SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER

VAA

AWARD WINNERS

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FORD F-SERIES. & MOTOR TREND TRUCK OF THE YEAR. ®

The Privilege of Partnership EAA members are eligible for special pricing on Ford Motor Company vehicles through Ford’s Partner Recognition Program. To learn more about this exclusive opportunity for EAA members to save on a new Ford or Lincoln vehicle, please visit conwaytransport.com.au

Message from the President

September/October

SUSAN DUSENBURY, VAA PRESIDENT

Vintage Volunteers — A Job Well Done! WOW! AND I MEAN WOW! EAA AirVenture Oshkosh was great — an

actual record-breaking year for the entire event, including the Vintage area. I remember those times that I flew into Oshkosh for the show long before I started volunteering, and I think about the excitement I felt as my plane got closer and closer to Oshkosh. I remember the anticipation of the glorious week ahead filled with friends both new and old, and, of course, the most beautiful and fascinating airplanes in the world. At first, I didn’t think about the logistics behind such a magnificent operation as AirVenture, but as time went on I began to think about that and the behind-the-scenes planning and operation of this remarkably well-run event. Today, I received some of the final Vintage area statistics for AirVenture , and I thought that you as members would find them as interesting as I do. I’ll focus on the behind-the-scenes operations with regard to parking of aircraft on the Vintage flightline. So here goes! More than Vintage volunteers provided a total of 32, hours of volunteer service in with an average of hours each. The majority of these volunteers are on the flightline. A number of these flightline volunteers arrive the week before the show to get things organized, handle the early arrivals, and attend the required flightline training class. To provide the best service that we can for our members and guests, Vintage uses both Gators and scooters on the flightline. These vehicles are a must for our operation as the Vintage flightline is miles long. Unlike other areas on the convention grounds, the Vintage showplane area has five point-of-entry taxiways from the main taxiway paralleling Runway 36/18 (Taxiway Papa). Three of the five points of entry allow access to aircraft parking west of Wittman Road — one of AirVenture’s most active pedestrian walkways — which runs in front of the Red Barn in a north/south direction. Each of these taxiways requires crossing guards, additional bikers, and wing walkers (the flightline parking variety). In addition, temporary taxiways must be positively controlled for Vintage in Review, the Red Barn, and aircraft repair, all of which are west of Wittman Road and have extra personnel requirements. The aircraft repair facility, by the way, is for all aircraft from the entire convention grounds. At one time this year, there were 1, Vintage aircraft on our flightline. This does not include the Valdez planes or the amphibs that chose to park at Wittman Regional Airport rather than the EAA Seaplane Base. The range in size and power of vintage showplanes (from DC-3s/Cs to the typical two-seaters such as Cubs and Champs) requires creativity and extensive planning for which we have a special aircraft parking chairman. For example, this year we had seven DC-3s/Cs in the parking mix. Owners of very rare and fragile early antiques often require a hangar at night and hangar space to place them in (usually not in the convention area) so that maintenance personnel can reconstruct them after transport to Oshkosh by truck. Such was the case with the seven World War I aircraft that CONTINUED ON PAGE 64 were on display at Vintage this year.

STAFF Publisher: Jack J. Pelton, EAA CEO and Chairman of the Board Editor: Jim Busha / jbusha@conwaytransport.com.au Vintage Aircraft Association Executive Administrator: Jan Johnson / jjohnson@conwaytransport.com.au / Senior Copy Editor: Colleen Walsh Assistant Copy Editor: Katie Holliday-Greenley Proofreader: Jennifer Knaack Graphic Designer: Cordell Walker

ADVERTISING: Vice President of Marketing and Business Development: Dave Chaimson / dchaimson@conwaytransport.com.au Advertising Manager: Sue Anderson / sanderson@conwaytransport.com.au Mailing Address: VAA, PO Box , Oshkosh, WI Website: conwaytransport.com.au E-Mail: vintageaircraft@conwaytransport.com.au

Visit conwaytransport.com.au for the latest in information and news and for the electronic newsletter: VINTAGE AIRMAIL

Current EAA members may join the Vintage Aircraft Association and receive VINTAGE AIRPLANE magazine for an additional $45/year. EAA Membership, VINTAGE AIRPLANE magazine and one-year membership in the EAA Vintage Aircraft Association are available for $55 per year (SPORT AVIATION magazine not included). (Add $7 for International Postage.) Foreign Memberships Please submit your remittance with a check or draft drawn on a United States bank payable in United States dollars. Add required Foreign Postage amount for each membership. Membership Service PO Box , Oshkosh, WI Monday–Friday, AM— PM CST Join/Renew membership@conwaytransport.com.au EAA AirVenture Oshkosh conwaytransport.com.au

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Contents F E AT U R E S

14

An Ephemeral Fleeting Flitfire The Silver Lindy winner By Sparky Barnes Sargent

24

Straight Tails Forever! A classic C lives on By Budd Davisson

30

Waco IBA: A Sole Survivor Finds a Good Home The Harter family’s new addition By Budd Davisson

38

From Rescued Relic to Regal Rearwin One rare Sportster By Sparky Barnes Sargent

48

The Family Amphib Steve Hamilton’s Grumman Widgeon By Budd Davisson

2 

July/August

September/October / Vol. 46, No. 5

C OL U M N S Message From the President

01

By Susan Dusenbury

06

VAA News

10

How To? Install Stressed Plywood Skin

By Robert G. Lock

12

Good Old Days

58

The Vintage Mechanic Invention of the Magneto

By Robert G. Lock

62

VAA New Members

C OV E R S Front The Antique Reserve Grand Champion-1 Aeronca LB rests on the grass at AirVenture Photo by Lyle Jansma

QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS?

Back

Send your thoughts to the Vintage Editor at: jbusha@conwaytransport.com.au

A ultra-rare Waco IBA is captured at sunset. Photo Jim Koepnick

For missing or replacement magazines, or any other membership-related questions, please call EAA Member Services at JOIN-EAA ().

PHOTOGRAPHY BY ERIN BRUEGGEN

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C A L L F O R V I N TA G E A I R CR A F T A S S O CI AT I O N

Nominate your favorite vintage aviator for the EAA Vintage Aircraft Association Hall of Fame. A great honor could be bestowed upon that man or woman working next to you on your airplane, sitting next to you in the chapter meeting, or walking next to you at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh. Think about the people in your circle of aviation friends: the mechanic, historian, photographer, or pilot who has shared innumerable tips with you and with many others. They could be the next VAA Hall of Fame inductee — but only if they are nominated. The person you nominate can be a citizen of any country and may be living or deceased; his or her involvement in vintage aviation must have occurred between and

the present day. His or her contribution can be in the areas of flying, design, mechanical or aerodynamic developments, administration, writing, some other vital and relevant field, or any combination of fields that support aviation. The person you nominate must be or have been a member of the Vintage Aircraft Association or the Antique/Classic Division of EAA, and preference is given to those whose actions have contributed to the VAA in some way, perhaps as a volunteer, a restorer who shares his expertise with others, a writer, a photographer, or a pilot sharing stories, preserving aviation history, and encouraging new pilots and enthusiasts.

To nominate someone is easy. It just takes a little time and a little reminiscing on your part. •Think of a person; think of his or her contributions to vintage aviation. •Write those contributions in the various categories of the nomination form. •Write a simple letter highlighting these attributes and contributions. Make copies of newspaper or magazine articles that may substantiate your view. •If at all possible, have another individual (or more) complete a form or write a letter about this person, confirming why the person is a good candidate for induction. We would like to take this opportunity to mention that if you have nominated someone for the VAA Hall of Fame, nominations for the honor are kept on file for three years, after which the nomination must be resubmitted. Mail nominating materials to: VAA Hall of Fame, c/o Jan Johnson VAA PO Box Oshkosh, WI E-mail: jjohnson@conwaytransport.com.au Find the nomination form at conwaytransport.com.au, or call the VAA office for a copy (), or on your own sheet of paper, simply include the following information: •Date submitted. •Name of person nominated. •Address and phone number of nominee. •Email address of nominee. •Date of birth of nominee. If deceased, date of death. •Name and relationship of nominee’s closest living relative. •Address and phone of nominee’s closest living relative. •VAA and EAA number, if known. (Nominee must have been or is a VAA member.) •Time span (dates) of the nominee’s contributions to vintage aviation. (Must be between to present day.) •Area(s) of contributions to aviation. •Describe the event(s) or nature of activities the nominee has undertaken in aviation to be worthy of induction into the VAA Hall of Fame. •Describe achievements the nominee has made in other related fields in aviation. •Has the nominee already been honored for his or her involvement in aviation and/or the contribution you are stating in this petition? If yes, please explain the nature of the honor and/or award the nominee has received. •Any additional supporting information. •Submitter’s address and phone number, plus email address. •Include any supporting material with your petition.

