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STRAIGHTAND LEVEL
2 VINTAGE HALLOF FAME
4 VAA NEWS
6 THIRTY FIVE YEARS AT THE OUTER
MARKER!Dutch Redfield
10 MYSTERYPLANE/HG.Frautschy
12 PASS ITTO BUCKlE.E. ((Buck" Hilbert
13 BUD FIELD' SC-180...AND NIKKITOO!/
Budd Davisson
18 GOLDEN WESTFLY-IN/
H G. Frautschy
21 AN EXTRAORDINARY ELDER EAGLE/
Ron Gamer
25 WELCOME NEWMEMBERS/CALENDAR
27 CLASSIFIED ADS
30 VINTAGE MERCHANDISE
www.vintageaircraft.org
SEE PAGE 26 FOR FURTHER VINTAGE AIRCRAFTASSOCIATION INFORMATION
Publisher
Editor-ill-Chief
Editor
Execlltive Editor
COlltributillg Editor
Art Director
Photography Staff
AdvertisillglEditorial Assistalll
TOM POBEREZNY
scon SPANGLER
HENRYG. FRAUTSCHY
MIKE DIFRISCO
JOHN UNDERWOOD
BUDD DAVISSON
BETH BLANCK
JIM KOEPNICK
LEEANN ABRAMS
MARK SCHAIBLE
ISABELLEWISKE
As I peer out the win-
dow today here in
North Carolina I am
looking at some six
inches of that white
stuff that is normally re-
served for those lucky
people who live North
of the Mason/Dixie line.
Luckily, the Luscombe and Baron are tucked safely inside our
hanger at Shiloh Airport.
Our Black Lab is out in the back yard, plowing furrows in
the snow with her nose. The two cats are sitting on a table
under the roof of our cook shed, watching her actions with
an expression of disbelief on their whiskered faces. I guess it
all boils down to what makes you happy! That new snow also
means that far away in Oshkosh, many people will enjoy the
skiplane fly-in at Pioneer airport behind the EAA AirVenture
Museum. I hear it's lots of fun!
Norma and I traveled to Oshkosh last year for the event.
Unfortunately, all we had that weekend was rain and slush,
but this year should be great. We'll share some photos of the
fly-in in next month's issue.
If you're planning your calendar and would like to spend
a weekend helping us get ready for the 2000 edition of EAA
AirVenture, we will again host a fly-in work weekend during
the latter part of May. We spruce up the VAA area on
Wittman Field, all the while having a great time working to-
gether and enjoying an evening of camaraderie that's a
natural extension of the enjoyable times we spend during the
Fly-In. This is a great time to enjoy some grass roots camping,
flying, fellowship, and at the same time help V AA prepare
your area for AirVenture 2000. We'll give you the exact date
as soon as it is firmed up.
As you read this February issue of Vintage Airplane, you
can just about look out over the horizon and almost see the
sunshine of Lakeland, Florida. That's right, the Sun 'n Fun
EAA Fly-In happens April 11-17. This exceptional event has
grown to be a huge success over the years.
One of the important reasons for this great accomplish-
ment was the guidance and hard work of newly retired
Executive Director Billy Henderson. Billy would be the first
to tell you his greatest asset is his wife Adair, who has
worked equally as hard to make Sun 'n Fun a great success.
I've know Billy for many years, starting from the time he
was a hard working volunteer and then moved on to be-
come the full-time paid Executive Director of Sun 'n Fun.
On December 31, 1999 Billy retired from that position. Time
nor space will not allow me to list all of the things and per-
sonal sacrifices Billy and Adair have put forth for the good
and growth of this fly-in.
Personally, I would just like to say, "Thanks, Billy and
Adair, for your dedication to sport aviation and for the
friendship we continue to enjoy."
John Burton is now the new Executive Director of Sun 'n
Fun. Many of you will remember John-he worked for EAA
at their Oshkosh, Wisconsin Headquarters as the Vice Presi-
by ESPIE "BUTCH" JOYCE
PRESIDENT, VINTAGE AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION
dent of Communications. John had also been the link be-
tween EAA HQ and Sun 'n Fun management for a number of
years, which gave him a measure of insight in the operation,
and has helped provide for a smooth transition.
I really think that John got to where he liked all of that
sunshine and warm weather. When given the chance, why
not? What about it, John? For those of you who have been
attending Sun 'n Fun, you know how much enjoyment you
can have. If you haven't had a chance to get to the weeklong
event, give it a try. It can be a very relaxing kick-off to the fly-
in season.
When you do go to Sun 'n Fun be sure to check out the
Vintage Headquarters Building, hosted by your V AA Chapter
1, the "FSAACA". They have great iced tea and popcorn, and
you can also register your aircraft there as well. You can even
renew your V AA membership and have your friends sign up
in the V AA as well. Just ask Jane Kimball and her volunteers!
They'll be happy to help. Oh yes, be sure to bring your sun-
screen-you'll need it!
But enough daydreaming of warmer weather. I need to
bring my mind back to the present, to February. Since it has
snowed and I cannot get the airplanes out of the hanger, I'm
going to have to be good to my word and start working on
the Luscombe panel replacement. Years ago, I bought a panel
kit for the Beech D-35 owned and operated for 11 years be-
fore moving over to the Baron.
Every so often, I would get that kit out and look at it,
studying all of the things that needed to be done in order to
redo the instrument panel. After thinking about the chore
and knowing how much work was there, I would slide it back
into the box and wait another year!
I sold the D-35 before I could talk myself into doing all of
the work. Later I sold the panel kit to an aircraft dealer lo-
cated at St. Simons Island, Georgia, delivering it on my way
to Sun 'n Fun.
I have often wondered if he ever got the nerve to install
that kit. The Beech panel would have been quite a project.
Thankfully, I don't think the Luscombe panel rework will be
quite as difficult.
Your V AA Board of Directors will be meeting March 31 at
EAA Headquarters in Oshkosh to discuss continuing subjects,
business matters, and government matters related to our air-
craft. This is your organization, so we invite you to air any
concerns you feel need attention. Drop me note at P.O. Box
35584, Greensboro, NC 27425 so that these matters might be
brought before the proper committee or the board for discus-
sion. Try to get it to me before March 1 so we can do our
homework on the subject.
As we look forward to the beginning of the fly-in season,
I'd like to ask you to consider asking a fellow enthusiast to
join your Vintage Aircraft Association. It would be great if
you made this one of your personal goals for the year 2000.
There's strength in numbers. As we add more members, we
build a stronger voice when discussing matters that effect
your freedom to maintain and fly your aircraft. Let's all pull
in the same direction for the good of aviation. Remember we
are better together. Join us and have it all! ......
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 1
Concluding our profiles of the 1999 \:\ \ Hall of Fame
inductees. this month Itt's meet ...
Tom and Barbara Flock with one of the five Wacos restored by Tom since 1979. Sadly,
Barbara Flock passed away November 23, 1999.
Tom also enjoys "modern" airplanes. He's owned two
Navlons, the latest this 1962 Navlon Rangemaster H he pur-
chased in 1974.
VAANEWS
compiled by H.G. Frautschy
GENERAL AVIATION
CONTINUING AIRWORTHNESS
SUMMIT
In Kansas City, Missouri, a spec-
trum of General Aviation leaders
met with FAA officials to provide
proactive input concerning dealing
with the issues surrounding the ag-
THE COVERS
FRONT COVER . .. One of the
workhorses of the General Aviation
fleet is the Cessna 180. Owners Bud
and Nikki Fields are featured in this
month's issue, starting on page 13.
EAA photo by Mark Schaible, shot
with a Canon EOSIn equipped
with an 80-220 mm lens on
100ASA Fuji Provia slide film. EAA
Cessna 210 photo plane flown by
Bruce Moore.
BACK COVER . .. "Feet Dry, Half
Moon Bay" is the title of this etch-
ing by Bill Ellsworth, Virginia
Beach, Virginia. It depicts the USS
Macon as it approaches Moffett
Field at the south end of San Fran-
cisco Bay. The airship is flying in
from the West over Half Moon Bay,
with another 30 minutes of flight
time remaining before docking at
the Navy field.
Bill is a former Naval Aviator (he
says at his age, he's nearly a former
everything!), and that he enjoys
doing artwork depicting Naval avi-
ation events that have occurred
within his lifetime. He is a veteran
of WW-II, Korea and Vietnam, and
flew propeller and jet aircraft off of
27 different carriers. Feet Dry, Half
Moon Bay was presented with an
Honorable Mention ribbon during
the 1999 EAA Sport Aviation Art
Competition.
A collection of Bill's etchings is
on display in the EAA AirVenture
Museum. On your next visit, use
the stairs located just behind the
Women With Wings exhibit, next
to the Air Racing gallery. There are
24 of his etchings on display in the
well-lit stairway.
4 FEBRUARY 2000
ing General Aviation fleet. The aver-
age age of the fleet is expected to be
41 years old by 2009.
Mike Gallagher, FAA Small Air-
plane Directorate manager, stressed
that it was important for all partici-
pants, including Type Clubs,
manufacturers, associations and
EAA, AAA, and the Vintage Aircraft
Association to provide input and
assist the FAA put together a pro-
gram that can be proactive instead
of reactive.
As we've seen in the past, when
pushed by political considerations,
some issues have not been resolved
in a way that benefited GA own-
ers/ users. It is hoped that this
dynamiC approach will result in an
effective program.
For an extensive description of
the meeting, please see the Febru-
ary issue of Sport Aviation, starting
on page 12. You can also go to the
EAA web site at www.eaa.org, and
enter the "Members Only" Section.
