Va vol 38 no 3 march 2010

march 2010

march 2010

This month’s column starts out with a good news–bad news scenario. Okay, the good news fi rst. The federal budget was recently introduced by the current administration in Wash-ington, D.C., and there are no signs of any user fees projected to impact general or recreational aviation for the upcoming fi scal year 2011. This is really huge news in my estimation. I see this as an affi rmation of all the hard work of each of the aviation “alphabet organizations,” as well as our membership, in their efforts to tell the whole story about the impor-tance of general aviation (GA) in to-day’s society, and its positive impact on this nation’s economy.

Doug Macnair of EAA’s govern-ment relations office said it best when he recently remarked, “The system is elegant in its simplicity; the more we fl y, the more fuel we burn, the more we pay in taxes. There can be no more accurate measure of our direct use of the national airspace sys-tem.” Well said, Doug! If you haven’t been watching the development of the GA caucuses in the 111th Con-gress, you should be aware that the House and the Senate caucuses have both experienced massive member-ship growth in recent months. These caucuses in the House and the Senate already have shown to have had a positive impact on GA, particularly in the arena of abusive legislation that has time and again threatened our way of life. Let’s continue to hope for the best, that these caucuses will continue to thrive and impact GA with positive outcomes. If your local representative has yet to join

one of these caucuses, please be sure to encourage him or her to take an active role in GA and join up.

Now for the bad news! It seems as though that pesky little rodent in Pennsylvania has once again seen his shadow, thereby assuring us of an ad-ditional six weeks of winter weather. Oh, the joys of living in the great Mid-west or, this year, in the mid-Atlantic and Northeast. They no more turned “Phil” loose in Punxsutawney, and it started snowing around here nearly every day since. I think we have gotten 9 inches since this shadowy event, and it’s snowing now and not predicted to stop for two more days. Somebody out there in the great state of Pennsyl-vania, please hunt this useless wan-nabe guinea pig down and concrete his hole shut! Oh well, by the time you read this month’s column, we will be within just a few weeks of April and hopefully experiencing some higher temperatures and a little sunshine. Here’s hoping you have an earlier spring than I do. Since the groundhog has given us all an extra bit of time to bone up on our fl ying knowledge, seek out some of the online aviation in-formation; there’s bound to be some-thing you don’t remember!

EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2010 is coming together. The Vintage type club parking area will feature a large number of Cessna 170s along with the venerable Stinson aircraft this year. Another featured aircraft at Osh-kosh 2010 will be the old-time work-horse, the Douglas DC-3. This year marks the 75th anniversary of this awesome machine. EAA, VAA, and the Warbirds of America will be host-

ing virtually dozens of these amazing aircraft. Nowhere else in this world will you ever be able to see so many DC-3s in one place at the same time. This effort is sure to be a gate-buster at this year’s event.

July 28, 1935, was the day of the fi rst fl ight of the famous Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress. EAA has put out the call to all current operators of these special aircraft to bring them to Air-Venture for this unique anniversary.

Be sure to visit www.AirVenture.orgoften to keep up with all the planning for this year’s event. You just have to be at The World’s Greatest Aviation Celebration. I hope to see you there!

Be sure to read about our newly relaunched Vintage Aircraft Associa-tion Lifetime Membership opportu-nity in the VAA News column in this month’s issue. This renewed opportu-nity comes about because of a great deal of interest from our thousands of members.

Please consider making a lifetime commitment to the Vintage Aircraft Association. The many benefits of a VAA Lifetime Membership are sure to complement the many amenities of your regular benefi ts. Help us preserve the vintage aircraft movement by join-ing us as a VAA member in perpetuity.

VAA is about participation: Be a member! Be a volunteer! Be there!

Let’s all pull in the same direction for the good of aviation. Remember, we are better together. Join us and have it all!

GEOFF ROBISONPRESIDENT, VINTAGE AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION

STRAIGHT & LEVEL

No user fees and that pesky weather rodent

IFC Straight & Level No user fees and that pesky weather rodent by Geoff Robison

2 News

4 Chapter Locator and Info

6 Fleet Canuck Canada’s gem from the north by Budd Davisson

12 My Friend Albert Vollmecke Part III by Robert G. Lock

16 Ground Eff ect Use manual fl aps to hop off sooner by Irven F. Palmer Jr.

20 Light Plane Heritage Th e Bellanca Biplanes by Jack McRae

25 Th e Vintage Mechanic My thoughts on aircraft propellers, Part II by Robert G. Lock

30 Th e Vintage Instructor How’s your fl ight profi ciency? by Steve Krog, CFI

32 Mystery Plane by H.G. Frautschy

36 Vintage Books and Video Reviews

37 Classifi ed Ads

39 What Our Members Are Restoring Klemm 107C by Th omas Stute

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 1

A I R P L A N E M A R C HC O N T E N T S

S T A F FEAA Publisher Tom PobereznyDirector of EAA Publications Mary JonesExecutive Director/Editor H.G. FrautschyProduction/Special Project Kathleen WitmanPhotography Jim Koepnick Bonnie KratzAdvertising Coordinator Sue AndersonClassifi ed Ad Coordinator Lesley PobereznyCopy Editor Colleen WalshDirector of Advertising Katrina Bradshaw

Display Advertising Representatives: Specialized Publications Co.U.S. Eastern Time Zone-Northeast: Ken Ross609-822-3750 Fax: [email protected] U.S. Eastern Time Zone-Southeast: Chester Baumgartner727-532-4640 Fax: [email protected] U.S. Central Time Zone: Gary Worden and Todd Reese800-444-9932 Fax: [email protected]; [email protected] U.S. Mountain and Pacifi c Time Zones: John Gibson916-784-9593 Fax: [email protected] Europe: Willi TackePhone: +49(0)1716980871 Fax: +49(0)8841 / 496012willi@fl ying-pages.com

C O V E R S

Vol. 38, No. 3 2010

FRONT COVER: Two Fleet Canucks came to EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2009 with their pilots, Peter Moodie and Joe Leslie. Leslie’s airplane, this beautifully restored model built in 1953, only has a bit more than 12,000 hours on it. Moodie’s airplane, which you can see in the ar-ticle by Budd Davisson star ting on page 6, had 22,270 hours on the air frame as of the trip to Oshkosh. EAA photo by Jim Koepnick.BACK COVER: If you ever wondered what the very fi rst airplane to receive a Department of Com-merce, Aeronautics Branch Approved Type Certifi cate looked like, wonder no more. This is the very fi rst Buhl-Verville J4 Airster, ATC no. 1. The type certifi cate was issued with great fanfare on March 29, 1927, just a couple of months before Lindbergh fl ew the Atlantic solo. This particular airplane, the fi rst off the production line, was sold to Henry B. DuPont of Wilmington, Delaware. This Kalec-Forester photo is part of the George O. Noville Collection of the EAA Library.

16

6

VAA NEWS

2 MARCH 2010

VAA Lifetime Membership Now Available

It’s been more than 30 years since the Antique/Classic Division of EAA (now the Vintage Aircraft Association) has offered a lifetime membership option. Over the past few years a number of committed members of both VAA and EAA have asked us to consider reinstat-ing the lifetime membership op-tion. Now, with the EAA lifetime membership available to all who wish to show their dedication to recreational aviation, we can offer the same opportunity to members of the Vintage Aircraft Association.

It takes a special individual to make a lifetime commitment to support the work we do to help preserve, protect, and defend the freedom of personal flight. We feel honored that a num-ber of you have expressed an interest in showing your dedication by be-coming a VAA lifetime member, and your commitment deserved to be re-warded. By demonstrating your com-mitment to aviation as a VAA lifetime member, you’ll be rewarded with all the great benefi ts of individual mem-bership, plus the exclusive benefits only lifetime members receive:

•A personalized VAA lifetime member card,

•Customized and framed VAA lifetime member certifi cate,

•Official VAA lifetime member propeller paperweight,

•VAA lifetime member pin,•VAA lifetime inside/outside

window decal, and•A listing on the VAA website as

a VAA lifetime member alongside your fellow VAA lifetime members.

If you’d like a VAA lifetime mem-ber jacket, it is available for an ad-ditional cost of only $50.

A VAA lifetime member becomes part of an exclusive group of avia-tors who have chosen to act as stew-ards of recreational aviation and the backbone of EAA’s mission to sup-port the passionate pursuit of fl ight. VAA lifetime members lead by ex-ample through their demonstrated dedication to aviation’s future. And with their help, and yours, VAA can preserve the unwavering spirit of more than a century of aviation pio-neers, innovators, and heroes.

Beyond a passion for the air-planes of yesteryear and a willing-ness to show your commitment to support the work being done by the VAA, there is just one requirement for VAA lifetime membership; since you have to be an EAA member to be a VAA member, each VAA life-time member must also be an EAA lifetime member.

If you’re already one of the nearly 1,300 EAAers who are already an EAA lifetime member, the addi-tional cost of a Vintage Aircraft As-sociation lifetime membership is only $975. If you’re not yet an EAA lifetime member, to become both an EAA and VAA lifetime member, the total cost is $1,950. Various options are available to pay for a lifetime membership. For more information, contact EAA membership services at 800-564-6322.

Time to Replace YourPaper Pilot Certificate

Pilots who still have not replaced their paper pilot certifi cate should do so immediately or risk being un-able to exercise their hard-earned privileges in the not-too-distant fu-ture. All paper airman certificates will expire after March 31, 2010. FAR 61.19(h) reads: “Except for a temporary certifi cate issued under §61.17 or a student pilot certifi-cate issued under paragraph (b) of this section, the holder of a paper pilot certificate issued under this part may not exercise the privileges

of that certificate after March 31, 2010.”

To have your certificate replaced, you can visit this website: www.FAA.gov/licenses_certifi cates/airmen_certifi cation/certifi cate_replacement.

Or, you can mail in your request to:Federal Aviation AdministrationAirmen Certifi cation Branch,AFS-760P.O. Box 25082Oklahoma City, OK 73125-0082

Enclose a check for $2 for each certifi cate you need replaced.

A few items to note:•The FAA says to allow four to six

weeks for mail processing and seven to 10 days for online processing.

•It will issue only one copy of each certifi cate.

•It cannot place the original date of issue on a replacement certifi cate.

•It will not issue expired certifi -cates. However, you can request an expired CFI letter at no charge.

•If your current address is listed as a post offi cebox (P.O. box), gen-eral delivery, rural route, or star route, please provide directions or a map for locating your residence.

Finally, one more thing to men-tion—don’t send your paper cer-tificate in when you mail in your request! Keep it in your possession. The FAA does not require you to send it in, and doing so may confuse the FAA into thinking you’re surrender-ing your certifi cate, something that you really don’t want to do.

Type Club/FAA MeetingDuring EAA AirVenture

In an effort to add to the ways the type clubs can communicate in an effi cient manner with the FAA’s Small Airplane Directorate, the VAA will again facilitate a series of meet-ings between clubs who ask for a meeting with the FAA during Air-Venture. To be clear, we don’t con-trol the agenda, nor does the FAA limit its contact with type clubs to

L I F E T IM E M E M B E R

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 3

only this time of year; on the con-trary, when issues come up from time to time, the FAA is most inter-ested in obtaining feedback from the clubs. Often, this feedback is done through the airworthiness concern sheet (ACS) system when a mainte-nance-related issue is highlighted.

“The Small Airplane Director-ate responds to the public’s con-cerns throughout the year and in as timely a way as possible,” notes John Colomy, manager of the Small Airplane Directorate’s Standards Of-fice. Our job during AirVenture is to provide a convenient place for the FAA to meet with any type clubs that would like to meet face-to-face.

We ask that any issues the type clubs may have with the FAA be sent via e-mail or letter to VAA headquarters by April 30. During the first part of May we will com-pile the issues in a list and forward them to Kim Smith, the manager of the FAA’s Small Airplane Director-ate in Kansas City.

Kim and her staff will then di-rectly contact the clubs, working to address the issues during the first part of the summer and, if need be, meet with the individual clubs dur-ing AirVenture.

After AirVenture, the Small Air-plane Directorate will report back to EAA regarding the issues brought forward and their disposition.

We ask that only the head of each type club send a letter; if you’re a member of a type club and you feel the club should address a specific problem, please contact the club di-rectly and ask that the issue be added to the club’s list of concerns. Club presidents or their designated repre-sentatives should send their letter to:

Vintage Aircraft AssociationAttn: Type Club IssuesP.O. Box 3086Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086

Or you can e-mail your letter to [email protected]. Only those is-sues brought forth in writing will be added to the list, and again, please ensure your message is submitted by April 30, 2010.

Short Wing Piper Club Also, we have a change for the

listing of the Short Wing Piper Club:Short Wing Piper Club Inc. Eleanor Mills 2865 S. Ingram Mill, Unit D-202 Springfi eld, MO 65804 417-883-1457 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.ShortWing.org Dues: $40/yr. U.S. & Canada;$50 Int’l Newsletter: Short Wing Piper News, Bimonthly

International Stinson ClubPlease change your listing for

the International Stinson Club; the individual in the previous list published in Vintage Airplane is no longer associated with the club. Here’s the correct information:

International Stinson ClubLogan Boles 210 Blackfi eld Dr. Tiburon, CA 94920415-383-3262E-mail: [email protected]: www.StinsonClub.orgDues: $30/yr.Newsletter: Monthly

Nelson’s Comanche WindshieldJ i m N e l s o n , o w n e r o f t h e

beautiful Piper PA-24 Coman-che featured in our January issue, dropped us a note to correct the dimensional thickness of the new windshield installed by WEBCO. The actual thickness is 1/4-inch, not 1/2-inch as written.