Friends of the

RED BARN

IN THE FALL OF , two of the Vintage Aircraft

Association’s most effective officers created a program with the goal of having dedicated members support improvements to the Red Barn and all that the Red Barn represents. These two individuals were then-president Butch Joyce and VAA treasurer Charlie Harris. The idea behind the program not only included physical improvements to the Red Barn, but also offered a means to support and expand VAA’s programs for members and their guests during the EAA convention. Over the years the Friends of the Red Barn has enjoyed a high level of success, which has allowed us to make muchneeded structural repairs to the Red Barn itself while developing and expanding programs for our guests at Vintage Village. As our flagship building, the Red Barn has served us well as a meeting place where old friends meet to renew their friendship and as a gathering place where you are certain to make new friends. The Red Barn is the home to Vintage hospitality and now houses an area depicting the very interesting history of the Red Barn. New to the Red Barn

This is the new north entrance to our iconic Red Barn. At the opening of AirVenture , we rededicated our expanded Welcome Center and also dedicated the Stadtmueller Patio to the original family who farmed this land for more than a century.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY CONNOR MADISON, STEVE MOYER

in will be a tribute to our Hall of Fame inductees and to those individuals who were so instrumental in the founding and early success of our organization. Interestingly, a large majority of the Red Barn’s supporters have been involved since the very first year of the Friends of the Red Barn program. Vintage is extremely proud of these dedicated members and supporters. They are at the very foundation of what we are working towards in the vintage aircraft movement. These donors are directly responsible for the Friends of the Red Barn’s success and for making the Red Barn the focal point of Vintage Village, with all of the gracious hospitality that the Red Barn is so famous for. We are very proud of the fact that this VAA treasure — the Red Barn — was member created and is member maintained, principally through our Friends of the Red Barn fundraiser program. Our Vintage area has over the years grown from one dilapidated and abandoned barn into an entire village filled with interesting and fun places to visit. And yet, there is much, much more to be done. With your help, every year we will provide our members and guests with an ever more broadened fun-filled and interesting experience. All of the supporters’ names are listed annually at the Red Barn and in the pages of Vintage Airplane magazine. Please stand tall and join us in Friends of the Red Barn. You will be forever proud and happy that you did.

SUSAN DUSENBURY, PRESIDENT VINTAGE AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION

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VAA News AIRCRAFT AWARD WINNERS ANTIQUE (THROUGH AUGUST ) World War II Military Trainer/Liaison Aircraft Runner-Up Benjamin Redman Faribault, Minnesota Waco UPF-7, N

Transport Category Runner-Up Bill Liimatainen Monroe, Wisconsin Fairchild 24W, N

Customized Aircraft Runner-Up Benjamin Redman Faribault, Minnesota Waco UPF-7, N

James Callis, Waco QCF

Bronze Age () Runner-Up

Transport Category Champion - Bronze Lindy

Richard Martin Sonoma, California Douglas DC-3, NA

Brandon Jewett Brighton, Colorado Douglas DC-3C-S4C4G, N

Silver Age () Outstanding Open-Cockpit Biplane

Customized Aircraft Champion - Bronze Lindy

Richard Zeiler Thousand Oaks, California Travel Air D4D, NCV

Paul Carmichael Ellicottville, New York Waco UPF-7, N

Silver Age () Runner-Up

World War II Era () Champion - Bronze Lindy

Glenn Peck Maryland Heights, Missouri Curtiss Wright Sedan D, NCW

Thomas Morris Sonoma, California Howard DGAP, N

World War II Military Trainer/Liaison Aircraft Champion - Bronze Lindy

Bronze Age () Champion - Bronze Lindy

Stephen Zoerlein St. Charles, Illinois Waco UPF-7, NC

Steve Marini Danville, California Spartan 7W, N

Silver Age () Champion - Bronze Lindy Richard Zeller, Travel Air D4D

James Callis Waco QCF, NS

Antique Reserve Grand Champion - Silver Lindy Jim Hammond and Kate Tiffany Yellow Springs, Ohio Aeronca LB, N

Antique Grand Champion - Gold Lindy Greg Heckman Polo, Illinois Lincoln-Page, N

6 â€&#x;September/October

PHOTOGRAPHY BY ED HICKS, CONNOR MADISON

CLASSIC (SEPTEMBER ) Outstanding Aeronca Champ - Small Plaque Richard Haldeman Mount Juliet, Tennessee Aeronca 7AC, N

Outstanding Cessna / - Small Plaque

Greg Heckman, Lincoln-Page

David Freeland Leawood, Kansas Cessna , N

Outstanding Cessna - Small Plaque Olan Hanley Bellevue, Washington Cessna B, ND

Outstanding Cessna / - Small Plaque Curtis Simonye Fishers, Indiana Cessna A, ND

Outstanding Luscombe - Small Plaque Robert Flannery Durango, Colorado Luscombe 8E, NK

Outstanding Piper J-3 - Small Plaque Jeffery Nelson Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin Piper J-3C, NC

Outstanding Piper Other - Small Plaque Don Jordan Midlothian, Texas Piper PA, NH

Outstanding Swift - Small Plaque Mark Holliday Lake Elmo, Minnesota Temco GC-1B, NK

Outstanding Taylorcraft - Small Plaque Scott McFadden Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada Taylorcraft BCD, CF-CLR

Outstanding Limited Production - Small Plaque Simon Drouin Saint-Georges, Quebec, Canada Helio Courier, CG-OOI

Custom Class A ( hp) - Small Plaque Otis Lokken Madison, Wisconsin Aeronca 7AC, N

Custom Class B ( hp) - Small Plaque Windle Henry Searcy, Arkansas Piper PA, N

Custom Class C ( hp) - Small Plaque Thomas Morris, Howard DGAP

Jim “Frog” Jones Madison, Georgia Temco GC-1B, NK

Custom Class D (plus hp) - Small Plaque Dwayne Clemens Benton, Kansas Cessna , NXR

Best Customized Runner-Up - Large Plaque Eric Medsger Wichita Falls, Texas Cessna , NC

PHOTOGRAPHY BY CHRIS MILLER, CONNOR MADISON

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VAA News Class I ( hp) - Bronze Lindy James Steed Bryant, Arkansas Piper J-3, N

Class II ( hp) - Bronze Lindy Suzy Kryzanowicz Bay City, Michigan Aeronca 15AC, NH

Class III ( hp) - Bronze Lindy Carl Geisert Chandler, Arizona Cessna , NC

CONTEMPORARY () Outstanding Beech Single Engine - Outstanding in Type Robbie Wills Conway, Arkansas Beech E33A, NA

Outstanding Beech Multiengine - Outstanding in Type Ken Huffine Oak Island, North Carolina Beech D55, NK

Outstanding Cessna /// - Outstanding in Type Lynn Dawson Madison, Virginia Cessna , NB

Outstanding Mooney - Outstanding in Type Suzy Kryzanowicz, Aeronca 15AC

Class IV (plus hp) - Bronze Lindy Robert Wiplinger Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota Beech C18S, NV

John Breda Needham, Massachusetts Mooney M20F, NN

Outstanding Piper PA Comanche - Outstanding in Type Brian Fogleman Stonewall, Louisiana Piper PA, NP

Champion Customized Classic - Bronze Lindy

Outstanding Piper PA/PA Cherokee Outstanding in Type

Ryan Salahi San Diego, California Navion F, NK

James R. McMaster II Bath, Pennsylvania Piper PA, NW

Reserve Grand Champion - Silver Lindy

Best Continuously Maintained - Outstanding in Type

Ryan Harter Greenfield, Indiana Aeronca 11AC, NCE

Donald Bartlett Carterville, Illinois Piper PA, ND

Grand Champion - Gold Lindy

Most Unique - Outstanding in Type

Charles “Rusty” and Mark Morris Fort Worth, Texas Cessna B, ND

Robert Sabbatino New Milford, Connecticut Beech E33C, NST

8  September/October

PHOTOGRAPHY BY LYLE JANSMA

Ryan Harter, Aeronca 11AC

Preservation Award - Outstanding in Type Kevin Mayer Lima, Ohio Beech J35, N76J

Class I Single Engine ( hp) - Bronze Lindy Marr Olsen Kelseyville, California Piper PAA, ND

Class II Single Engine ( hp) - Bronze Lindy Brian Locascio Orland Park, Illinois Mooney M20F, NM

Outstanding Customized - Bronze Lindy Chris McGough Lakewood, California Piper PA, NP

Outstanding Multiengine - Bronze Lindy Ken Hoffman Punta Gorda, Florida Beech D50E, NTC

Reserve Grand Champion Customized - Silver Lindy Adrian Eichhorn McLean, Virginia Beech P35, NG

A Legacy for Aviation Enthusiasts

E A A AV I AT IO N F OU N DAT IO N

Marr Olsen, Piper PAA

EAA® members are more than pilots — they are passionate aviation enthusiasts. When EAA members are ready to plan for their aviation legacy, they often choose to make a commitment to the EAA Aviation Foundation. Gifts to the foundation typically support the following activities: • EAA Excellence Fund • Scholarship Fund • Educational & Safety Programming Fund • EAA Aviation Museum and EAA AirVenture Oshkosh Ground Fund • Experimental Programs To learn more about how you can make a gift that could benefit the future of aviation: conwaytransport.com.au

