(Photo by Ted Kaston)

THE
PRESIDENT'S
PAGE
By E. E. "Buck" Hilbert
President, Antique-Classic Division
In cooperation with our EAA Aerobatic Division, I recently hosted a meeting of FAA, lAC
and ourselves. The topic of the meeting was Unsatisfactory Reports on aircraft, engines and
equipment. These URs go under several titles. The FAA would like to call them Service Diffi-
culties, the lAC calls them Malfunction and Defects. Whatever they are called they mean some-
thing doesn't hold up - or broke - or just doesn't work right.
FAA wanted data compilation and then dissemination of the information as the computer
detected any "trends". Before I go further, thelAC Division is far ahead of FAA on this. They
have a Malfunction and Defect Committee and publish a monthly report in their magazine -
an up-to-date, factual alert of any defect or malfunction peculiar to the aerobatic aircraft with-
in their group. lAC ~ living right up to their dedication to promote sport aerobatics with safety.
I feel they are a great group of forward looking people, and wide awake.
The ideas of FAA to maintain a computer data bank and detect trends is admirable, but with
the limited numbers and the variety of aircraft we operate there is no justification for a data bank.
We face an entirely different game but we have a distinct advantage too.
Of the Antiques and Classics we fly, there are perhaps fifteen engine types and fifty different
aircraft. A pretty fair variety and many of them no longer of current manufacture and without
recourse to manufacturer's representation, and subsequent fixes cooked up by him.
The advantage we do have though is the type clubs. The banding together of birds of a feather
has a distinct advantage. Now we have engine and airframe information about specific types
and a free exchange of information among the members .through newsletters. This exchange of
information is timely, necessary and of great value in "Keepin' 'em Flyin' " .
I advocate expansion of these type clubs, their newsletters and the exchange of information
as an answer to FAA. With the age of our airplanes there aren't any new problems, just new solu-
tions to old problems. And if you birds of a feather flock together, support your type club, and
share your problems and solutions with the other owners then we can keep the FAA out of it.
HOWTO JOINTHE ANTIQUE-CLASSIC DIVISION
Membership in the EAA Antique-Classic Division is open to all EAA members who have a special
interest in the older aircraft that are a proud part of our aviation heritage. Membership in the Antique-
Classic Division is $10.00 per year which entitles one to 12 issues of The Vintage Airplane published
monthly at EAA Headquarters . Each member will also receive a special Antique-Classic membership
card plus one additional card for one's spouse or other deSignated family member.
Membership in EAA is $20.00 per year which includes 12 issues of SPORT AVIATION. All mem-
bership correspondence should be addressed to: EAA, Box 229, Hales Corners, Wisconsin 53130.
2
I t ~ NIAbt ARl ~ t
Photo by Dick Stouffer
VOLUME 3 - NUMBER 3 MARCH 1975
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Frank Clarke, Movie StuntPilot ... Madeleine Kimotek ..... .... . .. . . . . .......... . .. . .. .. . .. . .. 4
The Uptown Swallow ..." Buck" Hilbert . . . ... . ... . . .. .. . . .... .... .... ......... . . .... .. .. .. ... 11
SunshineAt Syracuse ...Robert Elliott . .. . .. .. ... .. .. . ..... . ...... ... ..... . ..... . . ...... . . .. . 13
Reminiscing With Big Nick . . . Nick Rezich .. .. . ...... . . .. . ....... . . .. . .. . ... . . ... .... ... .. . ... 15
AntiqueTreasure Hunting ...J. R. Nielander, Jr. ..... . ............. .. .. .. .... .. .. . .. ... . ...... 19
ON THE COVER . Hells Angels "Gotha" BACK COVER .. Mercury Field. Los Angeles
Courtesy Madeleine Kimotek in 1920.
Jim Barton Collection
EDITORIAL STAFF
Publisher - Paul H. Poberezny Ed itor - Jack Cox
Assistant Ed itor - Gene Chase Assistant Editor - Golda Cox
ANTIQUE AND CLASSIC DIVISION OFFICERS
PRESIDENT -
E E HILBERT
8102 LE ECH RD .
UNION. ILLINOIS 60180
VICE PRESIDENT
J. R. NIELANDER . JR.
P O . BOX 2464
FT. LAUDERDALE . FLA. 33303
SECRETARY
RICHARD WAGNER
BOX 181
LYONS. WIS . 53148
TREASURER
GAR W. WILLIAMS , JR.
9 S 135 AERO DR.. RT. 1
NAPERVILLE , ILL. 60540
DIRECTORS
EVANDER BRITT JIM HORNE MORTON LESTER KELLY VIETS
P. O. Box 458 3850 Coronation Rd. P. O. Box 3747 RR 1, Box 151
Lumberton, N. C. 28358 Eagan, Minn. 55122 Martinsville, Va. 24112 Stilwell , Kansas 66085
CLAUDE L. GRAY, JR. AL KELCH GEORGE STUBBS JACK WINTHROP
9635 Sylvia Ave. 7018 W. Bonniwell Rd. RR 18, Box 127 3536 Whitehall Dr.
Northridge, Calif. 91324 Mequon, Wise. 53092 Indianapolis, Ind. 46234 Dallas, Texas 75229
DIVISION EXECUTIVE SECRETARY
DOROTHY CHASE. EAA HEADOUARTERS
THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE is owned exclusively by Antique ClassiC Aircraft , Inc. and is published
monthly at Hales Corners, Wisconsin 53130. Second Class Postage paid at Hales Corners Post Office,
Hales Corners, Wisconsin 53130 and Random Lake Post Office, Random Lake, Wi sconsin 53075.
Membership rates for Antique Classic Aircraf1, Inc. are $10.00 per 12 month period of which $7.00
is for the subscription to THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE. Membership is open to all who are interested in aviation.
Postmaster: Send Form 3579 to Antique Classic Aircraft, Inc., Box 229,
Hales Corners. Wisconsin 53130
Copyright 1975 Antique Classic Aircraft, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
3
(Photo CourtesyoftheAuthor)
Frank Clarke in 1928.
FRANK CLARKE, MOVIE STUNT PILOT
By Madeleine Kimotek(EAA 65266)
1332 Portsmouth Ave.
Westchester, Illinois 60153
With the advent of The Great Waldo Pepper with
Robert Redford, a movie based on the exploits of a 1920's
air circus pilot, there is a renewed interest in that now
legendary figure, the barnstormer, and concomitantly,
in screen air epics.
I thought the members of the Antique and Classic
Division might be interested in knowing a little of the
story of the man I think was the king of barnstormers
and stunt pilots, Frank Clarke. He also was the chief
pilot responsible for the aerial footage of one of the great-
est air epics of all time - Hel/'s Angels, produced by
Howard Hughes in 1927. I certainly make no claim to be
an expert on Frank Clarke's life, or on the making of Hel/'s
Angels. But through a dear friend of mine, who is now
deceased, Jim Barton, I came to know quite a bit of the
story and I would like to share it with you.
Jim Barton, known affectionately to the movie stunt
pilots and mechanics as "Jimmy", was a mechanic respon-
sible for Frank Clarke's aircraft during the filming of
Hel/ 's Angels, as well as being Frank's close friend. My
father, who is an avid air historian, decided to write a
book on the making of Hel/'s Angels and in the process
was introduced to Jim. I became interested in the pro-
ject and in a typical feminine fashion, took Jim over as my
special friend. Through a series of letters and a sharing
of photos and visits a picture began to emerge of Frank
Clarke, pilot extraordinaire, and of those far-off days
when aviation was still a glamorous adventure and pilots
looked like pilots - oily faces, creased leather jackets
and helmets, wings and puttees!
