cidents.

We would be well advised to give

our aircraft a thorough mechanical check
STRAIGHT & LEVEL over when we take them out of winter
by Espie "Butch" Joyce
As we are moving into February, we
start thinking about winter being over and
flying in the spring. Some people like
myself who live in the South are fortunate
that we are able to fly off and on during
the winter, as we will have nice weekends,
followed by cold weekends. Of course
there are people further south than I who
are able to enjoy their aircraft around the
year, while those people up north, such as
Minnesota and Wisconsin, often need to
store their vintage aircraft during the
winter, except those who venture out to do
ski flying. This is something I have never
experienced, but hope to one of these
days. I'm sure it is fun. (It is lots of
fun!-HGF)
I would like to turn our thoughts to this
spring and talk about things that we need
to be aware of. One of the most important
items to discuss is the Sun 'n Fun Fly-In
at Lakeland, Florida, occurring April 5th
through the lIth. You owe it to yourself
to experience this fly -in as these people do
a great job with this event. It is one of the
very first flying activities coming after
winter and is very enjoyable. I always end
up coming home sunburned after the fly-
in. Last year the weather was great. The
state of Florida is loaded with antique
airplanes. There are a lot of people retired
to that area who own antique aircraft. You
will often see aircraft at the Sun 'n Fun
Fly-In that you will not see at other fly-ins.
Their flea market is excellent. I just can't
say enough about how much fun this event
is. I plan on being at Lakeland for the
week and will be in the Antique/Classic
area. I will be visiting with people who
own antique/classic aircraft. Hope to see
2 FEBRUARY 1992
you there!
I attended the Directors meeting of the
Antique/Classic Chapter 3 several nights
ago. This was their planning meeting for
their fly-in this spring. This Chapter
covers such a wide area that the Directors
do all the planning for this fly-in season.
The leadership in this Chapter is really
outstanding and their fly-ins are very well
attended and organized. One of the things
they talked about was the parking of the
Contemporary category aircraft at. They
were very enthusiastic about greeting this
group of people and welcoming them into
our organization. The Chapter 3 Spring
Fly-In will be held in Burlington, North
Carolina, May 1-3 . That's very con-
venient for me, as Burlington is only 25
miles from my Clipwing Cub. For those
interested in attending this fly-in, the con-
tacts for information are Pat or Henry
Miller at 919/548-9293. This fly-in is a
grass roots event. They do not have any
air shows, but they will be judging
aircraft. It is a lot of fun to be able to just
lay under the wing, at this low-key event,
and see a lot of friends that you haven't
seen for a long time.
Speaking of the Contemporary class, be
sure to read Jack Cox's article in the
February issue of SPORT AVIATION
about the planes and events of the last half
of the 1950's. It is a nice trip down
aviation's memory lane.
Your Antique/Classic Board of Direc-
tors meeting will be held February 7th.
This is a planning session for the operation
of the Antique/Classic area at Oshkosh.
This year, we will also be parking our new
Contemporary category of aircraft
(aircraft manufactured between January
1,1956 and December 31,1960). Anyone
owning these aircraft needs to start polish-
ing and waxing. We would like to see
these aircraft brought up to show quality
when they are parked in our area. AIC
Director Art Morgan, who is in charge of
parking, has put out a lot of effort to make
sure everyone is welcomed and that we
do have room for you; let's not disappoint
Art!
The Antique/Classic Division of EAA
is trying to keep track of accidents that
antique/classic aircraft have been in-
volved in, to help advise our membership
of things to be careful about with regard
to our type of aircraft. In looking over
reports of this past year, there have been
some developing patterns. Accidents
such as engine fires, or things of a similar
nature that we do not have much control
over, with the exception of the big radial
engines, which are subject to have a fire
during starting. We need to be careful
with those. It seems aircraft that have
been in storage for the winter can have
some mechanical problems that cause ac-
storage to make sure everything is work-
ing properly. Look for items such as old
gas, and things of that nature that would
cause you a problem when you first start
flying after the winter months. Also, it is
a good idea for pilots to check their flying
techniques as well. You can't help feering
a little rusty after not flying for three or
four months. If you look at accidents from
the standpoint of pilot errors, another pat-
tern appears. For pilots who are low time
in a particular type of aircraft or new pilots
to a strange aircraft, the first 15 to 20 hours
in a new airplane appears to be a problem
area. Even high time pilots do not seem
to be exempt from this pattern. It would
be wise for pilots in this category to be
very cautious and conservative when
flying tail wheel aircraft in marginal con-
ditions. Strong crosswinds, short run-
ways and items of this nature do not leave
you any room for error. Also, you need to
understand and appreciate your aircraft's
performance abilities, and apply your
knowledge during your flight planning.
For example, on a go-around, will the
aircraft perform well enough to clear the
trees? You should take a few hours in
your aircraft; work with it and understand
it. It seems that after the first year of
ownership of a new aircraft, this pattern of
accidents diminishes quite a bit, as ex-
perience is gained with the airplane. Once
again, I would like to remind you to just
be careful, especially when you first ac-
quire a new aircraft. I do not want to see
us lose any of our members. We all would
be saddened to have any of our precious
aircraft fleet lost in an avoidable accident.
In the past, I have tried to avoid coming to
any type of conclusion, since nonnally
there is someone out there who has an
opinion of their own. Of course, we wel-
come those thoughts and if those opinions
will help us preserve our members and
preserve our aircraft, I am very willing to
listen to them. Please write me with your
views on this subject.
I would like to encourage our member-
ship to submit articles to our Editor, H.G.
Frautschy, on the Contemporary class of
aircraft. We always welcome articles on
the classics and antiques, too. H.G. will
be glad to look at these articles and clean
them up if necessary. This is your
magazine, this is your Division; let's use
it for the membership's enjoyment. Also,
if you have a project, please send us a
photograph so that we might be able to use
it in the magazine. Don't forget, please do
not write on the back of the photo. If you
have a friend who has an antique, classic
or contemporary aircraft, please en-
courage them to join our Division. The
more members we have the better we will
be able to serve everyone. Remember, we
are better together. Let ' s all pull in the
same direction for the good of aviation.
Join us and you have it all! ....
PUBLISHER
Tom Poberezny
VICE-PRESIDENT
PUBLICATION STAFF
MARKETING&COMMUNICATIONS
DickMalt
EDITOR
HenryG. Frautschy
MANAGINGEDITOR
GoldaCox
ARTDIRECTOR
MikeDrucks
ADVERTISING
MaryJones
ASSOCIATE EDITORS
NormanPetersen DickCavin
FEATURE WRITERS
GeorgeA.Hardie.Jr. DennisParks
EDITORIALASSISTANT
IsabelleWiske
STAFF PHOTOGRAPHERS
JimKoepnick CarlSchuppel
DonnaBushman MikeSteineke
EAAANTIQUE/CLASSIC
DIVISION.INC.
OFFICERS
President Vice-President
Esple " Butch"Joyce ArthurR.Morgan
604HighwaySt. 3744Nerth51stBlvd.
Madisen.NC27025 Milwaukee.WI 53216
919/427-0216 414/442-3631
Secretary Treasurer
stevenC. Nesse E.E."Buck" Hilbert
2009HighlandAve. P.O. Bex424
AlbertLea.MN56007 Unien.IL60180
EfJ7/373-1674 815/923-4591
DIRECTORS
JohnBerendt RobertC. "Bob"Brauer
7645EchePeintRd. 9345S. Heyne
CannenFalls. MN55009 Chicago.IL60620
EfJ7/263-2414 312/179-2105
GeneChase JohnS.Copeland
2159CarltenRd. P.O. Box 1035
Oshkesh.WI 54904 Westboreugh.MAOl581
414/231-5CX)2 EfJ8/836- 1911
Phil ipCoulson GeorgeDaubner
28415SpringbreekDr. 2448LeughLane
Lawten.MI49065 Hartferd.WI 53027
414/673-5885
CharlesHarris Stan Gomoll
3933SouthPeeria 104290thLane.NE
P.O. Box904038 Minneapelis.MN55434
Tulsa.OK74105 612/784-1172
918/742-7311
DaleA.Gustafson JeannieHill
7724ShadyHill Drive P.O. Bex328
Indianapel is. IN 46278 HaNard.IL60033
317/293-4430 815/943-7205
Robertlickteig RobertD."Bob"Lumley
1708BayOaksDrive 1265South 124thSt.
AlbertLea.MN56007 Breekfield.WI 53005
EfJ7/373-2922 414/782-2633
GeneMorris GeorgeS.York
115CSteveCeurt.R.R.2 181 SiobedaAve.
Reaneke.TX 76262 Mansfield.OH44906
817/491-9110 419/529-4378
S.H."Wes"Schmid
2359LefeberAvenue
Wauwatesa. WI 53213
414/771-1545
DIRECTOR EMERITUS
S.J.Wittman
7200S.E. 85thLane
Ocala.FL32672
904/245-7768
ADVISORS
JimmyRollison
823CarrienCircle
Winters.CA95694-1665
916/795-4334
DeanRichardson GeoffRobison
6701 CelenyDrive 1521 E. MacGregerDr.
Madisen.WI 53717 NewHaven.IN 46774
608/833-1291 219/493-4724
February 1992 Vol. 20, No.2
Copyright 1992bytheEMAntique/ClassicDivision. Inc. All rightsreseNed.
Contents
2 Straight &Level/by Espie "Butch" Joyce
4 Aeromail
4 AIC News
6 Vintage Literaturefby Dennis Parks
Page6
10 A Funny Thing Happened On The
Way To Oshkosh/by William C. Phelps
12 Bill Watson's KR-31fby H.G. Frautschy
16 What Our Members Are Restoring{
by Norm Petersen
18 Porterfields Three!fby Norm Petersen
22 The First Ford Reliability Tourl
Page 12
by Jim Haynes
27 Calendar
28 Pass It To Buck
30 Welcome New Members
31 Vintage Trader
34 Mystery Plane
FRONTCOVER...AII thewayeverthemountainsfremCalifernia.
Lerey Blum's spunky Perterfield CP-65. nicknamed 'Sweet p,
FieldcircleseveraWiscensinceuntryreadduringEAAOshkesh
'91,PhetobyCarlSchuppel.shetwitha CanenEOS-l equipped
withan80-200lens, 1/25Othatf5,6usingKodachreme64, Phete
planefl ewnbyBuckHilbert,
BACKCOVER,,,"TheFlye(.apastelwerkbyartistPamelaPatrick.
capturesthefascination.ofayeungbeyashehearsaBeechcraft
Staggerwingtakeoffintheceld.sharpair.ofwinter,Pamelacan
becentacted at: Pamela Patrick Studie and Gallery. 123 East
State SI.. Kennett Square. PA 19348, Limited editien prints are
available.of this artwerk,
Thewords EMULTRALIGHT,FLYWITH THE FIRSTTEAM, SPORTAVIATION, and the logosofEXPERIMENTALAIRCRAFTASSOCIATION INC"
EAAINTERNATIONALCONVENTION,EAAANTIOUEJCLASSICDIVISIONINC"INTERNATIONALAEROBATICCLUBINC" WARBIRDSOFAMERICA
INC, areregistered trademarks,THE EAASKYSHOPPE and logos ofthe EAAAVIATION FOUNDATION INC, and EAAULTRALIGHTCONVENTION
aretrademarksofthe aboveassociationsand!heirusebyanypersonotherthan the aboveassociationsisstric1fyprohibited,
Editorial Policy: Readers are encouraged to submtt stories and photographs, Policy opinions expressed in articles are solely those of the authors,
Responsibilityfor aocuracyin reponing rests entirelywith the oontributor, Material should be sent to: Editor, TheVINTAGEAIRPLANE,P,O, Box3086,
Oshkosh,WI549Q3.3086, Phone:414/4264800,
The VINTAGE AIRPLANE (SSN 0091-6943) is pubiished and owned excfusively by EAA Antique/Classic Division, Inc, of the Experimenlal Aircraft
Association,Inc,andispublishedmonthlyatEAAAviationCenter,P,O.Box3086,Oshkosh,WI549Q3.3086. SeoondClassPostagepaidalOshkosh,WI
54901 andadditionalmailingoffices.The membershipraleforEAAAntique/ClassicDivision,Inc.is $2Q,OQforcurrenlEAAmembersfor12monthperiod
ofwhich$12,OQ isforthe publicationofThe VINTAGE AIRPLANE,Membershipisopen 10 all whoareinterestedinaviation,
ADVERTISINGAntique/ClassicDivisiondoesnotguaranteeorendorseanyproductoneredthroughouradvertising,Weinviteoonstructivecriticismand
welcomeanyreportofinteriormerohandiseobtainedthroughouradvertisingso thatcorrectivemeasurescanbetaken,
POSTMASTER:SendaddresscIlangesto EAAAntique/ClassicDivision, Inc, P,O,Box3086,Oshkosh,WI549Q3.3086,
VINTAGEAIRPLANE3
MAIL
Sirs,
Ref December, 1991 Vintage
Airplane, page 13, Harold Armstrong's
Pitcairn PA-4 Fleetwing II. It is a great
sequel to the article in the November
Sport Aviation.
