Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
S i l ve r Ag e
Champion
Fleet
VintageMar2013.indd 1
Cub to Oshkosh
Sentimental Journey
The Cosmic Wind Story
2/12/13 9:44 AM
2014 Mustang
Meet the Mustang family a good group with bad intentions. For 2014, they take
to the street meaner than ever, led by the powerful Shelby GT500 , which delivers
650 hp and boasts a test track top speed of more than 200 mph. Of course, power
runs in the family and even Mustang V6 produces an incredible 305 hp while
delivering an impressive 31 mpg hwy1 as well. But the advancements are not limited
www.eaa.org/ford.
to the engine compartment. With the 2014 Mustang lineup, cool features are as
abundant as horsepower. It starts with the available Pony projection lamp. When
the unlock button is activated, each side view mirror casts an image of the famous
Mustang Pony on the ground. Other standard features include HID headlamps that
help you see whats destined for your LED taillamps. With so many possibilities,
the thrills just keep coming!
1
VintageMar2013.indd 2
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Vintage Airplane
STAFF
2013:
A year of enhanced membership benets
Oh, how I long for some warm mild breezes blowing through
the hangar door. It has been a wild and wooly winter here in the Midwest.
Lots of moisture and an abundance of icy conditions have been going on
around here for many weeks. Its not something I would label as brutal,
but I am here to tell you that I am looking for some much milder weather
here in Indiana, and starting tomorrow would be very nice.
I hope you all have had the chance by now to take a good look at the
January/February issue of Vintage Airplane magazine. I am quite happy
to report to the membership that the reaction from our members to
date has been remarkably positive and very complimentary. Our editor, Jim Busha, as well as his team from the VAA and the EAA publications department deserve a huge pat on the back for all of their efforts
in transforming this magazine into a product that is easily 10 times the
quality we have experienced in the past. Jim tells me that the majority
of the magic used to make this publication what you see today is being
performed by Livy Trabbold of the EAA publications department. Although Livy has been assisting us with our magazine for several years
now, between her and Jims efforts these two have had a dramatic impact on the product you see in your mailbox today. So, many thanks
Livy, and be assured that your efforts are greatly appreciated!
This is certainly not intended to be an indictment of anyone previously responsible for this magazine, but it is all about a new way of
thinking about how we can improve on the product. What we really have
here now is a product that has been reinvested in. Its actually an attempt to raise the bar in the arena of content, presentation, and quality.
The team, as reinforced by the opinions of dozens of our members, has
literally hit a grand slam home run for the product owner/member. My
hat is off to Jim Busha and everyone on the team. A job well done by all
individuals involved.
Of course, this is not to imply that all of our members are happy
about these changes, especially the move to publish the magazine
on a bimonthly basis. As is normally the case, a small number of our
members seemingly dont care much at all for any change. To these
valued members I would reply stick with us, and continue to measure
the benefits of this reinvestment I referred to earlier. In just a short
period of time I believe you will come to realize the benefits of remaining a member.
continued on page 56
202-577-9292 . . . . . . . . . kbradshaw@eaa.org
TM
FOREIGN MEMBERSHIPS
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Membership Service
PO Box 3086
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membership@eaa.org
EAA AirVenture Oshkosh
www.airventure.org
888-322-4636
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VintageMar2013.indd 3
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2013
CONTENTS
MARCH/APRIL
24
Fleet Fun
Stan Sweikars storied silver age
championTake Two
Sparky Barnes Sargent
34
38
182 Survivor
. . . As if it came out of Tuts tomb
Budd Davisson
COLUMNS
1
News
Air Mail
VintageMar2013.indd 4
10
12
15
How to?
Construct a wing rib fixture
Robert G. Lock
The Vintage Instructor
Stall/spin and $%**%%$
Steve Krog, CFI
Ask the AME
Third-class medical exemption
John Patterson, M.D.
16
20
44
Celestial Breeze
The Cosmic Wind story
Don Berliner
2/11/13 4:47 PM
MARCH/APRIL 2013
49
S i l ve r Ag e
Champion
Fleet
&XEVWR2VKNRVK
6HQWLPHQWDO-RXUQH\
7KH&RVPLF:LQG6WRU\
COVERS
FRONT COVER: Chris Miller captures Stan
Sweikars Fleet over some green Wisconsin
farm elds.
ANY COMMENTS?