According to Mr. Robert Lincks, Frank's uncle, he be-
gan flying in 1917 with Al Wilson. Frank was originally
4
from Pasa Robl es, but ca me to the movie ca pital in the
1920' s. Because he could be counted on to provide authen-
tic, heart-s topping stunts that were just what the director
ordered, he began to accrue a li st of screen credits that
eventuall y led to his being chosen as the sinister Baron
Von Ri chter in Hell 's Angels and as Chief Pilot in charge
of the air sequences. (In 1920, in the film, Stranger Than
Fiction , which starred Katherine McDonald, Fra nk fl ew a
Jenny off a downtown Los Angeles office building. He
was known, too, for his plane-to- plane changes sa ns a
rope ladder. In the 1927 Pa the Serial, Eagle of the Night ,
he landed a nd took off on a moving passenger train. But
Hell 's Angels was hi s grea tes t assignment. )
Jim Barton left me many photographs taken during the
making of Hell 's Angels and I have included some of them
here in the hopes that the members will recognize them.
During the Second World War, Frank Clarke served
with the "Cellul oid Commandos", a moti on pictu re group,
as he was now considered too old to be a fighter pilot.
aturall y, his firs t choice had been the Flying Tigers. I
know he would have been a good one! On June 11, 1948,
he was kill ed in a BT-15 in a tragic crash whi ch occurred
at Isabella Ca nyon, Californi a. Jim was on the scene soon
afterward and he erected a cross made from the twisted
propeller bl ades. The next time you see one of th.e great
old stunt-flying epi cs, please thin k of the man behmd the
goggles - Frank Cl arke - I know I will.
Because I think Fra nk Clarke's own words are cer-
tai nl y more evoca ti ve than mine of that era I have re-
copied some magazine arti cles he wrote for Liberty maga-
zine in 1931. I know you' ll. enj oy them as I did.
I'd like to close with a poem written about Frank after
his death by a friend - Mr. Dean Spencer:
" SPOOKS" CLARKE
Midst annal s of aviation fame
Surpassing all li ving and dead
Immortalized "Spooks" one syllable name
Eternally blazed at the head.
Hater of gravity - Master of Wings
Nonpareil on the fl y
Artist of stick - he tenaci ously clings
to his' loved "Shangri-La" of the sky.
Idol of ki wis - God of all fl yers
King of stunt pilots unsung
Laymen would swear that we were damn liars
Relating the things he has done.
To know is to love him. I'm no exception
For I have been favored and blessed
With friendship of his without bond of conven_tion
The kind between men - and the best.
A toast to you, birdman. It' s fates' own decision
To wear your boots - when you depart
You' re not only hi story - By God, you're tradition
To all aviati on - "Spooks" Clarke ------
(Jim Barton Collection)
An S.E. 5 used for movie work. By 1927 these aircraft were considered to be expendable junk and
usually had a very short life with the movie studio crews.
r
5
(Jim Barton Collection)
Fokker 0.7 rigged for movie work. Notice he has company.
(Following is a portion of an article by Frank Clarke
that appeared in the June 20, 1931 edition of Liberty
magazine.)
Howard Hughes, producer and director of the picture
Hell's Angels was twenty years old, and many times a
millionaire through royalties on oil inventions perfected
by his father, when he decided to come to Hollywood
and see what could be done about making motion pic-
tures. He had done a little flying and was a rabid enthusi-
ast.
He entered the picture game over the protests of his
uncle, Rupert Hughes, the novelist, who told him he
would lose his shirt. According to all the rules of the game,
this should have been true. "Angels" for film ventures
are an old story in Hollywood. They usually were meat
for unscrupulous film sharpshooters and eventually left
town sadder but wiser, having dropped the roll in making
a few pictures that would never be shown anywhere.
However, his uncle's opinion of his ability annoyed
young Mr. Hughes exceedingly. When he determined to
go ahead he got hold of John Considine, Jr., production
chief of United Artists, and formed a partnership with
him to produce one picture. When Hollywood heard the
plot of his first story it laughed heartily. The story didn't
have any of the conventional "production" or "box-office"
6
values. It was called Two Arabian Knights, and the two
heroes were William Boyd and Louis Wolheim. There was,
strictly speaking, no heroine. It was the story of a couple
of doughboys who were captured and made their escape
through a series of fantastic circumstances.
While it was being filmed Hughes spent his entire
time behind the cameras. He is something of a mechani-
cal genius and it wasn't long before he knew the techni -
cal work of directing inside out. Because of his curiosity
it took about twice as long as ordinary to film the picture
and cost about twice as much - something in the neigh-
borhood of $400,000, I believe.
When it was done, Hollywood, as well as Uncle Ru-
pert, sat back and waited for the picture to flop and young
Mr. Hughes to disappear from filmland. But, contrary to
all predictions, when the picture was shown it was an
enormous money-maker.
Hughes then conceived the idea of an air epic. He
found his story in Hell's Angels, a tale of the British Royal
Flying Corps during the war. He began to formulate plans
for its filming - plans which more or less staggered Hol-
lywood, even though it had seen in the making such enor-
mously costly pictures as The Ten Commandments, Ben-
Hur, Old Ironsides, Wings, King of Kings, and Von Stro-
heim's extravagant ventures.
-- .
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(Jim Barton Collection)
Briefing of air crews before another day of filming " Hell 's Angels" .
(Jim Barton Collection)
Caddo Field in the San Fernando Valley - early 1928. Most of the aircraft are Thomas Morse Scouts
plus an S.E. 5.
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He started filming the preliminary sequences at the
studio, and after a few weeks had a disagreement with
the director, who quit. Hughes then stepped in and an-
nounced that he would direct the picture himself.
Meanwhile he purchased the play, The Racket, and
filmed it, starring Thomas Meighan, with Lewis Mile-
stone directing. It was voted one of the ten best pictures
of the year and was a big money-maker. He also produced
another Meighan picture - The Mating Call.
Hughes originally prepared to film the air sequences
of Hell's Angels, which occupy half of the picture, at an
air field near Inglewood. He built a mess hall and barracks
in preparation for his fleet of planes, etc. Later, however,
he decided that cloud conditions would be better in the
San Fernando Valley, so he leased what had been an al-
falfa field there and turned it into an air field, completely
equipped with hangars, a mechanical department, and
lights for night flying. He called it Caddo Field, after the
corporate name of the company.
He then began to assemble a fleet of planes of wartime
vintage. He insisted on the utmost possible accuracy in
detail. This was no easy task, for by 1927 a good part of
those old wartime planes had disappeared. A large part
of those to be found were in such condition that they were
beyond hope of repair.
One of the first planes he bought was a Sikorsky bomb-
er, five or six years old. It had a wing spread of eighty-
four feet, and when flown out from the east by Roscoe
Turner it was the largest plane that had ever been seen
on the Pacific coast. This was the nearest replica available
of a Gotha bomber of the type used in the war.
The story of Hell's Angels revolved around two broth-
ers in the flying corps, and Ben Lyon and James Hall were
engaged for the roles.
It was at about this time that I joined the company and
became chief pilot on the picture. Frank Tomick was en-
gaged to fly the No. 1 camera ship throughout the pro-
duction.
Hughes himself had learned to fly, and bought a Waco
job with a Wright Whirlwind motor for his own use.
The wartime planes were bought wherever we could
find them. Among others we had a number of S. E. 5s,
powered with Hispano motors. There were also several
Fokker D-7s that had been used in the war. Their Mer-
cedes motors had been replaced with Hall Scott L 6s. Then
there were some Thomas Morse ships with Le Rhone rotary
motors; some Avros, the British training plane, and a num-
ber of Canucks, which were used for crash scenes. The
Canucks were the Curtiss Canadian training planes, re-
sembling our Jennys, except for different rigging and
double ailerons .
Various other ships were rented as the need arose.
The gang of pilots who were assembled made me think
of the old days. Among them were Frank Tommick, Jack
Rand, Leo Nommis, and Maurice (Loop the Loop) Mur-
phy.
In taking the job as chief pilot, I had insisted on the
employment of Roy Wilson, who is one of the greatest
in the business. The first air work consisted largely of
take-offs and landings, the scenes depicting a British
training ground.
Later, as we began to get into the air scenes, a good
many planes and pilots were added. In all, I guess we used
more than 125 planes in the pictures, including those
that were cracked up, and employed even more pilots.
There were many changes in personnel, as a lot of them
didn't stick with us because of the antiquated craft we
were using.