Describing how Harold scrounged
for parts recalls a particular scrounge
mission he conducted while we were
both stationed at Langley AFB, V A in
1963. I kept my Taperwing Waco CTO,
N845V, there and Harold flew it once.
He was on C-130's and during a trip to
Rapid City, SD he visited a trade school
and discovered an OX-5 engine com-
plete except for the cut away cylinder
and a hand crank welded to the shaft to
demonstrate it the the students.
Discovering that the instructor would
sell it as it did not match any modem
engine system, especially the valve ac-
tion, he asked what he would sell it for
for his Waco 10 he was rebuilding.
"How about $150 bucks?" It was all
Harold could do to keep from falling on
the floor. He put it in to the cargo hold
of the C-130 and hauled it back to
Langley before the guy could change his
mind. To this day he still harbors a guilt
complex but is consoled by his wife
Martha's evaluation. She thinks he paid
too much for it.
Sam Burgess
San Antonio, TX (AfC 1369)
OSHKOSH'91DATESSET
Mark your calendars, and start
making plans for EAA Oshkosh '92.
This year the Convention will be held
July 31 - August 6, 1992. This will be
the 40th Anniversary of the EAA Con-
vention, and several special events are
planned to recognize this significant
milestone. Also, a new Youth Forums
tent will be on the convention site,
featuring programs designed to fire up
the imaginations of young aviation en-
thusiasts. One of the first activities to
be announced is the planned tribute to
the late Al Williams, known to many
airshow fans in the '30s, and '40s as the
4 FEBRUARY 1992
compiled by H.G. Frautschy
pilot of the famous "Gulfhawk" series
of airplanes he flew in airshow perfor-
mances all over the United States.
To help you plan your visit, look for
a tentative Forums schedule will be
included in your May copy of SPORT
A VIATION.1t should be noted that this
will be a preliminary schedule, and
could be subject to change by the time
the Convention rolls around, but should
be a great help in planning your trip to
EAA's "Gateway To Aviation".
If you have additional questions, or
would like to volunteer during Conven-
tion week, call EAA headquarters at
414/426-4800.
EAA AVIATION FOUNDATION
SCHOLARSHIPS
During 1992, the EAA Aviation
Foundation will again offer an exten-
sive scholarship program to students in-
terested in pursuing a career in aviation.
The Foundation's scholarship has
helped more than 100 students pursue
aviation related studies, allowing aspir-
ing pilots, mechanics, engineers and a
growing number of other professionals
to realize their goals of a career in avia-
tion.
"The goal of the Foundation's
Scholarship Program is to encourage,
recognize and support excellence in
pursuit of knowledge in aviation tech-
nologies and skills." explains Chuck
Larsen, the EAA Foundation's Educa-
tion Director. "Annual scholarships
have provided assistance to deserving
individuals who demonstrate a financial
need in order to accomplish their avia-
tion-related goals."
The awards can range from modest
grants to a full four-year degree
programs. They are open to all young
people interested in aviation careers.
Applicants should be well rounded in-
dividuals involved in school and com-
munity activities as well as aviation.
Their academic record should show an
ability to successfully complete their
chosen academic pursuit. For more in-
formation and an application, contact
the office of the EAA Aviation Founda-
tion Education Department, EAA A via-
tion Center, P.O. Box 3065, Oshkosh,
WI 54903-3065 or call 414/4888 or
426-4800.
Applications must be received by
April 1, 1992.
PIONEER AIRPORT UPDATE
Plans are being made for the upcom-
ing season at Pioneer Airport, located
behind the EAA Air Adventure
Museum in Oshkosh, WI. Although
the ground work for the new runway
has now stopped due to the winter
weather, progress has been made in
grading and leveling the runway, and it
is anticipated that the new runway can
be made ready for seeding as soon as
the spring weather allows the field to
dry out sufficiently to allow heavy
earth moving equipment in to finalize
the grass strip's surface. Don't let that
deter you from visiting Pioneer Airport
early this summer, however. Fly-bys
of vintage airplanes, including the Ford
Trimotor and newly restored Travel Air
4000, will take place during the entire
season, even if the planes must be
flown off of the adjacent Wittman Field
until the grass has grown nice and thick
on the new runway at Pioneer. The
Ford will again be offering you the
chance to experience commercial avia-
tion in its infancy with a ride in its
corrugated cabin. It's a chance you
would hate to miss! The just completed
Travel Air 4000 will be used to
demonstrate the technique of banner
towing. Opening weekend is
scheduled for May 9th. We'll have
more on scheduled events in later issue
of VINTAGE AIRPLANE.
BUZZ'S ROBIN
Jim Haynes, of Bushnell , II , sent us
note to point out something that we
missed during our coverage of Buzz
Kaplan's Curtiss Robin in the October
issue of VINTAGE AIRPLANE. Jim is
the proprietor of the "Robins Nest", a
newsletter devoted to the Curtiss Robin.
Jim mentioned in his letter that this par-
ticular antique airplane has what was a
rare feature even when the airplane was
new - it has a door on the left side of the
cabin. Most Robins were delivered
with a door on the right side of the
airplane. As far as Jim has been able to
determine, this type of change was not
done on the Curtiss assembly line. Ac-
cording to Jim, this type of door instal-
lation was done on special request,
normally in conjunction with the
airplane being equipped for floats. Ac-
cording to Gary Underland, Buzz's
chief mechanic, the J6-5 Robin they
restored came with the left door instal-
lation. That's quite fortunate, since
Gary and Buzz are now working on
installing the Robin on Edo P-2525
floats. A photo of the door is shown
here in AIC News. Jim also wrote to tell
us that the only Robin on floats at this
time is N76H, originally a C-l with a
Challenger engine. It is located at the
Alaska Aviation Museum on Lake
Hood, AK. As far as he knows, that
aircraft does not have a left side door.
Later research by Norm Petersen turned
up a photo of Douglas Corrigan's
Robin, which apparently had a left side
door.
DOROTHY WEICK 1900 -1991
Dorothy Weick, wife of Ercoupe
Buzz Kaplan's Robin features a very rare
left side door. How can you spot a left door
from the right side? look for the step on
the opposite side!
designer and esteemed aeronautical en-
gineer Fred Weick, passed away
November 17 at the age of 91. Fred and
Dorothy have been fixtures at Ercoupe
fly-ins throughout the years, enjoying
the friendships that have been built
around the various airplanes that Fred
designed. Dorothy was an active mem-
ber of her community, and she was also
Fred's active partner in much of the
flying they did in the last half of her life.
A private pilot, she enjoyed flying all
over the country with Fred, and accom-
panied him on many trips. Our con-
dolences are extended to Fred and his
family, as well as the Ercoupe family on
the passing of Dorothy Weick . .....
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 5
by
Library/ ()irect()r
DanielGuggenheimInternational
SafeAirplaneCompetition
One of the more interesting ap-
proaches to improving the safety of
aircraft in the late 1920s was the Inter-
national Safe Aircraft Competition
promoted by the Daniel Guggenheim
Fund. This effort led to some important
technical innovations which enabled
aircraft to land and take off at slower
speeds and in shorter distances.
The Daniel Guggenheim Fund for the
Promotion of Aeronautics was formed
in January, 1926 with deeds of a gift
from Mr. Daniel Guggenheim totalling
$2,500,000, of which both interest and
principle were to be expended. The pur-
pose of the fund was to promote
aeronautical education throughout the
country, to assist in the extension of
aeronautical science and to further the
development of commercial aircraft,
particularly in its use as a regular means
of transportation both of goods and
people.
The board of trustees included Char-
les A. Lindbergh and Orville Wright.
Probably its most well-known venture
was in sponsoring Lindbergh's tour of
the United States with the Spirit of St.
Louis after his return from Europe. The
fund also felt that so little interest was
being shown in passenger flying at the
end of 1927 that it funded the purchase
of Western Air Express' Fokker
Trimotors to operate between Los An-
geles and San Francisco. In February,
1930, the fund was liquidated, its pur-
poses having been declared ac-
complished.
On April 20, 1927, the Guggenheim
Fund announced the Safe Aircraft Com-
petition. The object of the competition
was to "achieve a real advance in the
safety of flying through improvement in
the aerodynamic characteristics of
heavier-than-air craft, without sacrific-
The Safe Aircraft Competition Officials: (Standing, left to right) Prof. Alexander Klemin, Maj. E E. Aldrin (Astronaut "Buzz" Aldrin's
father)? Capt. S. Land, William P. MacCracken, Jr., Milbourn Kusterer, Dr. George W. Lewis, Edward P. Warner, Thomas Carroll.
(Kneeling, left to right) Capt. Walter Bender, K.F. Rupert, F.K. Teichman, Lt. Stanley Umstead, E.W. Rounds, Prof. William G. Brown.
6 FEBRUARY 1992
~ m of the test equipment used during the testing. Lett: Short & Mason Anemometer.
Right: Barr & Stroud, Ltd. Suspended Air-Log.
ing the good practical qualities of the
present-day aircraft."
As an incentive to the development
and construction of an aircraft having
characteristics which would fulfill the
conditions laid down by the rules com-
mittee, the fund offered a First Prize of
$100,000 and five "Safety Prizes" of
$10,000. Applications were invited on
and after September 1, 1927, up to Oc-
tober 31, 1929 as a final date.
It was expected that aircraft entered
in the competition would be presented
from time to time during the two year
period and it was considered that the
object of the competition might be
achieved before the final date, in which
case the fund intended to close the com-
petition. Moreover, if the entries were
presented throughout the period of the
competition, the officials would be able
to conduct tests under favorable
weather and field conditions.
This did not prove to be the case, as
the first airplane was not presented until
the end of August, 1929, and practically
all of the competitors presented their
entries in the last month of the competi-
tion, October, 1929. The tests were car-
ried out, but weather and field
conditions were not favorable and it was
not possible to complete all the tests as
desired.
RECEPTION
The idea of a safety plane competi-
tion received wide coverage in the avia-
tion press with over 30 articles listed in
the Brocket's Bibliography of
Aeronautics. The earliest coverage was
provided in the May 9, 1927 issue of
A VIA TION which reported on the din-
ner given at the Yale Club in New York
City where Harry F. Guggenheim an-
nounced the competition.
