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Mai l i n plai n brown wrapper
f rom HISTORIC AVIATION
o Amphibian TheStory of The
Loeni ng Bi pl ane
by
Grover Loening
Complete history of the " flying
shoehorns." Photos so good,
text so detailed and the book a
workofart .You'llhavetohaveit
for yourlibrary. 10" x 10", 250
photos.
o Water Flying-
by Frankl inT.Kurt
3: ' If you own afloat plane orare just interested in
III water flying you will want this book. It's the first
Z all-inclusivebookaboutflyingboats,floatplanes,
and amphibians. Covers operating techniques
and historyofseaplanes. It is masterfullywritten
byaformerGrummanengineerfrom alifetimeof
testing,designing and instructing in water craft.
100photos, 15 drawings. $8_95
o The Ford AirTours 1925-1931
by Leslie Forden
3: A complete story in text and
III photos of the seven cross-
Z country" ReliabilityTours" Pro-
fusely illustrated, incorporating
muchcollateralmaterialandan
interesting "whatever hap-
pened to ...?" section in the
back relating capsule histories
ofTourparticipants.Amustfor
the enthusiasts reference lib-
$11.00
rary. BV2x 11 .
o TheyCall Me Mr_Al rshow
by Bill Sweet
Morethan an autobiographyof
Mr. Sweet,this book is a lively
accountofBillSweet'sassocia-
tion with the greats of the air
show circuit from the 20's on.
The book is exciting, informa-
tive and in places riotously
humorous.Onceyoustartread-
ing you won't be able to put it
down.
o CessnaGuidebook
Mitch Mayborn and Bob Pickett
CompletelikepredecessorStearmanGuidebook.
Contains photos of every single engine model
built through the Airmaster series and WWII
Bobcat,threeviewdrawingsofthe mostsignific-
antversions,reprintsofoldadvertisingandcom-
plete serial listings for military Bobcats. Anyone
who haseverflownoradmiredCessnawill want
thisone.
U.S.Ci vil Aircraft
byJoseph Juptner
The antiquers bible. Ency-
clopediaofATCplanesgivinga
complete description, history,
production data, performance,
specifications with excellent
photocoverage. Colorfulnarra-
tivesarewoventhroughouttell-
ing of successes, failures and
little-known anecdotes. Each
volume covers 100 ATC' s.
300 + photos & 300 pages.
$6_95
O Val .1,ATC #1 thru # 100, 1927-29. . .$9.95
oVol. II, ATC #101 thru #200, 1929 . . .$9.95
oVol. III,ATC #2011hru #300, 1929-30 $9.95
oVol .IV,ATC #301 thru #400,1930-31 $9.95
oVol .V, ATC #401 thru #500 193133 $9.95
oVol .VI.ATC#501thru# 6001933-35 $11.95
Vol. #6 covers sucn golden age classics as
3: theDC-2,RyanST,Luscome Phantom,Taylor
" Silver Club" and some of the great Stin-
sons,FairchildsandWaco models,and more.
HISTORicAVIATION
printsand books for the collector
3850-8Coronation Rd. Eagan,Minn. 55122
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19
'The Invincible
Center-Wing(s)
by
JimHall (EAA 25198)
1588 Gleasman Road
Rockford, Illinois 61103
(All Photos Courtesy of the Author)
(Editor's Note: In the August 1973 issue of THE VIN-
TAGE AIRPLANE we carried a feature entitled "What-
ever Happened To The Invincible Center-wing?", the
Invincible Center-wing being a rather advanced aircraft
producedinManitowoc,Wisconsinin 1929, IntheOctober
1973 issue we carriedan articlein which itwas revealed
thatOean Crites ofWaukesha, Wisconsin purchasedthe
Center-wingandlatersoldittoa pilotfromOhiowholater
was killedin the machine. This month we come up with
mostof the remaining pieces otthe puzzle. Jim Hall of
Rockford, Illinoistreats us to some reallyrare oldphoto-
graphsandthe wordthatthere werethreeand, possibly,
a fourth Invincible. .. butletJim tell it.. .)
The Invincible was born into that special era in avia-
tion shortly after Lucky Lindy made his epic crossing.