Possible Assembly Glitch with February Magazine

If your copy of February’s is-sue of Vintage Airplane wasn’t as-sembled correctly, we’d like to hear from you so we can send you a correctly constructed copy! A very limited number of that issue were incorrectly assembled at our printer’s plant. Drop us a note at [email protected] or via reg-ular mail at VAA, PO Box 3086, Oshkosh WI 54903 and we’ll get a new, correct copy to you as soon as we can.

AERO FriedrichshafenMesse FriedrichshafenFriedrichshafen, GermanyApril 8-11, 2010www.AERO-Friedrichshafen.com/html/en

Sun ’n Fun Fly-InLakeland Linder Regional Airport (LAL)Lakeland, FloridaApril 13-18, 2010www.Sun-N-Fun.org

Virginia Regional Festival of FlightSuffolk Executive Airport (SFQ)Suffolk, VirginiaMay 22-23, 2010www.VirginiaFlyIn.org

Golden West Regional Fly-In and Air ShowYuba County Airport (MYV)Marysville, California June 11-13, 2010www.GoldenWestFlyIn.org

Arlington Fly-InArlington Municipal Airport (AWO)Arlington, WashingtonJuly 7-11, 2010www.ArlingtonFlyIn.org

EAA AirVenture Oshkosh Wittman Regional Airport (OSH)Oshkosh, Wisconsin July 26-August 1, 2010www.AirVenture.org

Colorado Sport International Air Show and Rocky Mountain Regional Fly-InRocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport (BJC)Denver, ColoradoAugust 28-29 2010www.COSportAviation.org

Mid-Eastern Regional Fly-InGrimes Field Airport (I74), Urbana, OhioSeptember 11-12, 2010www.MERFI.info

Copperstate Fly-InCasa Grande Municipal Airport (CGZ)Casa Grande, ArizonaOctober 21-23, 2010www.COPPERSTATE.org

Southeast Regional Fly-InMiddleton Field Airport (GZH)Evergreen, Alabama October 22-24, 2010www.SERFI.org

For details on hundreds of upcoming aviation happenings, including EAA chapter fly-ins, Young Eagles rallies, and other local aviation events, visit the EAA Calendar of Events located at www.eaa.org/calendar.

Upcoming Major F ly - Ins

EAA Calendar of Aviation Events Is Now OnlineEAA’s online Calendar of Events is the “go-to” spot on

the Web to list and fi nd aviation events in your area. The user-friendly, searchable format makes it the perfect web-based tool for planning your local trips to a fl y-in.

In EAA’s online Calendar of Events, you can search for events at any given time within a certain radius of any airport by entering the identifi er or a ZIP code, and you can further defi ne your search to look for just the types of events you’d like to attend.

We invite you to access the EAA online Calendar of Events at http://www.eaa.org/calendar/

CALIFORNIAHayward, CA, VAA 29Meeting: 2nd Thurs., 6:00 p.m.Hayward Executive Airport Hangar (HWD)William Field, PresidentPhone: 925-463-0589E-mail: wfi [email protected]

CALIFORNIASacramento, CA, VAA 25Meeting: 2nd Sat., 9:00 a.m.See chapter website for location.Jim Jordan, PresidentPhone: 916-983-0865E-mail: [email protected]: www.Vin25.org

CAROLINAS, VIRGINIAWalnut Cove, NC, VAA 3Meeting: Contact PresidentSusan Dusenbury, PresidentPhone: 336-591-3931E-mail: [email protected]: www.VAA3.orgMay 7-9: Spring Fly-In, Roxboro, NC

FLORIDALakeland, FL, VAA 1Meeting: Contact PresidentJon Baker, PresidentPhone: 863-676-0426E-mail: [email protected]: http://FSAACA.com

ILLINOISLansing, IL, VAA 26Meeting: Contact PresidentPeter Bayer, PresidentPhone: 630-922-3387E-mail: [email protected]

INDIANAAuburn, IN, VAA 37Meeting: 4th Thurs., 7:00 p.m.Auburn Airport Chapter HangarDrew Hoffman, PresidentPhone: 260-693-9747E-mail: [email protected]: www.VAA37.org

KANSASOverland Park, KS, VAA 16Meeting: 2nd Fri., 7:30 p.m.New Century Airport, CAG HangarKevin Pratt, PresidentPhone: 816-985-3248E-mail: [email protected]: www.VAA16.comJune 25-26: Annual Greater Kansas City Area Vintage Fly-in at Gardner Municipal (K34). See web for details. Come and enjoy!

LOUISIANANew Iberia, LA, VAA 30Meeting: 1st Sun., 9:00 a.m.LeMaire Memorial Airport Hangar 4 (2R1)Roland Denison, PresidentPhone: 337-365-3047E-mail: [email protected]

MINNESOTAAlbert Lea, MN, VAA 13Meeting: 2nd Thurs., 7:00 p.m.Albert Lea Airport FBO (AEL)Paul Stieler, PresidentPhone: 507-377-2291E-mail: [email protected]

Chapter Locatorand info

Visit the VAA

chapter nearest

you and get to

know some great

vintage-airplane

enthusiasts!

You don’t need to

be a pilot to join

in the fun, just have

a love of the

great airplanes

of yesteryear.

4 MARCH 2010

JOHN OSTMEYER

NEBRASKAPlattsmouth, NE, VAA 31Meeting: 1st Sat., 10:30 a.m.Plattsmouth Airport Term Bldg.William Kroeger, PresidentPhone: 402-331-3887E-mail: [email protected]

NEW HAMPSHIRENorth Hampton, NH, VAA 15Meeting: 2nd Sat., 11:00 a.m.Hampton Airfi eld (7B3)Eric Obssuth, PresidentPhone: 603-479-5832E-mail: [email protected]

NEW JERSEYAndover, NJ, VAA 7Meeting: 1st Sun, 10:30 a.m.Aerofl ex Andover Airport (12N)Joe Tapp, PresidentPhone: 908-872-3821E-mail: [email protected]

OHIOColumbus, OH, VAA 38Meeting: 2nd Sunday, 1 p.m.Contact president for location.Perry Chappano, PresidentPhone: 614-496-3423E-mail: [email protected]

OHIODelaware, OH, VAA 27Meeting: 3rd Sat., 9:00 a.m.Delaware Municipal Airport (DLZ) Terminal BuildingMartin McIntire, PresidentPhone: 740-362-7228E-mail: [email protected]: www.EAAdlz.orgMay 15: 8-10 AM: Fly-In Pancake BreakfastJune 19: 8-10 AM: Fly-In Pancake Breakfast

OHIOTroy, OH, VAA 36Meeting: Contact PresidentRichard Amrhein, PresidentPhone: 937-335-1444Email: [email protected]

OKLAHOMATulsa, OK, VAA 10Meeting: 4th Thurs., 7:00 PMHardesty South Regional LibraryJoe Champagne, PresidentPhone: 918-257-4688Email: [email protected]

TEXASSpring, TX, VAA 2Meeting: 4th Sun., 2:00 PMDavid Wayne Hooks Airport (KDWH)Fred Ramin, PresidentPhone: 281-444-5309Email: [email protected]

WISCONSINBrookfi eld, WI, VAA 11Meeting: 1st Mon., 7:30 PMCapitol Drive Airport Offi ce (O2C)James Brown, PresidentPhone: 262-895-6282Email: [email protected]

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 5

Want to Start a VAA Chapter?It’s easy to start a VAA chapter. All you need to get started is fi ve Vintage enthusiasts. Then contact the EAA Chapter Offi ce at 920-426-6867, or e-mail [email protected] to obtain an EAA Chapter Starter Kit. EAA has tools to help you get in touch with all your local Vintage members, and will guide you through the process of starting a chapter.

Fall Fly-In at Camden, South Carolina, L-R: Harry Ballance’s Stearman, Todd Givens’ Stearman, Ron Normark’s Super Cub and Chet Phillips’ Fairchild 24.

Buddy Wehman describes the starter on his Fleet 16 at the Camden 2009 Fly-In.

6 MARCH 2010

Fleet

Canada’s gem from the northby Budd Davisson

Canuck! Now there’s a term with

wide-ranging applications and meaning. For example, it’s one of the many phrases our friends north of the

border use to describe themselves. For another, it can be a hockey team. Or a Canadian cartoon character

(Johnny Canuck). It can also be an airplane. Three actually: the World War I Curtiss JN-4 Canuck (Jenny, south

of the border); the native-designed and -built jet fi ghter, the CF-100 Canuck; and lastly, the Fleet Canuck. Ex-

cept the Fleet Canuck isn’t just an airplane. This postwar classic is closer to being an icon. Or a legend. To hard-

core Canadians, it’s more than simply a fl ying machine. And with 22,270 hours in its logbook, CF-EOH is more

than just a Canuck. It’s a fl ying witness to the Canadian character: tough, resilient, adaptable, and ready to do

whatever needs doing. It’s a Canuck and then some.

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 7

8 MARCH 2010

Peter Moodie of Winnipeg, Man-itoba, is typical of Canuck owners in that he is driven to make certain everyone knows of Canada’s own Fleet Canuck. Being a Canuck, he’s proud of his Canuck. Even though it’s a little worn around the edges (22,270 hours will do that to an airplane), he has every right to be proud of his airplane in that it is one of the roughly 60 survivors of the 225 built, and in its lifetime, it has produced literally hundreds of pilots. (Editor’s Note: That last sta-tistic is interesting; if you look at the production/registration records of air-planes built in the United States, you’ll

usually find that about half of the classic airplanes built after World War II are still on the registration rolls. The Canuck is a tough, useful airplane, but the rigors of fl ight training, and of fl y-ing in the bush in Canada, have taken their toll. Only a quarter of those built still survive.—HGF)

Joe Leslie, from Abbotsford, British Columbia, is proud of his Canuck, too. CF-EAU is totally re-stored, a spit-and-polish trophy winner, and sitting next to Joe’s airplane, it makes spectators that much more aware of the toll time has taken on Peter’s. But that is to be expected because Joe’s Canuck

has only a little more than 12,000 hours on it. Most of it in fl ight train-ing like Peter’s. That’s right, the two airplanes sitting side by side in the Vintage area at EAA AirVenture Osh-kosh 2009 had a total of more than

The Fleet Canuck is powered by a fuel-injected Continental C-85, and it uses bungees tucked up in the bottom of the fuselage to absorb landing loads.

The Fleet Canuck has a distinctive narrow-waisted look to the aft fuselage. That’s accentuated by the rather wide cabin that can accommodate two people in full winter dress.

Joe Leslie and his simple fuel gauge fa-miliar to most pilots, a wire on a cork.

CF-EAU has “only” 12,000 hours on it, most of it accumulated during fl ight training. Now with a prize-winning restoration and a very capable instrument panel, it’s “retired” to a life of leisure with Joe Leslie at the controls.

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 9

34,000 hours between them! 34,000 hours! That’s nearly four years aloft. Airplanes don’t live that long or work that hard unless they are A) good at what they do and B) hell for

stout. And the Fleet Canuck is both. Another interesting aspect to

the Canuck is that it is essentially a homebuilt airplane that was eventu-ally put into production. The orig-inal design was laid down by J.O. “Bob” Noury of Ottawa in 1941-1942. He had thoughts about put-ting it into production and got it certified, but then the unpleasant-ness in Europe intervened, and he put his fl ying prototype away until the war was starting to wind down. Fleet Aircraft, based in Fort Erie, On-tario (just across the river from Buf-falo, New York), was at that time looking ahead at what it knew was going to be a challenging future. It had built itself into a sizable airframe manufacturing company during the war, and the cessation of hostilities meant it was going to be out of work unless it found something to build. Enter the Noury N-75.

Recognizing it was less expensive to rework an existing design than do one from scratch, Fleet Aircraft bought the prototype and design rights, modified it slightly (bigger

Hey, if you had 22,270 hours on your airframe, your rudder pedals would be a bit worn, too!

CF-EOH is well-loved, having accumulated 22,270 hours on the airframe! It’s owned and fl own by Peter Moodie of Winnipeg, Manitoba, who brought it to EAA AirVenture Oshkosh along with his pal Joe Leslie, of Abbotsford, British Columbia.

Peter Moodie with his nice new set of Millennium cylinders that help keep CF-EOH purring along.

Even without the added distortion of a wide-angle lens, you can see how nice and wide the cabin of a Canuck is at shoulder level. Like the Luscombe Sil-vaire series, the Fleet Canuck is differ-ent than many side-by-side airplanes in having stick controls.

10 MARCH 2010

vertical fin, lowered thrust line), and rushed it into production pow-ered by a fuel-injected Continen-tal C-85-12F 85-hp. The company didn’t want to miss out on the huge market that was sure to be repre-sented by the tens of thousands of returning GI pilots, all of whom were going to want an airplane in their garage. Only it didn’t work out that way.

Fleet was far from being the only airframe manufacturer to be fooled, and the huge population of aircraft built in 1946-1947 (well more than 30,000) still make up a sizable proportion of today’s small aircraft population. Fleet built 198 airplanes before shutting down. The inventory was sold to Leavens Brothers, which assembled another 25 airplanes as late as 1958.

Peter says, “My airplane was one of those assembled by Leavens Broth-ers in 1953. Mine went to Central Airways fl ight school in 1953, where it stayed until sometime in the mid-’60s. Then it went to the Edmonton Flying Club. I bought her in 1986, and she is now semi-retired.

“The Canucks really formed the backbone for the Canadian post-war flight training. Although that role has pretty much been taken over by Cessnas and such, many of those who made it to the left seats of Canadian airliners got their start in Canucks. I know of at least 30 Air Canada pilots alone who flew my airplane. And, if I know that many on just my airplane, how many were trained on all the others? It has to be thousands. Although something like 30 Canucks were exported, most of them became trainers and stayed that way for several generations.