Guggenheim said of the purpose of
the event, "The average man's attitude
toward air travel today is still very skep-
tical. He is interested in reading of
flying exploits and glad when his
country's airmen set new records, and
probably regards with mild resentment
the reported superior aeronautical
progress of other nations. But in the
back of his mind lurks a deep-seated
reluctance to trust that most elusive of
the elements - air. The fury of tor-
nadoes ashore or typhoons at sea for
some reason holds less terror for him
than the paradoxical business of defying
gravity with heavier-than-air machines.
He may send letters by airmail but he
prefers to let someone else do the flying.
"The Daniel Guggenheim Fund has
recognized from the outset that any ef-
fort to make air traffic an integral part
of our national commercial life must
first reduce and as nearly as possible
entirely overcome the popular skep-
ticism of air transportation. As a fun-
damental step in its educational
program the Fund hereby announces a
Safe Aircraft Competition by which it
hopes not only to demonstrate that
airplane travel is basically as safe as
railway and steamship travel, but to
stimulate scientific investigation and
practical invention into evolving new
devices and principles whereby air
travel will convert even the most con-
firmed skeptics and will take its place in
our lives as the fleetest, cleanest and
safest of the three recognized modes of
travel today.
"The object of the Competition is to
achieve a real advance in the safety of
flying through improvement in the
aerodynamic characteristics of heavier-
than-air craft, without sacrificing the
good practical qualities of present-day
aircraft. The whole development of
aeronautics in the past decade has been
greatly influenced by the exigencies of
war. Safety is a civilian rather than a
war-time need and for commerical pur-
poses must be made of importance sur-
passing that of war requirements which
are sometimes bought at the price of
danger."
POPULAR AVIATION
The December, 1927 issue of
POPULAR A VIA TION reported, "For
the first time in the history of aviation,
concerted efforts are now being made
by manufacturers and designers to
secure the essential elements of safety
upon which the future success in aerial
transportation depends. The solution of
this problem which is the goal of the
Safe-Aircraft Competition, is a matter
of international importance. The par-
ticipation of foreign experts is sig-
nificant of an international effort to
overcome the supreme obstacle in the
path of aerial progress."
They went on to say, "The Guggen-
heim Fund sensed the public demand for
safety before it was formulated in
protests, and the Competition is the
result of a careful working out of basic
safety principles that will be required by
the public in airplanes."
FLIGHT
The June 16, 1927 editorial of the
British publication FLIGHT had the fol-
lowing comments:
"One might well describe as the first
serious attempt to achieve real progress
in safe flying the Daniel Guggenheim
Safe-Aircraft Competition which is to
be held near New York during the next
two years. In fact, so difficult are the
conditions to be fulfilled that cynics
have remarked that aircraft built for the
competition will certainly be safe since
they will not leave the ground!
"While this is admittedly a consider-
able overstatement of the case, there is
no denying that the aeroplane as we
know it to-day will be hard put to com-
ply with the regulations and yet be
capable of carrying any payload (as dis-
tinct from the 'usefulload' as specified
in the regulations).
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 7
"No aeroplane as we know it today
will have much chance in the competi-
tion. To begin with, a speed range of 35
to 110 mph will put the designer on his
mettle, apart from any other considera-
tion. Add to this the fact that he is
restricted in power to carry 5 Ib per hp
'usefulload' in addition to the weight of
the machine, and one is faced with quite
a pretty little problem."
"Competition closes in 1929, and,
frankly, we doubt whether even by then
a machine will be produced that can
fulfill the qualifying requirements, let
alone have any hopes of scoring points
by extra performance. 20,000 is a very
handsome prize but it will cost a firm a
good deal more than that to produce a
machine that shall have even a small
chance of succeeding."
Despite the doubts listed above, the
October 13, 1927 issue of FLIGHT an-
nounced that five British firms had
entered the competition. "From a
British point of view the number of
entries already made is particularly
gratifying as it is a clear indication that
the vital importance of achieving safety
in flying has been fully realized in this
country."
8 FEBRUARY 1992
Weighing the Curtiss Tanager.
REQUIREMENTS
The qualifying requirements in-
cluded the following as taken from the
December, 1929 issue of POPULAR
AVIATION:
"Power Plant: The engine must be of
a type that has been submitted to tests,
and cannot be hand cranked by directly
pulling on the propellers.
"Structural Strength: Must be in ac-
cordance with the requirements of the
U. S. Department of Commerce Regula-
tions.
"Performance: The aircraft must
have a maximum speed of 110 mph;
have a rate of climb of 400 feet per
minute.
"Useful Load: The airplane must
carry 5 pounds of useful load (pilot,
observer, fuel and oil included) per
horsepower.
"Accomodation: For every ten
pounds of useful load carried the
airplane shall provide at least one cubic
foot of cabin or cargo space."
DEMONSTRATIONS
The tests and demonstrations to
which each aircraft were to be sub-
mitted included:
"Speed Tests: With the object of
demonstrating the ability to fly and
glide at lower speeds than today pos-
sible, and to reduce the risk involved in
forced landings, and when landing in
confined spaces, each aircraft will be
required to maintain level and control-
led flight at a speed not in excess of 35
mph. It must be able to glide for a
period of 3 minutes with the power off,
without having an airspeed exceed 38
mph. All controls must be operative at
the minimum speeds.
"Landing Tests: To demonstrate the
ability of the aircraft to land in a small
field it must land, with power off, and
come to a rest within a distance of 100
feet from where it first touched the
ground. Landing must be made in a
straight line and braking devices are
permitted. The aircraft must be able to
make a steady glide in over an obstruc-
tion 35 feet high and land in a straight
line with power off and come to rest
within a distance of 300 feet from the
base of the obstruction.
"Takeoff Tests: With the object of
demonstrating that the airplane can take
off from a small field and can climb at

The observationtowerssetupforthetestsatMitchellField onLongIsland,NewYork.TheConsolidatedPT-3ontherightsideofthe
fieldwasnotpartofthecompetition.
a steep angle to clear obstructions, the
aircraft must be able to take off after
running not more than 300 feet from a
standing start. After taking off the
aircraft must beable to clear an obstruc-
tion 35 feet high at a distance of 500 feet
from the starting line.
"Stability Tests: With the object of
demonstrating the stability of the
aircraft under normal conditions and to
show that it will return to normal flight
attitude when the controls are left free
the aircraft must beable to fly at any air
speed from 45 to 100 mph and at any
throttle opening with all controls left
free for a period of not less than 5
minutes in gusty air."
There were also many abnormal con-
dition tests among which were:
"The aircraft will berequired to show
that if the elevator control is pulled in
toward its maximum extent at the mo-
ment of switching off the power, and
held there, the aircraft will not get into
any dangerous maneuvers, and that it
will descend on a steep glide path at a
speed not to exceed 40 mph.
"The aircraft will be dived with all
power switched off until the air speed
reaches 20 percent above maxi urn level
flying speed. At this speed it must
answer all controls and with controls
released it must of its own accord return
to a steady gliding attitude without
serious loss of height."
AWARD OF THE PRIZE
Points were to be awarded to the
aircraft meeting the contest require-
ments. They were awarded as follows:
L Speed Tests
(a) 2 points for every mph less than
35 mph at which level controlled flight
can bemaintained.
(b) 4 points for every mph less than
38 mph which is not exceeded in a
steady controlled glide during a period
of three minutes.
(c) Any aircraft which obtains a
combined total of at least 24 points
under tests (a) and (b) will beeligible to
receive points for high speed in excess
of 110 mph as follows : 1 point for every
2 mph in excess of 110 mph at which
level flight can be maintained.
2. Tests of Landing Run
2 points for every 3 ft. less than 100
ft. in coming to rest after first touching
the ground.
3. Landing in a Confined Space
1 point for every 2 f1. less than 300 f1.
from the base of an obstruction 35 ft.
high in coming to rest after gliding in
over obstruction.
4. Test of Take-Off
1 point for ever 15 f1. less than 300 f1.
required to take off from standing start
1 point for every 10ft. less than 500
ft. to clear obstruction 35 ft. high from
a standing start.
ENTRIES
A total of 27 entries were received in
the competition, but only 15 airplanes
appeared at Mitchell Field where the
tests were conducted. Of these 15, three
withdrew without tests, two sustained
damages in preliminary flying which
prevented their presentation within the
time limit, and eight failed to pass all of
the qualifying requirements.
Only two airplanes, one of which
failed to pass a minor qualifying re-
quirement, exhibited attributes which
warranted completion of the safety tests
and demonstrations.
- Next month, the results of the
competition. ___
VINTAGEAIRPLANE9
A Funny Thing Happened On The
Way To Oshkosh ...
A veteran pilot and instructor learns you're never too
experienced to make an error in judgment...
As a "born instructor" I feel that each
of my negative experiences should be
used to save someone else from the
same mistakes I make, even when it
may be to my own embarrassment.
Bear in mind that I have been a flight
and ground school instructor since 1951
with eight log books of flight time. So,
you're never so experienced as to not do
a dumb thing. Here is my story.
After a later-than-intended takeoff
from Cameron Park, California (near
Sacramento), we had to make our first
layover in Elko, Nevada. During the
night I woke up from a dream that
caused me to make the decision to stay
there until I discovered what made this
particular taildragger so squirrely
during each landing roll. After all, the
10 FEBRUARY 1992
by William C. Phelps
(NC 11371)
old 1930 WACO advertising boasts that
the NFs were the easiest planes to fly
and KNFs were specifically sold to be
economical training ships for solo stu-
dents. So why is this KNF the most
demanding airplane to land of any
taildragger I have been qualified in?
The next day, my A&P (passenger)
and I rounded up the things we needed
to lift the weight off of the right side oleo
strut in order to take it off for an inspec-
tion. We borrowed the use of the main-
tenance hangar's solvent cleaning table
and took the strut apart.
Out of curiosity, the shop owner
came over to have a look and almost
immediately announced: "This strut
doesn't match that drawing you have
there in the airplane manual!" He
pointed out that the "oleo action" had
been ruined by someone who had drilled
out the oil passage restriction orifice at
the bottom of the piston from 3/16th
inch to about 5/8th inch and had further
modified it by replacing the one-way oil
return cup washer with an "0" ring.
Well, to anyone with enough school-
ing on the subject of oleos and their
functional purpose when they are
specifically engineered into the design
of an airplane, especially a taildragger
(or your automobile), knows that when
they are not functioning, it's a "no-go"
item on that plane's check list! (But
who has a check list for a 1930 WACO
KNF?) I do have that schooling in my
background, so it's a sad commentary
on my judgment that I decided to put the
strut back together and to proceed to
Oshkosh. I thought: "After all, I have
been able to control it through many
previous landings, though with great
difficulty." That was mistake #1.
But then, we made the next mistake:
The cleaning solvent had attacked the rub-
ber oleo seal at the top of the strut and
though the compression cap was
tightened as far as it would go, it still
leaked oil past the seal. So, we searched
the town to fmd another seal. None of the
right size in Elko of course, but we found
an "0" ring of a diameter that could be
laid on top of the bad seal to make it more
"squashable." That sealed the leak okay
and then to test the flexibility of the strut,
we alternately lifted and pulled down on
the outboard wing "N" struts. It appeared
to function like it did before we began
tinkering with it, which is the best we
could hope for.
After all that, it was a hot, windy, 3:00
PM with thunderstorms to the east, so
we settled on staying in Elko another
night.