The memory of the Great War was starting to fade, the
economy was booming and flying had captured the atten-
tion of a great many people. Furthermore, aircraft en-
gines and airframe construction methods had reached an
unprecedented degree of reliability.
The Invincible Metal Furniture Company of Mani-
towoc, Wisconsin entered this booming aircraft industry
with a classy cabin style monoplane. An advertising bro-
chure put out at the time of introduction proclaimed the
aircraft to be an engineering accomplishment of great
sig'nificance. "Wings are placed in alignment with the
center of the propeller thrust, giving perfect balance and
greater speed under all flying conditions", proclaims the
20
The 3 seat Center-Wing, powered by a 125 hp LeBlond
radialandsuperblyfinished.The planewas testflownon
wheels andskis at Manitowoc Airport,
advertisement. It seems that the Invincible engineers
may have had a few years on the Goodyear race plane
designers of two decades later. In view of the continuing
successes of mid-wing Formula One designs, the logic
of that 1929 sales pitch is exceedingly tough to deny.
Actually, three different aircraft were built by Invinci-
ble in the late twenties. One was a very snappy little two-
seater. It had an open cockpit and was powered by a 110
hp Kinner. It also sported a full cantilever mid-wing. Once
again, the Invincible engineering staff had used a rather
advanced-for-it's-day concept. This aircraft was later dis-
mantled and put into storage, Of special interest to you
eternally optimistic restorers, is the fact that the main
wing spars from this airplane are this very day being
stored in the rafters of the loft they originated in so
many years ago. Time has misplaced all but these wing
spars.
The second aircraft to be built was the very one re-
ported on in an earlier issue of THE VINTAGE AIR-
PLANE. It is also the one featured in the 1929 adver-
tising brochure. It was a dean "center-wing" four place
cabin ship. Powered by a 170 hp Curtiss Challenger, the
aircraft featured oleo landing gear, steerable tail wheel,
brakes, and a fuselage of chrom-moly steel tubing. (My
"modern" 1946 Taylorcraft differs very little in construc-
tion.) The wings were built up of spruce and the entire air-
craft was fabric covered. This aircraft was owned and
flown by Mr. Dean Crites after purchase from the Invin-
cible. It has been reported that this aircraft was later sold
and destroyed in a crash in Ohio.
SPECIFICATIONS OF THE INVINCIBLE CENTER-WING
FOUR PLACE AIRPLANE
Span...................................... 40 ft. 0in.
Length .... . .... . .......... .. ..... .. ....... 25 ft. 7 in.
Height ..................................... 7ft. 3 in.
TopSpeed .................................. 142 mph
Cruising Speed .............................. 120 mph
LandingSpeed ............................... 42 mph
Rate of Climb .............................. 1,000 fpm
Airfoil ..................................... NACM-15
W'mg Area................................. 228 sq. ft.
Engine...................... Curtiss Challenger170 hp
Gasoline Capacity.......................... 60 Gallons
Oil Capacity ................................ 5 Gallons
Range...................................... 700 Miles
The third aircraft built was the one that captured the
heart of the writer. (NOTE: The aircraft are described
in a sequence of one, two, and three, while original fac-
tory photographs indicate that the craft were built simul-
taneously.) This last Invincible was the cleanest, raciest
of the three aircraft built. It too was of mid-wing design,
but it was a three place aircraft powered by a 125 hp Le-
Blond :adial. Finishing touches on this ship were just
fantash.c. From close examination of company photo-
graphs It would dearly have been a trophy winneratany
0y-m. The name "Invincible" was even carefully lettered
In gold leaf on the fuselage sides: All this in 1929.
Extensive test flying ofthis airplane was done atMani-
towoc during thewinterof1929. Tests wereconductedon
both skis and wheels. A Manitowoc pilot by the name of
Mr. C. Klackner was lucky enough to have been the "kid
at the fence" during the days of the Invincible Aircraft
t ~ t flights. He recently described the day the complete
taIl was sawed off of the opencockpit two seater. Anen-
tirely different tail assembly was then welded in place.
This completely explained some very puzzling factory
photos.