Send your thoughts to the
Vintage Editor at: jbusha@eaa.org
51
56
Vintage Trader
KOEPNICKPHOTOGRAPH.COM
www.vintageaircraft.org
VintageMar2013.indd 5
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No One Ever
Met a Stranger
at the Red Barn!
Friends of the Red Barn
Charles W. Harris
VintageMar2013.indd 6
2/11/13 4:50 PM
CONTRIBUTION
LEVELS
DIAMOND PLUS
$1,500 & higher
DIAMOND
$1,000 - $1,499
PLATINUM
$750 - $999
GOLD
$500 - $749
SILVER
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BRONZE PLUS
$150 - $249
BRONZE
$100 - $149
LOYAL
SUPPORTER
$99 and under
Special Access to
Donor
A 6-pack
Appreciation FORB Air-Conditioned of Cold
Certicate
Badge Volunteer
Bottled
Center
Water!
Two Passes
to VAA
Volunteer
Party
10 Minute Breakfast at
Chair Back Tall Pines
Massage at Caf
AV2013
2 people,
X
full week
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full week
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full week
1 person,
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full week
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full week full week
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1 ticket
All donors at all levels will have their name listed in Vintage Airplane
magazine, on VintageAircraft.org, and at the VAA Red Barn during
AirVenture.
Special for 2013, all donors for Gold Level and above will be entered
into a random drawing for a limited edition, 21w x 18h, signed,
numbered print by Randall Mytar shown at right.
VAA FORB
PO Box 3086
OSHKOSH, WI 54903-3086
or contribute online at
www.vintageaircraft.org/programs/redbarn.html
_________________________________________________________________
(Please print just as you wish your badge to read.)
First
Last
Certicates:
The Vintage Aircraft Association is a non-profit educational organization under IRS 501c3 rules. Under Federal Law, the deduction from Federal Income tax for charitable contributions is
limited to the amount by which any money (and the value of any property other than money) contributed exceeds the value of the goods or services provided in exchange for the contribution.
An appropriate receipt acknowledging your gift will be sent to you for IRS gift reporting reasons.
www.vintageaircraft.org
VintageMar2013.indd 7
2/11/13 4:51 PM
Round Engine
Rodeo
TThe
he Vintage
Vintage AAircraft
ircraft AAssociation
ssociation iiss rolling
rolling out
out the
the red
red carpet
carpet for
for aall
ll
round engine
round
engine aircraft
aircraft owners
owners at
at AAirVenture
irVenture 13.
13.
IIff you
you own
own a rround
ound eengine
ngine aaircraft,
ircraft, please
please join
join us
us in
in the
the VAA
VAA area
area at
at
AirVenture 13
AirVenture
13 aand
nd sshare
hare your
your bbeautiful
eautiful airplane
airplane with
with thousands
thousands w
who
ho
would aappreciate
ppreciate sseeing
eeing aand
nd llearning
earning m
ore aabout
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t.
would
more
VintageMar2013.indd 8
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Vintage News
Whats Next
Start making plans for attending EAA AirVenture 2013 and playing an active part in all the activities in the Vintage area.
More information including a website and
phone numbers will be available within the next
few weeks. In the meantime, if you have questions
about AirVenture, call Theresa at 920-426-6110.
Questions about Hartford? Call Dana Osmanski at
262-966-7627.
www.vintageaircraft.org
VintageMar2013.indd 9
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Air Mail
New format feed-back
Dear Vintage Airplane,
This is my favorite magazine to get. I always look
forward to it. It seems Geoff is cutting back on the
number of issues per year that will be sent out. Thats too
bad, but if it has to be, we can live with it. I really like the
articles by Robert Lock. Is it possible to get these to save
on a disc? Maybe the compilation of these on a disc could
be a profit center and be sold. The International Stinson
Club has done this, and it is very useful.
Steve Krogs articles are excellent, too. His piece
Wind: When is it too much? makes a good point about
practicing in conditions that improve ones abilities.
Another article could focus on techniques. I am of the
mind that crosswind landings are best done three-point
rather than wheelies no matter how hard the wind is
blowing, especially the transition from two-point to tail
down. Do we slam the tail down? If we baby it down, we
ground loop.
I would like to see two articles: an update of the
Fairchild 45 situation, and a story on the Antonov AN-2
of which 18,000 were made. Get Budd Davisson to write
about the AN-2. Im sure he can finagle a ride in one.