“The airplane is ideal for a trainer because it’s very benign and rugged. It can take a terrifi c beating and keep on flying. The fact that mine has so many hours on it is testament to that fact. In 1971 the Edmonton Flying Club installed a Continental O-200 in -EOH. On the 13th fl ight of the test program the instructor, after a very short ground roll and steep climb-out, stalled at

around 100 feet. He did manage to keep it straight all the way to the ground. The impact collapsed the gear, and there was enough damage to declare the aircraft a write-off. That he survived and the airplane was rebuilt says something about its overall rugged construction.

“Joe’s airplane also shows how tough it can be because it survived a mid-air collision. It’s in the logbook, and you can see where they spliced the main spar carry-through tube.”

A casual walk around the air-plane reveals several unique features about it. For instance, although the airplane is traditional rag-and-tube construction, the ailerons are metal-skinned, and the hinges on the ai-lerons are external to the wing and on the top, rather than the bottom. Also, there’s a fairly sophisticated piece of tooling evident in that there is a bead stamped in the aileron sur-face that goes forward and over the aileron nose, making the bead into a compound curve. So the ailerons were made in stamping dies: pretty sophisticated stuff for what is essen-tially a puddle jumper.

“Of course,” Peter says, “the air-plane is a little on the heavy side for what it is. Mine is 1,035 pounds empty, and the factory specs say it should be a little over 900 pounds, which none of them are. Gross weight is 1,480 pounds and 1,524 on floats. Plus it’s no Super Cub. The airfoil is a NACA 23012, which is a fairly high-performance airfoil not known for low-speed lifting

like the Cub’s fl at-bottom wing. So, it doesn’t leap off the ground.

“When Joe got his airplane, it was pretty rough, and he got to deal with the fact that the airplane wasn’t produced in large numbers, so some of the parts are hard to fi nd. The lift struts, for instance, aren’t regular streamlined tubing. They are something Fleet had made specifi-cally for the Canuck, so, if you need a strut, you have no choice but to fi nd an actual Canuck strut.

“The same thing goes for the trim system. It uses a crank, which is impossible to fi nd, but Joe found one. Most Canucks have gone to a Teleflex helix-wound push-pull cable, which was done on my air-plane, too, but the cable is also hard to find and costs $45 a foot. As it happens, I found a long, long piece in a surplus store that was made for the Noorduyn Norseman, and I got the entire thing, enough to do three airplanes, for $50.

“And then there are the bungees,” Peter says and frowns. “They are also unique to the Canuck, so you have to plan well ahead, when replacing them, because they are always spe-cial order. The same thing applies to the windshields. The molds exist, but they are in a cottage-industry envi-ronment, so you can’t just order one expecting it to be on the shelf.

“When Joe was rebuilding his airplane, he was lucky that his wings were pretty good. The spars use an extruded spar cap that is no longer available, so if you need to

The trim system uses this handle and Telefl ex cable.

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 11

totally rebuild a spar, it can get very diffi cult. The ribs are punched alu-minum and can be repaired, but the spars can be a problem.

“Having been an airframe man-ufacturer during the war, Fleet did a number of things on the Canuck you wouldn’t expect for a little air-plane, and it shows the airplane was designed for operations up here in Canada. The Fleet-designed floats, for instance, don’t require you to remove the landing gear to mount

them. You just pull the wheels, and the axles slide into sockets on top the floats. There’s not even a spreader bar in front. Only in the rear.

“The skis are just as useful and unique. The entire tire sits on top the ski in a pocket-like arrange-ment and is strapped down to the ski. There are some Federals li-censed for the Canuck, but they at-tach like all other skis do, so they aren’t as convenient.

“The airplane is really a great air-plane to fly. For one thing, it’s 40 inches wide, which, for its time is quite wide, so both of you can wear heavy coats and not be jammed in, although the heater does a fairly reasonable job of keeping the cabin

warm. It is, however, quite noisy, reportedly 115 decibels, which is well above the level that hearing damage can occur, so earplugs or a headset is mandatory.

“The controls are really well bal-anced, with the ailerons being a lit-tle like a Cub, only it rolls faster. And, as you’d expect, it has a lot of adverse yaw, so you really need to use your feet.

“With its powerful rudder and ai-lerons, it slips like a stone, which is

huge fun, but you have to be care-ful slipping to the right with skis and maintain 75 mph indicated airspeed because the airspeed read-ing is not correct in that attitude. Because of the positive controls and its wide gear, it is also terrific in a crosswind. I know people who would go out and play in 20-knot direct crosswinds just for the fun of it. One thing that you don’t expect, when you fi rst start fl ying it, is that it floats quite a bit on landing, so you can’t come in fast. That’s one of the effects of the 23012 airfoil: It doesn’t build up drag very quickly when you try to slow it down in ground effect.

“It is stressed for aerobatics, and when it was being used extensively for training, it was common for schools to be teaching loops and rolls in it. And of course spins. It’s really a fun spinning airplane, and many students made six-turn spins part of every solo fl ight.

“You can generally flight plan 95-100 mph, which, at less than 5 gallons per hour and a 19-gallon fuel tank, means you can fl y pretty long legs. The airplane is very sta-ble, so on cross-countries you can relax and pretty much let go of it.

“Joe’s airplane is a beautiful ex-ample of the breed, and mine defi -nitely isn’t. Truthfully, I sort of like it that way because I don’t have to worry about it. I just enjoy it. The last time it was re-covered was after it crashed in ’71. They used Razor-back, so it’s still in pretty good con-dition. It was repainted in 1980, and I have changed the struts, some of the windows, and redone the seats with temper foam. I also majored the engine and installed a UBG-16 bar graph engine analyzer and new radios. Other than that, it has just been fl own. I know that sooner or later I’m going to have to strip it down, but I’m putting it off as long as possible because as soon as I restore it, all of the patina that comes from so many years in the air will be gone. I think it has char-acter this way, and I’ll keep it that way as long as possible.”

The Canuck and Its Contemporaries ComparedFleet 80Canuck

Aeronca7AC Champion

Cessna140

Luscombe8E Silvaire

Engine (Continental) 85 hp 65 hp 85 hp 85 hp

Cruise mph 100 90 101 95

Initial climb, fpm 550 370 620 640

Service ceiling, ft. 12,000 12,500 15,100 15,500

Takeoff over 50 ft. 800 632 1,950 1,850

Landing over 50 ft. 600 885 1,530 1,540

Gross weight, lbs. 1,480 1,220 1,500 1,400

Empty weight, lbs. 858 740 818 791

Fuel, U.S. gal. 19 14 21 30

Wingspan 34 ft. 35 ft. 33 ft. 3 in. 34 ft. 7 in

Source: Aircraft Blue Book Price Digest, except for the Fleet Canuck fig-ures, which are from Canadian Aircraft Since 1909 by K.M. Molso and H.A. Taylor. Landing and takeoff distances for the Canuck are from an old copy of Canadian Aviation.

. . . the twoairplanes sitting side by side in the Vintage area at EAA AirVenture 2009 had a totalof more than 34,000 hoursbetween them!

12 MARCH 2010

My FriendAlbert Vollmecke

Part III

BY ROBERT G. LOCK

Al b e r t Vo l l m e c k e rose quickly up the ranks of the Bureau of Aeronautics and the Civil Aeronau-

tics Authority, which began in 1938. Commercial and civilian aviation had grown rapidly, but World War II was approaching and there was a huge increase in the number of small airplanes manufactured be-ginning in 1938. Charles Taylor remembered, “Vollmecke went to Washington to join the staff of the Civil Aeronautics Administration—the CAA—now the Federal Aviation Administration—the FAA. There his genius in aircraft design and resul-tant performance soon led to im-

portant assignments within that governing body. In 1942 he was appointed chief of the Aircraft En-gineering Division. He also served as senior member of the Air Force-Navy-Civil Aircraft Design Criteria Committee. In October 1944 he was designated by the Department of State as technical expert on the U.S. delegation to the International Civil Aviation Conference of more than 50 nations meeting in Chicago.

During World War II as the CAA/FAA representative between civil-ian and military agencies, he was highly infl uential in standardizing design, testing, and analysis of new and modified aircraft, which re-sulted in faster and more economic

production of more effi cient and ef-fective aircraft.”

Near the end of World War II, Howard Hughes was designing a large wooden seaplane of enor-mous dimensions. It would be built entirely of wood and would have a wingspan of 320 feet when fully as-sembled. Vollmecke was appointed as a consultant/representative for the government to consult with Hughes on his design work. He had several stories about meetings with the flamboyant Howard Hughes that were fascinating.

Vollmecke would fl y from Wash-ington, D.C., to the Los Angeles airport, to be met by a black lim-ousine that would take him to

the Culver City plant of Hughes, where the H-4 Hercules was being constructed. The limousine driver would enter the Hughes compound and park. Then they would just wait. Vollmecke asked the driver what they were waiting for, and the driver replied, “For a signal from Mr. Hughes.” After a long wait, a figure would appear from out of a large hangar, dressed in a dark pair of slacks with a wrinkled white shirt with sleeves rolled up and wearing a hat. After he waived his arms, the driver started the limou-sine and they drove to the hangar door. Hughes was waiting for Voll-mecke and proudly showed prog-ress on his gigantic airplane.

During one visit Hughes loaded Vollmecke aboard his cabin Waco bi-plane and fl ew to Baker Lake, where Hughes had a hangar and a Sikor-sky S-43 seaplane. He was practicing his fl ying skills in a large seaplane in preparation for fl ying the H-4. Voll-mecke remembered, “I got into the right seat, a company pilot occupied the left seat, and Mr. Hughes was in the back seat reading a newspaper. We fl ew in his ‘Vaco’ (that’s the way Vollmecke pronounced Waco) to Baker Lake, which was out on the Mojave Desert on the way to Las Ve-gas. There we inspected his Sikor-sky seaplane, but he didn’t fl y it. We returned to Culver City, and I flew back to D.C.”

Vollmecke made several visits to

the Hughes facility, but on his initial visit he asked Hughes if his people had done any structural testing to assure the design and construction was safe. No person had ever con-structed an aircraft as large as the H-4, particularly out of wood. The answer was a negative, that all de-sign data compiled was analytical in nature and that no structural test-ing was needed. Vollmecke said this was unacceptable to him and the government, who would ultimately either pay for the aircraft or cancel the project. He convinced Hughes that they should build a sample of the horizontal stabilizer spar and test it to destruction. Hughes reluctantly

agreed, and Vollmecke fl ew back to Washington, D.C.

On the Vollmecke’s ensuing visit the spar sample was ready, and the Hughes people had it prepared to test until it failed. Unfortunately, the spar failed at only 50 percent of the de-sign load! Seeing this Vollmecke in-dicated they would have to redesign the spar and retest. What the Hughes people did was glue birch veneer doublers on each side of the spar, then retest. On the second attempt the spar failed at about 75 percent of the design load. Hughes refused to go any further, and that was the end of the tests. Vollmecke always main-tained he knew why Hughes fl ew the

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 13

Figure 1. The spar of the Hughes H-4 Hercules.

The H-4’s horizontal tail is mounted within the vertical stabilizer’s structure. Albert Vollmecke’s engineering expertise told him that the H-4 was underdesigned as far as strength was concerned.

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14 MARCH 2010

airplane only once. “The wing spars were designed and built exactly as the horizontal stabilizer spar, only larger in dimensions. Mr. Hughes knew if the aircraft was airborne and hit a gust, the wing spars may fail!” Figure 1 is a photo from the Glenn Odekirk collection showing the mas-sive wing under construction in Hughes’ Culver City plant. Clearly visible is the wing rear spar and trail-ing edge ribs under fabrication. The birch veneer spar web can be seen with a 45-degree grain direction.

Vollmecke did indicate that the Hughes people glued birch veneer plates on both sides of the hori-zontal stabilizer spar before it was skinned, which added weight to the

structure. The horizontal stabilizer was not mounted directly to the fu-selage structure, but to the vertical stabilizer, which was not strength-ened. So, from Vollmecke’s point of view, the aircraft was structurally un-derdesigned and totally unsafe. The photo on page 13 is my photograph of the H-4 just after it emerged from its hangar in Long Beach, California; you can see how the horizontal stabi-lizer is mounted to the vertical stabi-lizer, and not directly to fuselage.

The giant Hughes H-4 flew only once, about 1 mile at a height of only 60 feet. But it did fl y, and Hughes be-came embroiled in a fi ght with Con-gress to regain the approximately $18 million he invested in the aircraft. He

lost! The H-4 was stored in a climate-controlled hangar in San Pedro until October 30, 1980, when the aircraft was removed and the hangar disas-sembled. The photograph on page 13 was taken as the aircraft floated majestically in the bay near its for-mer hangar. It was the fi rst time the aircraft had seen sunlight since being placed in the new hangar, which was completed in 1948.

Charles Taylor remembered, “Albert was a consultant in the cancellation of the government contract with the Howard Hughes organization to build a number of huge wooden fl ying boats for the war in the Pacific. You will re-member this as the Spruce Goose (a term Hughes hated, since it was con-

Airworthiness maintenance inspection note on the Command-Aire. After realizing one was needed on the airplanes he had designed earlier in his career before joining the government, as chief of the Aircraft Engineering Division, Vollmecke wrote and issued the CAA document!