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How To? ROBERT G. LOCK

Install Stressed Plywood Skin

Figure 3

BY ROBERT G. LOCK

IN THIS ISSUE WE will learn the specifics of installing

stressed plywood wing skin. I first learned how to do this task back in when I was restoring my Fairchild PT as an aspiring year-old future aviator and mechanic. It was a great learning experience, and my friend George Adams (of Stolop-Adams fame) was one of my mentors. My other mentor was Elmer Ruzicka who owned Elmer’s Wing Shop in Waukena, California, not far from the Hanford Municipal Airport and my uncle’s crop dusting and spraying operation. Elmer taught me many secrets of aircraft woodworking. In Figure 1, the left side of the PT center section with new skin glued in place with nailing strips to apply pressure to all the glue joints. When the glue has cured the nailing strips are removed and all nails pulled from the wood. These nail holes will be filled with a thinned wood filler wiped on with coarse cloth or burlap. Figure 2 shows the center section before all the plywood is bonded to the structure. The inboard section of plywood has been steamed to fit using a wallpaper steamer that my father rented. It worked! The leading edge had degree grain plywood, but I did not know that you could buy degree grain plywood in the 4-byfoot sheet at the time, so I cut two pieces from a regular degree grain sheet. It was a lot of extra work because the two pieces, when Figure 1 joined, have to be scarf cut, which was a real pain. But, let’s leave my early years of learning how to work with wood and proceed to much later when I was a little smarter. The task at hand is to cover the top and bottom leading edge with 1/inch birch plywood, so how is that done? Well, you should always bond the lower skin on first because if any moisture gets into the structure, it will be on Figure 2 the bottom skin, so you want a good

10  September/October

and complete varnish seal on the wood. This is how it is done. Cut the upper and lower skin to size and soak and bend if necessary. Fit the upper plywood in place, driving 3/4-inch nails in each end to hold the material in place. Next, mark all the locations where the plywood will be glued to the structure using a pencil. Draw a circle around the nails so the holes can be located, cut the heads off the nails, and remove the skin. (See Figure 3.) After this task is completed for all the upper skin, the lower skin can be glued into place. I always use nailing strips to apply pressure to the joint and then remove after the glue has cured. Purchase some good knot-free 1-byinch soft pine, rip it into 1/8inch thick strips, and you have your nailing strips. The upper skin is masked off using a good grade masking tape and adequate varnish applied to thoroughly seal the wood. The inside of the lower skin and surrounding structure is thoroughly varnished, but should all areas to be bonded should not be varnished. Filler blocks between ribs should not fit tightly to the ribs but should have an open space Figure 4

Figure 5

of 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch to allow moisture to drain out if any accumulates from condensation. This eliminates the need to drill drain holes in the lower skin. Plywood comes in standard 4-byfoot sheets and therefore will require a scarf joint somewhere along the leading edge. Both pieces of skin are scarfed to a slope of to-1 prior to applying varnish. Therefore, 1/inch thick plywood would have a scarf of 12/16 inches or 3/4 inch in length. The scarf should be located over a nose rib, and an additional shim can be bonded to the rib to make it 3/4-inch wide to accommodate the scarf. After all this preparation is complete, the upper skin can be glued into place. It might be necessary to have an extra person or two to hammer nails into the nailing strips because it is a slow process and, depending on outside air Figure 8

temperature, may need to be completed in a hurry. Figure 8 shows an upper skin varnished and ready to be glued into place on the upper leading edge of my Command-Aire wing. I glued the inboard section first, then aligned the scarf joint and glued the outboard section. This is the outboard section. The plywood skin securely attached using pine nailing strips. When the glue has cured, break off the nailing strips and pull out all the nails. There does not need to be any nails holding the leading edge plywood in position now. Any nails that are left in the joints will eventually try to back out, causing lumps in the fabric covering. Don’t be tempted to leave any nails in this structure once the glue has cured. They are not needed — remove them all. What does the scarf joint look like after removing the nailing strips, you ask? See Figure 9

Figure 6

figures showing the joint before sanding it smooth. Scarf joints, when properly done, give percent strength through the joint, give grain continuation, and are perfectly smooth and flush. Compare the unfinished scarf joint (Figure 9) to the finished joint (Figure 10). It should not take too much sanding to make it smooth — just basically removing the excess glue that has squeezed out from the joint when a nailing strip applied pressure. The final step is to smooth the plywood along the leading edge strip using a disc sander, then hand sanding with a sandpaper block, and finally using an emery cloth sanding strip. And that’s all there is to it folks — a quick lesson on how to apply stressed plywood skin. Finally, a quick review of aircraft plywood. Figure 10

Figure 7

Common types are mahogany and birch. Mahogany will bend easiest when dry, and while both are identified as hardwoods, birch is denser and more difficult to drive nails through, especially in the thicker five-ply material. I still have some brass nails that were originally used, and it is almost impossible to drive a brass nail into 3/16inch or 1/4-inch wood that is used for wing-walk areas. All modern nails that appear to be brass are really steel wire nails that are brass-coated to prevent rusting and discoloring the wood. I use common steel nails that are about 1/2inch long that can be purchased from almost any hardware store to secure the nailing strips in place. They are going to be pulled out anyway, so why incur the added expense of using brass-coated nails. Figure 11

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Good Old Days

12 â€&#x;September/October

From the pages of what was

Take a quick look through history by enjoying images pulled from publications past.

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14 â€&#x;

September/October

PHOTOGRAPHY BY JIM KOEPNICK

An Ephemeral Fleeting

THE SILVER LINDY WINNER

BY SPARKY BARNES SARGENT

UNBEKNOWNST TO ROD MCKENZIE of New Fairfield, Connecticut, there was a silver lining to the old yellow Cub he bought in For decades, NC had been quietly masquerading in its fading paint scheme, its true identity waiting to be discovered. “It was on a ranch in Montana, and I flew it back home to Connecticut. I flew it for a

while, and unfortunately, it was tied down on a grass strip in when a big hailstorm came along and beat it up pretty bad,” Rod said. “I talked to the insurance company, and they gave me some ridiculously low price to total the airplane so I decided to just keep it. It was actually still flyable, but it needed new fabric because of the hail damage.” conwaytransport.com.au 

15

An Ephemeral Fleeting

R

od, Vintage , kept the Cub in storage for a while and went to the Sentimental Journey Fly-In at Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, to have a look-see at some nice yellow Cubs to glean ideas about features he’d like to include in his own Cub’s restoration. He happened to notice a rather unusual Cub there — it was silver with Royal Air Force (RAF) roundels and fin flash. “I looked at it and thought, ‘What is this, somebody’s wannabe warbird?’ About a week later, I got a letter in the mail from somebody in Belgium who was doing research on the elusive Piper Flitfire Cubs, and he wanted to know what the status of mine was,” Rod said. “So, my first thought was, ‘What the heck is a Flitfire?’ That started my education process, and sure enough, Clyde Smith’s records show that this was one of the original Flitfire Cubs.”

WHAT’S A FLITFIRE?

The impetus for the fundraising Flitfires arose during , when the Battle of Britain was raging, and the United States started providing military supplies to the Allies. William T. Piper wanted to help in some way, so he decided to donate a special J-3 Cub as a raffle prize. Piper Aircraft dealers were encouraged to sell tickets for NC, with the proceeds going to the RAF Benevolent Fund to benefit the widows, orphans, and disabled pilots of the Battle of Britain. “In making this donation, Piper set aside 20 minutes’ manufacturing time in the plant, which was sufficient to build one ship,” an article in the July issue of Flying and Popular Aviation magazine stated. “Aircooled Motors Corp., of Schenectady, New York, donated a Franklin hp engine.” With a benevolent effort swirled with a touch of patriotic philanthropy and gilded with persuasive marketing magic, a Piper Aircraft Corporation document dated April 3, — complete with a beguiling photo of NC — promoted the special Cubs to dealers who were enticed to place orders for similar Flitfires. Dealers were offered their choice of a hp Lycoming, Continental, or Franklin engine and could order “one or more” of the ships. “NC is to be officially turned over to the RAF, at a huge party at LaGuardia Field, April 29,” the document stated. “Nationally known persons will participate in this

Flitfire Franklin NC in .