Go to "Government and Industry
Relations" and click on "Top Gov-
ernment Issues" for a full article
concerning this meeting, along
with a list of recommendations
made by attendees.
EAA AVIATION FOUNDATION
SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATIONS
NOW AVAILABLE ON LINE
Students interested in pursuing
aviation studies can now learn more
about up to $67,000 in EAA Aviation
Foundation scholarships and receive
applications through a new service
on the EAA World Wide Web site:
www.eaa.org
These scholarships, which range
from $500 to $25,000, recognize, en-
courage and support excellence among
individuals studying the essential
technologies and skills of aviation.
The awards assist outstanding students
demonstrating a financial need to ac-
complish their goals.
"One of the missions of the EAA
Aviation Foundation is to inspire a
new generation to become the next
aviation innovators," said Tom
Poberezny, President of the Founda-
tion. "These scholarships are a way
to assist students who are fulfilling
their dreams in the world of flight."
EAA Aviation Foundation
scholarship applicants should be
well-rounded individuals, in-
volved in school and community
activities as well as aviation. Their
academic record should indicate
that they can successfully com-
plete the course of study described
in the scholarship.
To reach the scholarship page,
connect with the EAA website then
click on "aviation education" or
type in the direct page address:
www.eaa.org/education/schoiarships
HOMEBUILT HEADQUARTERS
SITE UP AND RUNNING
One of the great aspects of being a
part of the EAA family is access to a
well of information that is so deep
you hardly hear a splash when you
drop an AN12 nut into it. There's so
much stuff available, and sometimes
it can be a bit daunting just knowing
where to start.
Charlie Becker and the Informa-
tion Services staff are one of your
first links to that information well,
and they've put together a terrific
section in the EAA "Members Only"
area of EAA's web site.
Chock full of "how to" informa-
tion, the new site is a handy
resource for those who are building
an airplane, and for those of us who
are restoring as well. Just click on
the "Members Only" button on the
left side of the home page at
www. eaa .org. Follow the prompts,
and take a look, but be sure and
give yourself a bit of extra time;
there's a lot to see!
JOEJUPTNER
Born in 1913, and enamored with
airplanes as a young boy listening to
the stories of the barnstormers who
would pass through his home town,
Joseph P. Juptner became an A&E
mechanic and a civilian pilot, and
even dabbled in amateur aircraft de-
sign. During WW-II he served as a
Air Force Fighter group crew chief.
In the busy times after the War,
he partnered in a flying school, and
later operated a hobby shop while
building wind tunnel models.
For most of us, Joe's enduring
legacy is a body of work that took
most of his lifetime to compile. Col-
lecting photos and information
about airplanes for many years, he
carefully researched and wrote what
has become to be known as the
"Family Tree of the ATC," the nine-
volume set of books published as
U.S. Civil Aircraft.
First printed by Aero Publishers in
1962, and more recently in the '90s
by McGraw-Hill, the first 817 Ap-
proved Type Certificates are
documented in Juptner's breezy,
warm style that comes from a per-
son who lived and breathed the
history of aviation as a boy and later
as a man.
He wrote a couple of other recol-
lections of aviation lore, including
his last, T-Hangar Tales, published
by Historic Aviation in Eagan, MN
(800/225-5575) .
Joe was a faithful correspondent
during his later years as he lived in
California. He passed away January
3, 2000 in Laguna Hills, California.
Here's a little quiz to honor Joe's
lifetime of work. Can you name the
first and last sequentially numbered
ATCs issued by the CAA/FAA? No
peeking in your books now! The an-
swer is at the bottom of the page.
THE "RITE" MONOCOUPE
A mistake in reading an "N" num-
ber on the tail of one of the
Monocoupes in attendance at the
Monocoupe Fly-In last Fall meant
the wrong name went with the
photo in last month's coverage of
the fly-in.
This is PhH Riter's Monocoupe
90A, NC19429, not Curtis White-
head's NC19423. Phil hails from
Stryker, OH and has owned his
Monocoupe for many years. Our
apologies! ......
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MORE ON DOUG CORRIGAN
Dear H.G.,
Duke Krantz (of Gates Flying Cir-
cus fame) was a pilot for the New
York Daily News for a number of
years, and he told this story back in
1952 or so.
In July of 1938, Howard Hughes
was garnering all the media attention
during his famous around-the-world
dash in a Lockheed Model 14 Electra,
with late dispatches coming in from
Paris, Moscow, Omsk, Yakutsk, and
other far away places, adding to the
excitement and glamour of Hughes'
week-long aviation accomplishment.
Hughes landed back at Floyd Bennett
Field in New York after 3 days, 19
hours and some minutes, where the
newsreels, radio reporters, and news-
paper photographers descended upon
the round-the-world crew.
While all this was going on, young
Doug Corrigan flew his Curtiss Robin
with the Wright radial engine from
Long Beach, California non-stop to
Floyd Bennett Field in New York City
- quite an accomplishment on it
own. He then planned to fly across
the Atlantic, retracing Lindbergh's
earlier path, hoping that the public-
ity would help him get a job as a
pilot. The flight to Europe, however,
was thwarted by the CAA because
they felt he did not have the proper
radios or navigation equipment for
such an exploit, and the CAA forbid
him to make the flight.
The day Corrigan
landed in New York
nonstop from Califor-
nia, The Daily News
sent a single reporter
to Floyd Bennett Field
to interview Corrigan
and get pictures. Pok-
ing around in a
hangar, the reporter
found Corrigan work-
ing on his Curtiss
Robin (fixing the door
handle, which he sub-
sequently simply wired closed). The
reporter asked Corrigan where he had
flown in from. Corrigan, a young
man of few words answered quite
honestly, "Long Beach."
The reporter, a New Yorker, knew
that Long Beach (Long Island) Air-
port was only a few miles away from
Floyd Bennett Field, so he immedi-
ately dismissed Corrigan, and walked
briskly away still looking for his story.
According to Corrigan, he said as he
left, "I'm looking for some damn fool
who just flew non-stop from Califor-
nia!" The reporter, of course, missed
the story completely.
Doc Mosher
Neenah, WI
Dear Mr. Underwood,
I certainly enjoyed your write-up
on "Wrong Way" Corrigan as it
brought back fond memories of days
gone by. Enclosed is a picture (below)
I took at the Detroit city airport at
Conners & Gratiot in 1938 when I
was learning to fly in an Aeronca C-3
and Doug was making a tour after his
wrong way flight. It sure is nice to
read about those days when flying
was an enjoyable adventure and I am
still "plane crazy" about the planes of
yesterday. Thank you again and keep
them flying.
Merl Aschenbach
Bay City, MI
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 5

I
-
ears
att
Outer Marker
Comfort in a Cabin Waco, and Flying on the Water
Much as I loved flying in the
Adirondacks, our business in this
lovely area, even during the summer
season, was just too slim. Besides
this, in order for us to do any busi-
ness, it was necessary to do
considerable non-revenue flying be-
tween mountain lakes looking for it.
In the spring, as I had done for
the last few years with the F-2, we
rigged the new cabin Waco, tuning
it to its float gear while she sat in her
corner of Harry Ward's hangar.
We then flew her off the airport's
new runway, rolling on four Model
/I A" Ford wheels that were temporar-
ily rigged to the floats' integral
beaching gear axle tubes. Airborne,
and while circling over the lake, ta-
pered wheel retaining pins were
released by lightweight cables that
were temporarily run to the cockpit
windows and taped to the leading
edge of the lower wings. The Ford
wheels were then pushed off the
axles, dropping into the lake with a
huge splash. This wheel dumping
was carried on while leaning far out
the cabin side windows, working the
wheels off by the use of a long
broom handle. This saved many
hours of work that previously had
been done under often times diffi-
cult conditions. In only a few
minutes we could be switched over
to floats and completely ready for
the summer.
Business at Alexandria Bay the
next season was very good and at
our dock the cabin Waco attracted
many people who previously had
just not been interested in sitting in
the F-2's drafty open cockpit, don-
ning a cloth pilot's helmet in order
to make a scenic flight over the 1,000
Islands. Also, it was a very pleasant
summer for us. Peg and I rented a
comfortable summer camp right on
the river's shore with the seaplane
swinging nights on a mooring in a
shallow protected cove only a few
hundred yards from our front porch.
By the end of the first summer it
was clear, however, that the new
cabin Waco was short on power, and
prior to hunting season in the
Adirondacks we replaced her 225 hp
Jacobs engine with a 285 hp Jacobs,
and this made a fine performing air-
plane out of her.
In the meantime, correspondence
had been taking place with several
Chambers of Commerce in Florida.
We settled on spending the winter
at Winter Haven, in central Florida,
selected because I had no desire to
operate the airplane in salt water
with its associated and serious corro-
sion problems.
In November, Peg and I took off
to fly her south. Most of the route
we followed the Inland Waterway
just inside the Atlantic coastline be-
cause this provided protected waters
within gliding distance most of the
way. For one of our southbound
stops, we overnighted at Wilming-
ton, North Carolina, with the Waco
tied out between two large docks
with high pilings. I didn ' t sleep
much during the night and it was
by Holland "Dutch" Redfield
6 FEBRUARY 2000
The YKS-7 on its land lubber gear makes a low pass.
rainingtorrentsandgustinghardas
dawnbroke. Thephonerang; itwas
the hotel deskadvisingthata tug
was waitingtogetdocksidewhere
the Waco was tied. We checked
outquicklyand tookataxi to the
waterfront.