November 1983, the remaining offi cials of Command-Aire Inc., Charles Taylor (l) and Albert Vollmecke. This last photo of Taylor, former V.P. of Command-Aire Inc., and Vollmecke, former chief designer for the company, was taken in Little Rock, Arkansas, after Albert’s induction into the Hall of Fame in 1983. Behind them is 1929 Command-Aire 5C3, NC925E, which is presently on display at the Little Rock Airport in the Omnimax Theater.

structed mostly of birch veneer).” So ends the saga of Vollmecke, Hughes, an d the Spruce Goose.

As Vollmecke rose through the ranks of the CAA he became chief of the Aircraft Engineering Division in 1942, succeeding Marion F. Crews. In the name of safety, airworthiness maintenance bulletins and airworthi-ness maintenance inspection notes were issued from this offi ce. Document on page 14 shows a November 6, 1942, airworthiness maintenance inspection note signed by Albert A. Vollmecke on his own aircraft designs when he worked for Command-Aire Inc. Safety was the top priority in all Vollmecke designs, and this virtue continued throughout his government career.

Vollmecke had a magnificent ca-reer in the FAA, retiring in 1965. In a letter to me dated December 5, 1978, Vollmecke stated, “By the way, I retired from the FAA 12 years ago. I was at that time the chief of the Airframe and Equipment Branch. As you can see, I know my way around the FAA.”

Vollmecke was indeed an Amer-ican treasure transplanted from

Germany. He was brilliant and a genius in aeronautical design. He served this country honorably and provided great leadership during the early days of aviation, into the 1960s, and beyond.

I was privileged to have met and gotten to know Mr. Vollmecke. As is often said of those who precede us, there will never be another like him.

Vollmecke was inducted into the Arkansas Aviation Hall of Fame on No-vember 11, 1983. At the Vollmecke ta-ble that evening were Albert Vollmecke Jr., Jan Vollmecke, Eric Vollmecke, Kirk Vollmecke, Walter Vollmecke, John Vollmecke, Joe Araldi, Suzanne Goller (Araldi), Hoyt McPherson, and me.

The Arkansas Aviation Historical So-ciety was formed as a nonprofi t corpo-ration in 1979. Like many state halls of fame, it has three primary goals. The fi rst is to preserve the history of avia-tion in Arkansas at Little Rock through the oral history and archives program. The second goal has been achieved by establishing the Arkansas Aviation Hall of Fame. The third goal is to es-tablish a major air and space museum in the Central Arkansas area. Richard

N. Holbert was president of the society at the time, and Charles M. Taylor was ex-offi cio director.

During the presentation of Albert Vollmecke for induction into the Ar-kansas Aviation Hall of Fame on No-vember 11, 1983, Mr. Charles Taylor, former vice president of Command-Aire, pretty well summed it up. “Al-bert Vollmecke left Arkansas for the Civil Aeronautics Administration in Washington, D.C., in February 1934, where he remained until his retire-ment in 1965. I have already outlined the assignments and responsibilities he was given in that organization in recognition of his unusual under-standing and practical experience in aircraft design and production with particular emphasis on safety and reli-ability. These assignments in the CAA thus made the benefi ts of his unusual and outstanding qualifi cations avail-able to the whole civil and military aircraft industry in the United States.”

Vollmecke was a member of the OX-5 Aviation Pioneers. The April 1980 issue of OX-5 News carried a tribute to Albert A. Vollmecke, aero-nautical engineer, inventor, and designer. The front-page story was about him and stated, “In 1978 Al Vollmecke’s name went into the OX-5 Aviation Pioneers Hall of Fame, as one of many tributes to his accom-plishments. He is an OX-5er, and a member of the Q-B’s, and obviously he holds membership in many aero-nautical engineering societies. He has also received NASA’s Certifi cate of Appreciation for his outstanding contributions to aeronautical engi-neering, particularly for his work in connection with structural and re-search programs over the previous 24 years, during which time he served as a member of NACA and NASA Re-search and Advisory Committees.

“The foregoing accounts for one of the great aviation engineering personalities of our time, one who never sought nor expected notoriety for his behind-the-scenes expertise, and one whom we are glad to count as an associate.”

And I must add this most impor-tant person was my friend.

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15

Vollmecke with his son Albert Jr. and his wife, Jan, at Vollmecke’s townhouse in Silver Spring, Maryland, January 1986. Albert Jr. had just brought a copy of his father’s drawings of the Little Rocket racer, the only drawings that survived Vollmecke’s days at Command-Aire. When Vollmecke walked out the front door of the Command-Aire factory building on East 17th St. for the last time, he put all his drawings in the

safe, turned off the lights, put his neatly rolled Little Rocket drawings under his arm, and locked the door. The company ceased to exist in 1931. Below, a fuzzy copy of the title block of drawing number 5680 compiled by Albert Vollmecke for the Little Rocket racer. This particular drawing was of the “Wheel with shock absorber,” a unique invention credited to Albert. It was drawn to full scale on June 2-3, 1930.

16 MARCH 2010

Nowadays nearly all new and fairly new airplanes have electric or elec-tronic everything: au-

topilots, cowl flaps, trim tabs, spoilers, and wing fl aps, to name a few, all activated by little switches and electric motors.

But if you fly an older airplane like I do, many of those items are manually operated using levers, ca-bles, pulleys, and control wheels.

My airplane is a Cessna 170B. It rolled out of the Wichita, Kansas, Cessna factory in 1954 and came equipped with large Fowler-type flaps that rotate downward as they travel backward and down to assume as much as a 40-degree angle on the fl ap tracks. At the 40-degree position, these fl aps allow for a very steep de-scent into short fields. Newer Cess-nas limit flap travel to 30 degrees. Most folks agree that the company made the limitation because with 40 degrees of fl aps extended, there is es-sentially no climb capability during a go-around attempt.

Manually activated fl aps such as the type installed in my airplane are applied by pulling up on a long lever that most pilots refer to as a “John-son bar.” The use of these “Johnson bar”-applied flaps for a short-field takeoff is the essence of this story.

A LEARNING EXPERIENCEWhen I moved to Alaska more

than 40 years ago and began flying to remote locations, very often at off-airport locations, I wanted to learn how to get the best performance from my airplane. I used to hang out at local fi xed base operators and talk to the pilots who regularly fl ew out in the bush. I’d ask for any pointers

they could give me on landing and takeoff techniques in remote areas. That’s where I learned about using a time/distance chart to determine the length of airstrips in the boondocks.

The fl oatplane and skiplane pilots also gave me some advice on short-ening a takeoff run by using the fl aps to break the water surface ten-sion on the fl oats or help the wing pull the skis up through deep snow. By quickly using 20 degrees of fl aps at just the right moment, you can use the added lift to your advantage. I was able to use that technique with both skis and on wheels.

GROUND EFFECTAs aviators we have probably

all experienced “floating” upon landing, which can result in over-shooting your landing spot. Under certain long-landing conditions, especially at a faster than normal approach speed, the results can be disastrous as you run off the run-way into all types of obstructions.

This “fl oating” is caused by ground effect. When an airplane is fl own at approximately one wingspan or less above the surface, the vertical com-ponent of airflow is restricted and modified, and changes occur in the normal pattern of airfl ow around the wing and from the wingtips.

This change alters the direction of the relative wind in a manner that produces a lower angle of at-tack. This means that a wing oper-ating in ground effect with a given angle of attack will generate less induced drag than a wing out of ground effect. Therefore, it is more efficient. In the takeoff mode this means the wing is also more effi-cient in ground effect, and with

the pilot’s help, this effect can lift the airplane sooner, thus shorten-ing the takeoff run. The key is using your fl aps at just the right moment.

THE TECHNIQUEYou all know that your pilot’s oper-

ating handbook lists the takeoff and landing performance using various fl ap settings and airspeeds under dif-ferent elevations and temperatures.

By extending the fl aps, wing cam-ber is increased, and the angle of at-tack of the wing is increased. With Fowler flaps the wing area is also increased. This increases wing lift, but is also increases induced drag. The important consideration here for short-field takeoff is to use just enough flaps (10 or 20 degrees) to increase lift more than induced drag and to apply the fl aps quickly when needed. That is where the Johnson bar fl ap handle does its job. Electric fl aps are too slow for this purpose.

The technique involves taxiing your airplane to the very end of a short-field airstrip and, if possi-ble, facing into the wind. Then the brakes are set and maximum take-off power is applied. The brakes are released, and forward stick pressure is applied to lift the tail. Then, just prior to hearing the stall warning horn start to fully buzz (an audible indication that the airplane is near-ing its stall speed), quickly reach down and pull in 20 degrees of fl aps using that Johnson bar handle. The airplane will leap off the ground and fl y in ground effect. Knowing when to add the fl aps using an au-dible cue is something that must be learned by experience.

Now here is the tricky part. You must not try to climb yet! You must

Ground EffectUse manual fl aps to hop off sooner

BY IRVEN F. PALMER JR.

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17

let the airspeed build up to the best angle of climb (VX) airspeed while you’re in ground effect, before you start to climb out of ground effect.

WARNING: Never pull in more than

20 degrees of flaps, as the in-duced drag will overcome in-creased lift.

After learning about the quick application of flaps technique, I used to practice doing this at my home base, a gravel bar airstrip in the river, and at other places out in the boonies. I’d suggest you practice using a nearby strip of turf, gravel, or unimproved legal runway!

Depending on the temperature, surface, and takeoff weight, of course, it was possible to get off the ground in one-half to two-thirds of the normal takeoff distance listed in the airplane’s performance chart.

THE DISAPPEARING BEACHFly back in time now to a Fourth

of July three-day weekend in Alaska. It was a perfect time to go on an off-airport camping and fi shing trip. My friend Bill Lyle and I talked about where to go. We fi nally decided that since the king salmon were entering the many streams along the Alaska Peninsula that empty into the Bering Sea, that was to be our destination.

After work on Friday we loaded on our camping and fishing gear, food, the survival kit, and two 5-gallon cans of avgas into my Cessna, filed our flight plan, and took off. Leaving our home in An-chorage, we fl ew south and south-west through Lake Clark Pass in the Alaska Range and landed at the town of King Salmon to take on fuel. Taking off we fl ew south along the beach to Bear River, an aban-doned village on the Bering Sea coast where Bear River empties into the sea. We landed on the beach, and I taxied up the beach to park, between a couple of large dunes.

We grabbed our fi shing gear and walked the few steps to the river to try our luck. It wasn’t long before

we both had strikes and reeled in a couple of nice king salmon. For an hour we played catch and re-lease. We had used up most of the evening, so we kept a small jack salmon, which we cleaned and roasted on our evening fi re. We set up our little tent and watched a lone caribou walk along the other side of the river, watching us, per-haps wondering who or what we were. He must have wandered away from the herd. It was a great first day in the boondocks.

The next day we explored the village. Bear River used to be a viable fishing village complete with a Russian Orthodox Church, many houses, abandoned shops and stores, and a school. The shifting Bear River had changed its course and eliminated the small harbor, and the little town had been abandoned. It was an antique dealer’s paradise, with all sorts of household items lying about within the buildings.

In addition to the town build-ings, we noted that in the tall-grass area of the storm berm there were many Japanese glass fishing floats. We gathered up a bunch of those and loaded them in the air-plane. We did a little more catch-and-release king fishing, but our dinner was a treat we’d brought from home: a couple of steaks with fries. The evening was spent sitting around the fi re, watching the sun-set and discussing the day’s events

and deciding where to go next. It was a great second day in the boonies.

The next day Bill wanted to ex-plore further south, so we loaded our gear, took off, and landed at a couple more small streams. The fi rst stream was a bust—no fi sh. But the second stream was full of kings. In this part of the Alaska Peninsula there are large beach dunes, and dune cliffs break up the beach.

Prior to landing I had slowed to 60 mph and used my stopwatch to determine the length of the beach, which according to the time/dis-tance chart was about 900 feet. (Ed-itor’s Note: If you’ve never used this method to estimate the length of a land-ing area, we’ll explain it in more de-tail in a follow-up article.—HGF) As I parked the plane near the mouth of this stream, I noticed that the stream had cut through a dune and that the dune contained some pebbles and cobbles, a probable sign that it was part of an older river system. I also noted that at high tide there was no beach and that the water would be at the cliff. At the time I made that observation the beach was about 200 feet wide.

Out came the fi shing gear and we walked upstream around a couple stream meanders and started catch-ing and releasing king salmon. We had Vibrax and Pixie and T-spoon lures, and they hit everything. We noticed and commented on the in-creasing clouds and a bit of a breeze

When used with proper technique, the large fl aps on the Cessna 170 give the airplane excellent short-fi eld performance.

18 MARCH 2010

out of the north. We spent about two hours at some of the best salmon fishing I’d ever had. The clouds looked more menacing, so we de-cided to leave. We caught a couple nice 30-pounders to take home and walked to the beach.

Big surprise! Our long, wide beach had disappeared. We could hardly be-lieve it. The tide in the Bering Sea is not that great, but the beach here had a very shallow gradient. That means a little rise in the water level can cover a vast amount of beach, and it had.

I quickly paced off the remaining beach. My pace is about 2.8 feet. I took 152 steps from one end to the other. That calculates to 425 feet. I knew we had burned about 22.4 gal-lons of fuel in the 230 nautical miles since leaving King Salmon. That equals 141 pounds.

Since we were 175 pounds un-der gross at takeoff at home, we were now relatively light. We did not have enough fuel to return to King Salmon, especially against the north wind I judged to be about eight8 to 10 mph. That was why I had loaded on the extra two 5-gal-lon cans of avgas. Each one of those weighed 35 pounds, so we took those out and wrapped them in a couple of big green garbage bags and hid them behind the big dune. Now we were lighter, but not much, as the salmon weighed about as much as those two cans of gasoline.