The next morning we were in the air
at sunup. During the pre-landing check
near Wendover, Utah, I looked over the
sides of the cockpit to see the struts. The
right one had not extended after lift off!
It was stuck in the same place as when
the plane was at rest on the ground with
about 2 inches of piston exposed. The
seal must have swollen more during the
night and I didn't retest the action
during the preflight. The left strut was
extended a full 9 inches as it should be,
but, assuming it was modified the same
as the right one, it has no "oleo action."
Oh, oh! A rigid right strut and a free
springing, no shoc k absorption, left strut
will lead to no good!
I let the passenger know that it would
pull hard to the right under those cir-
cumstances and I mentally reviewed the
extra efforts necessary to compensate
for the problem: keep a little power on
for rudder effectiveness and the benefit
of "P" factor, don't hesitate to use left
brake as necessary. My three years of
Air Force T -6 flight instructor ex-
perience came back fast!
On landing I was able to prevent a
ground loop, but we still rolled off of the
right edge of the runway even with
FULL left brake application. When the
wheels hit the soft dirt, it all came to an
abrupt stop right there - upside down!
We were fastened in good and tight
Whenthe wheels
hitthe soft dirt,
it all came to an
abrupt stop
right there -
upside down!
and thanks to the Lord who gave me
presence of mind to command my pas-
senger: "Don't, do NOT unfasten your
seat belt! Let it out slowly." Thereby
neither of us got a scratch or even a stiff
muscle out of the wreck.
The nice thing is that I had bought 18
days of in-flight hull coverage for the
trip. COST: $40.20 for $31,000 worth.
The bad thing is I didn't buy $60,000.
They want to declare your plane a total
loss at 70 percent of the face value of
your policy. Call your A VEMCO agent
to increase your coverage! NOW!
There is an estimated $21,900 (or more
and I have to pay everything over
$21,500) "substantial damage." With
that name tag the FAA/NTSB got into
the act right away.
To retain my tickets, I had to take a
FAA administered (NOT a designated
examiner) oral exam and check flight.
By my own choice, I took it out of Salt
Lake International (unfamiliar to me),
in a plane I only fly once every two
years for the BFR. I did not take time
to cram for the oral or to practice in the
airplane. I had to perform all
maneuvers he called for to the standards
of the highest certificate I held and since
the inspector knew I had taught ATP for
20 years, I felt he expected a lot. When
he made the entries in my log book, he
added the comment: "Excellent flight."
It's hard for anyone to imagine how
devastated a pilot feels after a major
accident, so that certainly gave me an
exonerated feeling relative to my flying
knowledge and abilities. Some satis-
faction at least, in view of the airplane
being (probably) a "total loss."
Nevertheless, I get a pilot error on my
record basically as a result of not
grounding my plane back in Elko when
I became aware of the shock strut prob-
lem. It was an easy-to-forget respon-
sibility, especially when I wanted to get
to Oshkosh so badly. Let this be a les-
son to everyone who owns a plane. It's
easier to find fault with and ground a
rented plane than your own. Also be
aware that when you buy any used
plane, you may well expect that some-
one has made unwise and unapproved
alterations.
Oh yes, you've been waiting for the
funny thing: Well, I had a half gallon
plastic milk bottle (for in-flight relief)
jammed between the sheet metal of the
front seat and the fuselage tubing aft of
that. After the dust settled, I was remov-
ing the bottle from the cockpit (upside-
down remember) and the cap popped
off. Yes, I had used it enroute a couple
of times, and yes, that stuff does not
make good hair conditioner (makes
your eyes burn, too), and yes, I had to
wear the same shirt the rest of the
day! ....
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 11
Bill Watson of Col-
linsville, Oklahoma
and his 1928 Kreider-
Reisner KR-31.
by H.G. Frautschy
When Sherman Fairchild went
shopping for a company to produce
airplanes to carry his newly invented
aerial camera, he bought a controlling
interest in the Kreider-Reisner Company
of Hagerstown, Maryland. In April of
1929, the future looked bright for avia-
tion, and Fairchild was convinced that if
he was to have the airplane that would
have the performance he needed for his
fledgling aerial photography business,
he'd have to make it himself. When he
bought the company, one of the
airplanes then in production at that time
in the Kreider-Reisner plant was the C-2
Challenger, a 3-place biplane powered
by the then common Curtiss OX-5 en-
gine. Kreider-Reisner had been started
by A. Kreider and Louie Reisner in the
mid-'20s, and was originally a Waco
distributorship. After building a small
racer in 1926, the partners decided to go
12 FEBRUARY 1992
into the production of commercial
biplanes, and the Challenger C-2 was
the result. Its Waco heritage is evident
in the general outline and structure.
Some older pilots still refer to the C-2
as the "Waco 9-1/2", since it bore such
a strong similarity to the Waco.
After Fairchild became involved in
the company, the aircraft currently in
production were redesignated. The C-2
became the KR-31, which stood for
Kreider-Reisner, 3-place, 1st model.
The later KR-21, although produced
seemingly out of order, followed the KR
designations, since it was the first 2
place model produced.
The C-2 was to become a very
popular design, although sometimes not
in the exact configuration as designed
by the engineers at Hagerstown. As
detailed in the article on Parks Aircraft
in the December issue of VINTAGE
AIRPLANE, the design was basically
copied by the Parks Aircraft Company
and designated the Parks P-1. The most
noticeable difference between the two is
the movement of the OX-5's radiator
from just forward of the passenger's
cockpit on the KR-31 to below the
fuselage just forward of the landing
gear.
The basic design with a series of
different engines would later be
produced as the Detroit-Parks P-2, and
later as the Hammond 100. Neither
of these designs were true descendants
of the KR-31, but their look-alike
designs would give fits to airplane
recognition enthusiasts over the years.
Fortunately, that has not been a prob-
lem for Bill Watson' KR-31. His
airplane has been around and looking
good for so long that it rarely gets mis-
taken for another plane. Restored from
1974 to 1978, Bill has enjoyed regularly
flying his antique during the summer
season. In that four year span, two
airplanes were restored by Bill and his
friend, Earl Nelson. Both aircraft were
found in Trade-A-Plane back in the
early '70s, owned by an older
gentleman in Allentown, Pennsylvania.
Earl and Bill struck a deal, loaded them
up and headed back to Tulsa where the
restoration was done. Bill had split the
cost of the two airplanes. He then
traded the cost of the restorations, the
place, the work and so forth as compen-
sation for restoring the second plane.
He and Earl labored on, with Bill doing
the structural work, engine overhauls,
and landing gears, while Earl did the
woodwork and helped with the cover-
ing, as well as the interior work. Surpris-
ingly, even though the two planes were
made in 1927 and'28, only one spar out
of all the spars needed replacement. A
lot of the ribs were spliced, and other
repairs made to the wood, but few entire
pieces had to be changed.
After the four years of pleasurable
work was done, it was time to show off
the results. Both airplanes were
beauties! But Bill was not content to
just sit and look at the masterpiece - he
A preHy sight over Lake Winnebago near Oshkosh, WI. Bill reckons that he has given more modern-day folks their first open cockpit
ride behind an OX-5 than just about anyone in his Kelly green and silver KR-31 .
made these to fly! Over the years Bill's
KR-31 has to be about the most active
OX-5 powered airplane on the fly-in
circuit, and he feels it has quite a bit of
time left in it to keep running reliably.
The OX-5 in this KR-31 has it's data
plate stamped with it's manufacture
date - 4-29-18!
"It's a very reliable old engine if it's
properly taken care of, and given the
TLC and so forth that something like
that needs," Bill related. "You have to
realize that it's 73 years old, but I don't
have any qualms about getting in the
airplane and flying it almost anywhere
that I'd like to go with it, such as Osh-
kosh, which is a special treat for me."
Charlie Harris of the National Biplane
Association and I both agree that Bill
feels it is so trustworthy primarily be-
cause he knows the OX-5 inside and
out, having overhauled it and main-
tained it over the years.
Developing 90 hp at 1400 rpm,
(remember that a Continental C-85
needs 2575 rpm to generate 5 less horse-
power) Bill cruises the KR-31 at about
the same horsepower showing 75 mph
on the airspeed while holding 1350 rpm
on the tachometer. To extract 90 horse-
power out of an engine that produces so
much of it's power with strong low end
torque, a large copper-tipped chuck of
The forward cockpit, with room for two passengers, sits behind Just like a Jenny's gear, with a solid axle but with metal struts.
the distinctive vertical radiator for the OX-5.
14 FEBRUARY 1992
You can plainly see the common features copied from the Waco 9 and 10 when the design for the KR-31 was laid out.
laminated and carved lumber is
mounted on the crankshaft. At cruise
power, you'd almost swear you could
count the blades as they go by!
As soon as the big antique started
showing up at fly-ins, it started bringing
home the hardware. It was awarded the
AAA National Grand Champion in 1979
in conjunction with Jim Younkin's Travel
Air Mystery Ship, an honor that Bill feels
was tremendous, since he is certain the
Mystery Ship is a work of art. It
would repeat as AAA Grand
Champion at Bartlesville
1988. Bill says that must
have some sort of eye
appeal, because it
seems to attract awards
often when it appears at
fly-ins all over the
Midwest.
He has had the green
and silver Kreider-Reisner to
the EAA Convention in Oshkosh
twice in the past few years, 1989 and
1991. When he arrived in 1989, he was
greeted by the niece of Louie Reisner
and her husband who were quite excited
about the airplane, as they felt they
might not ever see one of their uncle's
old biplanes ever again. At both the
1989 and 1991 Fly-Ins, Bill's KR-31
was awarded Silver Age Runner-Up
trophies.
The OX-5 apparently is not the only
part of the airplane that is identical to the
Jenny. Bill pointed out that the landing
gear is just about an exact copy. "The
gear is exactly like the Jenny gear in its
construction except that the Jenny struts
were wood and these gear struts are
metal. It still has the dual spreader bars
and what they cal1 a solid axle gear. The
axle on this plane is actual1y the axle
from a Jenny. The wheels and so forth
I've taken a little bit of liberty with, but
I tried to stay as close to authentic as
possible," he explained.
Bill Watson is a retired corporate
pilot and mechanic, whose flying
career spanned the Twin Beech to cor-
porate jets such as the Learjet, Saber-
liner and Falcon 20. His most fondly
remembered corporate job was flying
and maintaining a DC-3, which he says
is probably his favorite plane - he flew
and fixed them for almost 11 years.
Before getting into corporate flying,
Bill spent 3 years as a flight en-
gineer in B-24's during WW
II. Graduating from Spar-
tan School of Aero-
nautics in 1949, he
found a job right there
in Tulsa and went to
work as a mechanic and
then fmal1y worked into
the cockpit. Flying a
Saberliner and the KR-31 cer-
tainly are on the opposite ends of
the flying spectrum, but Bill Watson
sums it up this way: "An airplane's an
airplane, and if you love to fly 'em, why
75 miles per hour is not a whole lot
different from 400."
Now that's a man who enjoys his low
and slow flying! ....