Theairplanewas boardedina
peltingcoldrain andgettingaboard
was noteasyinthefast
Therewas nootherwaytodoit, and
fortunatelytheJacobscaughtonthe
first cylinder. Shewas runningand
whetherwe liked itornot,we were
also moving. Thewaterrudders, po-
sitionedbythepedalsbeneathmy
feet, nowknifed intotheflowing
waterstreams andwe swungaway
from thegustingwindtowardopen
water, steeringcarefully
betweenthebarnacled,
tarred pilings of two
commercial wharves.
But as we neared Icould
see that the strong
ebbingtidalcurrentwas
sweepingus seawardand
itwas necessaryto crab
hersharplyoverthebot-
tom, tracking so as to
miss theheavyhighpil-
ings thatcould easily
bashinourfragile spruce
wingtips.
As weclearedthepro-
tectionofthewharves, a
stronggusthitherand
heeled herandasharp,
wave-slapping, propeller-
sprayingblastfrom the
engine was needed to
swingherawayfrom the
windandontoadown-
windcoursedownthe
harbor. Thenowfollowingwaves
werewhitecappingandheavygust
driven rainstreakedthewindshield
anddrummedthetautfabric ontop
ofthefuselage. It was anuglyday
and iftherehadbeensomeother
placetotieup, I'd havepulledback
in, buttherewasn't, becausethe
nightbeforewe'dspenthalfanhour
ebbingtideas PegandI Dutch's Waco ZKS-7, set up on the temporary beaching wheels "borrowed" from a Ford Model A. The engine is a
285 hp Jacobs.
clambered down slip-
pery, rickety ladders.
Theassistanceoftwoyel-
low-slickered dock
workerswas necessaryas
hersternlinewas eased,
thenherbowlineslowly
pulled in, putting her
closeenoughsowecould
stepfrom theladdersto
herrain-slicked floats.
We thenhunchedour
way aft beneath the
lowerwing, upthetwo
shortstepstothelower
wingwalkway, andinto
thedrycabin.
Theenginewas pre-
primedand readytogo
as thelineswere castoff
by those on the dock.
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 7
flying up and down the waterfront
looking for a spot to overnight.
Where we'd tied her was the only
place.
The evening before we had fueled
with marine gasoline and with 420
pounds of fuel on board, the Waco
was heavily loaded. Even with the
wind I would need a long, punishing
run to get airborne and thereafter
clear a bascule bridge that would be
in our climb-out path.
After a long downwind taxi, I
idled her back, pulled the water rud-
ders up, and let her weathercock into
the wind. The white-capping waves
now slapped the float bows and the
idling prop flung back their spray.
Streaking cats-paws showed the gust-
ing wind patterns on the harbor's
surface ahead of us as the throttle in
the center of the instrument panel
was opened full and locked there
with its knurled knob. The Jacobs
roared and with the wind and the
waves she was quickly on the steps.
The waves spanked hard against the
planing float bottoms, jarring us
with lighter and lighter taps as the
wings grasped the air, then lifted us
free and into turbulent, but far
smoother, flight than the very rough
waters we had just lifted off from.
The right wing was lowered and
we slowly banked away from the wet
gusting northeast wind. In the low
level eddying turbulence both my
hands and my feet were very busy,
feeling for, and correcting for, and
averaging the buffeting upsets from
my planned curving trajectory. Pres-
sured inputs to the ailerons and
rudder were simultaneously applied
and also carefully coordinated in or-
der to avoid unpleasant, sloppy,
yawing flight for my very pregnant
wife, Peg.
In a short time the wings were lev-
eled and the compass beneath the
rain-smeared windshield settled
down and showed us heading south
again. The rain and windswept
buoy-marked waterway was only few
hundred feet beneath us and for the
next several hours, and to keep the
waterway in sight, we took every
bend of it, banking gently left, then
8 FEBRUARY 2000
.. .his sudden awareness
of our swift passage
above him at mast height
evidenced by his
wavering surprised wake
as we looked back over
the dripping, streaming
trailing edges of the
lower wing panel.
right, and we were buffeted and
gusted and rained on. Neither of us
liked it, but there simply was no
place we could ride the storm out
and after a while we became accus-
tomed to it.
Ahead we'd see, then catch up
with, then zoom over and quickly
leave behind many pleasure boats
also heading south, his sudden
awareness of our swift passage above
him at mast height evidenced by his
wavering surprised wake as we
looked back over the dripping,
streaming trailing edges of the lower
wing panels. Then an occasional
gentle pull-up to skim a telephone-
poled bridge spanning the marshy
winding shores of the waterway,
slowly waggling the Waco's stubby
red wings at a decrepit old Ford,
splashing its way along muddy roads
and up and over the bridge as we
flew by. And our passage flushed
many geese and ducks, but most of
them had more sense than we as
they fed and paddled along the
marshy shores till the scudding
storm abated.
With no warning, there was a sud-
den loud bang, and the airplane
shook, and next to me Peg gave a cry
of pain. I was puzzled, as I did not
know what had happened and our
low skimming flight in the rain and
turbulence continued to require all
my attention. Peg was there beside
me, sobbing and clutching her leg,
yet everything seemed normal with
the airplane. I was concerned and fi-
nally between tears we sorted out
that the plane's brake handle was
the culprit. Used only during land-
plane operations, it had somehow
snapped back and hit her left shin
with a vicious whack. The hook for
the seaplane's water rudder retract
cables had been attached to this un-
used handle at the time the water
rudders were retracted for takeoff
and we must have flown into a
frightened low flying duck, which
probably struck one of the retract ca-
bles down in the float gear, causing
the handle to snap back. It had been
a sharp whack and it hurt.
In a couple of hours the scudding,
dark, wet clouds began drying out,
gradually lifting to a clearing gray,
with occasional patches of blue. We
were able to let the Waco climb now
and the air smoothed. The power-
fully surfing, curving shore of the
Atlantic off our left wings met the
now blue sky far ahead to the south.
In the snug cabin the outside
warmth we were flying into was
ducted in to us, and it felt good. We
munched a sandwich and I rubbed
Peg's bruised leg and we laughed.
At Jacksonville, I fueled in shirt-
sleeves and by late afternoon we
touched her down at her new home
on Lake Howard, at Winter Haven.
Barb, who was driving our car down,
was not there yet.
Besides a few charters, then a cou-
ple of deep-winter occasions where
we were hired to spend entire nights
flying low over orange groves, stir-
ring up the air to pOSSibly prevent
frost damage, plus a few passengers
carried on weekends. My dreams
that Florida could playa big part in a
12-month-a-year seaplane operation
turned out to be a giant flop, and as
it turned out I had to borrow money
so I could get my pregnant wife and
the airplane home.
As part of an effort to make the
Florida operation work, we believed
we could make a few additional dol-
lars if we had the capability of flying
after dark, on weekend evenings.
After much trial and error, Barb and
I, from lakeshore trees, were able to
finally saw up four small bamboo
rafts that wouldn't flop over after we
launched them. Kerosene truck
flares were secured to the rafts,
which were then anchored on a line
parallel to the wind. On the air-
plane we mounted a single landing
light on one of the float support
struts.
The first night we tried our new
system the Waco had just lifted off
and was clearing the tree'd lakeshore
and in our climb-out path ahead it
was pitch black. Suddenly there was
a loud clattering and we both
thought, "What a place for her to
quit! " yet the big Jacobs continued
running beautifully and we were un-
able to determine where the banging
noise was coming from. I switched
on our new landing light and in its
reflected glow we discovered a small
hinged cowling that gave access to
the rear accessory section of the en-
gine was flapping wildly in the
powerful prop stream.
From our position, to land imme-
diately was impossible and the
cowling would surely batter itself to
pieces by the time we got back
around the lake. I asked Barb to fly
and passed the swing-over control
wheel to him, then, with my side
cabin window full down I stretched
outside in the strong propeller
stream and forward just far enough
so the aft cowl fastener could be re-
latched with my fingertips. With
things now quieted down, we flew
around for several minutes to calm
our jangled nerves and prepare for
the first use of our night water land-
ing system.
With the bright lights of town,
and by utilizing the beam from our
single landing light, it was possible
to approach the lake's shoreline very
low; from which position our line of
flares ahead looked beautiful. But it
turned out we had positioned the
flares too close to shore and they
were also set much too close to-
gether, because by the time we had
descended from treetop height to a
few feet above the surface, they had
skimmed beneath us and were far
behind. Ahead on the lake it be-
came suddenly very dark, but
fortunately there was plenty of
smooth water still under us and a
slow controlled descent with a small
amount of power put us gently down
and with much room to spare.
Some repositioning of flares, then
a few more trials and we had our-
selves a good and workable system,
but we found few people really inter-
ested in night seaplane rides and in
a few weeks we gave it up.
One March night a whistling
norther practically blew the covers
from our beds and my first thought
was the seaplane as I hollered to
Barb. The two of us sped to the lake,
zipping pants and buttoning shirts.
In the beam of our headlights as we
swung the car toward the mooring
area, we could see the Waco hobby-
horsing badly as she crashed into
large white-capping waves. Despite
lift-destroying spOilers which were
tied every night along the upper sur-
faces of the lower wing panels, she
was half flying and had already
dragged her heavy moorings a con-
siderable distance toward shore. One
of her restraining bridle ropes had
parted and dangled free.
I kicked off my shoes, dove in and
waded to her in the waist deep
waves. Her wild plunging made it
very difficult to get aboard, but once
there I quickly threw off the engine
covers, climbed in and started her
up. Then, for the next two hours, to
keep her from lifting into flight and
to keep the mooring from dragging
ashore, she was literally flown at the
end of her one remaining bridle
rope. I was scared for her.