In speaking of Leo Nommis, I should mention the
fact that he was not only a stunt man in the air, but also
in automobiles. He was once a race driver, and special-
ized in smashing up automobiles and turning them over
for spectacular scenes in pictures.
Ben Lyon and Jimmy Hall flew in the old bomber
throughout the picture. Ben became a real airplane en-
thusiast and a regular pilot. Both he and Bebe Daniels,
his wife, are crazy about aviation.
It was while Ben was learning to fly that a very amus-
ing incident happened. The flyers on the Ford reliability
tour had arrived in Los Angeles and were to be enter-
tained at the open-air dining room of the Los Angeles
Breakfast Club at 8:00 A.M.
Somebody had thought up the idea of having Roscoe
Turner and Ben Lyon fly low overhead during the cere-
mony and throw a flock of flowers down.
They were going to use Roy Wilson's plane, which
was at Caddo Field. When they arrived that morning at the
field they were late, and Turner was in such a hurry that
he didn't stop to listen to Wilson explain his trick gas sys-
tem.
They flew down over the Breakfast Club and were do-
ing their stuff when the motor suddenly cut. There was
plenty of gas in the plane, but Turner had opened the
wrong tank. The ship had to land in the bed of the Los
Angeles River and turned over. By some miracle the river
at that time had about eight inches of water in it.
Ben and Turner crawled out, a rather woebegone Sight,
while the reliability flyers stood on the bank and cheered,
saying they had expected to be entertained but not quite
so royally as by having Ben Lyon put on a crash for them!
Few people, even pilots themselves, have any con-
ception of the magnitude of the task of maintaining a
military squadron. Many people have seen army fields,
but everything there goes off so smoothly and with so little
apparent effort that it all looks simple.
Yet the old saying that for every man at the front there
must be ten behind the lines holds true in aviation, with
the added factor that every man on the ground must be an
expert.
For the filming of Hell's Angels not only did Howard
Hughes, the boy producer, have to establish a flying field
complete in every detail and gather his planes and pilots,
but he also had to gather a complete ground crew.
At Caddo Field there were approximately 130 men on
the ground, servicing and checking the planes, keeping
the motors in tune, and doing machine-shop work. The
task was doubly difficult because most of our crates were
old and of obsolete design and in constant need of repair.
Most needed parts had to be made on the spot, as they
were either difficult to obtain or out of stock altogether.
Harry Reynolds had charge of the ground work.
Hughes gathered for the filming of this picture the
largest fleet of fighting aircraft ever brought together save
by governments. He actually owned a larger number of
fighting planes than most small nations do today.
In the final scenes of the picture we had forty wartime
planes engaged in battle in the air at one time! In addition
there were a number of camera ships. I was directing.
Added to the extensive layout at Caddo Field, a Ger-
man air field farther "Out in the valley was also acquired
and equipped.
When we started the actual air sequences, Al Johnson
was engaged to perform several of the dangerous crack-
ups. He did the first one in December, 1927. The scene
called for a steep dive to the ground, the ship turning
over on its back when it hit.
It was a tough stunt, and many of the flyers didn't be-
lieve it could be done without death or serious injury to
8
(FromJim Barton Collection)
ThisisRoscoeTurner'sSikorskyS-29Ainwhichhedida lotofbarnstormingbeforeleasingitto Howard
Hughesforuseinthemovie"Hell 'sAngels".Inthemovietheplanewaspainteduptorepresenta German
Gothabomber(seecover).TurnerclaimedthefineprintoftheleasecontracttoHughesbeathimoutofthe
plane(thecontractstipulatedthatwhen theamountoftheleasepaymentsequalledthevalueoftheair-
craft,itbelongedto Hughes) .The Sikorskycrashedduring filming ,making the argumentssomewhat
academic.
(Jim Barton Collection)
Wreckage ofthe ex-Roscoe Turner Sikorsky.
(Jim Barton Collection)
Tubular camera mount on the Sikorsky/Gotha used in
the filming of " Hell's Angels". Don Bingham, assistant
camera m,ln, on the ladder and Manuel Zamora man-
ning the machinegun.
. ,
9
I
(Jim Barton Collection)
Frank Clarke shortly before his death in June of 1948.
the pilot. But they didn't know AI. He used an old Canuck
ship and took no special precautions in preparing for the
crash.
He performed it beautifully, nosing the crate over right
in front of the cameras. He stepped out without a scratch,
with his usual luck.
The next day several of us went over to the Glendale
Municipal Airport. We were going to fly a number of old
ships from there to a field near Inglewood. It was not for
camera work and was the sort of flight any novice might
make.
Al was to take over an old built-up Avro. He was the
first to take off. Hardly had he left the ground when his
motor started to miss, and then cut out on him.
He attempted to clear the high-tension wires adjoin-
ing the field, but his marvelous sense of judging distance,
which made him one of the greatest stunt men in the
world, failed him.
He misjudged the wires and crashed into them. His
plane immediately burst into flames.
Al himself was thrown clear and lit fifty feet away. As
we ran across the field we hoped his usual luck had stayed
with him and saved him from injury.
We found him writhing in horrible agony. Although
he had broken no bones, he had breathed the flames which
enveloped the plane. His lungs were scorched.
We carried him to the road. Between gasps he said:
"This is the end. Save me the suffering. Put me out
of the way now."
There was nothing we could do for him. We rushed
him to the hospital, where he lingered a day or so, never
losing consciousness, and then died.
With him passed a master of a game that is vanishing.
But if, up beyond the Pearly Gates, they have been look-
ing for a long time for someone to change from cloud to
cloud with one hand, and without using a rope ladder,
they at last have him in AI.
Our hearts were heavy, but we had to carry on.
Everyone in our squadron was a flying enthusiast, in-
cluding Ben Lyon and Howard Hughes. It didn't really
seem like a motion-picture troupe at all.
One afternoon Ben decided he would fly from the field
back to town with one of the boys .
Hughes got the idea that Ben and Jimmy Hall were al-
ready taking enough risks riding each day in the creaky
old German bomber.
"Now, look here, Ben," he said, "I don't want you to
do any unnecessary flying. Cut it out!"
"I'll tell you, Howard," said Ben, laughing, "I'll make
you a proposition. I'll stop flying if you will. If I get killed
you can hire another actor and retake my scenes, but if
you get killed, we all stop getting paid."
"Nonsense!" snorted Hughes. "It's different with me.
In fact, I think I'll fly one of those old war crates just to
see how it goes."
Hughes had just recently obtained his pilot's license,
and purchased his new Waco with a Whirlwind motor;
but he had never tried to fly one of the old jobs.
Immediately all the pilots tried to dissuade him. But
he was stubbornness personified. He ordered an old
Thomas Morse with a Le Rhone rotary motor wheeled out
of the hangar. The boys crowded around, giving him all
sorts of advice on how to handle it.
I didn't butt in, as I figured he already had enough
advice to last him for months.
It seemed, however, that they had forgotten to tell
him the most important thing about the ship, which was
not to try to make a right-hand turn with it too soon after
taking off.
A rotary motor has a strong gyroscopic pull to the right.
It almost ducks the plane in that direction, while added
pressure is needed to turn to the left.
Hughes got in, warmed her up, taxied across the field,
and took off. He went up a couple of hundred feet and
started to bank to the right to circle the grounds.
The old crate ducked sharply, went into a spin, and
hit the ground.
As we ran across toward the crack-up we certainly
thought we were seeing the end of our meal ticket. We
found the young millionaire cut and bruised some, but
not seriously injured, although he was ordered to bed for
several days.
A couple of days after the accident Freddie Fleck, the
tall, lean and voluble assistant director of Hell's Angels,
went to see Hughes at his home.
Now the principal business of an assistant director is
to be able to explain anything, at any time, entirely satis-
factorily. Hughes called Fleck to his bedside.
"Now, Freddie," he drawled confidentially, "tell me
what really happened?"
"Why, nothing, boss, nothing at all," replied Freddie
with the air of pooh-poohing the whole thing. "You sim-
ply took off, and a minute and a half later you were flat
on the seat of your trousers on the ground."