Having been bornand raised in Manitowoc, I have al-
ways had more than a passing interest in the Invincible
story. I can remember my mother telling me of the time
she watched an Invincible airplane being loaded from the
fa.ctory directly onto a railroad flatcar. Factory data in-
?ICated that the airplanes left Manitowoc "by air". Then
It was remembered that the rail line did pass the Invinci-
ble factory in 1929. The rails also were adjacent to the
Manit.owoc airport(as theyare to thi s day). It appears that
ev.en m 1929 it was easier to ship by rail (even only three
mIles) than to drag an airplane through the streets of
"downtown"!
The late Mr. Florian Stradal was the treasurer of the
Invincibl e in 1929. During the 1973 Christmas Holi-
days, he related that the three place airplane was sold
to a young man in Kentucky. A few years later the craft
was destroyed in a fatal crash while e ngaged in aero-
batics.
While it is obvious that the Invincible designs were
advanced for their day, the three aircraft described
were the only ones built. This can plainly be attributed
to the fact that while the "Invincible" may have been
invincible, the economy wasn't! Fortunately, the metal
furniture business has endured and the Invincibl e rolls
on.
The man behind the Invincible in 1929 was the late
Mr. John Schuette. He not only ramrodded the entire
LEFT. Front view of the full canti-
lever, tapered wing two place Invin-
cible. Note the early balloon tires.
BonOM. The two place, side-by-
side Invincible. Power was a 110 hp
Kinner. Note the "seam" in the fuse-
lage just in front of the tail - this was
where the fuselage was cut in two and
lengthened.
enterprise, but actuall y tes t fl ew the airpl a nes along with
Mr. Earl Beach and Mr. Bill Williams.
Apparently, the aircraft were to be marketed through
existing metal furnitur e repr ese nt ati ves . Perh a ps the
entire story is quite aptl y summed up in the foll owing,
taken fr om a letter addressed to Mr. Schuette a nd writ-
ten by Mr . Charl es K. Wa lter, a manufacturer's repre-
sentati ve of the Invincibl e, then and now. " Maybe I' m
wrong, but it seems to me that fl yers then were a dif-
ferent breed than the techni cians who man today's com-
puter controll ed pl a nes, bu t that may be a n unfair com-
parison because today's technology demands a di ffere nt
type.
But the truths that yesterday's pil ots di scovered, and
the practi ces of sa fe fli ght that they evolv ed thr ough
trial a nd sometimes fatal error served to es tablis h the
basi c ground rul es that govern aviati o n today .. And in
our way, we were a part of that pi o neering eft ort, yo u
perhaps far more tha n mos t of us .
The smell of burned hi gh octane fuel, mingling with
the fresh air of a cri sp autumn day, the thrill of the take-
off and the fe eling that you were trul y lord of all you sur-
veyed, different fr om ordinary mortals who were earth-
bound, these days are gone now, but they persist in mem-
ory and always will. Tha nk you again for bringi ng them
back to me." Date: October 19, 1969 - Chambl ee, Georgia .
Mr. John Sc huette Jr . is prese ntl y running the [n-
vincibl e factory. Through hi s gracioll s efforts and those
of Mr. Wilmer Lad wig, Tool a nd Di e Department, the
aviati on hi story of thi s company has been revealed. Mr.
Schuette Jr. never res umed building aircraft , but since
he did solo in a Cub and later own and fl y a WW II Timm
trainer, he must trul y be considered a chip off th e old
bl ock!
Aft er digging into such an interesting story, one hopes
to find factory drawings or something to help resurrect
an Inv incible. Unfo rtunately, no such drawings exis t.
Still. . Mr. Kl ackner vaguely rcall s a fourth airpl ane
It was gray in color . . . Maybe in a barn . . . Some-
where .. .
Orop testing the landing gear of the four-place in the
Invincible loft.
The four place with company officials in 1929.