The waves, as the dim light of
dawn crept over the low gray sky,
were big and carried much weight,
and the wind streaked them and
blew spin-drift from their crests as
the float bows smashed heavily into
them and the prop rang from their
impacts. It was cold and I was alone.
Barb, sitting in the car, watched anx-
iously. The norther moaned around
her, and buffeted her, and shook
her, the shifting winds hitting her
first from one side, then the other,
as northers tend to do, and it tried to
get under her wings to lift her, so it
could dash her through the surf and
smash her into the swaying palm
trees behind. I fought the buffeting
wind and waves with the Waco's
flight controls and propeller thrust.
I couldn't take off with her and put
her in her own element, flying her
out of the pounding waves, because
I just couldn't leave the flight con-
trols long enough to slide out the
lower wing spars to remove the lift
destroying spoilers, nor could I, sin-
gle-handed, remove the one
still-intact mooring line.
In a couple of hours the strong
frontal passage winds diminished a
bit as the storm moved rapidly out
to sea. There was now sufficient
light, and Barb was able to wade out
and release her. We then taxied and
crabbed her slowly, pitching and
bucking, through the white-capping
waves, across the lake to a protected
corner. Peg, who had been worried
about us, hitched a ride to the lake-
front in the dawn with a milkman
making early deliveries. She met us
on the distant shore as we tied up af-
ter our long taxi. We watched her
there all that day and all the next
night as the norther gradually blew
itself out.
In the early spring, we flew the
Waco back north, retracing our route
along the seaboard, across Pennsyl-
vania and New York, to the St.
Lawrence River and the Thousand
Islands. There we worked her up
onto a ramp just below our camp's
front porch and then spent many re-
laxing days in fine spring weather
getting her ready for a summer of
hard work. It was pleasant being
back with friends and in familiar
surroundings. In June, we were pre-
sented with a bouncing baby boy,
Charles Scott. "..
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 9
November's foreign airplane
presented few difficulties for our
members. We'll start with a note
from Anna Pennington, Wilming-
ton, NC:
"Your November Mystery Plane is
a French Farman F.121 Jabiru. Note
part of the name on the nose. It was
powered by four 180 hp Hispano-
Suiza 8Ac engines, and carried 9 or
10 passengers. (My two sources varied
on this.) It won the 1923 French
Grand Prix des Avions Transports,
and 500,000 Francs.
"Four flew on the Farman air-
lines Paris-Brussels-Amsterdam
route during 1926, and Danish Air-
lines used a few between Amsterdam
and Copenhagen."
From Pete Bowers, Seattle, W A,
who supplied the photos you see
on these pages, we read:
"The November Mystery Plane is
F-AIAU, the forth often French Far-
man F-121 Jabirus built between
1923 and 1925. Also known as
Model F-3X, these nine-passenger,
four-engine transports were built by
Avions H. & M. Farman of Baillan-
court. Five were used on Farman's
own airline, three were sold, and
two more were built under license in
Denmark.
"The Jabiru was an unusual air-
plane of combined wood and metal
construction. The four 180 hp His-
pano-Suiza 8Ac engines were in
tandem pairs in nacelles supported
by a short stub-wing that also sup-
YSTER
P HE
by H.G. Frautschy
ported the landing gear and anchored
the wing struts. I wonder what the
rear propeller attrition rate was on the
Jabiru and other designs with pusher
props low and directly behind the
wheels which were rolling on dirt and
gravel runways?
"The aerodynamic layout was also
unusual. The wing had a very low as-
pect ratio, only 4.46, and the root
chord was almost half the length of
the (uselage. As with some other Eu-
FarmanR121/abiru
ropean transports, the passenger cabin
extended forward clear to the nose.
The pilots sat in an open cockpit
above the cabin.
"If the Jabiru has any historical
significance, it could be that it was
one of the first four-engined trans-
ports to be designed as such, rather
than being derived from a bomber."
Ralph Nortell, Spokane, WA
adds:
"A vions Farman was formed by
Ed Parker, Apalachin, NY, via John W. McDonald, tipped us off to this photo
published in 1937 by the Aeronautical Chamber of Commerce. (No, it's not the
Aircraft Yearbook.)
Send your answers to: EAA, Vintage Airplane, PO Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI
54903-3086. Your answers need to be in no later than March 25, 2000 for in-
clusion in the May issue of Vintage Airplane.
You can also send your response via e-mail. Send your answer to vin-
tage@eaa.org
Be sure to include both your name and address in the body of your note,
and put "(Month) Mystery Plane" in the subject line.
10 FEBRUARY 2000
This uncluttered view of F-AIAN, the second production Jabiru, shows the really
neat engine nacelle/stub wing arrangement, the passenger windows in the nose,
and the position of the pilots' cockpit.
brothers Henri and Maurice in 1912. Both were pioneer pilots and
airplane designers-Henri since 1907 and Maurice since 1909.
liThe firm soon became one of the largest manufacturers in France
l
and during the next 25 years
l
Farman built numerous military and
civil aircraft in quantity. In 1936
1
when the aircraft industry was na-
tionalized in France
l
the firm merged with Hanriot to form Societe
Nationale de Construc-
tions Aeronautics du
Centre (SNCAC). At
that timel Henri and
Maurice retired."
FARMAN F.121
Larry Knechtel,
Seattle, WA writes:
JABIRU {STORK}
II Key to the F.121's
SPECIFICATIONS
safety was the use of a
Wing Span 62 ft., 4 in.
high set wing of great
area. This 62 foot, 4
Length 44 ft., 10.5 in.
inch wing span was of
wooden construction
Wing Area 871.8 sq.ft
and
l
as the photo The fuselage bulkheads of the Jabiru divide the passenger
Empty Weight 6,6121bs
shows, strut braced. The cabin into three compartments. Two passengers sit in the
root chord was no less nose, one in the second compartment, which is directly under
Gross Weight 11,0231bs
th anI 9 feet
l
8 -1 /4 the cockpit, and six sit in the main cabin. Note the overhead
inches and the wing was baggage racks.
Cruise Speed 108.7 mph
2 feet, 6 inches thick. 'I
Range 403 miles
-continued on page 27
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 11
PASSIT TO BUCK
Basics
As most of you know, "my bag"
is old airplanes. They weren't old
when I was young, but we some-
how seem to have aged together.
My 1934 Aeronca C-3, which has
been in the family since 1962, is a
good example. The old airplanes
were very basic. The best of them,
like the Porterfield 35-70, with its
sporty wing and higher cross-
country speed, and the cabin
Waco were also basic, but the
Aeroncas, Cubs, T-crafts were very
basic. You learned the basics, and
you learned them well.
Instruments were there to tell
you the oil pressure, oil tempera-
ture (when it worked), and the
tachometer so you could set climb
and cruise RPM. The compass
sloshed around and was only there
to tell you were in the Northern
Hemisphere. Usually the airspeed
indicator didn't work too well, the
altimeter was graduated in 200-foot
increments, and there was really no
precision instrument flying as we
know it today. You were taught to
fly from one forced landing field to
the next, always keeping in mind
where the wind was from and
mindful that the engine could
lunch out at any time. Sometimes
it did! Reliability was never taken
for granted.
Cross-country? What a laugh!
The reason there were so many air-
ports around the area was because a
12 FEBRUARY 2000
by E.E. "Buck" Hilbert
EAA #21VAA #5
P.O.Box 424, Union, IL60180
ten-mile cross-country was an ac-
complishment. Most of the time
we spent in or near the pattern
next to your home airport. Climb-
ing up to fifteen hundred feet
above the ground sometime took
ten minutes or more! Then you'd
practice a few stalls, some turns,
and then a couple of power-off
stalls and you were back down to
pattern altitude so you shot a cou-
ple of landings and quit.
All this was seat of the pants .
You flew by sound and feel. The at-
titude indicator was the bottom of
the wing and the way it angled on
the horizon, and you flew from
point to point using the seat of
your pants for reference. East was
thataway, and North was that way.
If in doubt, you looked for a marker
painted on a roof, or read the name
of the town on the water tower.
The best way was to land and ask
someone if you were lost.
You looked for washing hanging
on the clothes lines, or smoke, or
ripples on the water to tell where
the wind was from, and by drawing
a line on the map and noting how
it cut the section lines you knew
what angle you were to use for a
heading. You were always aware of
your position because as I said be-
fore, it was from the last forced
landing field to the next one.
By marking off the route in ten,
fifteen or if you were really opti-
mistic, thirty mile segments on the
map you were able to calculate
your ground speed and figure how
long you could fly with the gas you
had left. Many times, the wind
would decimate your 60 mph cruis-
ing speed and the ground speed
would be maybe 40 or 45 mph.
The "fun" began after you got
there. The harrowing experience
gave way to a joy you couldn't wait
to share with others. There was al-
ways an air of happiness around
the airport, you and all those
around you ate, slept, dreamed and
talked aviation. We all had the Air-
plane Disease, and we reveled in it.
It was fun! Fun! Fun! Even the CAA
guys were a happy lot.
The written test for the Private
Pilot was fifteen or twenty ques-
tions. The flight-check maybe
thirty-five minutes. The poor per-
formance of some of the airplanes
often had the CAA man watch you
fly while he stood on the ground
and critiqued your stalls and spins
after you landed.
It was a much simpler day. It was
basic flying like there will never be
again. How I wish all of you could
experience that freedom, that joy,
the pure elation of flight. But you
gotta get old before you really ap-
preciate it.
Over to you,
t(
T
hereare lotsofreasons air-
planesare interestingand
thedecidingfactor is almost
always thepeoplebehindthem.