It was the best explanation of the affair that could have
been given. From that time on Hughes was a lot easier
to handle. He had a lot more sympathy for the boys and
an understanding of their problems in handling the old
jobs.
10
(UnitedAirLines Photo)
The Swallow before restoration work began. The Curtiss "Hot Water 8" has since been removed in
favorofa WrightJ-4.
THE UPTOWN SWALLOW
PART TWO
By"Buck" Hilbert, President
Antique-Classic Division
Almost at the moment Dario Toffenetti and I acquired
the Swallow, United Air Lines began the planning for
their Fiftieth Anniversary. The publicity in The Vintage
Airplane and the subsequent article in Sport Aviation
caught the attention of UAL's Public Relations Depart-
ment. We were approached as to the possibility of using
the Swallow during the observance of UAL's predeces-
sor's initiation of air mail service fifty years ago, in April
of '76.
The thought of playing a part in this observance and
-or ret reating the original airplane and better yet, flying
the original route fifty years later, fired our imagination.
Our third partner, J. Robert Schroeder, also caught the
spirit ('76) so all that remains is to get the job done. Right
off the reel we ran into trouble. Bill Haselton, who was to
do most of the restoration, backed out. Feeling trapped in
a squeeze between the three partners and UAL then get-
ting into the picture, caused his enthusiasm to wane, es-
pecially when we began talking of returning this airplane
to the 1926 mail-plane configuration. Next thing we knew,
we were packing the airplane back on the trailer for the
return trip to Illinois, but we lucked out again.
Down towards Seneca, Illinois, lives an antiquer name
of Ed McConnell. Ed's ambition has always been antiques,
but the preys of other projects and earning a living had al-
ways prevented his participation. I caught him in between
projects and it didn't take much seIling to fire his imagina-
tion too. Ed has shelved his own projects just for the oppor-
tunity to get in there and give us a hand. His experience
and help have been a real morale booster. Things did look
pretty bleak there for a while when Bill Haselton backed
out.
To make this a 1926 J-4 Swallow air mail plane, the first
obvious thing we needed was a Wright J-4 engine. I start-
ed looking. I advertised in the Los Angeles Times, and
locally, to no avail. Then on a trip to Flabob Airport at
11
Riverside, California, Jim Appleby mentioned that Howard
Wells of Sepulveda, California had one. I contacted How-
ard and on a later trip looked over the dismantled engine.
It was not quite all there, but it was a start towards what
we needed for the project. A trade was arranged and How-
ard now has a Curtiss OXX6 and we have the makings of
a Wright J-4.
Enter Ed Woerle. Ed is a free lance writer for several
aviation publications, an A&P, and a Memphis based
mechanic for Delta Air Lines. He also has the hots to build
a Pitcairn Mailwing, and the Pitcairn has a Wright engine.
Ed is overhauling the J-4 to gain experience on Wright J-4
and J-5 engines. Of course, as an offshoot, you are apt to
be reading articles about Wright J-4 engine overhaul in one
or more aviation publications, but in the meantime, Ed is
getting educated and we are getting our engine over-
hauled. I'm sure glad this is a free country though, 'cause
when Delta Airlines finds out that one of their mechanics
is overhauling an engine for a United airplane, well ...
We have other help too. Deeply involved now is Mike
Drabik, a retired United Air Lines mechanic. Mike dates
back a long time, back to the Roaring '20s and the barn-
storming days. Then about 1928 he went legitimate and
went to work for NAT, another of UAL's predecessors .
Mike was once a foreman for the Wallace Aeroplane Com-
pany, and so his old-timer experience is a real help in the
wood-work department. Mike has become the spark-plug
of the north-side operation and is always catching me and
the boys off guard and putting us to work. With Ed Mc-
Connell working the south end we have a little competi-
tion going. When we meet in the middle, we'll have a
nearly complete airplane.
Mike and I began with the two right wings. We pulled
off all the fittings and hardware and Bob Schroeder cleaned
and Glid-Plated them all and keeps asking for more to do.
We picked, pried, pulled and poked at the woodwork but
the wings have withstood the passage of time remarkably
well; we couldn't find the slightest excuse to discard them
and build new no matter how hard we tried. About all
we've had to do is varnish after repairing a few cracked
ribs, installing new trailing edges, new drag and anti-
drag wire ends, new hardware and the reworked fittings.
Three coats of varnish and they came out looking better
than factory new. Winter weather has slowed us down, but
as soon as it breaks we'll finish up the two left ones and
have them ready for Ed to cover.
Ed, meanwhile, has stripped the fuselage down to the
bones, pulled the OX-5 firewall forward, repaired the 1933
groundloop damage to the gear, spliced a couple of cracked
tubes, and is about ready to sandblast and start out. Our
search for data on the Swallow airplanes has been very
frustrating, but that is a story in itself . . . a story that reads
like you wouldn't believe. We have just run into the top
half of the lower bureau that insists we must have the
data the lower bureau has in the basement files that the
upper bureau insists they do not have. We are being
placed in the position of revealing to the entire bureau
what they have but insist they don't have, or if they have
it, they don't have any idea where it is. Or, one hand
doesn't know where the left knee joins the elbow. Mix the
top bananas into this and remember that nobody in the
agency makes any more sense than this last paragraph
and you'll maybe get a glimmer of how it is dealing with
FAA. I've never experienced so much run-around, and
double talk in my life. I know where the records are, and
so do most of the valid antiquers in this world, but the
Agency denies they have them and further, won't look
for them because they claim they haven't the manpower.
The last time I searched out data on a project, I was forced
to go the back door route, through friends of friends who
had a friend who worked there. This friend during the
lunch hour removed the micro-filmed records they didn' t
have, mailed them to me, and after I printed them out
they were mailed back and replaced in the file . There must
be some way to get the records we need through the front
door, don't you suppose? Well, we've tried, and tried,
and tried. One more try and I'm going the other route
again.
(United Air Lines Photo)
Above - Just like a big
homebuilt.
(United Air Lines Photo)
Left - "So THAT'S why it
says, 'wing pin - do not
pull' !"
Doug Corrigan waves from caroutside AirLine Administration Bldg., before starting downtown tour ofSyracuse, New York.
"SUNSHINE" AT SYRACUSE
By Robert G. Elliott(EAA 85145)
1227OakwoodAve.
Daytona Beach, Florida 32014
"Wrong Way" Doug Corrigan visited Amboy Field,
Syracuse, New York, on Augus t 17, 1938, one month
after taking off from Floyd Bennett Field, Long Island,
where authorities had supposed he was returning to
California.
Instead, Corrigan's anticipated California flight ter-
minated at Baldonnel Field, Dublin, Ireland. on July 17,
1938.
The ancient Curtiss Robin, originally purchased for
$325.00 from Frank Cordova and subsequently named
"Sunshine", performed without serious flaw. Powered
by a Wright J6-5, 165 hp, Serial 11197, built in May 1929,
and later overhauled, it was CAB approved in October
1935. Corrigan's flight was mostly uneventful except for
a fuel leak on the floor of the cockpit. To reduce the depth
of fuel sloshing around, Corrigan punched holes in the
fabric under the floor with a screwdriver and decided to
continue on a leaner mixture.
Corrigan made -many modifications starting in April
1936, which includ .d the 225 gallon fuselage fuel tank ad-
diti on ahead of the pilot's seat. It was not until June 1938
that "Sunshine" was re-licensed NX9243.
During the summer of 1938, I was helping out around
the Amboy Field flight line selling tickets for a barnstorm-
ing pilot and thus was on hand when Corrigan landed.
Syracuse was a planned visit on his pos t-Atl antic flight
tour.
Mayor Rolland B. Marvin greeted Doug Corrigan and
conducted him on a tourlparade through downtown Syra-
cuse. Whi le all this happened I had an opportunity to
examine "Sunshine". The fuselage fuel tanks were clearly
visible forward of the pilot's seat.