Mark Davis
A Stinson 108 restorer and pilot
Jim,
Just received my January/February issue of Vintage
Airplane, and I want to thank everyone up there for a job
well done on the new mag. Contents right on, layout easy
to read, lots of interesting how-to, and the magazine is
eye-catching and pretty. Give everyone a pat on the back!
Wendell L. Doc Roy, EAA 17804/VAA 19307
Fort Collins, Colorado
Hi Jim:
You wanted feedback on the new Vintage magazine
format. One word: great! Keep it up. See you at AirVenture 2013.
Tony Wright Sr.
8
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JANUA RY/
FEBRUARY
2013
Hi Jim,
Just a short note on Vintage, and
it appears that some of my friends are
more upset about that small mistake on
the cover than I am?
They said they have sent letters to
the editor stating their opinion.
Just want to reinforce that I never
had any concerns or disappointments
Chuck Do
yle J
about it. Its just a small mistake, and
S
T E A R M Ar.N s
I enjoy being able to blame all the bad
Around the
Full circle BuPylons
things on my evil twin brother Jim.
1927 Dole Air hl
Derby
LOL. I hope to make it to OSH this
year but will have to see if I can get the
Chuck we are all sorry for the mix up! If you like you can
time off of work as always.
refer to me as your evil twin! We all hope you can
Best,
bring your Stearman to the Round Engine Rodeo-Jim
Chuck Doyle Jr.
A few special order items were installed also.
Parachute seat backs on the two front seats and a
quick-release door hinge assembly were special
factory installations. His three parachute flares were
also installed.
A water evaporative air cooling (not conditioning) helped cool off hot summer days as long the
ambient humidity was low. I note your rear modern
air-scoop which is a good improvement.
Dad traded up to a J-35. I had a total of about 200
hours between the A-35 and the J-35.
In 1972, my wife, Ellie, and I bought a 1967 V-35
which we flew for 40 years. We just sold it on December 5, 2012, and we were on our third engine.
Our flying life has been very fortunate. Many enjoyable family trips, many with our two sons, across
the United States, Central America, and Alaska will
long be remembered in N798RD.
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www.vintageaircraft.org
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How to?
ROBERT G. LOCK
FIGURE 1
PHOTO 1
FIGURE 2
10
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PHOTO 2
PHOTO 3
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many pilots and most new students are still quite apprehensive when asked to demonstrate a stall.
On January 2, 2013, an airplane was substantially
damaged when it impacted terrain. The commercial
pilot was fatally injured.
Witnesses reported that the airplane was circling
and maneuvering at a low altitude around the beach
area when they observed it ascend abruptly. Approximately 150-200 feet above the ground, the airplane
appeared to stop, make a sharp turn, and descend at
an approximately 55-degree angle. The airplane appeared to start to level off when it impacted the top
of a sand dune.
This is but one more example of a fatal stall/
spin accident that can be attributed to situational
awareness.
Lack of Prociency
More often than not, when conducting a flight
review and I ask the pilot to demonstrate a poweroff stall with either a shallow bank left or right, the
pilot will first glance at me and then tense up. Beads
of perspiration begin forming at the temples, and
the legs begin to tremble on the rudder pedals. After a reminder to make a clearing turn, the pilot will
slowly reduce power and begin applying light back
pressure. If flying an aircraft equipped with either a
stall warning horn or light, the pilot will usually initiate some manner of recovery as soon as either the
horn sounds or light appears. The recovery looks like
a hard negative g push-over preceding an outside
loop followed by smashing the throttle to full power.
Once under control in a level flight attitude, the pilot will finally take a breath, hoping that I dont ask
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BONNIE BARTEL
VintageMar2013.indd 15
13
2/11/13 4:56 PM
With a little
practice youll
find that you
have regained
a good feel
for rapid,
coordinated
and safeturns.
KOEPNICKPHOTOGRAPHY.COM
Typical general aviation (GA) aircraft estimate average altitude loss during stalls, assuming proper
recovery technique, at between 100 and 350 feet. A
NASA study done in the late 1970s proved that the
average altitude loss in spins was about 1,200 feet.
Given these average GA figures, neither of the pilots in the two NTSB reports stated earlier in this
article ever had a chance. Both entered into the classic stall/spin situation at low altitudes, the first at
approximate pattern altitude, while the second was
much lower performing steep turns. The pilot in the
first example had flown less than 10 hours in the
previous two yearslack of proficiency is a near certainty. The second pilot flew more regularly but became fixated with a point of interest on the ground
below. As the turns became tighter, the stall speed increased and control inputs questionable, resulting in
a low-level stall/spinlack of situational awareness.