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September/October

PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF PIPER AVIATION MUSEUM

T H E 2 0 1 7 S I LV E R L I N D Y W I N N E R

ceremony. Tremendous publicity will result. As a feature of the donation, we are planning a mass delivery of 48 Flitfires from LaGuardia Field to distributors and dealers, who want to cash in on this. “The Flitfire model is a J-3 Trainer, painted silver, with simulated RAF insignia,” the document continued. “While this is an additional expense to us, we will make no extra charge provided delivery is made from LaGuardia Field April (The planes will be delivered there by factory pilots, and deliveries from there can also be arranged on regular delivery system.) Each ship will be named for a state in the Union, and a mass christening by socially prominent people is planned for news reel benefit, plus a mass takeoff and flight over New York. … Only 48 of these ships will be built, and we have to move fast.” Piper’s shimmering silver ships were apparently dubbed with the name Flitfire as a lighthearted contrast between the Cub trainer and the British Supermarine Spitfire fighter. The NC registration number was imbued with patriotic overtones; was, of course,

“I couldn’t let something like this just go back to being a yellow Cub and deny its history.” — Rod McKenzie conwaytransport.com.au 

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An Ephemeral Fleeting

SPECS Manufactured under ATC Eligible to be flown by a sport pilot. ENGINE: GROSS WEIGHT: EMPTY WEIGHT: USEFUL LOAD: WINGSPAN: WING CHORD: WING AREA: LENGTH: HEIGHT: BAGGAGE: FUEL: OIL: MAX SPEED (CLIMB): MAX SPEED (DIVE): CRUISE: LANDING: STALL: TAKEOFF RUN: CLIMB: CEILING: CRUISING RANGE:

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September/October

hp Lycoming 1, pounds pounds pounds 35 feet, 3 inches 63 inches square feet 22 feet, 3 inches 6 feet, 8 inches 20 pounds 12 gallons 5 quarts 90 mph mph 82 mph 50 mph 35 mph Less than feet fpm 12, feet miles at 4 gph

when the American colonies declared their independence from Great Britain. Additionally, in early , Congress passed House Resolution , known as the Lend-Lease Act, which was then signed into law. In another patriotic gesture, arrangements were reportedly made to have NC given away on Flag Day. “FLITFIRE BRIGADE”

Elaborately detailed plans were made for the fleet of Flitfires to fly en masse from Lock Haven to New York. It was a historical flight, and as such, the “Flitfire Brigade” is best described through the media lens of the era. Piper Aircraft’s hometown paper, The Lock Haven Express, published an account on April 23, “The 48 Piper Cub Trainers which make up the Flitfire Brigade will leave the airport Sunday in the largest mass fly-away of Piper Cubs ever staged,” the article stated. “Seven Squadrons will take off one after the other under the direction of squadron leaders. … The flight will proceed from here over Williamsport and thence to the AllentownBethlehem Airport for refueling. … After a mass takeoff from Allentown Airport the planes will fly in rigid formation over the entire New York metropolitan area. … The flight will first be seen over Staten Island from which point it will dip in salute over the Statue of Liberty, proceed over Central Park and Manhattan to the George Washington Bridge. A wide swing to the left will bring the brigade over Jersey City and then east over Brooklyn and into Flushing Airport where the ships will be parked until Tuesday when they will be taken to LaGuardia Field for the christening ceremonies of each ship.” Historical photographs show seven Flitfires with a red stripe around the aft portion of the fuselage; the stripe may have been applied to distinguish the squadron leaders’ ships for the en masse flight of look-alike silver Cubs. When the Flitfires landed at Allentown for refueling, several thousand people crowded onto the grounds to see the ships, according to the April 28, , edition of The Morning Call. “Pilots, including one woman, were all employees of the Piper factory,” the article stated. “Among them was W. T. Piper, president of the firm, and his son, Tony, who led the mass flight. … Landings and takeoffs were without incident … it was a real exhibition of safe flying in view of the strong winds that prevailed. The planes took on an estimated gallons of gasoline.” The Flitfire Brigade’s next stop that day was Flushing Airport where the Brooklyn Eagle published its account of the arrival.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY SPARKY BARNES SARGENT, JIM KOEPNICK

“Landing with the exact precision of highly trained army fliers, pilots of a group of 42 light cabin monoplanes … alighted in the space of 12 minutes at Flushing airport yesterday,” the article stated. “The first plane touched its wheels to the ground at p.m., and the last at 3 p.m. … The flight left Lock Haven Pennsylvania, under the leadership of W. T. Piper, president of the Piper Aircraft Company, flew directly to New York City, cruised over the city in what was said to be the largest light aircraft maneuver ever held, and then headed for Flushing airport. Each of the ships, silver-painted, is named for one of the 48 States of the union. Five others are expected to arrive at Flushing airport today. One other plane — the 48th of the group — arrived earlier in the day. This plane [NC] is to be disposed of in a lottery for the benefit of the fund. … The entire group of 48 planes will take off from Flushing airport tomorrow morning for a one-mile trip to LaGuardia Field.” Aeronautics, Volume 8, , reported that, “The usual $ landing fee at LaGuardia Field was waived, and forty-eight portable radio receivers, required by Federal law, were lent the fleet by William P. Lear, president of Lear Avia, Inc., and a member of the NAC Editorial Board.” The May 15, , issue of Sportsman Pilot featured a photo of a smiling W. T. Piper and a Lear Avia representative posed with a Flitfire and a neatly stacked group of the box-sized radio receivers. Photographer Hans Groenhoff captured the now-iconic photos of NC as it flew over the Statue of Liberty; his photos were used on the covers of Air Facts in May and Flying and Popular Aviation in July

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An Ephemeral Fleeting

On May 12, , Life magazine published an article and photo spread of the event in which one of the photo captions described the Flitfire christening ceremony at LaGuardia. “Each plane was christened with air. Pretty models pricked balloons so that escaping air gushed over the propeller hubs,” the caption read. When the Flitfires flew away from LaGuardia and began travleing to their new homes in different states, they were again highlighted by local media. Richard Bonhurst, guest columnist for The Niagara Falls Gazette described the arrival of one Flitfire for the May 17, issue. “Niagara From the Air acquired a significant airplane last week, a Cub trainer called a ‘Flitfire.’ … Tentative plans are afoot to raise more funds for the Royal Air Force by selling tickets on this airplane, prizes ranging from a Cub Trainer to Flying lessons and rides.” The Muncie Evening Press on the same day mentioned that one Flitfire was bought by John Rusicka in Peru, Indiana, and another by Bob Shank at Hoosier Airport. The Times and Democrat on May 14, , announced a visit by Flitfire Maine as it winged its way to Orangeburg, South Carolina. An advertisement for New Jersey’s Basking Ridge Fire Company’s 32nd Annual Carnival in the Bernardsville News on August 7, , featured a photograph of a Flitfire as the grand prize. The Tampa Bay Times on July 24, , noted that flying instructor Jimmy Johnstone was using his Flitfire to train Civil Aeronautics Administration student pilots for the local junior college. Jerry Truesdell of the Illinois chapter of the NinetyNines shared her Flitfire experience in their October 15, , newsletter. “Our last meeting was held September 21 at the Chicago Municipal Airport,” she wrote. “We had special permission from the CAA to fly in with our little Flitfires without radio and it was great fun.” But the special silver Cubs that Piper so famously promoted began fading into the pages of history by the end of , as the United States became embroiled in World War II. FLITFIRE NEW JERSEY

Remarkably, though, the Flitfires haven’t completely receded with the tide of time. Seventy-seven years later, some are still flying. Factory records reveal that NC (serial No. ) was manufactured on April 17, , as an RAF Cub with silver paint. FAA registration records show that the first bill of sale was for the sum of $1, on April 24, , to Bennett Airplane Sales in Hightstown, New Jersey, which in turn sold it on October 30, , to Cahill Flying Service Inc. in Bridgeport, New Jersey. “I’m the 23rd owner, and as far as I know, I’ve probably owned it longer than anybody,” Rod said. “The fact that it initially went to New Jersey is about all the evidence I have indicating that it was named for New

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PHOTOGRAPHY BY JIM KOEPNICK

T H E 2 0 1 7 S I LV E R L I N D Y W I N N E R

Jersey, so barring some new evidence to the contrary, that’s the most logical scenario.” Through the years, NC slowly evolved from its original configuration. In , the Lycoming was removed and a Franklin was installed, and three years later in , the Franklin was removed and a Continental was installed. In , the Cub was converted to an ag sprayer while it was in South Dakota. In , the Cub incurred substantial damage during a landing in North Dakota and was repaired. In , it was finished as a yellow Cub in Montana, where Rod later bought it. LIFETIME PILOT

Rod started flying when he was 15 and has logged 22, hours as a corporate and charter pilot. His safe flying record earned him the FAA’s Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award in “I flew 14 years for Paul Newman, and that was the greatest job in the world,” Rod said. “Paul was a gentleman, and we became good friends; he treated me like his family. He was low-key and didn’t want to be ostentatious, and had a Sabre I loved that airplane; it just never let you down.” Rod, a congenial and soft-spoken man who is passionate about aviation, still loves flying lightplanes as well. He’s a current flight instructor and has a Stinson L-5 in addition to the Cub. “Paul Newman has flown in this Cub with me,” Rod said. “When I first started working for him, he knew I

had this Cub, and he kept bugging me, ‘When are you going to take me up?’ I just kind of blew it off until I realized he was serious. So one day we flew around in the Cub, and I let him try to fly it.” RESTORATION

When Rod discovered his Cub’s true identity, its restoration became a historical preservation mission. “Of course I had to restore it back to its original colors,” he said with a smile. “I’ve always said I was an aviation historian, and I couldn’t let something like this just go back to being a yellow Cub and deny its history.” Clyde Smith Jr. and his Cub Restoration Services business began the restoration in Opting to use a Univair fuselage frame to replace the old one, which was in bad shape, Clyde did a minor rework of the upper cabin superstructure to give it the model year “cathedral ceiling” configuration. A new boot cowl and stainless steel firewall were fabricated, along with a period-correct instrument panel, and the instruments were overhauled by Keystone Instruments Inc. Myriad new components were used throughout the restoration. New floorboards were fabricated from five-ply birch plywood, and Univair rudder and brake pedals were installed. New Airtex seat cushions, slings, and a baggage compartment were used, and all new LP Aero side windows and windshield were installed. A Univair vertical stabilizer was installed, along with new trim pulleys and aft trim system components. conwaytransport.com.au 21