When Corrigan originally purchased the Robin, it
was OX-5 powered. The Wright J6-5 not only was to prove
more reliable but also appeared to improve the overall
aircraft design. Weld marks on the exhaust manifold
showed evi dence of age and frequent repair ... or were
they burned on for effect?
Upon returning from the downtown parade, Corrigan
checked hi s Robin which was being serviced under hi s
13
superVISIOn. After saying goodbye, he taxied out for
take off. Somewhat unusual was the wing-down take
off ... but perhaps he was trying to catch a last glimpse
of the crowd waving farewell from the Amboy Field.
Years later after learning his address, I mailed Doug
Corrigan a set of photographs. His most gracious response
arrived by return mail, and he had included a photograph
of himself in the cockpit of "Sunshine" shortly after modi""
fication. At an earlier time he was employed at the Ryan
plant as a welder and had worked on C()l. Charles A.
Lindbergh's "Spirit of St. Louis", which he noted on the
rear of that photograph.
The Wright J6-5, 165 hp engine, Serial 11197, built in
May 1929 which powered Doug Corrigan's Curtiss Robin
"Sunshine" across the Atlantic from Floyd Bennett Field
to Baldonnel Field, Dublin, Ireland on July 17, 1938.
ABOVE - Wing-low take off from
Amboy Field, Syracuse, N. Y. on con-
tinuation of Post-Atlantic Flight tour.
LEFT - NX9243, Curtiss Robin on
parking ramp of the old Amboy Field,
Syracuse, N. Y. Corrigan purchased
the plane originally from Frank
Cordova for $325.00. Note the fuel
tanks visible through window of
cockpit, forward of pilot's seat.
14
THE PYLON CLUB
PART III
The Pylon Club was probably the only saloon in the
world that was maintained by A&E and ATR rated per-
sonnel. When we built the Club, I enclosed all the plumb-
ing in the "johns" with Marlite panels which made re-
pairs somewhat difficult and time consuming. When the
hot water faucet in the ladies john started to leak, I ig-
nored it and kept putting off the repairs. In about a month
the drip became a stream that required immediate atten-
tion. My good friend and club member, Capt. Bart He-
witt, was in the place when I was explaining to one of the
ladies that I would fix the leak as soon as time permitted.
Bart chimed in and said it would be repaired by Saturday.
Sure enough, Bart showed up the following Saturday
with tools and washers - ready and willing to make the
long required repairs.
I informed him that the shut off valves were located
behind the wall and that it would take a couple hours to
get to them.
He looked at me kind of funny and said, "Only a dumb
Polack would hide the valves". The next thing I know, he
is out on 63rd Street opening a man hole and down he
goes. He turned off the main water valve for the whole
street. You must realize 63rd Street is a busy main street
with medical buildings, apartments, department stores,
post office, etc., all in need of water.
With the water turned off, he comes up out of the hole
and damn near gets killed by the Saturday morning traf-
fic whizzing by. He managed somehow in getting the
cover back on and back into the place without getting
creamed.
REMINISCING WITH BIG NICK
Nick Rezich
4213 Centerville Rd.
Rockford,II/, 61102
With the water turned off, he proceeds to overhaul
all the faucets in the Club, which takes little more than
an hour.
By now all hell had broken loose at the Chicago Water
Department. Hundreds of phone calls jammed the switch
board complaining of no water. An emergency crew was
sent out to find a problem that didn't exist. By the time
the water department arrived, Bart had the water main
turned on and was back in the saloon having a beer - while
the water works guys were opening and checking man
holes up and down the street and not finding anything
wrong. To add a little salt to the water works' wound,
Bart walked out to the foreman and raised hell with him
for turning off the water.
How about Captain John Murray' s world famous
shorts? Capt. John was the unsalaried publiC relations
director of the Club who kept the name of the Club alive
worldwide. I could write a chapter on John and his in-
volvement in the Club but it would only lead to a divorce
and, possibly, "Hari Kari" .
When John announced his wedding date, we decided
to have a bachelor's party for him. We put out the word to
all of his lady friends and posted a notice in the Club. They
came from coast to coast and showered him with gifts and
cards that were, for the most part, X-rated. He also re-
ceived some personal items like the pair of bright red
Valentine shorts given to him by his favorite hostess, Miss
Jane Armstrong. When he displayed them, all the girls
screamed to have him model them. John obliged them wil-
lingly and as he continued to open gifts in his new shorts,
our buddy, Bart Hewitt, discovered that the shorts John
had taken off were much racier than the ones from Jane.
He had them passed around to all the ladies to be auto-
graphed. It was then decided that John's shorts with the
lipstick kisses and autographs should be added to the
Club's trophy case.
15
However, Jane Armstrong had other ideas - she hung
them in the ladies rest room with a sign which read, "John's
Johns".
A few days later, John flew a trip to New York and ran
into a crew that just arrived from Cairo who were going to
dead head to Chicago. When John was introduced to the
crew, one of the hostesses said, "Oh!! You're the one
whose shorts are hanging in the ladies room in the Pylon
Club!!" Blushing, John retired to the cockpit, never to be
seen for the rest of the trip. Where are the shorts today?
You will have to ask his wife, Mary - or Jane Armstrong.
It was John who led the first entourage to Warsaw,
Indiana to lay the Polish sausage at the tomb of the Un-
known Polish Soldier - yes, and they mailed post cards
all over the world from Warsaw, Indiana signed "The
Pylon Club" .
It was John who arranged the contest between myself
and Barrett Deems, who was billed as the World's Fast-
est Drummer. The contest was held at the Crown Pro-
peller Lounge on East 63rd Street. We closed the Pylon
Club at 2:00 A.M. and then raced across town with an il-
legal police escort. By illegal, I mean without the police
department's sanction. The coppers who led the race were
police officials from downtown using their private cars,
and we, like dummies, followed them. The contest was a
draw - with our crowd saying I won and Barrett's crowd
saying he won. BELIEVE YOU ME, that was a wild night!
I was surprised to find any drums left after it was over.
News traveled fast about John's party and his famous
shorts . But the night that the Pylon Club became the Py-
thon Club, word reached the four corners of the world in
a matter of hours .
It was a Friday night with standing room only when I
received a phone call from a saloon keeper friend of mine
offering me an act from his floor show. He kept telling
me what a terrific act it was and that my crowd would
really enjoy them. We were crowded and busy and with-
out asking in detail what the act was, I agreed to put them
on between our own show. About a half hour later a cou-
ple came and announced they were the act that "Ears"
had sent over and asked where the dressing rooms were.
Hell!! All we had was a 2-place ladies' john and the
same for the guys. I should have gotten suspicious about
the act right then, but I ignored it and told them it was
either the rest rooms or the storage room for dressing
rooms. They agreed on the storage room. The next clue
I ignored was the request to set up their own equipment
on stafe. I offered our band and P.A. but, no, they had to
have their own. The place was jammed to the walls and
we were really pouring the spirits and filling the sock.
Soon, the fellow comes to me and asked to have the lights
turned down (when you turned down the lights in the Py-
lon Club it became instant darkness) and announced they
were ready. I introduced the act and turned down some
of the lights.
As soon as I heard the music, I knew we had a "Hoochie
Koochie" dancer. As the spotlight hit her, a roar of whis-
tles and applause sounded as she started dancing through
the crowd wearing only a g-string and two tiny pasties.
She carried on for about ten minutes with her gyrations,
then danced back into the dressing room. I joined the
crowd with a round of applause, when all hell broke
loose.
When the spotlight picked her up this time she was
wearing a 12 foot Python snake and was holding the head
with one hand. The whistles and applause now turned to
screams and shrieks as she started to wiggle her way to
the stage. En route to the stage she was poking the snake's
head at the customers who were face to face with this
" hoochie-koochie". By now you could hear the screams
and shrieks in Los Angeles. In the meantime, the ones up
front were trying to crawl over the bar for protection or
going out the door. The Coup-de-Main and the Coup-de-
Grace came when she reached Dan Clark. He reached over
and pinched her and she let go of the Python which
promptly sprang around Dan - that did it!! The joint
cleaned out in seconds with screaming ladies leaving be-
hind their purses, cigarettes, lighters, gloves or what-
ever else they had.
