally original with the addition of a small panel that hides the modern switches and controls for the alternator radiOS and intershycom One of the original parts in the cockpit is the control wheel which was disassembled and then reglued The S-39 came equipped with a control wheel on the pilots side and a removable control stick on the right

Unlike the S-38 the cockpit to the S-39 is entered through the cabin (The S-38 must be entered through hatches on each side of the cockpit) With two up forward in the cockpit theres still plenty of room for two or three passenshygers in the aft cabin though with three on the seat theyd better be married or very close friends

Above the cockpit mounted on the wing center section is a neatly cowled Pratt amp Whitney 96S-ANl which is rated at 400 hp at 2200 rpm while pulling 34 inches of manifold pressure (The -ANI is the military designation for the B series of the 98S) The cowling surshyrounding the Wasp Junior is new and secured using pins and wires

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15