An Ephemeral Fleeting

“Mark Baxter of Corvallis, Oregon, made new control cables using the five-tuck type cable splice ends. He did a great job, and the roundels on the wings were done by AeroGraphics of Colorado,” Rod said. “Bob Hunt of Hackettstown, New Jersey, did the wing work, landing gear, and all the painting.” The wings were completely rebuilt using new wood spars, new Dakota Cub ribs, Wag-Aero leading edge sections, Univair false spar sections, and ailerons. New ash wingtip bows were made by an Amish company near Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The landing gear legs were reused, and Univair cabane struts and shock strut assemblies were installed. The airframe was covered and finished with the Poly Fiber system, culminating with a Poly-Tone Nevada Silver topcoat. “My friend Dan Fogle, who owns a J-4, finished up the engine, panel, and windshield installation. The windshield is one piece, but is made to look like three,” Rod said. “The first five years of the restoration went at a fairly sedate pace, but the last year of the restoration was going great guns. We finished it in June ” MODS

Rod knew he “wanted a flyer, not a museum piece,” so he decided to stray just a bit from the original configuration. Seeking a bit more horsepower, Rod had a zero-time since major overhaul Continental C engine installed on an engine mount, which was rebuilt by Kosola and Associates of Georgia. An Aero Fabricators 8-gallon fuel tank was installed in the left wing to supplement the gallon fuselage tank. Just a quick flip of the new Sensenich (W72GK) wood propeller brings the C90 to life. Safety mods include Grove disc brakes (which allow the original size tires and tubes to be used), inertia reel shoulder harnesses, and an ELT. A comm antenna is neatly concealed in the fuselage.

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Part of the 48 Piper Cub Flitfires, each one named for a state, that were flown from Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, to La Guardia Field for the demostration on April 29 on behalf of the Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund Campaign. Another Franklinpowered Flitfire, donated by the Piper and Franklin companies, to be given away in a scheme to raise money for the fund, has been on view in front of La Guardia Field administration building. FLITFIRES TODAY

Since an aircraft’s registration number may change through the years, the secret’s in the serial numbers when it comes to deciphering which prewar Cubs were Flitfires. Clyde (aka The Cub Doctor) is a helpful resource for Flitfire identification. Also, with the exception of NC, which was built in March , all Flitfires were built within a span of 12 days in April Flitfires have bubbled up now and then through the decades as their identities have surfaced. The first Flitfire, NC (serial No. ), was flown by Orville Wright in and now resides at the North Carolina Aviation Museum and Hall of Fame next to the Asheboro Regional Airport. Steve Rubino owned this Flitfire during the s and was well aware of its unique history despite its then-traditional Cub yellow scheme. In , he flew NC for an Independence Day celebration in East Hampton, New York.

T H E 2 0 1 7 S I LV E R L I N D Y W I N N E R

The Wisconsin Flitfire underwent restoration from by Dick Wells and Scott White of Ohio for then-owner Jay Rodgers of Texas. NC was a noteworthy visitor at Sentimental Journey and EAA Oshkosh in The first Flitfire seen by the author was at the Sentimental Journey Fly-In, when then-owner Mike Nolan of Maryland had his award-winning Flitfire Indiana (NC, serial No. ) on the flightline. His Flitfire was also displayed during the Centennial of Flight celebration at Kill Devil Hills in Years later, Mike became a helpful resource regarding some details for the restoration of Rod’s Flitfire. “Dave Henderson of Delaware was rebuilding NC, and he told me about a Cub for sale in Kentucky,” Mike said. “So I went out there with my friend Paul Ennis, who had more time in a Cub than I had total time. It was a good-looking yellow Cub, and I bought it. After Paul and I flew it home, we discovered it was the Indiana Flitfire when Dave asked about the serial number. In the early years, it was in the Civilian Pilot Training Program. I was able to contact the first owner’s widow, Mrs. Rusicka, who sent me historical pictures of it. I used those to return it to its RAF colors, and went into much detail as to size, location of writing, interior color of plane, and how it was painted. I spent time with Rod on the phone when he was restoring his Flitfire and shared detailed information with him. I’ve seen his after restoration, and can say that it’s painted correctly and accurately.” In the absence of an original, Cubs have occasionally been made into faux Flitfires to pay homage to their history. As of May , the FAA registry lists 14 original Flitfires with current registrations. “I know of four authentic ones, including mine, which are currently painted in Flitfire colors and flying, or in flyable condition,” Rod said. Flitfire New Jersey is a pleasure to behold and has garnered awards since it first came out of restoration in Two of those were won at Sentimental Journey: Best J-3 Cub in and Best Warbird in “It’s almost a stretch to say it’s a warbird,” Rod said. “It’s really more of a war-effort airplane.” At EAA AirVenture Oshkosh , NC received the Antique Reserve Grand Champion Silver Lindy. “The Silver Lindy and the other awards belong as much to all those who contributed to the successful rebirth of Flitfire New Jersey as to me,” Rod said. Perhaps the most significant personal reward for Rod was simply discovering that his old yellow Cub had a rather unique historical niche — and he’s happy that he’s able to preserve it with flying RAF colors.

The largest fleet of light planes ever seen in New York was christened on behalf of the R.A.F. Benevolent Fund, and will make barnstorming tour of the country to raise funds for the families of England’s air defenders. The fleet was inspected by these models.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY SPARKY BARNES SARGENT, JIM KOEPNICK, THE SPORTSMAN PILOT, THE DANBURY REPORTER

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STRAIGHT TAILS A CLASSIC C LIVES ON

The straight tail and fuselage lines overpower the presence of the nose wheel in identifying Joe Smokovitz’s c as a true vintage airplane.

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PHOTOGRAPHY BY ERIN BRUEGGEN

BY BUDD DAVISSON

HERE’S A SHOCKING FACT: If you were born the same day that Joe Smokovitz’s straight-tail C rolled off the production line, you would be How did that happen? The C is the fifth most produced aircraft in the world with nearly 24, made, which is the basis for a thought that is common to longtime vintage airplane folks: Why should we care about an airplane that was as common as dirt? The operative word in that sentence is “was.” Cessna s used to litter airports everywhere, but it is now worth making a comment when one takes off. This is because of another surprising fact:

The went out of production in , so the youngest one is 41 years old! The oldest is 61 years old! The official Vintage Aircraft Association categories define Contemporary Vintage as so tens of thousands of s fall into that category. The first roughly 15, had the so-identifiable “straight tail” that defines them as something special. And that is just one of the many reasons people took note of Joe’s airplane at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh Joe, Vintage , selected a CB to restore, although saying it was “restored” isn’t entirely accurate. conwaytransport.com.au 

25

STRAIGHT TAILS

FIRST

“

,

I don’t see this as a true restoration,”

Joe said. “I have no interest in creating a perfect jewel. It’s an airplane, and I want to keep it in the air as much as possible and in the shop as little as possible. I see it as a flying rehabilitation project with the goal of giving me and my family — which includes my seven grandkids — a terrifically functional, safe airplane to fly. Two of my grandkids have already gotten their certificates in it.” He didn’t pick a B model by accident. He had his reasons. “The ’62 and ’63 B’s were the lightest, fastest, and generally best-performing of the s. Plus, they were the last of the fastback models that used what was basically a C fuselage. The ’64s and ’65s still had the straight tail, but they had the cut-down rear fuselage with the wraparound ‘omnivision’ rear window as on all later Cessnas. They lost a lot of the vintage look with that change. The ’66s were the first with the swept tail so they are ‘modern’ by comparison.” By the time Joe bought NX in , he was already an old hand in airplane maintenance. In fact, he received the reward for Michigan Mechanic of the Year in He’s always gotten his hands dirty and started doing it almost at the beginning. “I found this airplane on a private strip not far from Detroit,” he said. “Even though it had been out of annual for three years, it was hangared and not in bad shape. I’d rate it ‘fair.’ In fact it had only 4, hours on it, which is low time for the type. It has 5, hours on it now. In its early life, it had been part of several flying clubs. One in Virginia and another in Oklahoma. At the time, it was the most common training plane on the planet and was the fifth most produced airplane in history behind the C, the World War II Russian Ilyushin Il-2, the Messerschmitt Bf , and the Piper PA series. “Because the was such a popular trainer, some of them lived a hard life,” Joe said. “In fact, the logs show this one appears to have had at least one very hard landing because the nose gear and prop were replaced and a wingtip damaged.” When an airplane lives as long as this one — much of that time being manhandled by students — it can safely be assumed that it spent a lot of its time tied down outside in all kinds of weather. Exactly where an airplane is located has a lot to do with how much corrosion it’ll accumulate. It is axiomatic that airplanes tied down next to any coast will have more corrosion than one tied down