Take the nearlystockappearing
Cessna 180, N180XP, for instance.
Aside from thefact thatyou sel-
domsee 180'sdonein 1950'sera
paintschemesanymoreand the
fact thatthisoneis cleanerthan
most, itwouldstill beeasytocoast
rightpastit insearchofsome-
thing more exotic. Something
more /lantiquey."
Thenyousee Bud Fields. And, if
you see Bud Fields, you'llalsosee
Nikki Fields. Fourthgrade, blonde,
energypersonified and clearly
daddy'slittlegirl. It'sthecombi-
nation of Bud and Nikki that
makestheir180special.
Bud, who ownsa large indus-
trial plantcontractingbusinessin
Hayward, California, isn'tyourav-
erage business-man-with-a-180.
Besides thefact thathisbusiness,
whichis largelybasedonbuilding,
installing, repairingglass melting
The traveling airplane for Nikki and dad,
the 180 fills the need perfectly by offering a
good cruise speed (listed between 151 and
160 mph) along with great short field per-
formance, particularly with the Horton
STOl kit installation.
14 FEBRUARY 2000
furnaces for folks like PPG and
Corning, he hasa seriousaddic-
tionfor antiqueairplanes.
He startedflying in theUSMC
aeroclubatEl Torowhilehewas
stationedtherein1964as a simu-
latortechnician.Hesoloedintheir
C-150butquicklygraduatedupto
theT-34B. Thenit was collegeat
CalStatein Fullertonwhere he
graduatedwitha degree in eco-
nomics. He immediatelywentto
workfor a concretecontractor,
eventuallyestablishinghisown
companyinthefield. Oneoftheir
The Cessna 180 has one of t he
most distinctive " chins" in
general aviati on.
majorcustomerswasa
companythatsupported
glassmanufacturersand,
whenthatcompanyde-
cidedtheywantedoutof
thebusiness, Bud sim-
ply took them over.
Thatwas two decades
agoandit has beenup
hill everysince.
He hadgottenhispi-
lot'slicensewhile still
in the Marines but
found himselfdrawnto
tailwheel airplanes. In
thiscasean oldAeronca
Champ. But, therewas-
n'tanyonetocheckhim
out. Oneoftheguysonthebase
said, /I you'rea good pilot, Bud,
here's allyou needto know..."
and he proceededtogive him a
verbalcheckoutina tailwheelair-
plane. TodayBud doesn'tsuggest
anyone follow his lead in this
area as therewere a few /I in-
terestingrunwaytrips," beforehe
figured itout,butheneverdinged
theairplane.
TodayBud somehowfinds time
tomanagehisbusinesswhileman-
aginghisfleet ofeleven (that's
right, eleven) airplanes, mostof
Bud Field and his
daughter, Nikki.
them serious antiques.
Oldest to newest, there is
the 1928 Travel Air 4000,
two C-3 Aeroncas, the
4CM-1 Bull Stearman, an
STA, a stock Stearman, an
L-5 Stinson, a 150 horse
PA-12, a Dragon Rapide
(undergoing restoration), a
250 Comanche and the
Cessna 180.
While the entire list of
airplanes is notable, sev-
eral should be looked at
individually. His Ryan
STA, for instance is serial
number 110 (1936) and is
assumed to be the oldest
STA flying. His stock Stear-
man is even more
interesting. A Lycoming powered
model 75, its serial number is
75001, which makes it the very
first production Stearman built.
SIN 75000 was the prototype and
his airplane was the first in a batch
of 27 airplanes ordered by the
Army in 1936. It should also be
noted that any time this airplane
is discussed, Nikki instantly claims
ownership, something that Bud
doesn't dispute. Nikki as you will
see is very vocal about airplanes.
Oshkosh '99 was the second
year Bud and Nikki brought the
airplane east. The Cessna was fin-
ished only two years ago, and their
trip to last year's AirVenture
Oshkosh included a slight dog leg
up to Alaska on the way in and
another little side trip to New York
on their way home. That particu-
lar trip took three weeks and 100
Look closely at the leading edges of the wings, and you can see the distinctive cusp added during the installation of the
Horton STOL kit.
hours of flying and Bud says, " ... Nikki does all the
VOR navigating. I just drive."
The airplane has 250 hours on it since they rebuilt
it and he says Nikki has been aboard for almost every
hour. When asked how many hours she has, she
chirps"About 1,000." If you raise your eyebrows at
the number, look over at her father who will grin and
say, "She's probably about right. None of the air-
planes go anywhere without her. I showed up at an
airshow a while back with the Bull Stearman and the
first person who walked up said 'where's Nikki' at
which point her head popped up in the front pit. She
had been sleeping, which she often does."
The 180 is a 1956 model with a stock 0-470-K done
by Monte Barrett. When he bought the airplane it
was " ... a solid airplane, but a little faded all the way
around." Field polished it and re-painted the stripes
and freshened up the interior and panel. Knowing
this was going to be his go-everywhere-airplane, he
added a Horton STOL kit to the wings just in case
they decided to drop in some place that required the
A handy addition to the 180 are pop out handles to help move
the airplane while on the ground, instead of pushing and lifting
on the fixed tail surfaces.
16 FEBRUARY 2000
low and slow capabilities built-
into the Horton STC.
In questioning his relationship
with Nikki, he says, "I'm a single
dad." At which point Nikki chimes
in, "Yeah, but you didn't used to
be." The two of them talk quite
freely about being a team and
she's excited about everything
around her. There's also the possi-
bility she' s the only girl in her
fourth grade class who can make
comments like, "What dad really
needs is a Widgeon, or maybe a
Goose or Mallard." Then she
thinks for a second and adds, "Or
maybe a Duck."
Dad is president of Vintage
Chapter 29 in Hayward, which
should be proud this year because
the chapter is home to the Parris
brothers whose Lockheed 12A
brought home the 1999 EAA Air-
Venture Grand Champion trophy
for antiques. Recognizing the
huge number of hard core an-
tiques in the area, as well as his
own, Bud is in the process of
building a 38,000 square foot mu-
seum on the Hayward airport
which will be home to the chapter
as well as housing his and others
antiques. He says, " .. .it's going to
be a flying museum and once a
month, we'll have an antique fly
day in which we get as many of
them into the air as we can." It's
called the Vintage Aero Museum.
When the future is mentioned
Bud and Nikki's "go where they want to go today" machine is comfortably set up
to be nice-cross country machine. No virtual reality here - this is the real thing!
around the inseparable pair, two
subjects generally come up. The
first , is what kind of airplane
should be added to the collection
next and the conversation goes
something like this:
"Nikki would like us to have a
warbird but ... " Bud starts and Nikki
finishes.
"Yeah, we need an AD Skyraider.
One of the four-place versions so I
can take my friends."
"But, Nikki ," Bud answers, "We
have a warbird, the L-S is a warbird."
"Daaad," she returns, IIWe need
something bigger. Maybe something
like an L-l."
Asked what an L-1 is, she answers,
lIyou, know, the long, round-mo-
tored, big L-bird. You know."
It would be interesting to hear
her with her peer group at a sleep
over.
A friend says, IIDid you see
Bobby. Isn't he cute?"
She answers, III guess so," then
she brightens up, IIBut did you
know his dad owns a IIG" model
Staggerwing. Now that's cool!"
The second subject that comes
up when they talk about the fu-
ture is a goal Nikki has. She wants
to be the youngest person to fly
into Oshkosh. However, since her
birthday is in December she
knows there's probably no way
she can do that in power planes,
but she has a plan.
IIWhen I'm still fifteen, we'll
tow me in in a glider," then the
conversation expands and dad
suggests maybe he'll tow her with
the Bull Stearman. Then the
glider type is discussed and it be-
comes a WW-II TG model. When
last seen, the two of them were in
animated conversation about all
the neat things they were going
to do together.
Like we said, it's the people that
often make airplanes interesting . .....
TheCentralValleyofCalifornia
is agreatplacefor afly-in, andthe
1999editionoftheGolden West
EAA Regional Fly-Inwas blessed
withthegoodflyingweatheryou'd
expect. Inadditiontothosepictured
here, theotherawardwinnerswere:
ANTIQUEAIRCRAFT
Reserve GrandChampion
WacoUPF-7 N32135
GaryEntrekin, Ventura, CA
CLASSICAIRCRAFT
GrandChampion
PiperJ3C-65
PaulandJoyceBrown
Capitola,CA
CONTEMPORARYAIRCRAFT
GrandChampion
Cessna180,N180LG
JimGoodman,SanJose, CA
Champion
Cessna 195B, N2134C
GeorgeDray, Novato, CA
Champion
Cessna 180,N9675B
JamesGolyer, Arroyo Hondo, NMz
H.G. Frautsch
Amelia Reid's beautiful airshow routine shows each of us just how a Cessna 150
Aerobat can really be put through its paces by a pilot whose flying skills are the
very definition of finesse. Amelia runs her own FBO at the Reid-Hillview airport in
San Jose, CA, and has trained over 4,000 pilots.
Sidney Scarlett's justifiably proud of his 1950 Beech Bonanza. He's from Phoenix, AZ.
"Bad Habit" is the name given by Scott O'Brien to his Luscombe 8A. This airplane
has a pretty low serial number, being the 17th Luscombe built in 1945.
18 FEBRUARY 2000
VolunteerIreneArnold, Placerville, CA helpsMarkBackesregisterhisStinson
108-3. Markis fromRidgecrest, CA.
The Reserve GrandChampionContemporaryofthe
1999GoldenWestEAA Regional Fly-In is thisBellanca
14-19-3ownedbyPatrickFrewaldandJulieJoquette.