The beach surface was hard-packed, with silt and clay from the stream mixed in with the beach sand and

gravel. The wind was out of the north. Under these conditions I knew I had taken off before in a similar distance by using fl aps at just the right time.

We taxied to the south end of the beach with the tail wheel in the water. I set the brakes, applied full power, released the brakes and raised the tail, and quickly used up all the 425 feet of beach. Just before the wheels touched the water I reached down and pulled in 20 degrees of fl aps using that Johnson bar handle.

The plane lifted into the air a few inches above the water, and we were fl ying in ground effect. Remember, the tricky part is not to attempt to climb yet. We waited until the airspeed built up to over 70 mph and slowly re-tracted the fl aps as we fl ew north. We fl ew to Bear Lake where the Bear River starts and stopped off at the Bear River Lodge, operated by Don Johnson, a well-known Alaskan guide who Bill and I both know. Don gave us enough gasoline to get us to King Salmon. We decided we’d had enough fun on this trip and fl ew home.

WORDS OF CAUTIONYou must keep in mind the fac-

tors affecting your airplane’s per-formance. Cooler temperatures mean better engine and wing per-formance, so plan your takeoffs in the early morning or late evening, when the temperatures are cooler. Also, both takeoff and landing dis-tances are reduced approximately 10 percent for every six6 mph of wind velocity, so take off into the

wind. Your airplane performance may be different.

A long time ago in ground school you probably learned about the left-turning tendency of American-manufactured airplanes. The forces that produce these tendencies are the reactive force, spiraling slip-stream, gyroscopic precession, and P-factor. All of these cause the plane to want to turn left when take-off power is applied. Lots of right rudder is often needed. So if you are taking off from a sloping river gravel bar or an ocean beach with a steep gradient, try to take off so that the left-turning tendency is up the beach—not down the beach, pulling you into the water.

PRACTICEAs you know, there is nothing bet-

ter to keep us all sharp and safe when using our airplanes practice. So I sug-gest that for those of you thatwho have manual flaps in your airplane, practice using them as discussed above. Find a country road or some other place where you can practice using the quick application of flaps to lessen your ground run and get off the ground much sooner. Measure the takeoff distances at different takeoff weights and under different wind con-ditions. You will soon get to know the “feel” of the controls and the visual and audible cues that tell you when you can pull in those 20 degrees of fl aps and jump off the ground.

As always, have fun and be care-ful out there.

The Johnson bar—style of manual fl ap handle is com-mon to the early post-war Cessnas and Piper airplanes.

At full extension, the fl ap handle will be up about 45 degrees. The button on the top releases the locking mechanism.

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20 MARCH 2010

It had been a responsive audience, that snowy winter evening when I spoke at the December meeting of the Glens Falls Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. Among the many subjects I

covered was a description of my success in fi nding sev-eral very interesting old airplanes in upstate New York.

The first one, and the one that convinced me the search was worth pursuing, was the Thomas Headless Pusher, made by the Thomas Brothers of Bath, New York, in 1912. I had been successful in buying it and, eventu-ally, passing it to Cole Palen of Old Rhinebeck fame, who had restored it, fl own it, and fi nally retired it to his mu-seum on the hill behind his airport.

Next had come the Ecker Flying Boat, located in a loft in downtown Syracuse. That plane had been returned to its designer, Herm Ecker, who then gave it to the Smith-sonian. They restored it, and it is now on display in the Early Flight section at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.

My third “fi nd” of consequence was locating an origi-nal 1909 design by a John Von Pomer of Fort Edward,

New York, who built and fl ew it that year with as many as three aboard. This plane is currently being restored by members of Empire State Aerosciences Museum (ESAM), located in the Schenectady County Airport.

A more recent fi nd (1986) is an excellent example of a homebuilt Chanute hang glider, long stored in a garage in Amsterdam, New York. The workmanship is superb; it must have been built by a cabinetmaker. It is impossible to establish just when it was built, but I’m certain that it is extremely old—its fabric covering had been varnished, as was the custom in the days of Curtiss and the Wright brothers. The fabric was so deteriorated that in places it had cracked open from the sheer weight of the collected dust, so that between wing ribs it drooped in festoon fashion. If I were to estimate its vintage, I’d put it at 1905 or thereabouts. This aircraft I placed in the hands of the restorers at ESAM, too.

But, back to that evening in Glens Falls. After the meeting was adjourned, several of the members clustered around me to graciously express their thanks and praise for my efforts. One by one they spoke with me and then left. Finally only

Light Plane Heritagepublished in EAA Experimenter November 1989

Editor’s Note: Th e Light Plane Heritage series in EAA’s Experimenter magazine often touched on aircraft and concepts related to vin-tage aircraft and their history. Since many of our members have not had the opportunity to read this series, we plan on publishing those LPH articles that would be of interest to VAA members. Enjoy!—HGF

THE BELLANCA BIPLANES

by Jack McRaeEAA 93

Clarence Chamberlin’s Bellanca CE at Glens Falls, New York, the West Mountains in the background.

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21

one gentleman was left, and he had obviously planned it this way. This man had seemed especially interested in what I had been saying. He glanced around before speaking, seemingly to be sure we were not being overheard. “I know of a very old airplane located within just a few miles of here.” ZAP! My mind focused on what my new friend was saying as it would have at the reading of the will of a recently de-ceased wealthy uncle. “This plane has been stored in a barn near here for a long, long time. The people who own this barn are the parents of a good friend of mine. I have been aware of it for years but have never been al-lowed to see it, but I believe it may be an important one so far as the history of aviation is concerned. These people and their ancestors have lived on this property for over 200 years, and they insist on their privacy. They believe this airplane was the one that Clarence Chamberlin used to fly the Atlantic, back whenever that may have been.”

I was quite skeptical; a Bellanca named Columbia with a Wright en-gine had successfully flown the At-lantic in the hands of Clarence Chamberlin shortly after Lindbergh’s success in 1927. That ship had gone on to capture many other records in succeeding years only to meet its end in a fi re in another barn somewhere. But I didn’t say so. Instead I said, “When I hear of something like this, I fi nd it doesn’t pay to procrastinate; I like to move immediately. I’ve lost several chances for a great airplane by postponing just a bit. I propose that we go there right away—tonight, if it’s possible.” My new friend said, “I’m afraid that is impossible. These people are the kind who would resent being rushed into something like this, especially at this hour.” He looked at his watch, which indicated 9:30. He continued: “They have always been very careful about who they allow on their property, but if you are really in-terested, I will speak to their son and see what I can arrange.”

Really interested. Indeed, that was an understatement!

This was not very welcome news to me, but it was obvious I must be

content with it for the present. Ten long days later we fi nally met again and traveled to the barn.

The grandparents and their son greeted us warmly, reflecting the groundwork that had been done by my new friend, and soon we were all climbing an extension ladder to gain access to the hayloft of the barn.

As my eyes slowly adapted to the low light level, I was disappointed at what I was able to see. In my imagi-nation, I had conjured a picture of a complete airplane, engine hung, wing panels suspended carefully from the roof, everything just wait-ing to be dusted off and towed to the airport to be assembled and blithely fl own around the pattern.

What I actually saw, when my eyes became completely accustomed to the gloom, was a pair of small wing panels (both lefts, for a biplane) that had obviously sustained accident damage, two wheels with tires that appeared to be quite “fatigued” from having traveled too far in a deflated condition, and the left side components of the elevator-horizontal stabilizer structure. No fuselage, no engine, no landing gear. Oh, well. You can’t win ’em all!

On closer inspection, we could see that the wing panels were quite small. Measurement indicated that the top wing was 13 feet and 4 inches from

the tip to the spar fi ttings. If the top panels butted into a cabane arrange-ment, the span would be around 26 to 27 feet. The spacing between the spars of the wings was 24 inches up-per and 14-1/2 inches lower. This had been quite a small biplane.

The grandfather said, “When this plane was first stored here, it was a complete flying machine, with a small radial engine on the front. We kids used to sit in it and make be-lieve we were fl ying it through the air. I don’t know what happened to the rest of it; bit by bit, it has just kind of disappeared.”

Letdown best describes my mood about then. What had happened to the plane that was supposed to have fl own the Atlantic in 1928?

I was just about to leave when I no-ticed a large packing crate, measuring 1 foot by 4 feet by 15 feet lying on its side. Wiping off some of the dust, we were astonished to read the words: “To: C.D. Chamberlain, c/o The Ex-press Station, C.O.D. - $936.50, From: Maryland Pressed Steel Company, Hagerstown, Maryland.”

Well, now. This was interesting!Unfortunately, the crate was empty,

except for an interplane strut made of wood in a streamlined form. However, this strut was like no other one I had ever seen: Its trailing edge had been routed out to form a groove its entire length; at its midpoint and trailing to-ward the rear was a pulley mounted on a bracket in such a way that the tan-gent of the pulley was nearly touching the trailing edge of that strut. Its pur-pose was obvious: It was a “keeper” to keep the aileron cable (which was car-ried in this groove) from slipping out of the groove while in fl ight.

On seeing the strut, bells started ringing in my mind: Thirty years ago, while chasing down a rumor of an airplane stored in a barn in this neighborhood, a farmer had given me photos he had taken of a very small biplane years before. I had not recognized the plane at the time, but later, it was pointed out to me that the pilot was Clarence Chamberlin and the little biplane had been one of Giuseppe Bellanca’s early efforts.

Pulley at trailing edge of interplane strut holds aileron cable in slot. This was the strut found in the loft of a Glens Falls area barn—possibly the re-mains of Chamberlin’s CE.

22 MARCH 2010

In effect, I “filed it and forgot it!” Now the few details of which I had been aware came fl ooding back.

If it was true that the photos I re-ceived had been taken near this lo-cation (and the steep hills in the background seemed to bear this out), why would Chamberlin have had this little plane here? At the time I had been given these photos I was mystifi ed and inclined to doubt the farmer’s story. Now, here I was again, within a mile or two of the same place in another barn, looking at components of a Bellanca biplane, probably that particular one. That pulley on the rear interplane strut was proof that it came from a Bel-lanca Model CE.

The owners asserted in no uncer-tain terms that they would not, under any circumstances, consider parting with the contents of this loft; in fact, they said they wanted the subject dropped, as anything else would tend to compromise their privacy. I could only honor their wishes, leaving with nothing other than new information.

After arriving back at home, I dug out my Bellanca fi les and boned up on this man’s career. Giuseppe Mario Bellanca was a native of Sicily, born March 19, 1886, in the little village of Sciacca. He was physically small, reaching, finally, the height of 5 feet 5 inches. But his mental stature was considerably greater, as history would bear out.

As a youth, he studied engineer-ing beginning in 1904. He earned his degree after studying at The Royal Technical Institute and the Politec-nico di Milano. He was intrigued when word of the accomplishments of the Wright brothers reached him. He observed in fascination as the French Delagrange made a sensa-tional fl ight at Turin with a woman for a passenger. That was 1908. For Bellanca, that was the turning point. He and a fellow student designed a craft that somewhat resembled a Wright Pusher. Bellanca lost the toss of a coin, so it was his partner who crashed while teaching himself to fl y.

Bellanca’s family encouraged him,

and he emigrated to America in Sep-tember of 1912. His Uncle August, who had preceded him there, arranged backing for further research, and soon the Bellanca Aircraft Corporation had been established, with one Fiorello La-Guardia as legal counsel. The “factory” was set up in the basement of the Bel-lanca home in Brooklyn.

Early in the spring of 1931, Bel-lanca’s first brainchild was finished to the point where more room was needed for its assembly, so a shed in Mineola was rented and the proj-ect moved there. What he had was a wire-braced monoplane whose fu-selage consisted of a pair of rectan-gular wooden longerons, one above the other, braced with vertical mem-bers and more wire. The pilot sat in a bucket seat below and behind a 30-hp Anzani Y engine.

Slowly, on calm days, Bellanca taught himself to fly at the fields then in existence: Belmont Park, Hempstead, and Garden City. His was quite a different configuration than most being fl own at that time, and as a result he took considerable ribbing about it, but when he was satisfi ed that he was ready to go, he did so, very successfully.

In the following year, 1914, he set up a fl ying school, taking on all com-ers. By stretching his parasol a bit and swapping the engine for the more powerful 45-hp Anzani, he had a bet-ter trainer in which he, in 1915, taught LaGuardia to fl y. This man was later to command an American Aero Squad-ron in Italy and still later to become the mayor of New York City.

In the summer of 1916, Bellanca crossed paths with an executive of Maryland Pressed Steel Company, a supplier throughout the World War of an infinite variety of manufac-tured products for the armed services. The company sensed that the end of the war could not be too far off, and it wished to prepare itself to convert to products that would lend itself to peacetime usage. Thus it was that the ompany entered into an arrangement with Bellanca to produce a small air-plane that would appeal to not only the returning service pilots, but to all

Bellanca CE: 55-hp Anzani; span, 28 feet; length, 18-1/2 feet; wing area, 163-4/5 square feet; empty weight, 470 pounds; gross weight, 900 pounds; top speed, 97 mph; climb, 600 fpm; range, 300 miles.

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24 MARCH 2010

men who aspired to learn to fl y.The aircraft that he produced in

Hagerstown was designated the Bel-lanca Model CD, powered with the leftover 30-hp Anzani engine. It could theoretically carry two persons, since there was a front cockpit, but it was not fi tted out for a passenger. It had a wingspan of 26 feet and weighed just 400 pounds, and it flew very well. Lateral control was achieved by warp-ing the wings, as used by the Wrights. It was well streamlined, with a top speed of 75 mph, much faster than similar designs of the same power.