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 15
WttATf)Ul2
by Veter-sen
Dave Eby's Cessna 140A
This beautiful inflight photo of
Cessna 140A, NI40PD, SIN 15414, was
sent in by owner Dave Eby (EAA
78731, A/C 16735) of Witch ita Falls,
TX. Finished in a bright red and cream
Wayne Edsall's Waco YKS-6
This photo of a recently completed
restoration of Waco YKS-6, NC 16512,
SIN 4504, was sent in by Wayne Edsall
(EAA 187214, A/C 7085) of Bozeman,
Montana. Wayne reports the first flight
of the restored red and while trimmed
16 FEBRUARY 1992
paint scheme with original wheel pants
and a Scott 3200 tailwheel, the sharp
looking two-placer has earned a trophy
at the Denton, TX AAA Fly-In, the Ok-
lahoma AAA Fly-In, the International
Cessna 120/140 Convention at Daven-
Waco was November 10, 1991, and
everything went just fine. This Waco
was built as an air ambulance model
(identical to SIN 4524, CF-BBQ, "Old
Bar-B-Que" by Buzz Kaplan) and spent
its life in Juneau and Anchorage, Alaska
on floats. It was rebuilt and put on
port, lA, the EAA Southwest Regional
Fly-In at Kerrville, TX and the Fair-
view, OK Annual Airshow - all during
1991! Congratulations to Dave Eby on
a really nice restoration of a classic
Cessna 140A.
wheels in 1974 and wrecked again in
1978. Stored until November 12, 1989
in Aloha, Oregon, Wayne purchased the
big cabin biplane and commenced the
two-year restoration. Wayne also flies
a beautiful Fleet biplane and a De-
Havilland DH82 "Tiger Moth".
Dick Wells' Piper J-3 "Flitfire"
Pictured in front of Bill Greenwood's
two-place "Spitfire" at EAA Oshkosh
'91 is Piper J -3 Cub "Flitfire",
NC37905, SIN 6691, flown by R. E.
"Dick" Wells (EAA 382491, AIC
17122) of Pickerington, Ohio. Owned
by Jay Rodgers of Houston, Texas, the
"Flitfire" was one of 48 identically
painted Cubs that flew around the USA
in 1941 raising funds for the RAF
Benevolent Fund to aid families ofWW
I British pilots and crew members
killed in action.
This particular airplane was built on
April 16, 1941, as a J3F-65 , and has
been through seven owners since then,
accumulating 4131 airframe hours. It
was converted to a Continental A-65 on
July 21, 1951 and redesignated a J3C-
65. The restoration began on July 20,
1988 and was completed by White
Aero, Columbus, Ohio, in approximate-
ly 1550 hours. Fifteen of the original
"Flitfire" Cubs are still flying, 14 in the
U.S. and one in Germany. This is the
first one to be restored in the original
1941 color scheme.
Danny Duggan's Champion 7GCB
One of only six "GCB" models
remaining on the FAA register, this par-
ticular Champion 7GCB, N9908Y, SIN
122, is mounted on a set of PK 1800
floats, complete with auxiliary tail fins
and a 150hp Lycoming for "get up and
go". Owned by Danny Duggan (EAA
302971) of Palestine, Texas, the float-
mounted Champ was purchased in Hib-
bing, MN, and flown back to Texas on
floats. Danny reports you have to have
a good rapport with the boat marinas
along the way, so you can refuel with
auto gas. There are very few seaplane
bases between Minnesota and Texas!
The Champ has since been going
through a complete teardown and
recover with Stits along with the instal-
lation of a new interior. Danny will
have the airplane back on floats in April
for giving dual instruction on floats at
Lake Palestine, Texas. In addition to
the Champion 7GCB, Danny and his
partner, Dave Lockwood, have a Lus-
combe on Edo 1320 floats which is
available for training and rental. They
are one of the few, if not the only,
seaplane training facilities in the state of
Texas.
Dr. Carl Nichols' Piper PA-12
Super Cruiser
This handsome looking man in the
coveralls is Dr. Carl Nichols (EAA
279990, AIC 11037) of Leland, MS,
standing by his newly restored Piper
PA-12 Super Cruiser, N3336M,S/N 12-
2194. Dr. Nichols had previously
owned eight different aircraft when an
automobile accident laid him low for
seven years. Now fully recovered, he
located the PA-12 and decided to have
it totally restored by Air Repair, Inc. of
Cleveland, MS. The results are plainly
(planely?) visible. Note the 150
Lycoming in the nose and the Cleveland
disc brake conversion. We are gently
twisting Dr. Nichol's arm in hopes that
he will write the story on the PA-12
rebuild for an article in VINTAGE
AIRPLANE.......
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 17
PorterfieldsThree!
In one of the more interesting hap-
penings at EAA Oshkosh '91, a trio of
Porterfield CP-65 trainers arrived for
the big fly-in - two from California and
one from Texas. Long jaunts, such as
these, would normally test the mettle
and stamina of the most experienced
pilots, however, these three hardy souls
weren't even the least bit flustered! All
three felt exactly like the ad from
Western Airlines years ago, "The only
way to fly!"
The first of our trio is Porterfield CP-
65, N27291, SIN 772, flown to EAA
Oshkosh '91 by its owner, Leroy Blum
(EAA 86702, AjC 13907) of Glendora,
CA. For the past 19 years, Leroy has
by Norm Petersen
been an FAA Inspector (Airworthiness)
for the Los Angeles Regional FAA Of-
fice, a title which he carries with dignity
and humbleness, as evidenced by the
many kind words of praise from the
aviation community he serves.
01' N27291 came off the Kansas City
factory line on September 26, 1940 ac-
cording to the data plate. Leroy Blum
bought the rather run down airplane in
1956 for $150 - including a runable
engine!. He restored the Porterfield
over the next year and sold it in 1957 for
$750 when he was drafted into the
Army. Then in 1975, he again bought
01' 27291 as a basket case for $800 -
firewall aft. By 1979, he had restored
the aircraft to factory new condition and
with his older son as a passenger, flew
the little two-placer to Oshkosh '79. In
the process, his son, who had a student
license, received 45 hours of dual cross-
country!
Over the past 12 years, Leroy has
flown the Porterfield over 1100 enjoy-
able hours including a second trip to
Oshkosh in 1989. Before making the
'91 trip, Leroy had to rebuild the 65
Continental engine which had flaked a
bearing and put metal in the oil. Leroy
was careful to retain the stainless steel
mufflers and the "chic" cast aluminum
valve covers on the engine. Polished
Leroy Blum's answer to safe hand prop-
ping, a set of mag switches on the cowl
that are reached with ease with the left
hand. The door is hinged at the rear so the The famous signature of the Porterfield-Turner Aircraft Company, a logo well known in
prop blast holds it open. the 1930's and 1940's.
18 FEBRUARY 1992
The Continental A-65-8 engine in Leroy's Porterfield is not only Interior photo shows the instrument panel in the airplane that
a sanitary installation, but features the prized cast aluminum Glenn Peck flew in from California. Note the nice "bin" ahead
valve covers as used on the early Continental engines. of the control stick to hold all the loose "cabin stUff".
baffling completed the sparkling en-
gine compartment.
Two changes that Leroy made are the
substitution of two 8-1/2 gal. wing tanks
employing a Cessna fuel system instead
of the 13-1/2 gal. nose tank on aone-
time STC and the installation of dual
mag switches on the right side of the
nose cowl, hidden by a hinged access
door. For the usual hand propping,
Leroy doesn't have to go inside the
aircraft to switch the mags on or off. He
just reaches the cowl switches with his
left hand while the right hand pulls the
prop through from the back side. When
combined with an operational towhook
on the tail for tiedown, Leroy has no
sweat when it comes to single person
hand starting.
The Porterfield is covered with Stits
101 fabric and ten coats of Polydope.
Leroy is well satisfied with the covering
even though it is sixty pounds heavier
than HS-90X which Glenn Peck used on
his CP-65 (and Glenn can outc1imb him
by 50 fpm .) The covering, done in
original factory colors of red and silver,
Posing in front of Porterfield NC37869 are the rebuilder, Glenn Peck, on the left and the
has held up very well over the past 12
owner, Lane Stuart, on the right.
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 19
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Cabin interior of Leroy Blum's CP-65
shows overhead skylight all the way to the
rear and very neat seats and sidewalls.
years and 1100 hours of flight time. A
tinted skylight is carried through to the
rear spar and a rear view mirror is
mounted high in the cabin to spot any
Fokkers that might get on his tail.
With aileron balance weights in-
stalled on the CP-65, the VNE is 139
mph. Without these weights, the VNE
is restricted to 120 mph. Leroy also
installed 10/32 streamlined brace wires
(Macwhyte) on the tail instead of the
original 8/32 wires for a little added
beef. Five water drains are installed in
the fuel system; one each in the wing
tanks, two at the low points in the sys-
tem and one on the firewall. Shielded
ignition was installed to aid the Terra
TPX 720 hand held radio, which uses an
outside antenna mounted in the rear
baggage compartment for perfect
reception and transmission up to 150
miles. A nicely built rack holds the
radio while Leroy uses a headset/mike
with a PTT switch on the stick.
Unlike a Cub, the Porterfield struts
are totally sealed and can be tested by
tapping them with your finger. They
ring like a bell if they are sound! All
struts were in perfect shape along with
the fuselage tubing, which is still 100%
original. All parts were primed and
enameled plus dopeproof paint where
required for fabric attachment.
Posing in the sun with original factory colors of red fuselage and silver wings and
horizontal tail surfaces, is Leroy Blum's Porterfield. Note slender fuselage (23 inches
wide) and aileron counterweights.
Small details such as nut plates and
secondary fasteners are everywhere.
Even the rib stitching is the "hidden
knot" variety to help on the speed. All
fairings are very carefully attached for
minimum drag and exhibit extreme
patience on the part of the rebuilder.
(The closer you look, the better the
airplane appears and the more minute
details are spotted by the observer's
eye!)
Leroy soloed an Aeronca 7 AC in
1954 and earned his Private license the
same year. He then spent much of his
time during the next 20 years at El
Mirage Glider Port, earning a Commer-
cial license, Glider rating, Glider In-
structor and A & P with AI, which led
to going to work for FAA 19 years ago.
His family of two boys and two girls are
partly into aviation - the oldest son flies
for American Eagle Airlines and at one
time, he and Leroy's oldest daughter
took the Porterfield on a fabulous trip
through 28 states! In addition, the
youngest daughter is a student pilot.
One of the neatest installations on
Leroy Blum's Porterfield is the
tailwheel, which is seldom seen in such
a disguise! It is a Maule tailwheel with
a Scott hubcap! One might suspect it
would almost develop its own internal
shimmy!
GLENN PECK and
PORTERFIELD CP-6S, NC37869
The second Porterfield of our 1991
trio is NC37869, SIN 1016, flown to
EAA Oshkosh '91 by Glenn Peck (EAA
95306, AIC 1847) of Santa Maria, CA.
Built originally as an LP-65 by Colum-
bia Aircraft on September 23,1941, this
Porterfield has been converted to a CP-
65 with a 65hp Continental engine. The
data plate proclaims a 1200 lb. gross
weight and 13.5 gal. fuel capacity.
Glenn originally bought two basket
case Porterfields from a hobby shop
The overall workmanship on Leroy
Instrument panel of Leroy Blum's CP-65 has compass card below compass and
Blum's airplane is absolutely first class Terra 720 radio below panel. Rate of climb gauge (6000 ft. per min.) is just a tad
optimistic.
and obviously comes from the heart.
20 FEBRUARY 1992
So typical of Porterfield owners - they al-
ways smile when near their airplanes!
Leroy Blum and his nicely restored CP-65.
owner in 1975. After three years, he had
one restored, which was traded away.
When he finished NC37869, a painful
decision was made to trade it to his
lawyer, Lane Stuart, in payment for
legal fees on a real estate deal! When
Lane offered GlelUl the chance to fly the
cute little tandem to EAA Oshkosh '91,
he jumped - especially to go side-by-
side with Leroy Blum in his Porterfield.
The duo covered the 3,000 miles in
about 34 hours of flying time over five
days and GlelUl put in the second quart
of oil at Oshkosh! Average fuel con-
sumption was 4-1/2 gph at 2200 RPM
which yields about 85 to 90 mph cruise.