Once the pilot recognized the stall, correct inputs appear to have been made based on eye witness reports.
However, he ran out of altitude before the full recovery could be made!
As a flight instructor trying to teach safe coordinated flying techniques, I frequently rely on two
maneuvers. The first is the Dutch roll. It is simple
in concept but more difficult to perform until it has
been practiced. At a safe altitude, point the nose of
the aircraft at a prominent landmark. Then roll the
airplane left and right along the longitudinal axis
using aileron and rudder while keeping the nose
pointed at the landmark. Begin by using 10-20 de14
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s
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Helping to paint
the eld yellow,
Ballance stands
next to the cub
he ew to EAA
AirVenture 2012.
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One should not attribute life to an inanimate object, such as a machine or airplane. However, when
one has owned an airplane as long as I have owned this
Cub, it does take on the role of another family member. This, as are all of them, is a unique airplane that I
have owned since 1967, and it is simply not the same
as another J-3. We have been through a lot of stuff
together; some of it bad, most of it good. She has suffered a lot of indignities and unmeaning abuse, such
as in the course of teaching people to fly or tailwheel
checkouts. She has never complained or let me down.
My wife even named her Judy after the line from a
Cary Grant movie, Judy, Judy, Judy. At the end of the
day, after having flown many different types of airplanes in my lifetime, if someone said that I could only
fly one airplane, it would be my J-3 Cub. There is just
something intangible about the Cub experience that
makes it stand tall over all other airplanes. They are
difficult to enter and exit, they have poor visibility on
the ground, they are uncomfortable after a flight of
any duration, and they are slower than almost anything in the sky. However, there is nothing that feels
quite as nice as rolling one on in the grass after a wellexecuted power-off approach. Having said all of that,
I felt as though Judy deserved to take a little bit of a
trip. Ever since I flew her to Atlanta from Dallas, Texas,
when I got her, the longest trip she has ever made has
been to Lakeland for the Sun n Fun Fly-In. Somehow
I sensed that she wanted to fly north, to cross new
states, to see the Ohio and Wabash Rivers, to fly along
the shore of Lake Michigan looking up at the skyscrapers of Chicago, and finally to participate in a mass arrival of Cubs to Oshkosh where she would be among
perhaps 150 of her kind.
My planning for the trip was rather minimal. I
knew that I would be camping, due to the exorbitant
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have made significant progress on my trip. We continued along to Sullivan, Indiana, crossed the Wabash River, and then flew on to Danville, Illinois. At
Danville I encountered two more Cubs, one a Legend and the other a beautifully restored J-3 that had
just landed. They had come from Fort Payne, Alabama. We met a man from the local EAA chapter,
Bill Wicker, who arranged for all three Cubs to be
hangared that night. The guys from Alabama were
better prepared for roughing it, in that they had
a chase vehicle in the form of a high-end motor
home that drove along the way with them. I spent
the night in a local Marriott.
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Fleet Fun
CHRIS MILLER
24
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Stan Sweikars
Storied Silver Age
Champion
Take Two!
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Results of the
crash in 1987.
PHOTOS COURTESY STAN SWEIKAR
A Storied History
Wings
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CHRIS MILLER
ANDY ZABACK
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CHRIS MILLER
www.vintageaircraft.org
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Fuselage
CHRIS MILLER
Landing Gear
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Fabric Covering
20 feet 9 inches
Height
7 feet 10 inches
Wingspan
28 feet
Chord
3 feet 9 inches
Airfoil
Clark Y expanded
to 15 percent
54 inches
Stagger
23 inches
Angle of incidence
0 degrees
Dihedral upper
0 degrees
Dihedral lower
4 degrees
64 inches
Weight empty
1,022 pounds
Disposable load
560 pounds
Gross weight
1,582 pounds
High speed
113.5 mph
Cruise
90 mph
Minimum speed
40 mph
930 fpm
Ceiling
16,000 feet
Gas capacity
24 gallons
Price
$5,500
back in 1929; they didnt run finishing tapes completely across the
ribs back then.
He did have to extend his paint
booth in order to accommodate
painting the 28-foot upper wing.