ScottCrosbyofAntelope, CAfliesthis
SteveandSharonJebbkeeptheirextra-shinyLuscombe
verysharp 1949 PiperPA-16Clipper.
8AattheFresno-Chandlerfield in Fresno, CA. It even
includesawell-maintainedwind-drivengenerator
betweenthegearlegs.
FromthetowercabatCastle AirportcontrollersEric Micklesen,
MarkLambie, PhillipMartinand Don Idekeptthetrafficflowing
smoothlyduringthethreedaysofthefly-in.
VINTAGEAIRPLANE 19
Kent White of TM Technologies demonstrates gas welding of alu-
minum while onlookers don masks so they can see the results as
Kent runs a bead. Hands-on demonstrations are always very pop-
ular at fly-in s.
Marketing & Public
Relations Director of the
Hiller Museum and all
around old airplane
good guy Willie Turner
served as the Golden
West's airshow boss. His
partner with the radio is
Jimmy Lichtenstein who
was the airshow's
ground boss.
Jeff Montgomery cleans up while checking in at home on the
phone. His 1929 Consolidated Fleet biplane was picked as the
Champion Antique aircraft.
Boy, these guys get around! David Liebecott, who restored the
Piper PA-12 Super Cruiser "City of the Angels" and Harry Mutter,
the owner of this historic airplane and historian of the Piper
Aviation Museum in Lock Haven, PA pause before taking off. Harry
and David flew the PA-12 on a recreation of a portion ofthe
around the world flight in 1947, visiting all the u.s. cities flown into
by George Truman and Cliff Evans in their PA-12s. You can check
out the Piper Aviation Museum's web site at
http://www.kcnet.org/-piper for more information. David's restora-
tion of the globe circling Super Cruiser was honored with a Reserve
Grand Champion Classic trophy.
Bud Field, Hayward, CA took home
the Antique Grand Champion
plaque for his Stearman 4 CM-1.
20 FEBRUARY 2000
An
Extraordinary
Elder Eagle
"What you should do is
to get yourselfa good
highway atlas. Then
plan your trip along
the major routes.
Roads lead to towns
and towns have
airports. Stop every
hour or two for fuel
and a cup ofcoffee. If
the weather ahead
looks questionable
stop and get
acquainted with some
ofthe local people. "
byRon Gamer
s words from his personal
experiences were spoken to
~ me by 87-year-old aviation en-
thusiast Robert Rietzke, as we relaxed
in his hangar located at his private
airstrip in central Minnesota. The
advice seemed simple enough, espe-
cially coming from a man who's
"been there and done that" in al-
most all aspects of aviation. It's
advice he and his wife, Marie, fol-
lowed for years of travel in
single-engine aircraft while visiting
many of the lower 48 states. With
the exception of a sudden engine
shutdown on a cold winter after-
noon somewhere over Nebraska, it's
been a flawless plan of travel for the
Rietzkes. The unexpected loss of en-
gine power wasn' t a big deal to this
veteran airman. He simply landed
on a plowed field, found the prob-
lem, and returned them on their
way towards the next town down
the highway. No big deal for a man
who has flown in dozens of different
aircraft, starting with open air bi-
planes of the 1920s and progressing
to the edge the earth's atmosphere
in U-2 spy planes. He even flew in
the second seat of the once top-se-
cret SR-71 Blackbird.
It's a story I almost missed. For
many years I had rushed past the
small white sign announcing"Air-
port" while hurrying on my way to
the family cabin located on one of
Minnesota's ten thousand lakes. But
since I had taken up the pursuit of
flying a few years back, my curiosity
about this little airstrip finally got
the best of me. I decided I'd just
have to check out this small rural
airfield. So one day, instead of rush-
ing past, I slowed down and turned
onto the gravel drive leading to the
neatly mowed grass runway. Enter-
ing one of two metal hangars, I was
cheerfully greeted by a friendly ma-
ture gentleman. I'm still finding it
hard to believe that this outgoing
energetic man is closing in on nine
decades of life. Don, as his friends
know him, was happy to share with
this fledging airman a bit of his per-
sonal history. After learning about
his seven decades of unique flying
experiences I'm doubtful there are
many men or women around today
who could come close to having
such a colorful history in aviation-
related activities as this experienced
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 21
toured the Pacific
in this manner
with Don aboard
until his discharge
from regular duty
in 1936.
Returning to
civilian life, Don
used his electron-
ics background to
help work on the
construction of
the massive aque-
duct project which
Don and a model airplane "award" presented to him during brought water over
his Lockheed Skunkworks days.
elder eagle.
Robert Don Rietzke was born in
Beaumont , Ca lifornia, in 1912,
about the time mankind was first
conquering the mastery of flight.
When he was just fifteen an older
cousin took him for spin in the then
modern "j enny". Like a fish on a
line, Don was hooked. Eagerly
awaiting high school graduation,
Don already had a flight plan in
mind. He would enlist in the Navy
so he could take flight training and
become a Naval Aviator. Unfortu-
nately for Don, soon after he signed
on the Navy changed their policy of
letting enlisted men become avia-
tors. His immediate flight plan was
put on hold. He was left with his
second choice of training, radio
communications. Some time after
he completed his basic communica-
tions training Don was assigned to
the battleship Nevada.
Now it just so happened that the
ship carried three float planes on
board for search and rescue mis-
sions. These planes were launched
from the deck of the battleship with
help of a track and catapult system.
Upon their return, a shipboard crane
would pluck them from the water
and return them to the deck. Don
was able to make many flights in
these planes, not as the pilot, but as
the radio communications special-
ist. Once airborne he would unreel
a length of wire and carry out the
business of sending coded messages
back to the battleship. The Nevada
22 FEBRUARY 2000
the mountains to
the thirsty Los An-
geles basin. Whenever possible Don
would hitch a ride on whatever small
plane was available to keep in touch
with his passion for flying. While
working with the water district Don
also started up a small radio shop.
This led him to a position as radio
technician with the L.A. police force.
Leaving L.A. for a year to further
his electronics training at the Capi-
tol Engineering College in
Washington, D.C., Don returned to
the Los Angeles police force as their
radio communications engineer. It
was during this period he began do-
ing work on the side for Douglas
Aircraft Corporation. In 1940,
shortly after being promoted to ra-
dio communications superintendent
for the L.A. police force, and despite
protests from the police chief to the
contrary, Uncle Sam called him back
to active duty. Don was then as-
signed to the Adva nced Training
Carrier Group, which was then flying
scout bombers. Don flew in the back
seat as the radio specialist as the pi-
lots practiced their bombing accuracy
around the California coast.
His life then took unexpected
twist. After the attack of the Navy
base at Pearl Harbor, he was assigned
to Treasure Island, California where
he was to assist starting up a Navy
radio school. When that task was
complete he was next assigned to
Johnson Island, some 600 miles
south of Hawaii. But his trip to John-
son was delayed at Pearl, while the
Navy had him updating I.F.F. equip-
ment, better known to those who
used it as "identify, friend or foe." Fi-
nally arriving at his original
destination, he immediately set
about working on I.F.F. installations
on johnson, Midway, and Palmyra
Islands. For Don, the up side of this
assignment was being able to serve
as a crewmember for many hours
during search and rescue flights
looking for lost aviators.
1944 found Don back in the
Hawaiian Islands working on the
huge 500,000-watt transmitter
which had enough power to send
messages to almost any location on
the globe. It was here he met his
soon-to-be bride. Marie was a Red
Cross nurse assigned to duty at Pearl.
After a short aSSignment on the
flagship U.S.S. Rocky Mountain dur-
ing the invasion of the Marshall
Islands, Don returned to take Marie
as his wife. Their first flight together
was provided by the Navy on a DC-
3. The Navy flew the newlyweds to
the big island for a honeymoon at
the famous Volcano Island Inn.
Coming back to California in
1945, the couple went quickly to
work finding 400 acres of open land
to build their first private airport .
The state of California and the city
of Beaumont had different plans for
the property and the Rietzke
Airstrip and his radio repair facility
soon had to be closed for the cre-
ation of a new highway. It was at
this point in time that Don actually
took the time to make his flying le-
gal. He logged some time with an
instructor in an old L-2 taildragger
and shortly thereafter received his
official license to fly.
After 18 hours official flight time
Don bought himself an old Stear-
man. He used this aircraft t o
commute to many of his job sites.
With the closure of his private strip,
he took a position with the Civil
Aeronautics Administration in-
stalling VORs at all the major
airports in California. He found it a
great way of combining his flying
and radio talents. Before long Don
exchanged the Stearman for a Lus-
combe, and later, a beloved little
Ercoupe. In no time at all he and
Marie had put over 400 flight hours
on this small two-seater.
In 1950 the Navy once again
called Don back to active duty. He
was to help supervise the installa-
tion of radio equipment at Pearl
Harbor. Discharged again in 1952
he went to work for the Hughes Air-
craft Company. Once more he could
commute to work in his little Er-
coupe. He then left Hughes to work
on the F89 project over at Northrop
Aviation. At Northrop he was re-
sponsible for the electrical and radio
equipment on newly designed air-
craft. From Northrop Don went to
work for Lockheed at now famous
Skunkworks(R).
He was involved with much of the
instrumentation used on the exotic
craft being designed in complete se-
crecy, including the renown SR-71
Blackbird. When asked about his
testing out electronics at nearly ten
miles above sea level he gave a wry
smile and said, "Pretty much like
any other flight, except a lot higher.
But the real difference is seeing the
curve of the earth."