NC37869 is the fourth Porterfield
that GlelUl has restored and his shop at
Santa Maria, called "Nothing New
Aviation", is busy with a Stinson SR-5,
a Navy N2-S Stearman, a Super Cub
and a 220 Continental powered Curtiss
Robin (bound for England). Glenn also
has two Aeronca K's of which one has
a 65 Lycoming up front ("A little
Hotrod", says Glenn).
The ground up restoration on Porter-
field NC37869 featured Stits HS-90X
lightweight fabric with one light coat of
Poly Brush, one 50% spray coat, one
cross coat of Polys pray, careful sanding
with 400 grit sandpaper and a final two
coats of Poly tone. The end result is a
savings of about 60 lbs. of weight,
which allows the Porterfield to climb at
800 fpm at sea level at gross! Using the
same prop as Leroy Blum, Glenn can
outclimb him by 50 to 100 fpm - all
because of the decrease in weight.
The Porterfield, which uses Max
Munk's M-6 airfoil, is usually flown
from the front seat and features a lock-
ing collar on the front throttle quadrant
for cruise. Glenn reports the airplane is
a bit nose heavy when flown front seat
solo and careful use of the brakes is
strongly advised! The interior of the
airplane is nicely finished off and the 23
inch wide seats are quite comfortable.
The enlarged baggage compartment
holds 40 lbs. Glenn always ties the stick
forward when parked so any moisture in
the elevators can run out the seaplane
grommets. All grommets on the
airplane are the seaplane type which
tend to vacuum the area of moisture and
keep the insides of the wing, tail feathers
and fuselage, dry.
One clever idea of Glenn's is to cover
the entire length of the streamlined wing
struts with HS-90X fabric and finish
with Polydope. The fmal finish is al-
most impervious to stone chips and
keeps the struts looking like new for
many years. A small external antenna
is mounted on the belly for use with a
hand held radio. Glenn reports contacts
at up to 200 miles distant!
Most cross-country hops are two
hours in length and fuel stops include
auto fuel, 80 octane and when nothing
else is available, 1ooLL. The latter
leaves a white stain all the way to the tail
of the airplane, which has to be cleaned
off ASAP. Navigation is by map and
IFR (I follow railroads) with help from
from loran (stay low and ran fast!)
Glenn pointed out that the Porterfield
CP-65 is certified on Edo 60-1320 floats
with the following modifications:
plywood doubler on rear face of rear
spar from root to strut doubler; modified
strut carry through in fuselage; change
inboard compression struts from 5/8 X
.035 to .049; change wood compression
struts from 15/16 to 1 inch square; inner
drag wires to #10 from #8 and finally,
the installation of landing gear straps to
attach cross wires to when the floats are
installed. Glenn has never seen a
Porterfield on floats, however, he has
seen one on wheels that had the float
modifications completed.
Always looking for a bit more speed,
Glenn admits to having the paperwork
just about done for the installation of an
85 Continental in a Porterfield. This
should make a mouth-watering, two-
place airplane! We can hardly wait to
see this jewel pop out of Glenn's
productive shop in Santa Maria,
California. We predict a great future for
this 36-year-old craftsman with a
delightful aviation "bent" and look for-
ward to his return to future Oshkosh
Fly-Ins.
KEVIN FEAUTO and
PORTERFIELD, NC25563, SIN 671
Our third member of the Porterfield
trio is Kevin Feauto (EAA 379615, A/C
16914) of Roanoke, Texas and his nice-
ly restored Porterfield CP-65,
NC25563, S/N 671. Although Kevin is
not a newcomer to Oshkosh, having at-
tended the EAA Convention twice pre-
viously, this was his first attempt at
Our third Porterfield owner is Kevin Frauto of Roanoke, Texas and his blue & silver CP-65, (Continued on page 29)
complete with a metal prop.
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21
TheFirstFordReliabilityTour
- MolineStop-
BACKGROUND
Following the end ofWorld War I
andintothefirstyearsof the1920s,civil
aviationin theUnitedStateswasin the
doldrums. Never an established in-
dustry before 1916, aviation manufac-
turing was confined mostly to
individual entrepreneurs building
machines for the sportsman pilot and
meetingthefew militaryorders. Itwas
acottageindustry. The1920Manufac-
turers Aircraft Association Yearbook
lists 115permanentairfieldsand1000
emergencylandingfields in thewhole
of the United States. The European
countries were the leaders in civil
aircraftmanufacturingaswellashaving
already started the transportation of
people onregularly scheduledairlines.
What little effort was made in this
country quite often failed for lack of
capitalandairplanes.
By 1924,theideaofanairplanetour
comprisingciviliancommercialaircraft
hadoftenbeensuggestedbythoseinthe
business. Thefirst concretediscussion
was made by Colonel Paul Henderson
whowasinchargeoftheairmailforthe
postofficeatthetime. Finally,byMay
1925, a formal proposal was made by
theSocietyofAutomotiveEngineersin
Detroit,Michigan. Itwasnotlongafter
thismeetingandproposalthatameeting
of aeronautic engineers and another
later meeting in Detroit consisting of
several leaders ofaeroplane manufac-
turersandengineers,thataformalcom-
mittee was appointed to organize an
airplanetouryetinthatyear. Afterthis,
thingsmovedfastandanimportantim-
petus was the interest and encourage-
mentshown by Henry and Edsel Ford.
FordhadjustboughtouttheW.B.Stout
Metal Airplane Company and a new
factory wascompletedontheFordair-
port at Dearborn. The company had
alreadystartedscheduledpassengerser-
vice between Chicago, Detroit and
ClevelandusingtheStoutplane.
Initially, the plans called for cash
prizesandan on-to-Detroittypeoffor-
mat with the starting points in any
region of the country as long as they
weremorethan 175milesfromDetroit.
It was to have begun on Labor Day,
22 FEBRUARY 1992
byJimHaynes
(EAA285970,Ale12099)
September 7. Those plans underwent
several revisions . In August, the
DetroitAviationSocietyhadtakenover
the sponsorship and a final booklet of
ruleswaswrittencontainingfinaldates,
stopsonthetour,etc. It wastobeheld
September 28-0ctober 3. Also in-
cluded in the plans was a three day
exhibit at the Dearborn Field that fea-
turedthelatestwaresthataviationven-
dorshadtooffer,a ballooncontestand
aflying exhibitionbyU. S. AirService
pilots. Forty-five vendors showed up
to display their offerings. Edsel Ford
donated a three foot high trophy
fashioned from sterling silver with a
marble base on which would be in-
scribed the names of the planes and
pilotsthat would finish therace. Only
commercialplanesandpilotswereper-
mitted to enter. This was not to be a
militaryshow.
TOURSCHEDULE
September 25, 1925 - The Tour
was wavedoffat10ambyEdsel Ford.
Planes stopped at Ft. Wayne, Indiana,
lunch,checkplanesoffat2pm. Arrived
in Chicago,4pm.
September29 - Stopat Moline, Il-
linois for an hour, lunch, leave. Large
planes and those with adequate fuel
capacity to Omaha, Nebraska. Those
planes with small field capability and
limitedfuel range, landatDesMoines,
Iowa.
September 30 -Leave for St.
Joseph, Missouri , lunch and on to
KansasCity.
October1- KansasCitytoSt.Louis
LambertField.
October 2- St. Louis to In-
dianapolis. Duetoathreehourdelayin
departure because of fog, the Tour
stayedovernightinIndianapolis.
October3- IndianapolistoColum-
bus. Duetopoorweather,theTourdid
notleaveforCleveland.
October4- DeparturefromColum-
busdueto poorweather,left 11:30am,
late lunch in Cleveland. TheTourar-
rived back at Dearborn midst a
rainstormandfog.
THEMOLINESTOP
MolineAirport
ThephotoshowsMolineAirportasit
appearedin 1926or 1927. Atthetime
ofthe Tour, the NAT hangar had not
been built and the Curtiss Flying Ser-
vice" sign read "Campbell Airplane
Company," otherwise the old Franing
FlyingFieldappearedaboutthesame.
Theairportwasstartedonthissitein
1922 by a few local sportsman pilots
and was named for the farmer who
ownedtheproperty. It firstconsistedof
atractof30acresoflandandwasmere-
ly a landing field before it formally
becameanairport.
Dueto its fine qualitiesasa landing
field, it had been selected as a control
pointforthefirst airmailcoasttocoast
flight in 1919. By 1925,theCampbell-
deSchepperAirplaneCompanyboasted
12planesstationedatthefield.
TheFirstFordReliabilityTourgave
flying a hugeboost in the Molinearea,
whatistodayknownastheQuad-Cities.
At the time, E. K. "Rusty" Campbell
was the Mangerofthe airportandone
THEENTRANTS
Plane Nameof
No. Plane NameofPilot!s)
0 TravelAirA RustyCampbell
2 TravelAirB6 ChickBowhan
4 TravelAirB6 WalterBeech
6 JunkersF13L FredMelchoir
8 Waco9 ElyKnapp
10 Waco9 LloydYost
14 Swallow1925 JohnStauffer
16 Swallow 1926 Earl Rowland
20 Fokker3F7 E. P.Lott
&TonyFokker
22 CarrierPigeon CaseyJones
Plane Nameof
No. Plane NameofPilot(s)
24 Martin CyCaldwell
Commercial
26 Martin L. B. Richardson
Commercial
28 MercuryJr. HarveyMummert
30 Fort/Stout EddieHamilton
Monoplane
32 LairdSpecial HenryVanEtten
34 LairdSwallow E.A. Gaff
36 YackeySport WalterAdams
of aviation's foremost pioneers in the
Midwest. He established the first com-
mercial airport in Iowa, May 23, 1919,
at Waterloo. Campbell had flown to
Chicago and joined the Tour there and
became the pilot of number Zero, a
Travel Air. Much was made in the local
news accounts at the time of the reaction
of the "large throng" that had gathered
to witness the arrival of the Tour planes.
"At 10:32 suddenly a streak of blue, low
in the horizon, shooting down and over
the circle in the field like a bolt and up
again as a salute, was the first arrival. It
was number O. Campbell's plane!
Moline's plane! A roar went up from
the crowd as he glided down to a land-
ing. He had outflown the huge and
powerful Ford plane which had thus far
taken first place at control points." The
people had seen the Ford before as it
was used as the pathfmder plane that
visited all the cities on the Tour a few
weeks before in order to drum up
publicity and fmalize local arrangements.
Cy Caldwell, writing for Aviation
magazine and flying the Martin entry,
later described the same arrival thusly.
"The flight to Moline was pleasant and
uneventful. All planes flew in less than
schedule time. Rusty Campbell in a
Travel Air was allowed by the rest of the
group to arrive first which naturally
delighted the home folks, who con-
cluded that he had the fastest plane in
the outfit."
Caldwell further describes the Moline
stop. "Lunch was served in a hangar.
This fly business has me guessing. I was
in Moline just two weeks ago and I'll
swear there wasn't a fly on the field, and
yet, when we sat down to lunch a million
flies were there ahead of us.
"Moline employed the most amaz-
ing starting system I have seen yet.
Instead of being behind the planes, the
crowd was in front as the starter took
his stand and raised the flags, the
crowd formed a narrow lane, surged
closer until the wings almost brushed
them as the plane gathered speed.
Then they rushed to form a 50 ft. lane
in front of the next plane, and so on.
No.2 - Travel Air B6
TIlls was flown by "Chief' Bowhan, a
full blood Osage Indian. His wife went
along as a passenger. The engine was an
OX-5. Notice that the planes lined up in
front ofthe hangar with the Stanolind A via-
tion Gasoline advertisement on the doors.