I used a regular old high-pressure
Binks spray gun and probably
wasted a lot of paint , he said,
shrugging, but Im not in the business of restoring airplanes! That
Binks equipment really works nice.
I sprayed 14 cross coatsand a
cross coat is actually two coats
so thats 28 coats. After about
the fourth cross coat, I be gan
wet sanding the Randolph butyrate dope with 400 grit paper, and
sanding required approximately
seven hours per side on the upper
wing alone. Its just a labor of love;
its a hobby with me.
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Take Two!
The Fleet has sing le landing wires and dual f lying wires,
which Sweikar replaced with new
MacWhyte wires, including the terminal end fork fittings, clevis pins,
and bolts. For those who might
be unfamiliar with the difference
between landing and flying wires,
Sweikar offered a simple explanation: On landing, the wings want
to droopso the landing wires
help support the wings, and the
flying wires keep the wings from
folding up in flight.
The ailerons (lower wing only) are
constructed of wood with aluminum
leading edges. The articulating pushpull control system for the ailerons is
just one of the Fleets patented components. It was very advanced for
the time, with no protrusions from
the wing, and its really a smooth
operating system, said Sweikar.
The dual throttle control also has
a push-pull rod system, which is
routed through both cockpits. The
trim system is comprised of a jackscrew, which elevates or lowers the
cambered horizontal stabilizer and is
activated by manually pulling a cable
back and forth in the cockpit.
32
ANDY ZABACK
Outside Loops!
The Fleet easily acquired
a re p u t a t i o n fo r i t s s t r o n g
c o n s t r u c ti o n a n d a e ro ba ti c
capabilities. In July 1930, stunt
pilot Paul Mantz climbed in his
Fleet Model 2 in San Mateo,
California, and proceeded to set a
record of 46 consecutive outside
loops. His record stood for nearly
half a century.
Juptners U.S. Civil Aircraft,
Volume 2 and other aviation resources
VintageMar2013.indd 34
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through the EAA program was seamless. Thank you for providing this
great opportunity.
Dana T. EAA #611228
*Photo provided by Howard E. Thurston
VintageMar2013.indd 35
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Youre Going
to Do What
Where?
I was headed to
Valle Airport, Arizona, in the remote desert north
of Flagstaff in late
February 2012 to
fly a 1929 Ford
Tri-Motor.
About halfway to the Grand
Canyon, truly in the middle of nowhere, there is a highway intersection with three motels, one gas
station, and an airport. At the airport one building is the Ar izona
branch of the Planes of Fame Air
Museum, and the other is where I
34
was supposed to meet Bryan Godlove, chief pilot, designated examiner, and guts of an operation
called FordTypeRatings.com.
It was late when I got to Valle. I
was met by three friendly, smiling
folks: Larry, the mechanic, Bryan
Godlove, and Thad Kelly (soon to
be my instructor).
We set up shop in the conference
room of the terminal building and
got the preliminaries, paperwork,
and introductions out of the way. I
was dog-tired and they took mercy
on me, suggesting we begin training first thing the next morning.
Early the next day, I learned
that this is a big plane. All elevator
and rudder controls are mounted
external to the fuselage by huge
arms and cables big as hangmans
ropes. Big but fairly simple, the
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182
PHIL HIGH
KOEPNICKPHOTOGRAPHY.COM
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Survivor
Budd Davisson
For sale: 1957 C-182, 2,625 hours
TTAF, 1,230 SMOH engine. Original
paint, interior and panel, only minor avionics upgrades. $XX,XXX.
ets say you were looking for
an airplane and you saw the
ad above. What would you
think? First, youd look at the
engine time and say, I dont know.
Its getting up there.
Then youd see that everything
else on the airplanethe paint, upholstery, and panelis the same
as it had been when it came out of
the factory 56 years ago, and nothing has been changed since. Fifty-six
years measured in airplane time is
a very long time. And 2,600 hours
tells you the airplane hasnt been
a hangar queen; a lot of rear ends
have scooted across the seats while
climbing in. There have been a couple dozen generations of avionics
developed since the airplanes birth,
and you know that, regardless of
what the ad says about an original
panel, its going to be a patchwork of
www.vintageaircraft.org
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KOEPNICKPHOTOGRAPHY.COM
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ship, the airplane was wind damaged while I was on a tr ip. The
elevators and part of the vertical fin
had to be reskinned.
At the time, original parts were
still available from Cessna, so at
least I can say that everything is factory original.