When it was all over, the only ones left in the place
were Dan Clark, his wife, Eva, and daughter, Grace. Be-
hind the bar with me and the bartenders were Carmen
and Hank, Bobby, Joe Scanlon, Jim O'Connor and our P. R.
man, Capt. John. The Python Lady dressed, packed her
pet, thanked me for letting her perform and left. I called
my friend "Ears" and thanked him for cleaning out my
business . I also advised him that I was sending him an
act for his midnight show - two butchers who would re-
lieve him of his manhood at the bar!
That little stunt cost me $500.00 in revenue that night,
but I reaped ten times that amount in publicity. The next
day I received phone calls and telegrams from all over the
country - all addressed to the "Python Club" . And so
the Pylon Club became known as the Python Club. The
Club was responsible for turning a few people's careers
around, also.
The Club had its own regular band, the Henry Riggs
Quintette and myself on drums, and on Tuesday nights
we would have an old fashioned jam session. The rea-
son for having it on Tuesday was that most of the top
name bands in town were off on Tuesday night and the
Club was known to all for a place to go and blow. As a re-
sult, we had continuous entertainment with some of the
best musicians in the industry. Many of the musicians
learned to fly as a result of being around the Club, but one
Bob Connelly traded his trumped for an airline career.
Bob was a big time trumpet player and a great vocalist.
In fact, we had his recordings on the juke box long before
he played with us. Bob became a regular Tuesday night
performer and was quite popular with the crowd. The more
Bob mixed with the pilots the more he wanted to join
them. Bob's mother, also a pro musician, knew about as
many aviation people as I did, and it was she who intro-
duced Bob to Willie Howell of Howell Airport during one
of the Tuesday night sessions . Bob learned to fly at Wil-
lie's and went on to receive all his ratings. With the help
of a couple of club members, Bob hired on as a co-pilot
with Eastern Airlines where he is today in the left seat of
a 3-holer.
Popular EAAer Carroll Dietz was another convert -
from mechanic-crop duster to airline pilot. Carroll was
single then and would bring his date, Carol (now his wife),
to the Club for their big night out.
We also helped five mechanics change over to flying
and they all are on the airlines today as skippers - which
reminds me of another story. For birthdays, weddings,
etc. I would pour a bottle of champagne for the occasion
and present a small bottle to take home. I was recently
invited to attend the 25th wedding anniversary of Capt.
Don Preston and his lovely wife, Betty, when, much to
my surprise, I was invited to join the couple in a toast. I
was asked to open a bottle of champagne and give the
toast. Yep! It was the same bottle I gave them when they
got hitched. I also gave Don some of his early dual and
later his first co-pilot ride in a DC-3.
Another switch in careers was Dick Sherman of the
famous Sherman Brothers Furniture Company. Dick was
a friend of Dan Clark's and it was Dan who introduced
16
The Pylon Club Offy at Soldier's Field, Chicago.
(Courtesy Nick Rezich)
Dick to the Pylon Club during one of his visits to Chicago.
Besides being in the furniture business, Dick was an avid
auto racing fan who had a yearly pit pass to "Indy" and
was a judge for the Olympic figure skating events. He is
also a licensed bob sled driver. He designed and built a
championship sled from some of the ideas he picked up
from the pilots and auto mechanics while in their com-
pany at the Club.
He and Dan were in the Club one night when he an-
nounced he was tired of building the same chairs year in,
year out following long standing tradition. He told Dan
he wanted a place like Nick's where he could cater to the
ice sports crowd. Today Dick Sherman owns and oper-
ates one of the finest lodges at Lake Placid, New York
where you will find him at age 60 on the bob sled run regu-
larly. Dick's stationery is as unique as is his lodge - it has
no address other than a large handlebar mustache im-
printed at the top and Lake Placid, N. Y.
The Pylon Club has been credited for many good hap-
penings but, really, it was the people and not the Club
that deserve the credit. Like the time a Lockheed Lobster
had a gear problem and was in need of some information.
A New Jersey based Lobster was on an approach to
MDW one evening when they discovered an unsafe con-
dition with the landing gear. They circled MDW for a
half hour trying to get a safe landing gear indication and
failed. They asked the tower if there were any Lockheed
mechanics on the field and were they available for con-
sulting? The tower guys knew I was flying a Lobster and
that I had the best Lockheed mechanic as a co-pilot. The
tower called the Club to see if Jim Cunneen was there and
explained the plight of the circling Lockheed. Jim hap-
pened to be in the Club, so they patched him in to the
Lockheed through the saloon phone. Jim had them fly
over the saloon while he looked at the gear through field
glasses. He informed the crew that they had a broken drag
link and the only thing left was to retract the good one
and land on the belly. He asked them if they were flying
a Sportsman Model or a Standard Lockheed. This stopped
the crew cold. They called back asking for the definition
of a "Sportsman" model. With that Jim asked them if it
was a Ronson - one with belly tanks like the one we were
flying. They answered negative. Jim then suggsted a gear-
up procedure, wished them good luck and went back to
his beer. Day's score: one saved Lobster - 2 new cus-
tomers .
When you hollered, "Hey Rube", around the Pylon
Club, you got results right now!
It was New Year's Day when I received a long dis-
tance call from Winnie Carpenter informing me that her
husband, George, was involved in a near-fatal auto acci-
dent the previous night coming home from a flight. George
was an old buddy of mine from the non-sked days who
went to work for Parks Airlines before it became Ozark.
The accident happened in St. Louis when he was enroute
to his home from the airport. A bunch of New Year' s
Eve celebrants were pushing another car without lights
and ran head on into George's big Buick. The accident
left George with a shattered hip, face and head injuries
that were near fatal. For three days it was hit or miss for
17
George and about the fifth day Winnie called the Club and
asked if we could get a bunch down to St. Louis to donate
some much needed blood.
I assured her we would be down the following day.
In less than twelve hours we had over 30 donors, plus a
DC-3 to fly everybody down.
Winnie called the next day and informed me George
was off the critical list and that the Ozark Airline per-
sonnel had contributed more than enough blood and we
need not come down.
About six months later George and Winnie pulled
into the Club and George laid four stainless steel pins on
the bar and ordered a drink for everybody in the house.
I set up the drinks, rang up no sale on the cash box and
put two of the pins in the cash drawer. The four pins
were used to pin George's hip together during the heal-
ing process. We then reminisced about the time he re-
built and recovered four wings and the tail group of his
0-17 Staggerwing in a one bedroom apartment on the
third floor of an apartment building in Chicago. That was
a project I'll never forget. I went over to his place one Sun-
day and as I entered the hallway on the first floor, the dope
fumes were so strong one could hardly breath. When I
reached the apartment I knew he was going to blow up
the building. Here was George doping the wings with all
the windows closed in the living room, while Winnie had
all four gas burners on cooking dinner.
George finished the project without blowing up the
building or being evicted ... a miracle, indeed. Now for
the bad news . After he finished this jewel, he flew it to
St. Louis and stored it in Ozark's hangar. About this time
Ozark was in the process of updating their equipment and
George was out of town for an extended period evaluating
the new equipment. During his absence, a mechanic
friend of his decided to run up the engine on the 0-17 -
and in the process of starting it, the Shakey Jake back-
fired, caught fire and George's brand new rebuild job
burned to a crisp. The apartment didn't get him, but that
Jake did.
Speaking of fires , have you ever noticed the size of
the pockets of a fire fighter's coat? I don't know about
your town, but in Chicago the pockets are huge - you
know why? To stash the loot!! I know because I contributed.
We had a fire in the Club caused by my next door neigh-
bor. The outside oil storage tank for his building caught
fire and blew up, setting fire to the back of the Club. The
explosion and dense black clouds attracted the whole
neighborhood and all my saloon keeper friends, who,
along with myself, thought it was the end of the Pylon
Club. Everybody pitched in and we started to move all
the furnishings out and placed them on the sidewalk out
front. By the time the fire department arrived, we had
everything outside but the stock. We left some 150 bottles
of Hooch on the back bar and I locked the cabinet with the
unopened stock. After the fire was put out we started to
take inventory and discovered that everything on the
street was gone. When someone asked, "Where is the
cash box?", we all looked at each other and shook our
heads . "Oh no," I asked - "where the hell are my drums?"