In 1919 the Model CE was in-troduced that was a true two-place sport plane, with a 55-hp Anzani en-gine that made it perform at gross weight even better than the single-seat model of 30 hp. This one com-bined economy of operation with a rate of climb of 620 fpm and top speed of 102 mph with passenger. Landing speed was less than 40 mph. The Model CE used ailerons on the upper wing instead of wing warp-ing with resulting improvement in firmness of construction and liveli-ness of response to the controls. The first of the production versions of Model CE was purchased by Clar-ence Chamberlin.

In a very recent conversation with Carl “Slim” Hennicke, pioneer pilot, mechanic, founder of the Long Is-land Early Flyers Club, and personal friend of Clarence Chamberlin, con-siderable light was shed on the reasons why this airplane, with Chamberlin as pilot, might have been in the up-state New York city of Glens Falls. These two men, Hennicke and Cham-

berlin, saw an ad in Aerial Age Weekly magazine dated May 3, 1920, in which the American-French Aero Exposition Company announced it was forming a group that would supply air shows to anyone who was in the market. Pi-lots who had their own airplanes were advised to appear in person at a prear-ranged date at Glens Falls to demon-strate their aerobatic skills and then to be signed up for the season.

Both Hennicke and Chamberlin responded, the former taking his Ca-nuck (a Jenny with ailerons on both top and bottom wings, Canadian style), and the latter, his Bellanca CE. Chamberlin arrived there in good shape, but Hennicke had an incident en route near the city of Hudson, and his Canuck was totaled.

It seems quite likely that the pho-tos that were given to me were taken near Glens Falls at that time, in 1920, that it was damaged later and that it was stored from that day onward. This is only conjecture, but doesn’t it seem likely in view of what “Slim” Hennicke has told me? I think I’ll set-tle for this explanation.

The Smithsonian Institution has published a series of books with the general title Famous Aircraft of the Na-tional Air And Space Museum. Number six of this series it titled BELLANCA C.F. The Emergence of the Cabin Mono-plane by Jay P. Spenser. This book deals with the subject of Bellanca’s design immediately following the one we are discussing here; however, some space is devoted to this design.

Spenser said: “The CE turned out to be a wonderful barnstorming air-plane, Chamberlin using it with

great success in Maryland, Pennsyl-vania, New Jersey, and New York. ‘My rates were $15 a hop for straight fl ying,’ he (Bellanca) recalled in Re-cord Flights, his autobiography, ‘and $25 a ride if the passenger wanted to “get the works.” Most of them preferred stunt fl ights, fi rst, because they wanted to get a “real thrill”, and secondly, because it soon be-came apparent that my little Bel-lanca biplane did a lot more things than the other barnstorming planes which were war surplus stock and quite clumsy by comparison. Even those who had been up before were frequently enticed by the swiftness and maneuverability of my ship into spending their money for an-other ride.’”

The high regard of this former Army pilot for the graceful biplanes led him to buy up the remaining par-tially completed CE biplanes at auc-tion prices after Maryland Pressed Steel closed its doors. Sadly, not one Bellanca CE remains in existence.

Lately, I’ve been daydreaming about this pretty little biplane and wondering—could it just be, after all, that these nice private people might just possibly reconsider and present what is left of this sole remaining ex-ample of the Bellanca Model CE to the Empire State Aerosciences Mu-seum for restoration? That would be an inordinately extensive (and ex-pensive) project, but with dedica-tion, it could be done.

Editor’s Note: We’ve never heard a follow-up concerning the disposition of the parts of the CE; if any members have additional information on the Bellanca biplane, we’d be interested in publishing additional material.—HGF

Specifi cationsBellanca CE Biplane

Span, upper plane: 28 feet 0 inchesSpan, lower plane: 21 feet 5 inchesChord, upper plane: 4 feet 6 inchesChord, lower plane: 2 feet 9 inchesTotal area: 184 square feetLength: 18 feet 6 inchesEmpty weight: 470 poundsUseful load: 510 pounds

Clarence Chamberlin and the CE. The rear interplane strut has the pulley at its trail-ing edge that identifi es this plane, the same as the interplane strut found in the barn.

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25

In the previous issue we discussed fixed- and ground-adjustable pitch propellers, both wood and steel. Now it’s time to look at some gen-eral information regarding aircraft propellers; I trust that you will fi nd it informative. A few

subjects to be addressed are: How do I know what prop fits my particular

airplane? Where can I find information about a particular

prop? What is type design data and where can I locate

such data? What are “yellow tags,” and what do they tell me? What is static rpm, and why is that important? And we’ll include other issues that are of importance.

TYPE DESIGN DATA: This is data the original manufacturer used to build the airplane. Approved type certifi cates (ATCs) date back to March 1927 when ATC No. 1 was issued to Buhl-Verville to build the J4 Airster. Type design data consists of drawings, engi-neering data, and any other kind of detailed informa-tion needed to construct an aircraft or component that had been awarded the ATC.

Why does that matter to us in our prop discussion? The approved propeller type specifi c to that particular airplane is included in the type design data. Sometimes this data is easy to fi nd, but more often it is very dif-fi cult. For some aircraft, copies of the original drawings are available, but for others the drawings either do not exist or the FAA will not release them.

However, I have personally seen fi le cabinets at FAA headquarters, Washington, D.C., that contain fi le folders numbered sequentially 1 and up. The numbers pertain to the ATC number granted by the Aeronautics Branch of the Department of Commerce and, later, the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA). In some cases the fi le folders are empty. Such is folder 184, ATC 184, the Command-Aire 5C3. I know; I’ve seen the empty folder.

To understand how the type certification of avia-tion products happens, let me quote from a reliable

source—a U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Air Commerce document dated July 1, 1934, “Airwor-thiness Requirements for Engines & Propellers.” It is Aeronautics Bulletin No. 7-G and, at that time, was thesource for data to obtain a type certifi cate (TC) for an engine or propeller.

Chapter II deals with “Aircraft Propeller Require-ments.” Section 19 of the chapter deals with com-mercial propellers. Manufacturers are to submit: “(1) Application for approved type certifi cate, in dupli-cate, submitted on forms which will be furnished for the purpose by the Secretary (Daniel C. Roper). (2) A complete set of drawings descriptive of the propel-ler, in duplicate. (3) A complete log, covering the tests outlined in paragraphs (B) or (C) of this section accompanied by an affidavit. (4) A stress analysis as required in conjunction with flight testing, (B) Tests required for propellers other than fi xed pitch wood propeller: (1) Propellers of this type shall be subjected to a 50-hour endurance block test on an internal-combustion engine, rigidly mounted, of the same general characteristics as the engines upon which the propellers are to be used in service. Sec-tion 16 (C): When an approved type certificate is granted, one set of drawings is impressed with the seal of the Department of Commerce and is returned to the manufacturer to be used in the construction of his propellers. The other set is placed in the De-partment’s files. The Department’s inspectors may call for, and must have access to, these approved drawings when making an inspection at the manu-facturer’s plant to determine whether the propellers built conform to the approved data.”

And there, folks, is the source of design data for TC’d products, whether they be an aircraft, engine, propeller, or appliance. And this is the data we are try-ing to get from the FAA at this time. It’s not the propel-ler drawings, but the specifi c aircraft drawings.

To understand how to research approved propeller types, it will be necessary to explore where type design data can be located.

BY ROBERT G. LOCK

My thoughts on aircraft propellersPart II

THE Vintage Mechanic

26 MARCH 2010

AIRCRAFT SPECIFICATIONS: Aircraft specifi ca-tions were produced by the CAA and are the source for type design data. Included in the aircraft specifi-cations is a list of approved equipment that could be installed on the aircraft, including the propeller(s). In most cases specific hub and blade numbers and a manufacturer can be found. When wood propellers were approved, a minimum/maximum diameter was specified and a static minimum/maximum rpm was given. Static power is maximum rpm at full throttle with the aircraft not moving. Therefore, several types of wood props could be used as long as they met the above length and static rpm specs. If the type design data doesn’t appear in the aircraft specifi cations, it is contained within the aircraft listing.

AIRCRAFT LISTING: When there are 50 or fewer aircraft registered, the type design data appears in the aircraft listing. This very condensed version of type design data isn’t detailed enough for the mechanic when determining what type of prop was originally used. For example, the publication will show: Pro-peller—adjustable metal. It will not give the specifi c manufacturer or type. That’s not very helpful, so where does one go next?

PROPELLER LISTING: The propeller listing con-tains type design data for older propellers that are no longer around “en masse.” Some of the data that can be gleaned from this publication is maximum/mini-mum diameter, blade and hub part numbers, maxi-mum horsepower for hub and blades, serial numbers eligible, etc. Also shown is the propeller ATC number for the hub and blades.

CAA AIRWORTHINESS FILE: Most airworthi-ness and registration files are available for a specific aircraft on microfi che (now available on CD-ROM). If one searches through the fi le to locate inspection forms, the Department of Commerce or CAA inspector usually listed the prop by manufacturer, make, and model. For instance, a search of the record fi le for the New Standard D-25, serial number 105, registration number NC9756, shows that it was powered by a Wright J-5 engine and had a Hamilton Standard prop installed. The hub num-ber was 1518 (ATC 187) with blade design number 1407 (ATC 4). See Figure 1. For the second New Standard, se-rial number 205, registration number NC9125 (formerly NC150M), the fi le shows it was originally powered by a Wright R-760-8 and had a Hamilton Standard propel-ler installed. The hub number was 1693 and the blade model was 5B1-6. See Figure 2. You have just found the data that didn’t appear in the aircraft listing. Where can further propeller data be found?

SUMMARY OF SUPPLEMENTAL TYPE CER-TIFICATES: When the FAA came into being in 1958,

it changed the rules and added a category to TCs called supplemental type certificates (STCs). If someone other than the manufacturer of the airplane changed the type design data, that person could go through a lengthy process and eventually receive an STC. One could consult the Summary of Supplemental Type Cer-tifi cates to check whether a particular prop had been approved for installation on the specific aircraft. If no data could be located in any of the previously dis-cussed data, the last choice is FAA fi eld approval.

FIELD APPROVAL: CAA inspectors were used to grant fi eld approvals for major changes in type design, and so the airworthiness file for the specific aircraft may contain a previously issued field approval for a propeller installation. Today, it is much more diffi cult to secure FAA fi eld approval for propeller changes. I re-ally don’t want to go into FAA fi eld approvals, because it’s not clear to me exactly what the FAA’s current pol-icy is at this time.

Once the propeller data has been located, one might want to obtain the type design data for the spe-cifi c propeller. To fi nd this data, one must consult the propeller specifications. Propeller specifications are similar to the aircraft specifi cations but are a separate publication. Propeller type design data can be found there, but if there is no data, one must consult the propeller listing.

PROPELLER OVERHAUL: Airframe and power-plant (A&P) mechanics can do little work on propel-lers; overhauls and repairs are completed in approved

FIGURE 1

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28 MARCH 2010

propeller repair stations. In order to overhaul old pro-pellers, the shop must have type design data and even have blade profi le data. Before purchasing a propeller, make sure you get the hub and blade numbers and check with a prop shop to assure it has the data to overhaul such a prop.

Let me detail an example of a potential problem: My son Rob found a set of blades for a Hamilton Stan-dard 5406 ground-adjustable propeller for sale on the Internet. The blade numbers didn’t match any data in the propeller listing. In fact the blades were not manu-factured by Hamilton Standard. I began checking with known prop shops that overhauled these older props, and nobody had any data on the blades. The result was that nobody could overhaul and certify the blades. So for us they were useless! When propeller components, or the entire assembly, are overhauled, the component parts are “yellow tagged.”

MAINTENANCE RELEASE FORM (YELLOW

TAG): The propeller receives a “yellow tag” when over-hauled by a propeller repair station. Accompanying the yellow tag is a “work order” detailing exactly what was done to the prop during overhaul, compliance with airworthiness directives, manufacturer’s service bulletins, etc. If you have a prop overhauled, be sure to obtain a copy of the work order and keep it with your aircraft records. It is extremely important to request a copy of the work order if the prop shop doesn’t send it with the overhauled prop. So now you have a fresh overhauled prop and you need it installed. Call your

friendly A&P mechanic for in-stallation and the appropriate entry into the logbook.

PROPELLER INSTALLA-TION: The prop can be in-stalled by an A&P mechanic, a “P” mechanic, or the propel-ler repair station. The propeller should be torqued according to manufacturer’s instruction. A 30-spline prop is torqued to the weight of a 180-pound man on a 4-foot bar, or 720 foot-pounds. A 20-spline prop is torqued to 480 foot-pounds, the equivalent of a 200-pound person on a 2.4-foot bar. Af-ter torquing, a safety device such as a clevis pin or AN bolt, should be installed in the hub so, in case the safety de-vice fails, centrifugal force will hold the pin/bolt in place. The pin or bolt should be “slightly” loose so you can check it on

every prefl ight inspection. If the bolt or pin is tight, the prop may be loosening on the shaft. The mechanic should also check propeller track to assure proper dy-namic balance.

In the powerplant logbook, an entry should be made showing powerplant total time, time since major over-haul, and, if the propeller is a different type from what had been previously installed, the signature of the person approving and releasing the aircraft for return-to-service and a change to the weight-and-balance in-formation and equipment list, if required.

PROPELLER LOG: New propellers will be furnished with a prop logbook. However, older props do not have logs. The FAA requested that I provide a prop log for a Hamilton Standard ground-adjustable propeller manu-factured in the early 1930s. I refused because there was no way to estimate total time, number of repairs, etc. So there is no prop logbook in any of my airplanes!