According to 1957 factory brochures Bernie got with the air plane, buyers of Cessnas new hot
rod had a limited number of options when it came to exterior and
interior color schemes.
My airplane utilizes Cascade
Green on the upholst er y and
paint, he says.
KOEPNICKPHOTOGRAPHY.COM
scheme and color, and I totally restored the 180. I even bought a 56
172 for my wife to fly. Ive always had
a soft spot for square tails.
He had a K model Bonanza and a
Comanche prior to running across
the 182.
He says, The 57 was the last year
of the 182. The next year they called
them Skylanes, which causes no end
of confusion when people see this
airplane because its not a Skylane.
Ive gone out of my way to avoid
doing anything to the airplane that
would detract from its originality,
but some things just had to be done.
Just behind the doors, for instance,
42
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PHIL HIGH
www.vintageaircraft.org
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Celestial
Breeze
The Cosmic Wind story
Don Berliner
and pilots, along with many others who had far less impressive resumes, jumped at the opportunity
to get into pylon racing without
going into hock. In fact, the only
way to legally fly a homebuilt in the
United States in those days was to
build a midget racer. Four-cylinder,
85-hp C-85 engines were made
available through Professional
Race Pilots Association (PRPA)
President Art Chester for as little
as $500 new by Continental Motors, and the race was on to get
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Little Toni
Little Toni
Cosmic Wind
Little Toni
www.vintageaircraft.org
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Little Toni
Mrs. Robinson
46
#3 Little Toni
It sat idle for more than a decade until the star t of the Reno
era. In 1965 it reappeared as Rick
Townsends blue and whit e #7
French Quarter Special and was
then sold to veteran racer Roy
Berry who began a program to return it to its original name, number, and colors. Roy raced it into
1970, then sold it to Ian McCowen,
who took it home to England and
re-registered it G-AYRJ.
In 1971 McCowen won at North
#4 Minnow
After some racing in the early
1950s by Bob Downey and Eddy
Custer, it was sold to the mysterious Milton Blair, who dismantled it
and used parts in the construction
of a prototype counter-insurgency
airplane for a U.S. Air Force competition. It failed to win a contract
and sat around in pieces until being sold to English amateur builder
Filly
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Ballerina
#5 Ballerina
After its days of racing in the
United States ended, it became
part of Pacific Air Races Inc. and
was then sold to Milton Blair. In
1961 he took it to England on a
permit that limited him to flying it
in several air shows prior to taking
it home. Blair promptly sold it to
the Tiger Club, which added it (as
G-ARUL) to its fascinating collection of sporting airplanes. Blairs
violation of the law came to the attention of officials of Her Majestys
Customs office, which couldnt find
Blair to present him with a bill for
6,000 import duty.
They eventually contacted the
writer, who began a search for
Blair. A call to Californian Al Trefethan, who usually kne w who
was doing what, elicited a laugh.
Do they want him, too? The last
I heard of Blair, he was up in the
mountains, hiding from the FBI!
Wisely, the British government
officials billed the unhappy Tiger
Ballerina
#5 Ballerina Mk.II
Once the second Ballerina rolled
out of Bannisters well-equipped
workshop, it was entered in Formula One competition, starting
in September 1973 at Tees-side
where Bill Walker won at 202.7
mph. He started out 1974 by crossing the finish line in first place at
a British record 221.15 mph but
was then penalized for a pylon cut.
Walker then reeled off four straight
wins to take the national title. The
airplane didnt race in 1975 but returned in 1976, leading off with a
second place behind American Bill
Sullivan (#51 Cassutt racer, 111
meters) at Le Castellet, France.
This was the first American-style
international pylon race to involve
competitors from as many as three
countries. With Fred Marsh as pilot, Ballerina Mk.II proceeded to
win the other British races that
year, as well as the first such race
ever held in Denmark.
In 1976 it was a clean sweep
for Marsh and Ballerina Mk.II,
winning at Woodford, Halfpenny
Green, and Coventry, England, and
at St. Valery, France. 1978 saw two
firsts and a second by new pilot
John Mirley, who broke the British Formula One record at Thruxton when clocked at 225.6 mph. Of
four races in 1979, Mirley raced in
www.vintageaircraft.org
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#6 Filly
Bowing in during 1973 was a
completely new British Cosmic
Wind, the dark blue G-BAER, built
by Robin Voice using many American-made parts, some of which
appear to have been flown in an
earlier Cosmic Wind, though the
identity of the specific airplane has
not been pinned down. It was first
raced at Tollerton by Voice in 1973,
with a best finish of f ourth at
Cranfield. It was raced three times
in 1974, four times in 1975, and
twice in 1977.