Then we checked the bar - well!!! the whiskey stock was
down to about 25 bottles. Now for those huge pockets -
everytime the firemen would go through the place, they
would slip a couple of bottles into their pockets. This was
brought to my attention by a bystander - so now you
know why the pockets. After the smoke cleared and it
was decided we were not going to be open for a few days,
the place filled up with saloon keepers. I learned Big
Polack John, who ran the Club Irene, had my drums in
his place under safe keeping; Big Dirty Helen on the cor-
ner had the cash box; and the rest of the stuff was in a
pizza joint two doors down.
BELIEVE YOU ME, people are honest and do help
when you need them most. Oh yes!! All the money was
in the cash box. We put together a volunteer clean up
group and had the place back in business in a week. I gave
all the remaining whiskey on the back bar to the help.
The reason the firemen helped themselves was that by
federal law one cannot serve any whiskey that has been
opened and subjected to fire and water. Those scoundrels
knew it had to be destroyed - so they just helped me!
Other than the booze, we didn't lose a thing.
Next month - Pylon Club and EAA - P.R.P.A. -
Frank Tallman - and the Cole Brothers Air Shows. Also
a photo report on my new Travel Air.
I am still in need of an NACA cowl for a Wright, plus
a prop and a battery powered radio pack, including omni.
Send me your prices.
(Photo by Doug Rounds) .
This Travel Air 2000 belongs to Doug Rounds of Zebulon, Ga. The aircraft was found in the condition
shown in the picture. It last flew in 1939. It was recovered in 1955 but was not completed and flown.
Fabric still checks at 70 Ibs. plus. There are only 1100 hours on the airframe and it is strictly stock -
has never been an ag plane. Doug has all the papers, which reveal the 2000 flew mail in Nebraska and
Iowa. He also has an old Bill of Sale signed by Walter Beech and notarized by Olive Ann Mellor -later
Walter's wife. 18
TIQUE T ~ ~ S U R
HUN-TING
Harold "Parky" Parkhurst with his son, Martin, inspecting the left wing of his Midget Mustang. The
rest of the Mustang is in the background along with a Piper J-3 and PA-18.
PARKY, THE AIRPLANE PACKRAT
Managua, Nicaragua, is not necessarily the most logi-
cal place to look for antique aircraft, but my search for
Ford parts with which to rebuild the EAA Museum's Ford
Trimotor had taken me there. It was February 17, 1974,
and my search was just beginning. On arrival in Managua
aboard Pan American's Flight 501 I had been met by my
good friend, Fred Jones, who had been Pan American's
maintenance supervisor at Managua for many years, but
who was now a permanent local resident, tobacco farm-
er, and business man. I had previously written to Fred
and told him of my quest, so he had compiled a list of
people for me to meet who were knowledgeable concern-
ing aviation in Nicaragua prior to the 1950's.
Among those I met was one very interesting individual
named Harold Parkhurst. "Parky", as he is known to
everyone in the area, was the first crop duster pilot in
Nicaragua, and he had lived there for over 30 years . He is
definitely of the "old school" with regard to aviation.
Parky has also been a prospector, and has spent many
months at a time in the back country. He is a most inter-
esting story teller. A man of strong convictions and limit-
less self confidence, he possesses the ability and inge-
nuity to solve any problem he must face in that country
either in the air or on the ground, and there have indeed
been many over the years.
Having concluded our discussion concerning my quest,
my attention was then centered on the many old aircraft
wings, fuselages, etc., which I had noticed as I had driven
up to Parky's place, so I asked him to show me around his
shop and storage areas. Parky lives in an old cotton mill
which he has converted into living quarters, shop, etc.
He also has a field on the back of his property which he
sometimes uses as a landing strip in order to fly aircraft
in and out for repairs.
One can never be certain what he will find when he
starts on a quest such as this, but Parky's place was an
unexpected jackpot of antique and classic aircraft and
parts . There were enough parts for four complete Stear-
mans plus three extra fuselage frames, three complete
Piper Cubs, a Convair L-13, a complete Waco UPF-7 plus
most of the parts for a second one, and a New Standard
D-25. Besides these antiques Parky had a Midget Mus-
tang, a metal wing Luscombe 8 series with three fuel
tanks (which will outlast one's kidneys about 2 to 1), a
Snow agricultural plane, and a Cessna 180. He also had
a large assortment of engines ranging from a Continen-
tal A-65 up to Pratt & Whitney R-985, as well as a great
variety of engine accessories and spare parts. Few an-
tiquers have been able to hoard away so many goodies.
After much discussion Parky decided that he might be
willing to sell the New Standard and the Waco to some-
one who would restore them with tender loving care and
19
would give them good homes . He may be able to be per-
suaded to sell some of the other aircraft and parts, too,
although he is planning to put a couple of the Stearmans
back together and again get into the spray business.
Among the miscellaneous parts which Parky has on
hand are two sets of tandem wheels for Piper Cubs, wing
panels and some other parts for a Navy N3N, a 75 hp Frank-
lin engine and assorted parts for a Stinson 105, and a large
collection of aircraft instruments and accessories .
Parky lives just off the right side of Highway 28 north-
wes t of Managua about a mile beyond the village of Las
Brasiles. His property is easily identified by two pair of
large concrete upside down "U" structures, an old unused
windmill tower, and several wings and fuselages in the
yard which are visible from the road. Anyone interested
in any of these aircraft or parts should first contact him
by mail. His mailing address is: Harold Parkhurst, Apar-
tado 2021, Managua, Nicaragua.
Parky's favorite, a Pratt & Whitney R-985 powered Stear-
man. Note the British Sunbeam motorcycle in the back-
ground.
Parky's back yard (or is it his front
yard?) with four Stearman fuse-
lages in the background and a Piper
PA-18 in the right foreground.
Parky' s storage shed with, left to
right, Stearman, Piper PA-18, Mid-
get Mustang, Piper J-3, and a Cor-
vair L-13 fuselages and parts.
Parky's Waco UPF-7 in his storage
shed. Note wings and other parts in
the background.
Parky's three tank Luscombe. His
Snow and Cessna 180 are barely
visible behind it.
Another of Parky's storage sheds containing a Waco UPF-
Wings, wings and more wings including Waco UPF-7, 7 fuselage on the left, a New Standard fuselage on the
New Standard, Stearman, Navy N3N and Piper Cub. lower right, and a Stearman fuselage on the upper right.
AROUND THE ANTIQUE/CLASSIC WORLD
Dear Buck:
Relating to your editorial a couple of issues
back - up in the loft here in E. Rutherford
is a 1933 Fairchild 24, 2-place cabin, with a
Cirrus Mk III Hi-drive engine.
As best I can determine it is complete down
to the last P.K. screw, has clear title, logs and
even some original fabric on it. Would take
very little work to return to service.
It ' s available to someone who would pro-
perly restore it. Aircraft is completely as-
sembled as of now.
Best regards,
Harold G. Scheck
153 Orchard St.
East Rutherford, N. J. 07073
Dear Paul:
In the March issue of Sport Aviation you
published a letter from a fellow in South Africa
who was seeking Luscombe parts. I have an-
swered that letter and given him three possi-
ble sources for the parts. I also VOlunteered
any other help that might be needed on this
end .
I am the "Parts File" of the Luscombe As-
sociation. I try to maintain a file on used parts
owned by individuals which are for sale. Any-
one in need of parts can write me for a quick
reply (usually quick, anyway) and know if we
have any of the needed parts on file. (Free)
The Luscombe Association has no real
function except that we do have a fly-in each
year in June at Blakesburg, Iowa. June 21 and
22 this year. We usually have a weekend of
very poor and wet weather. We are hoping to
have better luck this year. In any case the
people at Antique Airfield could not treat us
better than they do and we always have a good
time there. If you care to attend please feel
free to do so. We usually get about 25 Lus-
combes in attendance even with the bad
weather.