Not only did he ride second seat
in the Blackbird, but also made high
altitude flights in the famous U-2
spy plane. He notes that it came
with the responsibility of being an
electronic research engineer for these
top-secret aircraft. Even though Don
was heavily involved with his design
and application work on the top-se-
cret aircraft, he kept many weekends
open to pursue his own love of flying.
He and his wife spent many hours
flying up and down the coast of Cal-
ifornia in the pursuit of new
adventures. At one time one of his
favorite pastimes was for a friend
and himself to fly low over much of
the open arid government land of
the southwest.
Don had designed a scintillator, a
gieger counter like device that would
indicate the presence of uranium. Af-
ter locating likely deposits, they
would later bounce and jar to the
site in an old jeep. If uranium was
present they would file their claim in
hopes of making a profit. Don notes
that there were some anxious mo-
ments, as they weren't the only
ones prospecting and many of the
others were very well armed in at-
tempt to keep newcomers from
invading territory where they had
hoped to strike it rich.
Once again the Rietzkes wanted
their own airstrip from which to
launch flying adventures. They pur-
chased and created the Rietzke Flying
Ranch located about 15 miles from
Palmdale, California. Here, Don,
Marie, and their daughter Linda were
free to come and go in a variety of
small aircraft for which he kept trad-
ing. Don had a chance to take his
first flight in a Navion. He was smit-
ten! He knew that some day he would
own and fly one of
these great perform-
ing aircraft. In 1968
Don and Marie, us-
ing the road atlas
technique, headed
towards Minnesota
in their very own
Navion to visit
Marie's hometown
of Aitkin, Min-
nesota. Having
finished his career
at the Skunkworks,
their mission was
to locate lakeshore
cons at great distances in the night
sky, Don set to work finding a way
to make them brighter. His inven-
tion was the Hali-Brite. His
company developed a product that
could enhance the visibility and
brightness of established beacon in-
stallations. Before long his small
company was busy applying their
modifications to airports all over
Minnesota. Don relates that the
modified beacons are now found at
almost all U.S. airports.
Early in 1986, Don received a call
from a former colleague at the
Skunkworks. Would he like to help
set up the radio communications for
the around-the-world, nonstop unre-
fueled Voyager project? Never one to
in her home state Part ofthe Voyager Communications crew, Don (center) is flanked
on which they by Dave Beardon (left) and Bruce Evans.
would build a re-
tirement home.
Finding property that suited their
needs, they drove a bouncy 4x4
jeep back to California to pack up
and put the Reitzke Flying Ranch
on the real estate market.
Wanting to use his retirement
time and his talents productively,
Don started up a small company
called Nav-Com Contractors, which
he located at the Aitkin Airport. He
went about the business of repairing
and installing aircraft avionics in
civilian planes. Never one to hold
just single job at a time, he also went
to work for the Minnesota Dept. of
Aeronautics maintaining nav aids
and VORs. Hearing comments about
the difficulty of seeing airport bea-
miss out at a new adventure, Don ea-
gerly agreed to lend a helping hand.
Working with former Skunkworks
engineer Larry Caskey, Don formu-
lated a plan for continuous
communication with the Voyager
no matter what its location during
the record-breaking attempt at non-
stop circumnavigation. The summer
of '86 found Mr. Rietzke living with
Dick Rutan near the Mojave Air-
port. It was here that all flight
operations were to be planned,
tested, and managed.
Don was assigned communica-
tions director for this historic
undertaking. His first priority was to
establish a working link with numer-
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 23
Navions back to the skies.
Don uses his tremen-
dous patience and aircraft
knowledge to rebuild or re-
new each component of
the aircraft. Besides N91491
that Don completely re-
built, a visit to the hangar
workshop will reveal an-
other beautiful Navion
about to brought back to
life. A set of highly buffed
aluminum wings are cra-
dled in the corner awaiting
their turn to be reat-
Marie and Don Riezke with their beloved Navion. tached. That'll be done
ous agencies and companies in the
communication community. Using
every resource at his disposal, Don
helped insure that flight director
Caskey was in continual contact with
the Voyager in order to pass on vital
flight information about weather,
route changes, etc. As the flying world
knows, it worked! Dick and Jeana as-
tounded the aviation world with
their nonstop global flight.
Back at his home airstrip, Don
continued to have a love affair with
Navions. On one of his trips about
Minnesota he had the opportunity
to meet a fellow pilot nicknamed
"Navion Mike."
It seems that Navion Mike also
had an intense passion for this par-
ticular line of aircraft. Not only did
this gentleman have a beautifully
restored Navion, he had another
disassembled but could be brought
back to life with someone's caring
touch. In his hangar at the Anoka
County Airport he also had wide
variety of Navion parts. When
Navion Mike passed away, Don bar-
gained for the whole works. He had
just recently made the purchase of
the Miller Airport located some IS
miles from Aitkin and had plenty of
hangar space to store both the
planes and their parts. So, in, the
mid-nineteen eighties, when Don
was in his own mid seventies, he
took on the challenge of moving
his business and restoring the
24 FEBRUARY 2000
shortly after the installation
of his newly hand-crafted
instrument panel, the fifth such panel
he has made in recent years. He had
hoped this aluminum beauty would
be up and flying the summer of '99
but he says he has so many other
things to do that Oshkosh AirVen-
ture 2000 might be more realistic.
Working from the original manufac-
turing manual he wants the aircraft
to be very close to the way it left the
factory. One exception he is making
is the windshield. On this project he
has opted to replace the split wind-
screen with a one-piece installation.
Don notes that configuring the
shape and size of the heavy duty
Plexiglas(r) was one of the more chal-
lenging problems he had to solve, as
it's not an item you'd find at the lo-
cal hardware. He solved the problem
and the installation is complete.
With the installation of the in-
strument panel and associated
tubing connections, Don will send
the engine out for a complete
workup. Don states that he is fortu-
nate to have made so many aviation
contacts in the Midwest. Finding an
A&P or an FAA check person has not
been a problem for him. He also
greatly appreciates the many friends
and fellow pilots who stop by and
contribute time and effort helping
him with the restoration. My guess
is they are quite enthusiastic just to
visit his littl e airport and do some
hangar flying with a living historian
of aviation history. When asked if
he'll ever show his finished aircraft
at Oshkosh he modestly replies, "My
work isn't anything special, not like
all those fancy homebuilts on dis-
play." Chances are he'll once again
quietly attend the event as a general
help volunteer and never let those
he chats with know that he's a walk-
ing encyclopedia of airplane history
and experience.
On a recent visit to his little airport
I found the energetic octogenarian
finishing up his regular mowing of
the grass strip. When questioned why
he had such a broad grin on his
face, his reply was quick in return-
ing: "Passed my bi-annual flight
review yesterday in Navion.49l. Re-
ally gave the plane a good
workout." One should have figured
he'd use the high-performance air-
craft for such an event. The little
Cessna ISO he and Marie have used
so many times to criss-cross the
country just wouldn't have been
challenging enough for this opti-
mistic airman, even at eighty-seven
years young.
If you ever find yourself in central
Minnesota, near the famous walleye
factory known as Mille Lacs Lake, go
to the northwestern corner to a small
town called Garrison. A mile north
of town on highway number 18
you'll see a small white sign indicat-
ing an airport. Don't rush by like I
used to. Turn in and spend some
time with a twinkly-eyed fellow pi-
lot who'll advise you how to see the
country following America's road-
ways. He says, "It works for me and
it'll work for you, just be patient and
enjoy the scenery." This from a fel-
low airman who's seen lots of
countryside from many different al-
titudes. But the ones the Rietzkes
like best are the many long cross
countries they've made in small air-
craft using his own sage advice, " ..
. follow the highways, and take
time to enjoy the flight." It's advice
all of us would love to be able to
use if and when we're nearing nine
decades of life. In my eyes, Don
Riezke is certainly one extraordi-
nary elder eagle. ......
NEWMEMBERS
Victor E. Mail ........ .. Smithfield
.. . . . ... . . . . . Heights Q, Australia
Ray Toews ................... . .
...... Fort Vernlillion, AB, Canada
Todd D. Cunningham . ...... . ... . .
...... . . .. Winnipeg, MB, Canada
Alan Fi lby ....... La Fleche, France
Marvin Miller .......... Kenai, AK
James E. Phillips . .. . .. Opelika, AL
Windle Henry ... .. .... Sercay, AR
Jim Hillabrand . .... . Springdale, AR
Paul Seveerson . .. .... . Phoenix, AZ
James Beck .. ... ... Bakersfield, CA
Edwin M. Bower . ...... Norco, CA
Steve Brown ... . . . . .. Mentone, CA
John T. Culp ....... . Palmdale, CA
Steven Emley .. ... . . Oak Hills, CA
E. Gene Frink . . . Newport Beach, CA
Travis G. Gammill . . . Riverside, CA
Stephen C. Hull ... . ... .. .. ..... .
... ... ..... .. Red Wood City, CA
John Keams . ... .. ... . Pioneer, CA
William C. Knauer ... Riverside, CA
Melvin D. McWilliams .. .... ... . .
... . ...... . ... ... .. Banning, CA
Harold Nemer .... . ... Ramona, CA
Taylor Smith .. . San Bernardino, CA
William S. Timmer ............. .
...... ... ... . . San Francisco, CA
James F. Ure .... . ... Fallbrook, CA
Howard G. Wilson .. . ..... . .. ... .