HARMONIC VIBRATIONS: All moving objects produce vibrations and sound waves. These vibrations, when they are associated with an object such as an en-gine and prop, will intermingle and will produce some “strange” vibration modes. Harmonics are the sum of vibration modes produced by the rotating parts of the engine, accessories, and the propeller. Some engines have dangerous harmonics, which will be identified by a yellow arc on the tachometer or a placard next to the tachometer (or both). It would read something like “Avoid Continuous Operation Between 1500-1650

FIGURE 2

rpm.” If one operates the engine in this region, a very high-pitched vi-bration may be felt in the airframe. That is the harmonic, and it can be dangerous. Harmonics will be as-sociated with specifi c propellers in-stalled on specifi c engines.

This information will hopefully be helpful when the subject is air-craft propellers. It is imperative that the prop be matched correctly to the airframe and powerplant. Since the airframe manufacturer selects both the engine and prop for the airplane, harmonic vibration is a strong consideration. Changes to the original type design are criti-cal and should be made with great care. Using the approved prop(s) is closely associated with the safety of the airplane and longevity of the engine. To further illustrate prob-lems with vibrations associated with propellers, one must examine FAA AD 54-12-02. This directive applies to all McCauley propellers having 41D5926 or D-1093 hubs with SS-135-6 or SS-138-6 blades. The first number of the AD (54) tells us that the AD was issued in 1954, or 56 years ago. The word-ing in the directive is interesting, so I’ll duplicate it here to show a point. “On the basis of satisfactory vibration stress surveys conducted on the 102-inch diameter con-figuration, these propellers were approved vibration wise for in-stallation on the Continental W-670-6A, W-670-6N and Lycoming R-680 engines. When installed on the Continental engine, the pro-peller must be indexed in the 0 de-gree position (blades in line with the crankthrow) and operation is to be restricted between 1500 and 1650 r.p.m.” The 1500-1650 rpm range indicates there is a dangerous harmonic vibration at that speed of constant operation.

S Y M PAT H E T I C V I B R A -TIONS: The cause of most vibra-tions of this type is the engine/propel ler combinat ion. Even though the engine may be shock-mounted, vibrations are still fed

through the engine mount to the airframe, and other parts of the airplane will “shake.” Heavy sym-pathetic vibrations can be felt in the pilot’s seat, but are more com-monly felt or seen in the instru-ment panel, throttle quadrant, etc.

Some engines require that a wood prop be installed on the hub with blades at 90 degrees to the crank-throw. The hub will be indexed to the prop shaft by a master spline, but the prop can be mounted at the

90-degree point by the mechanic. With the piston on top dead cen-ter on the No. 1 cylinder, the prop should be installed in the horizon-tal position. This procedure is a method to control unwanted vibra-tions between the crankshaft and the propeller.

This ends our discussion of propellers for this issue. Hope-fully I have passed along some helpful information that you will fi nd interesting.

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 29

30 MARCH 2010

Could you pass a private pilot fl ight test today if you had to?

Attaining and maintaining fl ight profi ciency is sometimes easier said than done. We live in a fast-paced world: time, expense, weather, busi-ness, and family commitments—all keep one away from the airport more than desired.

The biennial flight review (BFR) helps all general aviation pilots main-tain some level of proficiency to fly safely. But the BFR is not a pass/fail endeavor; it is a review and is only a means to determine if you are reason-ably safe when operating your aircraft.

Spring will soon be here (I’m writ-ing this the day before Groundhog Day, and based on the forecast, there will be six more weeks of winter), and we’re all beginning to feel the “itch” to get our airplanes ready for the summer flying season. But are you getting yourself ready for the season?

Be totally honest with yourself for a moment. Stand in front of your bathroom mirror and ask yourself, “If I had to, could I take a private pilot checkride today and perform each of the required maneuvers to the level required to pass the checkride?”

As a longtime antique, classic, and tailwheel instructor, I can tell you from experience that most pi-lots cannot do so. While conduct-ing BFRs, I fi nd that most pilots can perform each of the private pilot ma-neuvers, but few can perform them to checkride standards.

Why do we need to strive to be bet-ter pilots? Remember, whether you are a private pilot or an airline transport pilot flying commercial equipment,

we make up a very small portion of the populated universe. In fact, when lumping all pilots together in one group, we make up less than one-tenth of 1 percent of the U.S. popula-tion…and considerably less than that when looking at global numbers!

What does this mean to each of us? Every one of us has a vital re-sponsibility to fl y as safely and pro-fi ciently as we possibly can because, as a small group, when our activi-ties result in an incident, it becomes national headlines. These incidents cause fear among the nonfl ying pop-ulation and more regulation from the ever-present FAA.

Striving to be a better, safer, and more proficient pilot should be a goal of the highest level and is a re-sponsibility that we each need to take seriously every time we fl y.

Let’s look at the common private pilot maneuvers and what the FAA requirements are to demonstrate each satisfactorily. Since you took your private pilot checkride, some of the maneuvers may have been changed, either in terminology or in minimum standards.

TakeoffThe takeoff, as outlined in the

FAA practical test standards (PTS), lists 12 objectives by which the ex-aminer grades this maneuver. Key among these objectives are:

•Exhibit knowledge of the ele-ments related to a normal and cross-wind takeoff, climb operations, and rejected takeoff procedures.

•Position the fl ight controls for the existing wind conditions.

•Establish a pitch attitude that will maintain VY +10/-5 knots.

•Maintain takeoff power and VY

+10/-5 knots to a safe maneuver-ing altitude.

•Maintain directional control and proper wind-drift correction throughout the takeoff and climb.

Based on experience, I can testify that many pilots are quite sloppy when performing each of the above tasks during the takeoff.

Though not stated in the PTS, the FAA and most all FAA Designated Examiners now want the pilot to make slight S-turns while maintain-ing a constant climb speed. This al-lows the pilots to diligently scan the area in front of the nose for other aircraft. Previously we were taught to climb straight ahead un-til reaching approximately 500 feet above ground level (AGL), then lower the nose and scan for traffi c before continuing our departure from the traffi c pattern.

Slow FlightThis maneuver was once called

“Minimum Control Airspeed” and is defi ned as maintaining airspeed at which any further increase in an-gle of attack, increase in load fac-tor, or reduction in power would result in an immediate stall. There are six gradable objectives, but the key points are:

•Maintain the specifi ed altitude ±100 feet; specifi ed heading ±10 de-grees; airspeed +10/-0 knots; and specifi ed angle of bank ±10 degrees.

Few pilots actually practice this maneuver. When I ask BFR candi-

BY Steve Krog, CFI

How’s your fl ight profi ciency?

THE Vintage Instructor

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 31

dates to demonstrate slow flight, most will look at me and say, “I haven’t done this since my last BFR.”

This is an excellent maneuver to know and really understand your air-plane, and it is a maneuver that can be used when fl ying into a busy pan-cake breakfast. Practice and know how to perform this maneuver.

Medium and Steep TurnsYou might be asking yourself,

“How can this be so diffi cult? I do this all the time.” However, when was the last time you established a bank angle and altitude and per-formed the turn?

The PTS states for the steep turn that you must:

•Roll into a coordinated 360-degree turn and maintain a con-stant 45-degree bank.

•Maintain the entry altitude ±100 feet; airspeed ±10 knots; bank ±5 degrees; and roll out on the en-try heading ±10 degrees.

Most BFR candidates will be un-able to maintain their altitude and, once realizing this, will decrease the bank angle while chasing the alti-tude and fi nally roll out well beyond the entry heading. It isn’t a diffi cult maneuver, but it does require prac-tice to maintain profi ciency.

Power-Off StallsThis stall was previously called

the “Approach to Landing Stall,” but that phrase had a negative con-notation, so the FAA changed it back to the “Power Off Stall,” a de-scription used from the time of the Wright brothers until the 1950s.

A private pilot candidate must be able to perform power-off stalls both straight ahead and with a shallow bank. The PTS provides eight points by which to be graded, but the key points state:

•Maintain a specified heading ±10 degrees when performing the stall straight ahead.

•Maintain a specified angle of bank not to exceed 20 degrees, ±10 degrees, in turning fl ight while in-ducing the stall.

•Recognize the stall; then using

correct recovery techniques, return to a straight-and-level flight atti-tude with a minimum loss of alti-tude appropriate for the airplane.

When was the last time you prac-ticed a power-off stall? Probably during your BFR flight two years prior—at least that is the response I usually hear when I ask a BFR can-didate to perform the same. There are two mistakes commonly made when demonstrating this stall: fi rst, not recognizing the stall and initi-ating a recovery before the stall ac-tually occurs, and second, pushing the nose over and diving at mother earth, losing an exorbitant amount of altitude. Remember, this stall is most likely to occur in the traffic pattern close to the ground. At a safe altitude, practice this stall using the recovery technique of lowering the nose just below the horizon line.

Power-On StallsFor reference, this stall was once

referred to as the “Take Off and Departure Stall,” but the negative connotation caused the FAA to re-identify it as the “Power On Stall.”

The key points in the PTS are identical to the power off stall:

•Maintain a specified heading ±10 degrees when performing the stall straight ahead.

•Maintain a specified angle of bank not to exceed 20 degrees, ±10 degrees, in turning fl ight while in-ducing the stall.

•Recognize the stall; then using correct recovery techniques, return to a straight-and-level flight atti-tude with a minimum loss of alti-tude appropriate for the airplane.

Again, the last time you may have demonstrated this stall was during your last BFR. This stall is easier to demonstrate than the power-off stall, but many pilots feel otherwise be-cause the nose attitude is signifi cantly higher. However, remember the re-quired power setting is at least 65 percent or more of available power. By lowering the nose to the horizon line or just below, the airplane is once again fl ying. There is no need to push the nose over and dive at the ground!

Forward Slip to a LandingThis maneuver is a require-

ment of the private pilot checkride whether fl ying an aircraft with fl aps or not. The PTS lists eight objectives for evaluating the forward slip. The key objectives include:

•Establish the slipping attitude at the point from which a land-ing can be made using the recom-mended approach and landing configuration and airspeed while adjusting pitch attitude and power as required.

• Mainta in a g round t rack aligned with the runway center/landing path and an airspeed, which results in minimum float during the roundout.

•Touch down smoothly at the approximate stalling speed, at or within 400 feet beyond a specifi ed point, with no side drift, and with the airplane’s longitudinal axis aligned with and over the runway center/landing path.

Many pilots flying antique- and classic-type aircraft are quite famil-iar with the slip and use it regularly when landing, but I still encounter many who haven’t performed a slip in years. The single biggest error I see during the BFR is allowing the nose to dip or drop while establishing and maintaining the slip. Airspeed then increases, and the landing is well beyond the 400 feet limit as outlined in the PTS. Another error I encounter is the pilot’s fi xation on the airspeed indicator. Remember, the pitot tube is providing an erro-neous reading on the airspeed dur-ing the slip. Establishing the correct nose attitude is critical to maintain-ing the desired approach speed.

Practicing the different maneu-vers as discussed above will help make a better and safer pilot of each of us. When you are ready to get your airplane out of the hangar and do some fl ying, why not challenge yourself and try these maneuvers? Remember, you had to perform them once upon a time when you took and passed your checkride. Test yourself and see if you could pass the checkride again today.

32 MARCH 2010

Our December 2010 Mystery Plane came to us from VAA mem-ber Gordon LaCombe

of Kenosha, Wisconsin. Here’s the answer from Lynn Towns, VAA 97, of Holt, Michigan.

The airplane in the December is-sue of Vintage Airplane is a Szekely

Flying Dutchman, which was man-ufactured by the Szekely Aircraft and Engine Company in Holland, Michigan. The Flying Dutchman was powered by a Szekely SR-3 three-cylinder radial engine. The aircraft in the photo is identifica-tion number 10027, which was c/n 4.

Otto E. Szekely was an engineer from Germany who came to the United States after World War I. He initially worked for the Velie Mo-tors Corporation, an automobile manufacturer (and later aircraft and aircraft engines) in Moline, Illinois. Szekely started his own engineering company in Moline to design small

Send your answer to EAA, Vintage Airplane, P.O. Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086. Your answer needs to be in no later than April 15 for inclusion in

the June 2010 issue of Vintage Airplane.

You can also send your re-sponse via e-mail. Send your answer to [email protected].

Be sure to include your name plus your city and state in the body of your note and put “(Month) Mystery Plane” in the subject line.

by H.G. FRAUTSCHY

MYSTERY PLANEThis month’s Mystery Plane comes to us from Jack Austin of

Florence, South Carolina. We promise an extensive Mystery Plane Extra article in the June issue on this one!

D E C E M B E R ’ S M Y S T E RY A N S W E R

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 33

gasoline engines, and his company also built engine piston rings. His engineering company designed engines for the Cushman Motor Works in Lincoln, Nebraska, which built small engines to power water pumps, cream separators, washing machines, feed grinders, concrete

mixers, wood saws, and genera-tors. His company also did work for the Maytag Washing Machine Company in Newton, Iowa, which made gasoline-powered washing machines for customers who didn’t have access to electricity.

In 1925, Szekely moved his en-

gineering and piston ring com-pany from Moline to Holland, Michigan, where his company did work for a Holland company called the Vacatap Washing Machine Company. Before long, the Va-catap Company was dissolved due to management differences.

The Flying Dutchman was built first by Niles Aircraft of Niles, Michigan, then by Szekely in Holland, Michigan.