Voice raced it three times in
1978, three times in 1979, once
in France in 1980, and six times in
48
#4 Mrs. Robinson
The last Cosmic W ind to f ly
was N89CW, built by Bill Warwick
from a project started by a retired
airline pilot and almost c ompleted by Goodyear racer Billie
Robinson. It was then acquired
by one-time Formula One racer
Joan Alford Noar, who finally donated it to the EAA AirVenture
Museum. It will probably never
be flown, let alone raced.
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t os
Hinamen Acres
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This is almost
certainly the
antiquer event
with the most
aircraft sharing
a similar color
scheme . . .
highly functional but rough-cut.
The fly-in registration, camping,
forums, etc. are efficient, yet not
overly promoted. In short, the flyin itself is like a J-3 Cub!
Overhead, yet another J-3 Cub
flies by, but here, it is always a fresh
sight. Attendees tend to raise their
heads up to the sound of a Continental engine every time. The roar of an
occasional large antique is appreciated, but here it does not dominate
the scene; the Cubs are the stars.
This is almost certainly the antiquer event with the most aircraft
sharing a similar color scheme, and
a long-experienced operator of a
temporary tower is alert to prevent
confusion, and for NORDO traffic
(which is legal).
On the ground, a huge set of
many - yeared traditions takes
place: food on the field by civic
groups, a network of transportation to motels, a people-mover
pulled by a restored vintage tractor
driven by a long-term volunteer,
50
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ILLUSTRATION 1
fuselage structure. (There was actually no place to
mount the battery in front or rear cockpits.)
The ship turned out to be slightly nose heavy
(which is better than being tail heavy), so I elected to
mount the battery and associated relays in the aft fuselage. The battery box can be seen in the lower longerons of the aft fuselage. At this point the tail wheel
weighing point scale read 88 pounds (less tare). The
problem here is any controls or structure that must
be routed aft, that is, rudder cables, elevator pushpull tube, stabilizer trim push-pull tube, etc. So it was
necessary to be sure the rudder cables were attached
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back up a little and speak a little more to fuselage restoration. Illustration 3 shows the fuselage in October
1982, four years after I started the project. The wings
had been finished and work was slowly progressing
on the fuselage. Keep in mind that the project was
started in 1978 and finished in 1989. I did all the
work myself including engine overhaul. I had some
help from George Boys in Tracey, California, who was
very familiar with the Wright R-760 and R-975 engines and was a huge help. Thank you, George.
ILLUSTRATION 3
ILLUSTRATION 2
One very interesting thing I did just after this picture was taken was to remove the engine and all accessories firewall-forward and put the ship back on
scales and level. (The tail was mighty heavy!) I recall
the center of gravity turned out to be about 34 inches
aft of the datum (the lower wing leading edge). Why
would I do this? I had planned to build another couple airplanes and install a Lycoming R-680 225-hp
engine in one ship. All I would have to do was to find
the center of weight mass for the Lycoming engine
(complete with all accessories, propeller, oil tank,
etc.), then calculate how far forward this weight mass
had to be placed to bring the center of gravity back to
where I wanted it.
Once all this preliminary stuff was done I could
concentrate on covering the fuselage. But I should
52
Several details can be gleaned from this photograph. The newly fabricated engine mount ring is
welded in place. (The entire engine mount is welded
to the frame.) Forward fuselage supports a cardboard
fuel tank. The airplane sits on an entirely new landing
gearthat took about 140 hours to make! It was difficult because toe-in and camber cannot be adjusted
once the components are welded. There were a few
welded repairs made to the fuselage structure. Most
were inner sleeve type because the completed repair
looks better; however, a few outer sleeve repairs were
made under the floorboards. The important thing
here is to continue to add parts, making sketches and
measurements so if welding was required it could
be completed before final epoxy finish was applied.
The inside of the lower longerons was coated with
linseed oil for corrosion protection; however, the
fuselage tubing was original and in very good condition. Fuselage alignment was checked and rechecked
by running a string through the fuselage center and
measuring left and right to the stations (clusters);
and by leveling the forward upper longeron cross
tube, then checking the level of upper longerons at
horizontal stabilizer mount point. This proved that
the fuselage was not twisted in any way.