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A CLASSIC C LIVES ON

in rural Arizona, but even that isn’t guaranteed. It’s not unusual for aircraft tied down in big, inland urban or industrial areas to develop corrosion because of the acid content of the rain. NX is one of the lucky ones. “I crawled all over the airplane before I bought it and the only corrosion I could find was around the battery box, and almost all early s have the same problem in the same spot. But, it wasn’t so bad that I had to replace metal,” he said. “One of the other areas you need to inspect for corrosion is behind the baggage area. Plus, all Cessnas are famous for their corrugated control surfaces being kinked and dinged up. Those on the seem to be a little stronger because they hold up well in a training environment. Mine needed only a little work and, although most folks just replace the skins, I found it wasn’t difficult to straighten out the few dents they had.” The s-era Cessna interiors were all a combination of simple upholstery and lots of plastic components, like window frames, that invariably crack with age and do a lot to slowly make an interior look tired. “Here again, I lucked out,” Joe said. “The plastic had a few cracks but nothing like I’ve seen in other airplanes of its age. It was a fairly simple task to fiberglass them together on the back and repaint them. When I got them all in place, it was amazing how much better the interior looked. Cockpits have a tendency to get worn around the edges, and because it happens so slowly, we don’t notice it until we refurbish part of it and it suddenly looks so much different.” Fortunately, the instruments were all, as Joe puts it, usable if not pristine. However, the more he flies it, the more instruments become suspect so he knows he’s going to have to do something about them.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY ERIN BRUEGGEN

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STRAIGHT TAILS

Joe painted the airplane himself and says he’s ‘proud to show off every single run.”

“The radios were ‘modern,’ but in they were about worn out so we put in a new KX and a transponder,” Joe said. “We haven’t done ADS-B yet, but we will.” As a flying restoration, Joe said he made a promise to himself that every winter he’d do something to the airplane but definitely didn’t want to put it down for any length of time. However, in , he did have to ground it for a while. “The paint had never been great, but it finally reached the point that I knew I had to do something about it,” he said. “So, we put it down. I myself stripped and painted it, and I am proud to show anyone every run in the paint job — it just gives the paint job character. Nothing was farmed out. We did it in the scheme using Regal Red and white.” One of the big worries in any airplane, whether it’s project or not, is dealing with an aging engine. “When we bought the airplane, the engine was mid time, but now it has 2, hours on it, and I’ve done a top overhaul,” Joe said. “It runs great but it’s starting to use oil, so in the not-too-distant future, we’re going to overhaul it.” As a breed, the Cessna is known for reliability, although as with all airplanes, it has had its share of ADs and known problem areas. “While the O is a great engine, the airplane does have some weak points, including some of the engine accessories,” Joe said. These “weak points” include keeping up the mags and developing cracks in the exhaust system. He said that one AD states that the muffler has to be pressure tested for fume leakage every 50 hours.

“When I was a kid, I was always told it was better to buy than rent, and I’ve tried to do that and stay within our budget.” – Joe Smokovitz

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“Oddly enough, you also have to keep an eye on the seat pans — the bottoms,” Joe said. “They have a tendency to crack over time. The straight tail airplanes have one less AD than the more recent ones. All s have an AD about inspecting the vertical tail attach bolts. But, where electric flaps have an AD having to do with the jackscrew motor, the early airplanes, like mine, have mechanical flaps, so no AD. “When I was a kid, I was always told it was better to buy than rent, and I’ve tried to do that and stay within our budget,” he said. “The is ideal for that, and it’ll stay in the family. Which one of the kids or grandkids gets it, however, will be a problem. But a good one.”

PHOTOGRAPHY BY ERIN BRUEGGEN, JOHN M DIBBS

A CLASSIC C LIVES ON

Joe and his grandson, Tyler, who received his PPL in the C, as did many others in the Smokovitz tribe.

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IBA T H E H A R T E R FA M I LY’ S NEW ADDITION BY BUDD DAVISSON

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The Harter family considers Ryan’s IBA to be “their” airplane. Left to right, it’s mom Brenda, Ryan himself, daughter Aubrey, son Michael and wife Brandy.

H

ere’s a combination you don’t see every day: a year-old student pilot flying a hyperrare Waco IBA. But then, that pilot, Ryan Harter, Vintage , of Greenfield, Indiana, isn’t your average student. He’s the product of the kind of family that EAA would like to put on posters that say, “This could be you — happy, creative, fulfilled.” If Norman Rockwell had been an EAAer, this is the family he would have painted. The Harter family is EAA. Aviation runs through just about everything they do. Ryan is a third-generation pilot and his son, Michael, who will likely have soloed the Harter family Cub and Champ by the time you read this, will be the fourth.

step in my life,” Ryan said. “While this was going on, we were building an airstrip on our place. Dad flew the YOC in for the first time one afternoon, and the next morning, when he took off, the engine quit cold and he put it into a cornfield that was standing tall. The airplane was pretty much destroyed, but we’d had it a few years and it really had an impact on me.”

AVIATION IS WHO THEY ARE

“There have been airplanes in this family farther back than I can remember. Dad and Granddad had a number of Champs, then branched out into Cs,” Ryan said. “Dad got a little crazy for a time and had a Bellanca, which he traded for a Bamboo Bomber and some cash to boot. The old Cessna needed just about everything, so we restored it in an open-sided hangar on our little country airport. We even took it to Oshkosh to be part of the 50th anniversary of the T/UC” Then the Harters discovered Wacos. “Dad bought a flying YOC, and that was my first introduction to the Waco association, which was an important

PHOTOGRAPHY BY JIM KOEPNICK, TANDESS O’NEAL

Ed Lachendro rescued the IBA from obscurity and allowed Ryan to buy it from him.

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PHOTOGRAPHY BY JIM KOEPNICK

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IBA ENTER THE WACO

DESPITE GROWING UP SURROUNDED BY AVIATION, Ryan didn’t start flying him-

self until well into adulthood. “I can’t explain why it took me so long to start learning to fly,” he said. “Part of it may be because I was always surrounded by airplanes. They were just part of the woodwork and weren’t anything unusual. It wasn’t until I was 31 and started to fly that I realized how important airplanes are and why my dad and granddad were so drawn to them. My interest had been in cars, specifically a bunch of Mustangs I owned and a Dodge Viper.” Ultimately, Ryan learned to fly in the family Cub and got his sport pilot certificate. “Later, sticking with light-sport aircraft, I started restoring the Aeronca Chief that had been sitting in the corner of Dad’s hangar forever,” he said. “He and I spent a lot of time on it, but we lost him a few years ago, and I now look at the Chief as a monument to him.”

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About that time, Ryan decided to upgrade from a sport pilot to a private pilot certificate and bought a in which to learn. Then the Waco IBA entered his life. “I’d known about Waco IBAs for a long time, but never once thought I’d ever get the opportunity to buy one,” Ryan said. “I’ve been into antiques forever, and when I was growing up, I’d see a photo of an IBA and flip out every time. They are unbelievably beautiful! Just what I want to see in an airplane. But, since only one had survived, when I started thinking about getting a Waco, I was mostly thinking about cabin jobs.” Then, Ryan met Ed and Luke Lachendro from Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, who rescued the sole surviving IBA from storage in California. “[They] had the Johnson brothers, Ryan and Cory, in Lone Rock, Wisconsin, patch it up and bring it back to life,” Ryan said. “On a whim, via Facebook, I asked Ed if the IBA was for sale, and he said, ‘Maybe. Someday.’ And I told him in no uncertain terms that I wanted first rights, if he ever decided to sell. Shortly after that, I got a note from him asking if I was still interested, and he said he’d give me the friends and family price. I didn’t ask how much. I simply said I’d take it, and he said, ‘Don’t you want to talk it over or anything?’ and I said, ‘No, where do I send the money?’ “At the same time I said that to Ed, I asked myself, ‘Ryan, where are you going to get the money?’ I immediately sold the Viper and put the up for sale, but it wasn’t going to sell quickly and I needed to finish my certificate,” Ryan said. “So, a very close family friend, Steve Givens, suggested he become a ‘temporary partner’ until I could get the sold. So, we went up and brought the IBA back.”