. ~
22
1974 NATIONALWACO FLY-IN ... BELOVED HiSTORIAN ...
(Continued from Page12) (Continued from Page 19)
1939
1940
1940
1940
1940
1941
1941
1941
1941
1941
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1942
1942
1941
ARE
UPF-7
UPF-7
UPF-7
UPF-7
UPF-7
HPF-7
UPF-7
UPF-7
UPF-7
UPF-7
UPF-7
UPF-7
VKS-7F
NC20953
NC700PF
NC29353
NC29945
NC30122
NC30165
NC32065
NC32083
N02084
NC32091
C32168
N02193
N09717
NC31653
Ri chard Austin, Gree nsboro,
NC
Mi ke Ci ro ne, l ewisvill e,
Ohio
Cla rke Hubba rd, Ho us tu n,
TX
Jo h n Skinner, Gra nd Ridge,
Il
Bob Wagner, Dayton, Ohi o
Jo h n Shue, York, PA
Don Schmitz, Dayton, Ohi o
Dick Wagner, lyons, WI
loe l Crawfor d , Ha rvard, II
Porte r lee, Westminster, MD
Mike Pa ngia , Was hing ton,
D. C
Victor Ing ram, Ba d Axe, Ml
Geo rge Gers pache r,
Centerville, Ohio
Vince Mariani , Fi ndlay, Ohio
Sointegrated with the pas t, presentandfuture ofavia-
ti on is he that one C..1 n envision Mr. Hatfield dropping off
to sleep aft er one of hi s 12-hour work days. As he levels
off at crui se altitude, the wonderful old ships that thun-
dered out ofBurbank on their way togreet the dawn over
Kansas wheat fi elds come into formati on. Wasps and
Hornets straining for altitude, Ham-Standard prop disks
glinting like quicksilver in the moonlight , polished pl y-
wood, fabri c, and aluminum, sleek and cool in the ni ght
air, on wa rd they roar. Vega, Air Express, Sirius, Gamma,
Laird, Wedd ell-Willi a ms, Mulli gan, Gamma, Altair,
Ori on, H-l, Seversky. The gloriou s airmen who lifted
the hearts of the nati on in the terribl e yea rs of the grea t
depression assembl e about him. Pos t, Turner, Lindbergh,
Hawks, Doolittle, Weddell, Howard, Tomlinson, Kings-
ford-Smith, Mantz, Hughes and Cochran.
As our sons thunder out from " the green hill s of
earth" to meet their destiny in the sta rs, they will go
knowing fr om whence they came and of tha t "gallant
d an" whi ch came before them through the work of thi s
dedicated man. Beloved hi stori an, we salute you.
CLASSIFIEDS
FOR SALE - Antique Piper J-5A Cruiser, 1940,
FORSALE - 1941 Porterfi eldCP-65, 708 SMOH,
3-place, fancy paint, fresh OH and license, leo-
46 STOH, licensed to Nov. '74. Don Straughn,
pard interi or, $4600. Draws crowds wherever
4N685 Brookside East, St. Charl es, Ill. 60174.
it goes. Oassic Fairchild 24R '46. Fresh license,
Ph. 312-584-3124.
beautiful paint and interior. Aeromati c prop.
Runs perfectly. $8900 incl udes load' of extras
plus 2 engi nes. Photos and detail info upon re-
quest. L. jennings, 2280 Aloma Ave., Winter
Park, Fla.32789. Ph.305-644-O<lBO anytime. -
Calendar Of Events
AUGUST ~ - ALBERTLEA,MINNESOTA- Skyrama'74.Airportdedi-
cati on. Contact R. J. Lickteig, Box 731, Albert Lea, Minn.
AUGUST 25 - SB'TEMBER 2 - BLAKESBURG, IOWA - Fourth Annual
Nati onal invitationalAAA-APM Fly-In - Antique Airfield.
AUGUST 30 SB'TEMBER 2 . OTTUMWA, IOWA - Ottumwa Antique
Airplane Conventi on. Ottumwa Airport. Sponsored by Antique Air-
men, inc. Cont act: j . C. "Chuck" Weber, 441 Berry Rd., Barrington,
111. 60010.
SEPTEMBER 13-15 - GALESBURG, ILLINOIS - 3rd National Stear man
Fly-In. Contact: jim Leahy, 445 N. Whitesboro, Galesburg, Ill. 61401 .
ORTom Lowe, 823Kingston Lane, CrystalLake, Ill .60014.
Back Issues Of The Vintage Airplane
Limited numbers ofback issues ofTHE VINTAGE AIRPLANEareavailable at .SOC each. Copies still on
handatEAAHeadquar ters are:
1973- MARtH,APRIL, MAY,JUNE,JULY,AUGUST,SEPTEMBER,OCTOBER,NOVEMBER,DECEMBER
1974 - JANUARY, FEBRUARY, MARCH, APRIL, MAY, JUNE, JULY
23