The photographer had a difficult time get-
They must ha ve been members ofsome
local suicide club. "
The Planes
The snapshots that are shown were
taken by my late father-in-law, Ralph
Eckley, who was a young newspaper
reporter/pilot from nearby Monmouth,
Illinois. The names of the planes that
appear on the photos were his inscrip-
tions and some of the material used on
these pages come from his files and
recollections as told to me before his
demise a few years ago.
The planes appear in the order of their
numbering by the Committee. It is in-
teresting to note that, with the exception
of one or two airplanes, none of the
entries' models or designs were in exist-
ence a year before the Tour took place.
This was before Approved Type Cer-
tification. In one case, the Curtiss Lark
didn't make it to the starting line be-
cause it could not be readied in time,
thus the Carrier Pigeon became the
entry from Curtiss.
Not all of the entries are shown.
Either his film ran out or he did not have
enough time. Unfortunately, he did not
get a photo of Rusty Campbell's OX-6
powered Travel Air.
ting pictures without people, just as
those of us at Oshkosh still have. Styles
of dress are well depicted. For a day that
got up to 80 degrees, those ladies in the
coats must have been quite warm.
Bowhan had to make two emergency
landings in Missouri due to engine
problems.
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23
No.4 - Travel Air B6
The third entry for Travel Air was this one flown by Walter
Beech. It was powered by a Curtiss 6A engine. He didn't do
too bad as the plane finished with the 4th best time of the Tour,
beating out the other two.
Not seen in this photo are the distinctive "elephant ears"
ailerons that appear on No. 2.
No.6 - Junkers F13L
This airplane was flown by Fred Melchoir and was built
by Junkers-Werke of Dassau, Germany. It was powered by
a BMW engine producing 185 hp. It carried five passengers
and was said to have difficulty on its takeoff and climb,
appearing very sluggish.
No. 16 - New Swallow
There were three Swallows on the Tour. This particular
Swallow was flown by Earl Rowland. An interesting feature
of the Swallows were the triangular transparent panels being
located at important places along the wings and fuselage
allowing for quick inspection. Rowland completed the Tour
in 22.78 hours with an average speed of 78 mph.
No. 20 - Fokker 3F7
In various accounts of the Tour after it was completed, this
airplane probably received more publicity than all of the
others with the possible exception of the Ford/Stout.
The plane was flown by Tony Fokker and E. P. Lott. It was
powered by three Wright Whirlwind BJ4 engines and carried
eight passengers. It returned to Dearborn first although it had
the second best time, completing the course with an average
speed of 98.5 mph.
Tony Fokker looked upon the Tour not only to promote
commercial aviation, but as an opportunity to advertise the
virtues of his airplane. In his narrative of the Tour, Caldwell
notes that when the group was entertained nightly by the local
sponsoring committees, not only were they usually served
chicken, but had to listen to the same speech by Fokker. He
says, "I have heard Anthony Fokker's speech four times. It's
fine and quite entertaining as like sitting through four show-
ings of the same movie. Casey Jones and 1 loved every word
of it and wouldn't miss it for anything. The thing that tickles
us is the way that Fokker has run away with Ford's publicity."
The photos show a great interest in the tri -motor. Most had
never seen a multi-engine airplane before.
Study the pictures and count the number of times the name
appears on the airplane.
24 FEBRUARY 1992
No. 22 - Curtiss Carrier Pigeon
"Casey" Jones, Manager of the Curtiss Exhibition Com-
pany, was the pilot of this airplane. It was powered by the
enormous Liberty 12 engine that produced 400 hp. Designed
especially for the night mail, it could carry 1,000 pounds.
A bizarre event took place at Omaha, when, upon coming
in for the landing, the plane ran into a motorcycle left on the
field by one of the officials.
Damage was confmed to a broken propeller and wing strut.
Remarkably, Jones was able to repair the damage in a
makeshift way and, after a late start the next day, caught up
with the others in St. Joseph, Missouri.
. No. 28 - Mercury Jr.
This was another airplane designed especially for carrying
the mail. Both the Aerial Mercury and Mercury Jr. were
designed by Harvey C. Mummert, for many years designer
for Curtiss.
The Mercury Jr. was powered by the Curtiss 6A. Although
its predecessor had ailerons on both the upper and lower
wings, this airplane featured them on the upper wings only.
The aerial Service Corporation had been in business for
over five years and had more than one former Curtiss
employee on its payroll. It was located in Hammondsport,
New York.
The designer, Mummert, piloted the Mercury Jr. on the
Tour, but did not finish in the top ten qualifiers. Curiously,
it started after and finished sooner than the Fokker and Ford
on many of the legs of the Tour.
The gentleman in the hat looking into the cockpit is my
uncle.
No. 24 - Martin Commerical
Notice in the photo that this plane did not have wheel
covers. All of the advertising literature depict them. It could
be that they were removed in Dearborn prior to the Tour
because the field was so muddy, as was Ft. Wayne. The plane
was introduced in August of 1924 and was intended to be a
mail plane, although provision was made for the rapid instal-
lation of passenger seats.
It was powered by a Wright Model 64 engine of 200 hp.
Although difficult to see in the photo, the radiator was
mounted below the engine and the airflow, after passing
through the radiator, was then vented out through the louvres
shown on the side of the cowl.
Caldwell, the pilot, was formerly the chief test pilot for
Martin. The plane completed the Tour in 21 :21 hours with
an average speed of 83.7 .
I have included this additional photo of a TM Scout that
shows John Livingston as pilot.
It was converted by Midwest Airways of Monmouth, Il-
linois and according to my father-in-law, was Livingston's
first racing airplane.
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25
No. 30 - Ford/Stout Monoplane
The airplane shown here is not the one the general reader
is used to seeing with the name Ford on it. In reality this is a
Stout Monoplane transport built by the Stout Metal Airplane
Company. The association between Ford and Stout began in
1924 upon the completion of the Stout factory on the Ford
airport at Dearborn. On July 31, 1925, Ford purchased all the
No. 36 - Yackey Sport
The airplane was a modified Thomas Morse Scout. Tony
Yackey operated the airmail field in Chicago. He bought
military surplus planes and modified them into three place
aircraft with OX-5 engines. The advertisements following
the Tour said they could be bought for $1,975.00. As to who
the pilot was, there have been conflicting accounts and pos-
sibly could have been two, Tony Yackey and Walter Adams,
sharing the duties.
The plane finished the course in 20.97 hours with an
average speed of 85 mph.
stock and assets of Stout and it became a division of Ford. As
earlier stated, the plane was already in the airline business.
Eddie Stinson piloted the plane on a pathfinder tour of the
cities a few weeks before.
The Liberty 12 powered plane had but one passenger on the
Tour and flew the course in 17.53 hours with an average speed
of 101.5 mph, the best of the Tour.
No. 32 - Laird Special
Henry Van Etten piloted Matty Laird's airplane. The
Special was powered by a Curtiss C6 engine, this one rated
at 167 hp. Of all the planes mentioned in the various accounts
of the Tour, little is said of this aircraft.
Notice the location of the radiator on the side of the plane.
Waco 9
There were two 9s on the Tour. One, number 8, was flown
by Ed Knapp; the other, number 10, was flown by Lloyd Yost.
I do not know which one is shown in the photo. Both had OX-5
engines.
Only onefinished the Tour, number 10, with a timeof23.31
hours and an average speed of 75.2 mph. Ely Knapp, along
with Ted Abrams as passenger, made an unscheduled landing
in a Missouri field and damaged the plane extensively. This
was the only plane to not finish the Tour for that reason.
26 FEBRUARY 1992
Again, I am showing an additional photo of a non-Tour
related airplane(s). This one was also taken at Monmouth
Airport with John Livingston and some Waco 9s that Midwest
Airways sold as the Waco Midwest distributor.
Conclusion The Moline stop lasted
only an hour. Pre-Tour publicity was
great enough that there were several
thousand poeple at the airport to witness
the event.
Up to this time, aviation to the public
in the Midwest was confmed to the
sportsman pilot , the occasional
barnstormer selling rides, and airmail
planes flying over in certain areas.
Before the Tour, most people of the area
had never seen such large transport
planes such as the Ford/Stout, Fokker
tri-motor or Junkers.
The photos bear witnesss to the fas-
cination that they held.
When the last plane departed, farmer
Franing's cow pasture would never be
the same in Moline. It became the only
airport to be included on the Reliability
Tours of 1926 and 1927. On May 12,
1926, Moline became an airmail stop on
the expanding transcontinental mail.
Also in 1926, Don Luscombe and
Clayton Folkerts began working on the
first Monocoupe at a field across the
river, and the first model was flown by
Rusty Campbell in March of 1927. Not
long after, Willard Velie bought
Luscombe's Central States Aero Com-
pany and a new era in Moline aviation
was ushered in that brought such names
into prominence as Vern Roberts, John
Livingston, Harold Neumann, Florence
Klingensmith and Pheobie Omlie flying
the various models of the Monocoupe ......
The following list of coming events is fur-
nished to our readers as a matter of information
only and does not constitute approval, sponsor-
ship, involvement, control or direction of any
such event. If you would like to have your aviation
event (fly-in, seminars, fly market, etc.) listed,
please send the information to EAA, Att: Golda
Cox, P.O. Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 53093-3086.
Information should be received four months prior
to the event date.
April 5-11 Lakeland, FL - Annual
EAA Sun 'n Fun Fly-In. Make your
plans to join us for the warm weather!
For more information call 813/644-
2431.
May 1 - 3 Camarillo, CA - EAA
Chapter 723 and CAF Wing 12th An-
nual Fly-In and aircraft exhibit.
Homebuilts, classics, antiques, warbirds
and more. Pancake breakfast on Satur-
day and Sunday, Dinner Friday and
Saturday with a band, seminars and
more. Contacts: Bob Koeblitz 310/443-
8056 or Larry Hayes, 805/496-3750
May 2 - 3 Winchester, V A
Winchester Regional EAA Spring Fly-
In. Trophies for winning showplanes.
Pancake breakfast Sunday. Conces-
sions and exhibitors. All welcome.
Contact Al or Judy Sparks, EAA Chap-
ter 186. Call 703/590-9112.
May 23-24 - Decatur, AL (DCU)
EAA Chapter 941 and Decatur-Athens
Aero Service's fourth annual Reunion
and Fly-In. Homebuilts, Classics,
Antiques, Warbirds and all GA aircraft
welcome. Balloon launch at dawn.
Camping on field, hotel shuttle avail-
able. Contact: Decatur-Athens Aero
Service, 205/355-5770
June 7 - DeKalb, IL EAA Chapter
241 28th Annual Breakfast Fly-In at De-
Kalb-Taylor Municipal Airport. Con-
tact: 815/895-3888.
June 20 - 21 Coldwater, MI 8th
Annual Fairchild Fly-In. Branch Coun-
ty Memorial Field. Contact: Mike
Kelly, 22 Cardinal Dr., Coldwater, MI
49036, or call 517/278-7654
June 27 - 28 Orange, MA - New
England Regional Fly-In with antique
steam and gas engine show, flea market,
food. Trophies both days for
Homebuilts, antiques, classics warbirds.
Chapter 726, Orange Municipal Airport,
Orange, MA 01364.
June 25 - 28 Mount Vernon, OR
33rd Annual National Waco Reunion
Fly-In, Wynkoop Airport. Make your
reservations at the Curtis Motor Hotel
1-800-828-7847 or (in Ohio) 1-800-
634-6835. For additional information,
contact the National Waco Club, 700
Hill Av., Hamilton, OH 45015 or call
513/868-0084.