.. . ..... . ... . . . Los Angeles, CA
James Bonner .. ... . ... . Miami, FL
Daryl L. Bortel ... St. Petersburg, FL
Wayne J. Boyer ..... Clearwater, FL
Jim Heekin ........ . .. Orlando, FL
Fred W. Hill ........ Ft. Meyers, FL
Paul E. Petro .. Defuniak Springs, FL
Kenneth A. Weld, Jr. ... Sorrento, FL
Wendell Davenport .... Honolulu, HI
Claire Wilson ........ Honolulu, HI
Michael S. Jones . .... . .. Roscoe, IL
Frank W. Mellberg . . . Park Ridge, IL
Glenn R. Stout ... . .. Gages Lake, IL
Edward A. Connell . . Annapolis, MD
AOPA .. .. .... ... . . Frederick, MD
Susan 1. Gagne . . ..... .. Wells, ME
Steve Howe ...... Bryant Pond, ME
Matthew Cognata ... . ... .. . . . .. . .
....... . ....... Pleasant Ridge, MI
Charl es E. Garrett. .. . . ...... .. .. .
.... ....... .. ... Grand Rapids, MI
Jenny Hanson . . ... Eden Prairie, MN
William R. Collette ... Foristell, MO
Richard Christensen .... Lincoln, NE
Denise A. Lauer ... ... Helmetta, NJ
John D. Northrup . . . Ellicottvi ll e, NY
A. Wayne Overton ....... Islip, NY
Graham Bale ...... .. . Lebanon, OH
Jack Lenhardt .. . ..... Hubbard, OR
Edward Gibbons ............. ... .
.............. . Schwenksville, P A
Keith S. Sargent ..... Hermitage, TN
Rodney L. Doss ........ Dallas, TX
Mark Lee ... ... .. ... Floydada, TX
Joe Rogers ....... .. .. Pearland, TX
Bruce R. Hinds ... Port Orchard, W A
Dennis Ames . ..... .. .. Datien, WI
Harold R. Duehring . . . . . .. .... .. .
.. . ....... ... .. . Fond Du Lac, WI
Carlton D. Bailey .. Barbersville, WV
Davi d Hersman . . .. Clintonville, WV
Fly-In Calendar
The following list ofcoming events is furnish ed
to our readers as a mailer ofinformation only
and does not constitute approval, sponsorship,
involvement, control or direction ofany event
(jlyin, seminars, fly market, etc.) listed. Please
send the information to EAA. All: Golda Cox.
P.D. Box 3086, Oshkosh. WI 549033086. Infor-
mation should be received four months prior to
the event date.
FEBRUARY 26-27 - RIVERSIDE, CA . Flabob Air
port. EAA Chapter I Open House and Flyln.
Sawrday night fundraiser dinner. fly market. silent
auction, YOllng Eagles, workshops. etc., Info:
909/6826236, 909/6861318 or 626.2872139.
MARCH 2-4 - BILLINGS, MT Holiday Inn Grand
Montana. Montana Aviation Conference. Work-
shops. seminars. nationally recognized speakers.
trade show. Info: MT Aeronautics Div. , PO Box
5178, Helena. MT 59604-5178.406/444-2506.
MARCH 3-5 - CASA GRANDE, AZ - Casa Grande
Airport. 42nd Annual Cactus Fly-In. Info:
www.americanpilot.org/cactus or call Jon Engle
at 480/891-6012from 0800 to 1700. Man. through
Thurs.
MARCH 4 - WISCASSET, ME - Wiscasset Airport
(KIWI) "Fly Here - Get Gas" Chili Cook-of! and
Preventive Maintenance Safety Seminar. Open to
all. Info: Wicked Good Aviation 207-882-5475 or
frogmore@Clinic.net.
MAY 6-7 - CLEVELAND, OH - 16th Annual Air
Racing History Symposium. sponsored by the So-
ciety ofAir Racing Hi storians. Holiday Inn-
Airport. 216/267-1700. Info: Herman Schaub.
440/234-2301.
MA Y19-21 - COLUMBIA, CA - 2000 Gathering Of
Luscombes. Aircraft judging, spot landing and
flour bombing. 8th annual Great Luscombe Clock
Race. Info: Doug Clough, 360/893-5303; Art Mox-
ley, 253-630-1086; Gordy Birse, 253/631-8478 or
E-Mail atLuscombeA@aol.com
MAY 20-21 NILES, Ml - (3 TR) VAA Chapter 35
hosts Kalamazoo Air Zoo Ford Tri-motor and
traveling warbirds show. Tri-Motor and helicopter
rides. Lunch on Sat. 11-3. Sun. Breakfast 7-1 1.
then lun ch 11-3. Fly-In pilots eatfree. Info: Len
Jansen. 616/684-6566.
JUNE 2-3 - BARTLESVILLE, OK - Frank Phillips
Field. 14th Annual National Biplane Convention
and Expo. Forums, static displays, Seminars,
Workshops and exhibits. Biplane crews and NBA
membersfree, all others pay admission fee. Info:
Charles W. Harris. Chairman, 918/6228400 or
Virgil Gaede, Expo Director, 918/336-3976.
VINTAGE AIRPLANE 25
VINTAGE
AIRCRAFT
Services Directo!y_
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OFFICERS
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AVIATION.Familymembershipisavailableforan addi-
tional$10annually. JuniorMembership(under19
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yearsofage)isavailable at$23annually.All major
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creditcardsacceptedformembership.(Add$16 for
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foran additional$35 peryear.
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year membership in the Warbirds Division
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isavailablefor$45 peryear(SPORTAVIATION
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zineforanadditional$27peryear.
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and oneyearmembershipin the EM VintageAir-
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craftAssociation isavailablefor$37 peryear
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peryear.
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DIRECTORS
EMERITUS
GeneChose E.E. "Buck"Hilbert
2159CantonRd. P.O.Box424
Oshkosh. WI 54904
Union.IL60 180
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Copyright 2000bythe EMVintageAircraftAssociation
All rightsreserved.
VINTAGE AIRPLANE (ISSN 0091-6943)IPM 1482602 ispublished and owned exclusively by the EMVintage Aircraft Association of the Experimental Aircraft Association and is published monthly at EMAviation Center,3000
PoberemyRd. PO. Box3086.Oshkosh.WISConsin54903-3086. PeriodicalsPoslagepaidat Oshkosh.Wisconsin54901 and at additional mailingoffices. POSTMASTER: Send addresschanges toEMAntique/Classic Division.Inc.
PO. Box 3086, Oshkosh,WI 54903-3086. FOREIGN AND APO ADDRESSES - Pleasealiow at least twomonthslordeliveryofVINTAGE AIRPLANE to foreign and APO addressesvia suriacemail. ADVERTISING- Vintage Aircraft
Associationdoesnotguaranteeorendorseanyproduct offeredthrough theadvertising. We inviteconstructivecriticismandwelcomeanyreportofinferiormerchandiseobtainedthroughouradvertising so thatcorrectivemeasurescan
be taken.EDITORIALPOLICY: Readersareencouraged to submrt storiesand photographs. Policyopinionsexpressed in articlesare those oftheauthors. Responsibilityforaccuracyin reportingrests withthecootributor. No
renumeration ismade.Materialshould be sentto:Editor.VINTAGE AIRPLANE,PO. Box3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086. Phone920/426-4800.
The words EM. ULTRALIGHT,FLY WITH THE FIRSTTEAM, SPORT AVIATION, FOR THE LOVE OF FLYING and thelogosof EM. EAA INTERNATIONALCONVENTION, EAAVINTAGE AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION.INTERNA-
TIONAL AEROBATIC CLUB,WARBIRDS OF AMERICA are registered trademarks.THE EAA SKY SHOPPE and logos 01 the EAA AVIATION FOUNDATION.EAA ULTRALIGHT CONVENTION and EAA AirVenture are trade-
marksofthe aboveassociatioosand theirusebyanypersonotherthan theaboveassociationisstrictlyprohibited.
26 FEBRUARY 2000
Mystery Plane - continued
ReferenceSources:
VINTAGE TRADER
European Transport Aircraft Since
1910 - John Stroud, published by
Putnam.
Jane's All The Worlds Aircraft, 1927
The Illustrated Encyclopedia ofPro-
peller Airliners,Editor-in chief: Bill
Gunston (Exeter Books).
Othercorrectanswerswere re-
ceived from: Leonard E. Opdycke,
Poughkeepsie, NY; Ed Simpson,
Camp Lake, WI; R. E. Louderback,
Cincinnati, OH; Richard Carter,
Oshkosh, WI; DonCapasso, Had-
donfield, NJ; SamuelVick Smith,
Arlington, VA; MaxNorris, Sacra-
mento, CA; Bob Nelson, Bismarck,
ND; Albert Aplin, Chuluota, FL;
WayneVan Valkenburgh,Jasper,
GA;JohnErickson,Jr, StateCollege,
PA; TonyMorris, Bicester; England;
Vic Smith, Uxbridge, Engl and;
CharlesHolmes, BatonRouge, LA;
CodyMcCormick, Scottsdale, AZ;
Earl Swaney, Fresno, CA; Brian R.
Baker andTheodoreH. N. Wales,
WestwoodMA. ~
Something to buy, sell or trade?
An inexpensive ad in the Vintage Trader may be just the answer to obtaining that elu-
sive part. . 50 per word, $8.00 minimum charge. Send your ad and payment to:
Vintage Trader, EAA Aviation Center, P.O. Box 3086, Oshkosh, WI 54903-3086, or
fax your ad and your credit card number to 920/426-4828. Ads must be received by
the 20th ofthe month for insertion in the issue the second month following (e.g., Octo-
ber 20th for the December issue.)
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V00259 Logoshirt
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WHITE W/BLUE BAND WATCH
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TWO-TONE MUG V00215 $28.95
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