Also, feel free to give out my name and
address in answer to any inquiries about Lus-
combe parts or other information. We also
publish a newsletter a couple times a year on
no regular SChedule and we have a $3.00
year membership fee which we try to collect.
Thank you,
Ri chard Lawrence
1787 Russell
Lincoln Park, Michigan 48146
Gentlemen:
I had always thought the world was full of
derelict airplanes waiting to be put back in
flying shape. After reading your magazine
for awhile, I gained the impression that they
are getting quite rare.
Am in no position to do any restoration so
will pass this on for what it is worth.
In 1970, just before I came over here, I
found myself in Seligman , Arizona, starting
up a pipeline. Having plenty of time to roam
around during the day, I was driving around
town and came across an abandoned air-
strip. It was on the west edge of Seligman ,
north of the highway (66). What I found was a
Stinson 105. It seemed to be all there except
the engine. The 105 didn't have a good reputa-
tion in the high country, since it was con-
sidered to be underpowered. However, it is
sitting patiently, or was then, waiting for the
engine that never came back.
I didn't have the inclination or time to find
out the story. Seligman is a town with one
restaurant, one beer hall, one Dairy Queen,
and a couple of motels. I'm sure you could
ask any resident who owns the airplane, he
would know all about it. I'm sorry now I didn' t
find out more about it.
Anyway, if anybody in the Southwest is look-
ing for a Stinson 105 to restore, you will be
in better shape to advise him. If it's still
there.
Yours sincerely,
Marion G. Otto
Box 1888 Aramco
Dhahran, Saudi Arabia
Dear Sir :
Enclosed find several photos of our Piper
J5A.
Ship was stored in a barn near Half Way,
Missouri - purchased from Mr. Raymond
Sergent and Mr. Loyd Hudson on December
4, 1971. We spent two winters on a complete
rebuild. We decided to take all the guess work
out of " what model Piper is that?" by putting
a large J-5 on the rudder.
The old bird flies nice - cruises about
85 mph on a C-85 engine.
I have always liked the Piper Super Cruis-
ers and the J-5 type aircraft - roomy and both
nice ships to fly.
For my money there never was a better air-
plane (tandem seating) than the Piper Super
Cruiser. I wish Piper would have kept on build-
ing them instead , perhaps, of the Super Cub.
Sure, the Super Cub is a good airplane, gets
off right now and climbs out beautiful - but
a 150-160 horse Super Cruiser with flaps would
be a darn good, roomy ship - but who am I to
be a better judge of the market and every-
thing that goes with it than Piper Aircraft.
See you at Oshkosh '75.
Respectfully,
John P. Rathjen
Rt. 1
Ft. Calhoun, Nebraska 68023
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22
CLASSIFIEDS
WANTED - Stinson 108-3 in excellent condition. R. W. WANTED - Hisso engine or crankcase. 150 or 180 hp to
Ross, 1700 N. Williams St. No. 48, Valdosta,-Georgia complete a B.E.2 project. Call Mark Spry, 201/327-
31601. Phone912/244-3235 or8332. 7128, 22 Fabio Dr., Ramsey, NewJersey 07446.
Calendar OfEvents
MAY 23-26 - HAMILTON, OHIO- AnnualNationalWacoFly-In. Contact
Ray Brandly, 2650 West. Alex.-Bellbrook Rd., Dayton, Ohio45459.
MAY 23-26 - WATSONVILLE, CALIFORNIA - 11th Annual West Coast
Antique Aircraft Fly-In for antique, classic and amateur-built
aircraft. Static displays, flying events, air show, trophies. Friday
and Saturday night get-acquainted parties. Sunday Awards Ban-
quet. For further information contact Watsonville Chamber of
Commerce, Box 470, Watsonville, Calif. 95076, or W. B. Richards,
2490 Greer Road, Palo Alto, Calif.94303.
MAY 23-26 - KENTUCKY LAKE, KENTUCKY - 1975 National Swift
Fly-In. Contact: Charlie Nelson, International Swift Association,
Inc., P. O. Box 644, Athens, Tenn. 37303.
MAY 31 - JUNE 1 - CAMBRIDGE, MARYLAND - Potomac Antique
Aero Squadron Annual Fly-In at Horn Point Airport on the Frank
DuPont estate just WSW of Cambridge, Maryland. Beautiful grass
runways, no registration fees, free camping - just a super fun fly-
in. Contact Sam Huntington, Fly-In Coordinator, Avery Road, Shady
Side, Maryland 20867. Phone301/261-5190.
JUNE 6-8 - MERCED, CALIFORNIA - 18th Annual Merced West Coast
Antique Fly-In. Early Bird party June 6. Air Show Sunday. Contact
Linton Wollen, Director, P. O. Box 3212, Merced, California 95340.
(209) 722-6666.
JUNE 6-8 - ORANGEBURG,SOUTHCAROLINA- 6thAnnualOldSouth
Hospitality Fly-In, sponsored by EAA Chapters 242 and 249. An-
tiquesandClassics welcome.
JUNE 8 - ZANESVILLE, OHIO - 3rd Annual EAA Chapter425 Fly-In!
Breakfast. Municipal Airport. Contact Dave Workman, 400 South St.,
Zan:sville, Ohio43701.
JUNE 12-15 - TULLAHOMA, TENNESSEE - Walter H. Beech Build-
ing Dedication and Invitational Staggerwing and Travel Air Fly-
In. Contact: The Staggerwing Museum Foundation, Inc., P. O. Box
550, Tullahoma, Tenn. 37388.
JUNE 13-15 - DENTON, TEXAS - Texas Antique Airplane Association.
Inc. Fly-In. Contact Myrna Johnson, 2516 Shady Brook Dr., Bedford,
Texas 76021. Phone817/283-1702.
JUNE 15 - WEEDSPORT, NEW YORK - 2nd Antique-Classic and
Homebuilt Fly-In/Pancake Breakfast. Trophies. Whitfords Air-
port. Sponsored by EAA Chapter 486. Contact : Dick Forger, 204
Woodspath Rd., Liverpoor, N. Y. 13088.
JUNE 28-29 - BURLINGTON, WISCONSIN - Annual Antique-Classic
Division Cub Fly-In. All other Antiques, Classics and Homebuilts
welcome.
JULY 4-6 - GAINESVILLE, GEORGIA - 8th Annual Cracker Fly-In
sponsored by North Georgia Chapter of AAA. Featured speaker is
Matty Laird. Contact Bill Davis, 2202 Willivee Place, Decatur, Ga.
30033. (404) 636-4743.
JULY 29 - AUGUST 4,1975 - OSHKOSH,WISCONSIN- 23rdAnnualEAA
Fly-In Convention. Sport aviation world's greatest event. It's not too
early to make plansandreservations!
AUGUST 24 - WEEDSPORT, NEW YORK - Air Show and Fly-In
Breakfast sponsored by EAA Chapter 486. Whitfords Airport.
Contact Dick Forger, 204 Woodspath Rd., Liverpool, N. Y. 13088.
flORIDA SPORT AVIATION ACTIVITIES - The very active Florida Sport
Aviation Antique and Classic Association has a fly-in somewhere in the
state almost every month. The decision on the location of the next fly-
in is usually made on too short notice for inclusion in The Vintage Air-
plane, so we recommend to all planning a Florida vacation that they
contactFSAACA President Ed Escallon, Box 12731, St. Petersburg, Florida
33733 for fly-in details. Join thefun!
Back I ssuesOfThe Vi ntage Ai rplane
Limited numbers of back issues of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE are available at $1.00 each. Copies still
on hand at EAA Headquarters are:
1973 - MARCH, APRIL, MAY, JUNE, JULY, AUGUST, SEPTEMBER, OCTOBER, NOVEMBER,
DECEMBER
1974- JANUARY,FEBRUARY, MARCH,APRIL, MAY,JUNE,JULY, AUGUST,SEPTEMBER,OCTOBER,
NOVEMBER, DECEMBER
1975 - JANUARY, FEBRUARY
23
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