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Szekely continued with his pis-ton ring business, and he also started building engines for other companies. Meanwhile, he was de-veloping a design for a three-cyl-inder radial aircraft engine. The results of his efforts were the Sze-kely model SR-3L (150-pound dry weight, 190.4-cubic inch displace-ment, 5:1 compression ratio, 30 hp @ 1750 rpm) and the model SR-3-45 (138-pound dry weight, 190.4-cu-bic inch displacement, 4.9:1 com-pression ratio, 45 hp @ 1750 rpm) engines, which were awarded ap-proved engine type certifi cate num-bers 53 and 70, respectively.

Szekely three-cylinder engines were approved on several approved type-certificated (ATC) airplanes. These included the Alexander Air-craft model D2 Flyabout (ATC 449), the American Eagle model 230 Ea-glet (ATC 380), the American Ea-gle model B-31 Eaglet (ATC 450), Buhl Aircraft model LA-1 Bull Pup (ATC 405), Curtiss-Wright model CW-1 Junior (ATC 397), Rearwin Airplanes model 3000 Junior (ATC 434), Rearwin Airplanes model 3100 Junior (ATC 481), and the Taylor Aircraft model H-2 Cub (ATC 572). In addition, Szekely engines were used on many homebuilt and

non-type-certifi cated airplanes.In 1927 or 1928, the Niles Air-

craft Corporation in Niles, Mich-igan, was formed by James R. Williams to manufacture and mar-ket a single-place low-wing mono-plane airplane named the Gold Tip. The Gold Tip was designed by Professor Peter Altman, director of the aeronautical department at the University of Detroit, and it was originally powered with an Anzani engine. Szekely bought the design rights and prototype airplane from Niles Aircraft and hired Peter Altman to redesign the airplane to use his Szekely engine. The resulting aircraft was named the Flying Dutchman. The Szekely Flying Dutchman airplane never received a type certifi cate, so all of the airplanes that were built were treated as “identifi ed aircraft” by the CAA. Thus, their identifying numbers did not include the NC prefix. All Flying Dutchman air-craft were apparently built during 1928 and 1929.

Here is a list of the Szekely Flying Dutchman identifi cation numbers that I was able to glean from www.Aerofi les.com:

X4448 c/n 1, the prototype Niles Aircraft Corporation Gold Tip that

became the prototype Szekely Flying Dutchman

10027 c/n 4, the plane that appears in the Mystery Air-plane photo 102E c/n 5

3088 c/n 7, the plane that is depicted in some Szekely advertisements

9355 c/n 109356, c/n 119450 c/n 12, which appears

in many photographs9451 c/n 139452 c/n 149453 c/n 159454 c/n 169455 c/n 17, which appeared

in an in-flight photo that has been published several times

9456 c/n 188089 c/n 198090 c/n 208091 c/n 2110028 c/n 26

This list includes 17 identifica-tion numbers, but the missing con-struction numbers suggest there may have been several more.

From published photographs, there were slight variations in the Flying Dutchman as production progressed. ID 3088, c/n 7, had a tail shape and a long tapered fair-ing from the engine cowling to the cockpit (no apparent windshield), just like ID 10027, c/n 4, in the Mystery Plane photo. ID 9450, c/n 12, had a conventional windshield replacing the fairing in front of the cockpit, but it still had the same shaped tail.

ID 9455, c/n 17, had a conven-tional windshield and a round-shaped tail.

Our regular contributor Wes Smith has written up an even more extensive history of Szekely and the Flying Dutchman, which we’ll pub-lish in the near future, along with some other material sent by Phil Mi-chmerhuizen of Holland, Michigan.

Other correct answers were received from Bob Taylor, Ottumwa, Iowa (who supplied us with the copy from Aeronautics); Wayne Muxlow, Minne-apolis, Minnesota; and Tom Lymburn, Princeton, Minnesota.

34 MARCH 2010

This one is tough to make out, but here’s another shot supplied by Gordon LaCombe. A pair of Flying Dutchmans are parked under the wing of a Fokker Tri-Motor. It’s not known where the photo was taken.

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 35

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36 MARCH 2010

The Story of the 1939National Air Races DVDby Greg Books

When one stands in a museum, gazing at photographs of people locked in formal poses

and fl ying machines frozen against the static backdrop of concrete and steel, it’s easy to miss the sheer au-dacity of high-performance flight. But to see those frozen, slightly self-conscious images of the people and fragile dragonfl ies, themselves, come to life, to watch them in their element, instills an entirely new ap-

preciation of the awe-inspiring con-tributions of those pioneers. Such is the experience of watching The Story of the 1939 National Air Races, recently released by the National Air Race Project.

Using more than 90 minutes of photographs of the planes, the peo-ple, the site, and the races, the pro-duction tells the story of the last of the golden age of air races. The race, which took place the day af-ter the invasion of Poland touched off World War II, was the last race until 1946, when military surplus planes, with their superior power and speed, made the custom-built classics obsolete. The rare color fi lm

footage, photographs, memora-bilia, and background information are skillfully woven together to cap-ture the excitement and optimism of the day. Some of the footage, including exhibition stunts that would never be tried in a modern air show (landing a Piper Cub on top of a Waco in midair, and land-ing both while still attached) might even leave viewers shaking their head in wonder! Or Mike Murphy’s Cub, which takes off, flies, andlands while upside down!

If there is any area where the production is lacking, it is in the soundtrack. While the occasional marching music seemed appropri-ate for the exhibition of military aircraft and behind invasion foot-age, the exclusive use of marches is puzzling. A primary goal of the doc-umentary fi lmmaker is to bring fl at images to life, and the soundtrack is a major channel. Using narra-tion alone imparts a didactic qual-ity, while using music that refl ects the context, enriches. Within the fi rst few minutes of fl ying footage, I began to yearn for the sound of a radial engine in addition to the nar-ration . . . and while watching the race-day footage, I’d have traded my popcorn for “Little Brown Jug” or “Woodchopper’s Ball!”

But that limitation aside, The Story of the 1939 National Air Races is an exciting and worthwhile addition to any aviation enthusiast’s library. Grab the popcorn, fi re up Glen Miller or Woody Herman on your iPod, and enjoy! And next time you’re look-ing at Whitman’s Bonzo or Art Ches-ter’s Jeep at the EAA AirVenture Museum, or the recent re-creation of the Schoenfeldt Firecracker at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, you’ll have a greater appreciation for the golden age of air racing.

VintageBooks and Video Reviews

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 37

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38 MARCH 2010

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Membership Services DirectoryEnjoy the many benefi ts of EAA andEAA’s Vintage Aircraft Association

EAA Aviation Center, PO Box 3086, Oshkosh WI 54903-3086Phone (920) 426-4800 Fax (920) 426-4873

Web Sites: www.vintageaircraft.org, www.airventure.org, www.eaa.org/memberbenefi ts E-Mail: [email protected]

EAA and Division Membership Services (8:00 AM–7:00 PM Monday–Friday CST)800-564-6322 FAX 920-426-4873 www.eaa.org/memberbenefi ts [email protected]

•New/renew memberships •Address changes •Merchandise sales •Gift memberships

EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 888-322-4636 www.airventure.org [email protected] Pilot/Light-Sport Aircraft Hotline 877-359-1232 www.sportpilot.org [email protected]

Programs and ActivitiesAuto Fuel STCs 920-426-4843 [email protected] Air Academy 920-426-6880 www.airacademy.org [email protected] Scholarships 920-426-6823 [email protected] Instructor information 920-426-6801 www.eaa.org/nafi [email protected] Services/Research 920-426-4848 [email protected]

Benefi tsAUA Vintage Insurance Plan 800-727-3823 www.auaonline.comEAA Aircraft Insurance Plan 866-647-4322 www.eaa.org/memberbenefi ts [email protected] VISA Card 800-853-5576 ext. 8884EAA Hertz Rent-A-Car Program 800-654-2200 www.eaa.org/hertz [email protected] Enterprise Rent-A-Car Program 877-421-3722 www.eaa.org/enterprise [email protected] 920-426-4825 www.vintageaircraft.org [email protected] Offi ce FAX 920-426-6579 [email protected]

Membership dues to EAA and its divisions are not tax deductible as charitable contributions

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EAA Members Information Line 888-EAA-INFO (322-4636)Use this toll-free number for: information about AirVenture Oshkosh; aeromedical and technical aviation questions;

chapters; and Young Eagles. Please have your membership number ready when calling.Offi ce hours are 8:15 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. (Monday - Friday, CST)

SecretarySteve Nesse

2009 Highland Ave.Albert Lea, MN 56007

[email protected]

VINTAGE AIRPLANE 39

What Our MembersAre Restoring

Klemm 107C D-ELYQIn June 2000, when I wandered over the apron of Friedrich-

shafen airport (the home of the Zeppelin airships) while waiting for a student pilot to show up, I ran into Hermann, who, I knew, owned a rare Klemm 107C. Unfortunately, it had been a hangar queen for the past few years. We had the usual pilot talk when I asked him if he knew of a PA-18 or something similar to be sold.

He didn’t, but then he told me he had wanted to sell his plane for nearly three years without success. That was news to me, so I convinced him of my interest. I knew his Klemm, but I had never seen it fl y. We walked over to the hangar and removed its canvas cover. After a thorough external inspection I hopped into the well-equipped cockpit, and with a fi rm grip on the stick I knew: “This is going to be mine!”

I immediately phoned my friend Werner and told him about our new plane. He rushed out to the airport, and the three of us confi rmed the deal by shaking hands. Now with D-ELYQ we own a real piece of German aviation heritage (less than 10 of these airplanes have survived in airworthy condition).

The Klemm 107 essentially is a pre-World War II design. With its two side-by-side seats and the 105-hp Hirth 504 inverted

four-cylinder in-line engine, it was intended as a primary trainer and sport aircraft.

After only 20 examples had been built, production stopped due to World War II.

In the 1950s Hans Klemm and Ludwig Bölkow joined forces to start aircraft manufacturing again with the Kl-107 after the war. The design was modifi ed, designated as KL-107A, and had an additional third seat in the back. It was powered by a Continental C90. First fl ight was in 1955 and showed that the C90 did not have enough power. The Continental was replaced by a Lycoming O-320-A2A, and the aircraft, now designated Kl-107B, fl ew as ex-pected. After series production had commenced, further modifi -cations were introduced with a wider track oleo-strut landing gear, designed and manufactured by Dornier-Werke Friedrichshafen, and a refi ned canopy. This version was designated Klemm 107C.

The Klemm Kl-107C is an example of the classical German sport airplane tradition with its lightweight structural design. The fuselage displays an all-wooden assembly of two plywood mono-coque shells glued and bolted together. This structure carries the wings, empennage, engine, and payload.

The all-wooden wings have one main spar and a torsion-stiff

Klemm 107CBY THOMAS STUTE

JOE RIEMENSBERGER

leading-edge D-section. The rear two-thirds of the wing are Ceco-nite-covered. The main undercarriage is attached to the wing spar. Takeoff and landing are assisted by a split-fl ap. The wings can be dismantled when the fuselage is supported.

The horizontal and vertical stabilizers are stressed-skin de-signs from plywood, with the control surfaces fabric-covered.

Rudder and elevator are cable-operated, while the ailerons are controlled via push-rods.

The Kl-107C is a real pilot’s airplane, and that makes it a lot of fun to fl y: The controls are well-balanced, it is quite agile, and the control forces are right. The visibility, even forward when sit-ting on its tail wheel, is excellent. The stall announces itself very well with buffeting; it goes gently into a spin and recovers right on command. It behaves exactly as a trainer should.

The Klemm has a conventional landing gear with the third wheel in the right place . . . at the tail. It is free-swivelling for taxi-ing and must be locked for takeoff and landing. The 107 has a long and bulky fuselage, thus it leaves a lot of surface for the wind to attack, making the 107 quite sensitive to crosswind operation. So even taxiing in strong winds sometimes is quite a challenge, not to mention takeoff and landing. The landing is not completed until the aircraft is safe in the hangar or at least safely tied down with all the control surfaces locked.

Traveling at an economical speed of about 110 mph gives you enough time to enjoy the landscape you are passing, and the fuel burn of about 6.5 U.S. gallons per hour (100 L or car fuel)

doesn’t stress your budget too much, which is very important in Europe with fuel charges of around $10 per gallon.

This plane is real fun, and when Werner and I land anywhere in Germany or in the neighboring countries, we feel by the reac-tion of fellow aviation enthusiasts, we own something special.

Let’s keep them fl ying! It is heritage; it is part of our techni-cal culture.

40 MARCH 2010

Basic technical data of the Klemm 107C

Engine Lycoming O-320 A2A

150 HP

Span Width 10.84 m 35 ft 7 in

Wing Area 14.6 m2 157 ft2

Aspect Ratio 8

Length 8.3 m 27 ft 3 in

Empty Weight 650 kg 1433 lbs

Max TO Weight 970 kg 2138.5 lbs

VNE 300 km/h 162 kt 186 mph

Vtravel 180 km/h 100 kts 112 mph

Fuel Capacity 1301 34 US gal

Range 850 km 460 nm 530 miles

KARSTEN PALT

JOE RIEMENSBERGERTHOMAS STUTE

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Oh, and by the way, I sold my ‘93 Explorer to my nephew in ‘97 and he sold it in ‘03 with 267,000 trouble free miles.”

Enjoy the privilege of partnershipEAA Members who are considering the purchase or lease of a new Ford Motor Company vehicle should be sure to take advantage of the opportunity to save with the Ford Partner Recognition Program.

Get your personal identifi cation number (PIN) and learn about the great value of Partner Recognition/X-Plan at www.fordpartner.com

Certain restrictions apply. Available at participating dealers. Please refer to www.eaa.org.

V E H I C L E P U R C H A S E P L A N

Proud Partners with EAA

Skip L., EAA #303877Victor, NY