AIRVENTURE AND THE HARTER FAMILY

WACO-SPEAK

There’s something to be considered, when talking about Wacos and their seemingly indecipherable three-letter designations (at least to those outside of the Waco circle). Waco designations are “ordered combinations” so the basic concept of Waco-speak is straight forward: The first letter denotes the engine type, the second is a recognized type of Waco wing design, and the third letter indicates the fuselage type. So, in the case of the Waco IBA, the I indicates a hp Kinner B-5 engine, the B means it has the same wings as the Waco F-2, and the A indicates that it is a two-place, side-by-side, open-cockpit design. Now all we need to do is remember what each of the dozens of letters stand for. However, it is the A that marks Ryan’s airplane as being truly unique, which is part of the reason he lusted after it for so long. The A-fuselage airplanes were different in that the pilot and passenger sat side by side. Twenty-two of those fuselages were built, but only one left the factory with the Kinner B-5 making it an IBA.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY EAA ARCHIVES, JIM KOEPNICK

A SURVIVOR’S TALE

Going back to the beginning, the IBA has been dogged by bad luck. One was wrecked by the factory so N was the only one to leave the factory. Then, in the owner, who was a fur trader, had a rocker cover come loose, and he landed in a field to fix it. When he took off, he hit a hedgerow and flipped the airplane on its back causing extensive damage. He sent it back to the factory where they used the remains of the one they had wrecked a decade or so earlier and built one airplane out of the two. The serial number that had been on N was retained.  According to Ed, in the airplane was fully restored and spent most of its time in Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio. Ed Packard owned it for decades and had it rebuilt again in It was under his ownership when the Kinner B replaced the original B-5 and the PT compound curved forward sheet metal was fitted, making it a stunningly attractive biplane. It had experienced a few minor accidents, but then a landing Luscombe ran into it, and in Packard

TO THE HARTER FAMILY, EAA AirVenture Oshkosh is more than just a place to play with airplanes; it’s a critical part of their existence. “First, it’s worth mentioning that I’m 41 years old and have been to Oshkosh 38 times,” Ryan said. “My kids and wife, Brandy, whom I have been with since we were juniors in high school, see the fly-in as ‘our special place.’ It’s more than just a vacation; our year begins and ends there. Dad has a brick in the Brown Arch, and it’s our home away from home and has so many memories attached to it; we can’t imagine not being there.” Ryan points out an episode a few years ago when it looked as if they weren’t going to make it to Oshkosh. His daughter, Aubrey, was 2 and had to go through dialysis daily before having a kidney transplant (from her mother). That required an electrical hook-up for their campsite, which weren’t normally available. “I called up to EAA and asked if there was any way we could get a hook-up, and almost instantly they said they’d figure out how to make it happen,” Ryan said. “There wasn’t any question in their minds that we wouldn’t be able to keep Aubrey taken care of. When we’re up there, we feel as if we’re visiting family, and that episode clearly shows that EAA sees it the same way.”

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IBA decided to go through the entire airplane once again. The fabric that’s on the fuselage is what was applied during that restoration. The A-series Wacos had a unique optional “cabin” that could be bolted to the top of the fuselage, completely enclosing the cockpit. It was a tubing structure covered in Plexiglas, very rectilinear in shape, with windows and doors in the sides. With that cockpit cover in place, it has a very different look. Kinner engines of the period were progressively modified to eventually eliminate the need to hand grease the rocker arms, but the hp B in the IBA is one of the earlier Kinners. “When he sold me the airplane, Ed told me that the gentleman who last overhauled the engine, Brad Ball, said

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that it’s imperative that you grease the rockers every two hours,” Ryan said. “So, even though you have 32 gallons of fuel and are only burning about 8 gallons, your range is actually dictated by the greasing requirement. So, you pogo stick your way across country.” Ryan said that with the upgrade to the B engine, the airplane was categorized as experimental until the s, when an A&P/IA returned it to standard category.  “Essentially, Waco used F-2 wings and landing gear and designed a new fuselage,” Ed said. “They wanted a lighter, longer range cross-country airplane for the Depression era marketplace. The front pit area became a baggage compartment capable of holding 81 pounds and the main cockpit was widened for two people.

Two skinny people! The usual sitting position has the passenger putting one arm around behind the pilot over his shoulders to give more room. Also, the throttles protrude into the cockpit space from each side and look unusual. This is because they move fore and aft as throttles normally do, but they also pivot toward the center of the airplane to apply the mechanical brakes. Not a totally unique arrangement for the time.” Despite the strange, if not uncommon, cockpit setup, Ryan said he fell in love with the IBA at first sight. “On my first flight in the airplane with my instructor, Bob Snider, I immediately recognized that this was the best airplane I had ever flown,” Ryan said. “It was instant love, although I have to admit to being a little

intimidated by it. It was much larger than anything I’d flown, and I was, and still am, very conscious of flying the only airplane of its type in the world. It’s a serious responsibility.” Ryan said his first flights in the IBA were off grass, but he knew eventually he would have to put it down on pavement. “I was a lot more than a little nervous on those first hard surface landings,” he said. “However, I was totally amazed at how forgiving and controllable it was. It even does a decent job in crosswinds.” Although the airplane, and Ryan, are ready, he said their annual trek to EAA AirVenture Oshkosh won’t include the IBA in “We won’t be taking the IBA to Oshkosh until next year,” Ryan said. “My kids, Michael, 17, and Aubrey, 12, want me to take the Chief we just finished. The whole family sees the Chief as Dad’s/Granddad’s airplane that we worked so hard on together, and they want the world, and the judges, to see it. But, the IBA will make it next year.” Ryan summed up his feelings about the IBA succinctly. “I just couldn’t imagine it being this good,” he said. It looks as if the IBA has found the perfect long-term home.

Struttin’ its stuff at the Mt. Vernon fly-in in

The compound curved forward metal panels from a Ryan PT do wonders for the airplane’s profile.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY EAA ARCHIVES, JIM KOEPNICK

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From Rescued Relic to Regal

ONE RARE SPORTSTER BY SPARKY BARNES SARGENT

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PHOTOGRAPHY BY JIM BUSHA

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E

Below: Rearwin Sportster

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d Kling, Vintage , of St. Charles, Illinois, was delighted that his Rearwin Sportster had a successful flight to Oshkosh last summer. That’s because flying behind an antique LeBlond radial can sometimes be an adventure. “My buddy Joe Dougherty and I did rock, paper, scissors and he lost, so he flew it up here to Oshkosh and I followed in our Piper Clipper!” It was the second time this Rearwin had been on the flightline at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh. NC made its debut at AirVenture in , just after a restoration by Richard “Dick” Weeden, Vintage If it weren’t for Dick’s tenacious determination to breathe life back into a relic, Ed wouldn’t have had the joy and tribulations of owning and flying a Rearwin. One of only eight Rearwin Sportster s listed on the FAA registry today, it’s an exquisite treat to see this breed still flying. While the idea of restoring, owning, and flying the LeBlond-powered Sportster may conjure a nostalgic appeal, very few aviator/mechanics possess the requisite knowledge and skills to keep one airworthy. Ed rose to the self-appointed challenge and became one of them. The aviation bug bit Ed when he was very young. He was influenced by his father’s interest in naval aviation and also

September/October

by hearing the family lore about Rudy Kling, the “Speed King,” who was his father’s uncle. In September , Rudy flew his Folkerts SK-3, Jupiter Pride of Lemont, to first-place finishes in the Greve Trophy Race with a speed of mph, and the Thompson Trophy Race with a speed of mph. “I grew up seeing pictures of Rudy’s SK-3 on the wall, and read about him,” Ed said. “So I’ve liked airplanes since I was a little kid, and when I was about 5 years old, my uncle Ron gave me a ride in his J-3 Cub.” When Dick decided to sell his Rearwin, Ed thought it was a great deal, and bought it in May “It’s a pretty plane; I like its art deco look, and I thought the windshield was the coolest thing, kind of like a mini-version of the Lockheed Vega that Amelia Earhart flew,” he said. “It’s funny, after I bought it one of the first things Dick said to me was, ‘I spend most of my time looking for a place to land it!’ I’ve had it for seven years, and my longest cross-country was flying it home from Brodhead to DeKalb, Illinois. About the time I got to DeKalb, I thought, ‘I should land this thing; there’s a lot of oil on the windshield!’ The other long flight was bringing it from DeKalb to Oshkosh. We have enjoyed flying it and giving rides, but the real story is Dick and his restoration on it.” That restoration story started more than 40 years ago, when Dick decided he wanted a radial-powered airplane. But before we get to that, let’s take a brief look at this Sportster’s early life. CHAIN OF OWNERS

Powered by a hp LeBlond 5DE, NC (serial No. ) was manufactured on June 27, , by Rearwin Airplanes Inc. at Fairfax Airport in Kansas City, Kansas. Earl M. Hoaglin of Minneapolis bought NC on August 17, Earl was apparently rather pleased with his choice, because a Rearwin ad in the April issue of Southern Flight featured his jaw-dropping testimonial

Checking the fit of the new wings, which were built by Bill Amundson, to the fuselage.

about the airplane. It was Rearwin Airplane’s “ninth continuous successful year,” and the company touted the airplane’s sturdy construction in the ad: “The “Rearwin can ‘take it’: Read the Evidence – ‘Soon the wind was blowing a gale and we saw trees being uprooted below us. The air was very rough and the jolts were so forceful that we sustained severe physical shock. Between terrific blasts the gusts shook us with great force. (We could see this cyclone raze buildings and trees in its path.) We rode this storm out for an hour. Upon landing, we made a careful examination which revealed no damage from the stress and strain of the encounter.’” Not long after that harrowing experience, Earl sold the sturdy Rearwin to Harold A. Erickson of Minnesota. The Rearwin bounced in fairly quick succession from owner to owner in Minnesota and then Wisconsin — sometimes it bounced hard. In July , thenowner Lyle Bobzin of Wisconsin reported that he had a forced landing due to “motor failure, which resulted in a crack-up in which the ship nosed over. … The fuselage was sprung in many places, the wings suffered broken ribs and one broken spar, the propeller also was broken.” The Sportster was repaired by March Nicholas Stahl bought the Rearwin in June and took it to Kansas City, Kansas. He had Hayes A wheels and brakes installed, along with a full swivel tail wheel in place of the original tailskid. The airplane changed hands again and went briefly to Arizona, and then back to the Upper Midwest in By December , Andrews Flying Club of Bay City, Wisconsin, had the airplane undergoing a “makeover” by rejuvenating its finish and applying fresh coats of dope, as well as installing a new windshield and windows. They