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In September 1982 a very special person came visiting my small shop in Reedley. He was designer Albert
Vollmecke, seen here in Illustration 4 inspecting his
fuselage. I am a firm believer in shoulder harness installations and put one in the rear cockpit. A locking handle
can be seen on the left side of the rear seat, and the inertia reel was installed on a welded mount above the baggage compartment and directly behind my shoulders.
It works perfectly. There is no shoulder harness in the
front cockpit because there was no place to mount it.
ILLUSTRATION 5
ILLUSTRATION 4
At one point the engine had to be bolted to its
mount so throttle, mixture control, and carburetor
heat controls could be installed and rigged. Again there
were no drawings or data showing how the controls
were initially installed. This part of the restoration is
critical because these controls have to work correctly
all the time. At this time the electrical system can be
wired, as it is imperative that the ship have a starting system in todays world. With the engine in place,
engine instrumentation can be installed, including tachometer, oil pressure, and temperature gauges.
The landing gear was a major task, and I spent
many hours to get alignment as good as possible
using wood fixtures and the fuselage itself to weld
components together. There were a couple old gear
parts, so step one was to see if the best one fit on the
fuselage frame (Illustration 5). The best gear patterns
were assembled to the frame, keeping in mind that
landing gears on the Model 5 were slightly different
than those used on the Model 3.
Next, in Illustration 6 a damaged Vee strut
was cut open to expose just how the factory constructed the part.
A holding fixture was constructed to place the Vee
strut and hold it while being welded together the front
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ILLUSTRATION 6
ILLUSTRATION 7
ILLUSTRATION 8
and aft streamline chromoly tubes and the fillet. Illustration 7 shows the fixture. Illustration 8 shows the almost
completed lower end of the Vee strut.
The end result after about 40 hours of cutting, fitting, and welding was a completed landing gear Vee
strut assembly as shown in Illustration 9. The upper attach fittings were carefully aligned with fuselage attach
fittings, and then a second part was constructed and
aligned with the opposite attach fittings. The lower attachment points would fasten to the axle on the shock
strut, so alignment was especially critical. Constant
attention had to be paid to correct alignment because
this would determine how well the ship handled on the
ground, particularly on a hard surface.
When fabricating steel components, my mind always
wanders back to those factory craftsmen who initially
welded these components. Their weld beads were absolutely perfect in every way, so I say to myself, Self, if they
could do it, so can you. All structural welding was oxygen/acetylene using a Victor Model 100 or an Airco gas
torch. All welding on the ship was done using a gas torch,
but I must admit the aluminum fuel and oil tanks were
TIG welded as there was a substantial amount of labor
involved in fabricating these components.
Fabrication of fuel and oil tanks presents a unique
problem in that cardboard patterns have to be generated
full size in order to eventually cut from 3003 or 5052 aluminum (that is weldable). In the following illustrations,
one can see the process of taping together a cardboard
fuel tank to fit properly in the space provided in forward
fuselage. It should be stressed here that necessary baffles
be installed to strengthen the tank and keep fuel from
sloshing around. The first tank had a center baffle only,
and after a couple years of service it began to leak around
the rivets holding the baffle in place. A new tank was fabricated and additional baffling added for more support.
Illustration 10 shows the method of making a fuel tank
pattern. Use of masking and duct tape to hold pieces together is evident in this photograph. There must be an
airspace clearance between fuel tank and firewall of 1/2inch minimum, and the tank must be adequately supported so it cannot move in flight. If not, it would result
in the breakage of a rigid fuel line and a catastrophic fuel
system failure. This material I present to give restorers
some clue to my thought process and hints on bringing
back to life an old airplane.
ILLUSTRATION 9
ILLUSTRATION 10
54
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VAA
Directory
OFFICERS
President
Geoff Robison
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260-493-4724
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262-560-1949
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DIRECTORS EMERITUS
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S o m e t h i n g t o b u y, s e l l , o r t ra d e ?
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Advertising Closing Dates: 10th of second month prior to
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March issue). VAA reserves the right to reject any advertising
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issue. Classified ads are not accepted via phone. Payment
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EMPLOYMENT
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be able to manage large projects and be skilled in business
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Wood and Fabric A&P Technician. Looking for a specialist
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for restoration and maintenance of existing airplanes at
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the resort city of Virginia Beach. Must have experience
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