July 8-12 Arlington, W A
Northwest EAA Fly-In. Info: 206-435-
5857.
July 10 - 12 Minden, NE 14th An-
nual National Fly-In and meeting.
Pioneer Village Airport, Minden, NE.
Ca11303f744-8048 for more information.
July 25 -26 New Berlin, IL - Flying
"S" Farm. Midwest gathering of
Taylorcrafts. Contact: Al and Mary
Smith,217/478-2671.
July 31-Aug. 6 Oshkosh, WI - 40th
Annual EAA Fly-In and Sport Aviation
Convention. Wittman Regional Airport.
Contact John Burton, EAA Aviation
Center, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086,
414/426-4800.
PASS IT TO
--1]
An information exchange column with input from readers.
by Buck Hilbert
(EAA 21, Ale 5)
P.O. Box 424
Union, IL 60180
With the advent of the new Contem-
porary Class of the Antique/Classic
Division, now might be the time to get
into the record book. With the National
Aeronautic Association, the Aero Club
of America, having a reduced fee
schedule for the benefit of those heading
towards Sun 'n Fun and Oshkosh,
maybe it's time to look at the record
book and set a NEW City to City record.
We all would like to see our name in
print, and especially in the World and
United States Aviation and Space
records publication. Just call Art
Greenfield at NAA Headquarters in Ar-
lington, VA 703/527-0226, ask him
about it and maybe you'll have some-
thing to show your grand-kids when the
next issue comes out.
If you do accomplish a record, your
name will be in the next edition of the
World and United States Aviation and
Space Record book and you'll receive
your beautifully mounted certificate at
28 FEBRUARY 1992
one of the awards ceremonies held at
various museum and aviation facilities
held throughout the year. Call Art for
the sanction forms and the one to one
information on how it's done!
The Swift Association President,
Charlie Nelson, has done it, so have
several of the homebuilders in their
Glasairs and hot rod composite
machines. It's time we Antique and
Classic guys and gals took a shot at it!
We need the prestige of having NAA
and our fellow airman recognizing the
fact that our airplanes are competitive
too. Let's go for it! There are many,
many pairs of cities that have never
made the record books. Almost every
city airport in the States has an open slot
from there to Lakeland, Florida or Osh-
kosh,Wisconsin. Your Co-pilot can be
included too, and you'll both be
enshrined in the record book along with
the BIG boys!
Now for a letter ...
Dear Buck,
Has anyone had any problems with
Marvel Mystery Oil? I have heard of
problems with spark plug fouling and
lots of carbon on the top of the pistons.
I would like some answers on fuel addi-
tives for upper lube.
Also, what type of sealant compound
should I use when overhauling an en-
gine? I do not like to use RTV or
silicone sealant. I prefer Aviation
Form-a-Gasket 3D. Please advise.
Edward C. Wegner
Hello Eddie,
Guess I've reached a pinnacle of sorts
when one of the foremost antique
airplane restorers asks my opinion. I'm
flattered, Ed, and double that, happy
you asked.
Like you, I have been operating "old"
engines for many years. I have had my
share of problems with the more modem
fuels (read 100 LL) with the seemingly
hard starting, plug fouling and build-ups
on the valves, etc.
Problem is, the old radial engines we
operate turn maybe 2100 rpm for
takeoff and cruise 1750 or so, are low
compression and so just don't develop
the head pressures and temperatures to
throw off the modem day additives in
today's fuels.
A Lycoming 0-320 or 0-360 does just
fine because it's a high compression
engine and turns up fast enough to
breathe hard and throw off those addi-
tives.
Marvel Mystery Oil as an additive is
a moot point that has led to many dis-
cussions for as many years that it has
been marketed. I recently ran across a
gadget that was built way back in the
late 1920s, marketed by Marvel, that
was a forerunner to today's oil injection
systems. It was hooked into the intake
manifold and actually metered an
amount determined by the manifold
pressure as the engine was running to
provide upper lube. So you can see,
Mystery Oil has been around a long,
long time!
No one knows the chemical make-up
of the stuff. A viation Consumer went
public a while back and said it is largely
mineral spirits, dye and perfume. It is a
solvent base and it is dyed and it does
smell good and it will help sticking rings
and float sludge loose so you can drain
it at oil changes. This is when it's added
to the oil. For the overhead, it's sup-
posed to do all the good things that our
old engines need. I have never heard
Ed Wegner's beauti-
ful Spartan C-3 has
been h ~ pride and
joy since he restored
it in the early 1960's,
and then again a few
years ago.
~
c
8 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ; m
:.:
E
::;
claims or disclaims that it reduces wear
and tear or is really beneficial.
I have been using the EAA Auto Fuel
STC on my airplanes that are eligible,
ever since it came out. I have all my
CAP airplanes STC'd too. We run the
0-320s on the Vargas, and 172s on it
without any problems while saving
money. We have about a six year track
record on this and are really satisfied
with the performance. We don't use it
for glider towing, though; we switch
back to 80 when we get it or 100LL.
In my real antiques, the Aeronca
E113 engine and the old LeBlond, I use
a different procedure because they are
dry heads and require manual greasing
and oiling. I use a 50-50 mix of Marvel
Mystery Oil and the new synthetic fifty
to one Outboard Motor Oil. (I sneak in
a little TCP, too, just like the can says,
and I add seven ounces of this mix to
each ten gallons of fuel.)
Since I started using this mixture
about three years ago, I have not had a
stuck valve or a fouled plug. Starting is
normal and I am not nearly so hyper
about having to grease and oil the valve
actions all the time. Also, the engine is
much cleaner running and doesn't splat-
ter grease and surplus oil all over.
One note of caution! Marvel
Mystery Oil will dissolve some sloshing
compounds off the walls of the fuel
tank. It will tum the sloshing compound
into a thick super goo that will collect in
the sumps, foul the fuel drains and if it
progresses far enough, will get into the
fmger screens. If you remember Bob
Friedman's Ryan STM, it had a forced
landing because this happened. I have
also heard of other incidents like this. I
would advise that if you have a sloshed
tank, test it first before you put your
airplane on a steady diet.
Ed, it was great flying at Pioneer Air-
port with you and Charlie Bell. Anyone
who sees your beautiful Spartan C-3 fly
knows it's a winner. And if the Form-
A-Gasket enables you to enjoy an en-
gine that runs as dry and sweet as the
one in your Spartan, then you already
have the answer to that question.
Over to you, Ed. .....
Porterfields
Three!
(Continued from page 21)
flying his own aircraft into the big
gathering. Although he admits to being
a bit scared and nervous, he brought his
blue and silver Porterfield into Wittman
Field without any problems - a genuine
happy camper!
Kevin located the Porterfield in
Yuma, Arizona where Pitt Wade had the
basket case for sale. It had been badly
damaged in a windstorm with both wings
and ailerons crunched, wing struts bent
and the forward fuselage crushed and the
nose bashed in. In addition, the engine
had low compression and was an un-
known quantity. He hauled the entire
airplane back to Phoenix, AZ where he
was living at the time and commenced
work on the project in a 10 X 30 storage
unit. (With full permission of the owner.)
Working about 5 hours per day, Kevin
used about two years before the neat
looking two-placer was fully restored.
Being an A & P mechanic really helped
the situation, especially when the paper
work had to be brought up to date. While
all this was going on, Kevin had to make
two moves in his work activities, ending
up in Roanoke, Texas on the outskirts of
Dallas.
He had started flying lessons in
August of 1990 and was just able to pass
his Private license exam three weeks
before EAA Oshkosh '91. Kevin was
justly proud of his restoration work, but
his flying ability was also a major ac-
complishment and he admitted to 110
hours in his logbook. His cross-country
trip to Oshkosh was a most exciting trip
for this newly certificated pilot, who had
come through with flying colors.
Porterfield NC25563 was built on
June 11,1940 asan LP-65 model and had
been converted to a CP-65 in 1959, ac-
cording to the logs. Kevin had topped
the engine before leaving for Oshkosh
and only had one oil leak, the oil tank
gasket, which was repaired. A metal 72
X 46 prop was put on for the trip instead
of a 72 X 42 wood prop. The result was
a cruise of about 90 mph at 2200 RPM
and five gallons per hour fuel bum.
For those of you who were wondering,
Kevin Feauto says his name is of French
derivation and is pronounced "foto".
One can surely suspect we will hear more
from this sharp, young, A & P mechanic
(and pilot) in the future. .....
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 29
WELCOMENEWMEMBERS
Ingemar Adolfsson Neal Goodfriend David McCaskill West Hill, Ontario
Johanneshov, Sweden
Bvergel Armin Forst, Gennany
Bobby Athey Portland, Oregon
Ronnie BakerWashington, Mississippi
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Thomasville, North Carolina
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Byron Center, Michigan
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30 FEBRUARY 1992
Where The Sellers and Buyers Meet...
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Everything in plane sight
VINTAGEAIRPLANE33
MYSTERYPLANE
by GeorgeHardie
Here's another from the Golden Age
of Aviation. The name on the cowling
probably gives you a clue, but what is
needed are details on the pilot and the
event involved. The photo, part of the
Tacoma Public Library Collection, was
submitted by Jim Wainwright of Gig
Harbor, Washington. Answers will be
published in the May, 1992 issue of
Vintage Airplane. Deadline for that
issue is March 20th, 1992.
Lynn Towns of Brooklyn, Michigan
sent in the leading answer for the
November Mystery Plane. He writes:
"The Mystery Plane is the Hansen
Baby Bullet No.2. This airplane was
built in Lansing, Michigan by Perry
Hansen from a kit he bought from the
Heath Aircraft Corporation, Chicago,
Illinois. This was his second racer, and
a third followed - all three were
modified Heaths.
"NR282W was powered by a Con-
tinental A-40 engine of 115 cubic in-
ches. Hansen took the plane to the 1932
National Air Races held in Cleveland,
where he entered it in the 115 cu. in. and
200 cu. in. races. The plane was flown
in these races by Hansen's former flight
instructor, Art Davis. Davis won first
place in both events with speeds of
88.963 and 101.522 miles per hour,
respectively.
"In 1933 Hansen took the plane to the
American Air Races in Chicago. The
landing gear had been modified for the
previous year. Art Davis again flew the
plane in the 115 cu. in. class and took
first place in the first heat at 100.73
miles per hour, and second place in the
second heat at 112.34 miles per hour.
The Mystery Plane photo was taken at
the 1933 American Air Races.
"Later in 1933, the plane was taken
back to Chicago to the International Air
Races. With a new pilot named Walter
Bagnick, the plane was entered in three
200 cu. in. races. Bagnick placed third
in all three races with speeds of 97.87,
103.20 and 109.76 miles per hour.
"The next year Hansen built his N um-
ber 3 Baby Bullet and used the engine
from Number 2. This apparently ends
the story of this Mystery Plane."
Complete details on the Hansen
racers can be found in articles by
Truman C. "Pappy" Weaver, published
in Sport Aviation for September, 1979
and in EAA's book, "The Golden Age
of Air Racing", pages 192-195.
Other correct answers were recieved
from: Charley Hayes, Park Forest, IL;
Roy Cagle, Prescott, AR; Truman C.
"Pappy" Weaver, New Baden, II; Fran-
cis Rowe, Endicott, NY; Glenn Buf-
fington, EI Dorado, AR; Francis Taylor,
Woodward, IA; Wayne Van Valken-
burgh, Jasper, GA; Ralph Nortell,
Spokane, W A; and Buddy Ahl ers,
Flanders NJ. ..... HansenBabyBulletNo.2
34 FEBRUARY 1992
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