PHOTOS COURTESY OF PAT WEEDEN

“It always seemed to draw a crowd because not many people had ever seen a small airplane like that with a radial engine.” — Dick Weeden Dick Weeden completed his restoration of NC in

even tried it out on A Federal skis that winter, but by September , the Rearwin had apparently suffered another nose over, which resulted in the wings being repaired and re-covered. The airplane was registered to the club until its registration was canceled in It languished for two decades, eventually winding up in a shed next to Bernard Pietenpol’s shop in Cherry Grove, Minnesota. RESCUING A RELIC

In , Dick and a friend of his, LeRoy “Bud” LaBarre, were looking for an airplane project and found the Rearwin. “It was owned by Vi Kapler, who was an old mechanic for Bernie Pietenpol,” Dick said. “Vi had a Funk project and this Rearwin project in the shed, and said, ‘$1,, take your pick.’ I wanted a round engine, so we picked the Rearwin. It was missing a wing and many small parts and was in need of an extensive rebuild.” It wasn’t surprising that Dick was drawn to the idea of restoring the Rearwin. He’s been actively engaged in numerous facets of aviation, as both a pilot and a mechanic, for 70 years. “Dad has always had aviation in his blood; his

first entry in his logbook was when he was 16,” said Dick’s son Pat. “He lived down in Beloit, Wisconsin, and he used to ride his bike out to the South Beloit, Illinois, airport. He was a lineboy, and when the Korean War came he joined the Air Force so he wouldn’t get drafted in the infantry. He was a mechanic in the Air Force for four years.” Dick became a charter member of EAA Chapter and is synonymous with Brodhead Airport’s (C37) evolution into a haven for antique and homebuilt airplanes. As the years went by, Dick never gave up on his restoration of NC He slowly began working his way through myriad tedious challenges, including tracking down the previous owner, Roland Andrews of the old Andrews Flying Club. Fortunately, Roland was willing to execute a bill of sale for the airplane, which was essential in establishing continuity in the chain of ownership. “It took me the next 18 years to restore it: There was a lot of stuff missing, and I had to do a lot of scrounging,” Dick said. “I had to get some certification drawings from the FAA to build new wings, and it took conwaytransport.com.au 41

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PHOTOGRAPHY BY ERIN BRUEGGEN

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SPECS Manufactured under ATC Not eligible to be flown by a sport pilot. ENGINE: hp LeBlond GROSS WEIGHT: 1, pounds EMPTY WEIGHT: pounds USEFUL LOAD: pounds PAYLOAD: pounds WINGSPAN: 35 feet AIRFOIL: NACA M-6 LANDING GEAR TREAD: 5 feet, 10 inches WING AREA: square feet WING LOADING: pounds per square foot POWER LOADING: pounds per hp LENGTH: feet HEIGHT: 6 feet, 9 inches BAGGAGE CAPACITY: 50 pounds FUEL: 24 gallons OIL: 2 gallons MAX SPEED: mph CRUISE: 98 mph LANDING SPEED: 35 mph RATE OF CLIMB: fpm RANGE: miles SERVICE CEILING: 13, feet LENGTH OF TAKEOFF RUN: feet

about two years of stop-and-go work to build them. The wings were built by Bill Amundson in his Stoughton, Wisconsin, shop. About that time I had a heart attack and subsequent bypass surgery, and it was now , and I was 64 years old. So, I retired and went to work on the Rearwin in earnest about that time. By then I had also bought out Bud Labarre’s half, and I continued working on it slowly and doing something every day. I had help from a lot of people at Brodhead, as well as my wife, Polly, who sewed the fabric for it. Finally, in May , it was completed.” Dick replaced tubing that had been damaged by rust and bullet holes in the fuselage, and used Rearwin drawings and an old wing as a pattern to construct the new wood wings. Fortunately, the old fittings and compression struts could be reused, and he installed new cables, pulleys, fairleads, and turnbuckles. Incorporating modern technology and materials, Dick installed an Ameri-King emergency locator transmitter in the Rearwin, and covered the airplane with Poly Fiber fabric. He also installed a Curtis quick drain valve in the lowest point of the fuel system, and installed heel brakes in place of the original suspended toe brake pedals. He retained the cable operated mechanical brakes and installed a Lang model C tail wheel on the existing tailskid spring. Knowing that the five-cylinder LeBlond E had some valve issues, Dick methodically went through the steps to accomplish a Continental valve conversion using Continental O valve springs in place of the original LeBlond volute valve springs. The Rearwin was issued a special airworthiness certificate in the experimental category for research and development until the required hours were flown, and the airplane was then issued a standard airworthiness certificate. REGAL REARWIN

“I made the first flight, which went perfect,” Dick said. “I took it to Oshkosh, and they parked me beside the only Pasped Skylark, which had been restored by Tom Brown. So naturally there was a big crowd around the Skylark and some of them filtered over to the Rearwin. Then I took it to Blakesburg, Iowa, [for the annual AAA/APM Invitational Fly-In] and my son Mike and I gave about 20 rides during the fly-in. It won the Texas Chapter Choice, Wisconsin Chapter Choice, Rearwin Family Award, and the Antique Sweepstakes Award. I had a backseat of trophies to bring home!” The Rearwin garnered favorable press coverage as well, gracing the cover From left to right, Ed Kling, his son Max, and Pat Weeden with the Rearwin at AirVenture

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of Vintage Airplane in January with a feature article by Budd Davisson. The Rearwin was also featured on the cover of the Rearwin Register (published by the Rearwin Club, January ), accompanied by Dick’s short article about his restoration. In , Dick opted to remove the original Goodyear model 31M9M 3-inch wheels, brakes, and tires and tubes, since replacements were hard to find. He machined adapter/spacers to install Shinn model 6E wheels, Shinn brake assemblies, and Goodyear tires and tubes. Overall, Dick was quite pleased with his relic-to-regal Rearwin Sportster. “I’ve gone to a lot of fly-ins with it and taken numerous people for rides, including my grandchildren,” he said. “It always seemed to draw a crowd because not many people had ever seen a small airplane like that with a radial engine. But I got to the point where I could not get in and out of it due to my bad back, so I sold it and Ed Kling bought it. I’m glad he’s happy with the airplane and flying it.” LEBLOND RADIAL

Pat, Vintage , who literally grew up with his father’s Rearwin project (and is now executive director of the Kelch Aviation Museum at Brodhead), was checked out in the airplane by his flight instructor brother, Mike. “I remember when we were flying it, Dad would say, ‘When you go to full throttle for takeoff, as soon as you’re safe, back it off. Do not run that engine at full throttle for more than 16 seconds. It’s just the way LeBlonds are — if it’s running good, you fly it, but like Dad says, always have a place to land.” “Dick told me to pull the wheels off the ground and throttle it back in 16 seconds, and climb out slow,” Ed added. “That was his rule; you don’t want to break it. The LeBlond is a problematic engine, and even though it’s had a valve conversion, it still sticks valves.”

One of Ed’s memorable experiences with the LeBlond occurred when he was flying a short distance from DeKalb to Naperville. All seemed well until he heard nothing but an alarming silence. “That was when I first got the fear of God. Fifteen seconds can feel like 15 hours, and I thought, ‘Oh man, I’ve read about this!’” Ed said. “I found my spot to land, got it all set up, and then I started playing with the carb heat. I got it back to about 70 percent power and I wasn’t losing altitude, so I’m like, ‘Oh, I can make this field over here … oh, I can make that field.’ Then all of a sudden the airport’s in sight, and between me and the airport is a little town. Oh, now this is bad! I was starting to lose altitude and barely cleared the fence at the airport. I stopped in the grass, and my knees were knocking when I got out of the airplane. It was a valve problem, and after we got it going again, I had the same thing happen. So the last three years, the Rearwin has been relegated to flying the pattern, which is

PHOTOGRAPHY BY ERIN BRUEGGEN, SCOTT PELKOWSKI, SPARKY BARNES SARGENT

why we’ve only put about 40 hours on it since we’ve had it.” In , Ed decided he needed to have a second engine on hand, just in case the E gave up the ghost entirely. “Erik Dienst has helped us do a lot of maintenance on it, but Dick is the only one who really knows the LeBlond motor,” Ed said. “And Dick built a hp LeBlond F with a starter for me. That was Dick’s last engine rebuild, and he did the Continental valve conversion on that one, too.” The rarity of LeBlond engine parts is a real concern when it comes to ongoing maintenance. Ed scrounged parts and cylinders for several years, but said the sources are drying up now. Even when Dick was working on the restoration years ago, he found it challenging to find engine parts. “The LeBlond was designed in , and there was some inventory of parts at Blakesburg,” Dick said. “But some of the major interior parts like the crankshaft, connecting rods, and all the moving parts are all pretty much extinct.” conwaytransport.com.au 45

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SPORTSTER FLYING