(Photo byTed Kaston)

THE PRESIDENT'S PAGE

By E. E. " Buck" Hilbert
President, Anti que-Classic Division
HOW TO JOIN THE ANTIQUE-CLASSIC DIVISION
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2
A
VOLUME 2 NUMBER 8 AUGUST 1974
TABLE OF CONTENTS
How About A Challenge? .. . Tom McCann . ........ 4
Reminiscing With Big Nick ... Nick Rezich ......... 6
1974 National Waco Fly-In ... Ray Brandly .. . . ... .. 12
The Meyers 145 ... Gar Williams . .................. 14
The Invincible Center-Wing(s) ...... . ............... 20
ONTHECOVER . .Tom McCann's Nieuport 17. BACK COVER ..Bamboo Bomber.
Photo by Ted Koston Photo by Ted Koston
EDITORIAL STAFF
Publisher- Paul H. Poberezny Editor- JackCox
Assist ant Editor- Gene Chase Assistant Editor- Golda Cox
ANTI QUE AND CLASSIC DIVISION OFFICERS
PRESIDENT- VICE PRESIDENT
E E.HILBERT J. R. NIELANDER.JR.
8102 LEECH RD. P O. BOX 2464-
UNION. ILLINOIS 60180 FT. LAUDERDALE. FLA. 33303
SECRETARY TREASURER
RICHARD WAGNER GAR W.WILLIAMS,JR.
BOX 181 g S 135 AERO DR. , RT. 1
LYONS. WIS. 53148 NAPERVI LLE,ILL. 60540
DIRECTORS
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CLAUDE L. GRAY. JR. AL KELCH GEORGE STUBBS JACKWINTHROP
9635 SylviaAve. 7018W. Bonni well Rd. RR 18. Box127 3536Whi tehall Dr.
Northridge, Cali f. 91 324 Mequon. Wisc. 53092 Ind ianapol is.Ind. 46234 Dallas.Texas 75229
DIVISION EXECUTIVE SECRETARY
DOROTHY CHASE. EAA HEADQUARTERS
THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE is owned exelusively by Antique Classic Ai rcraft . Inc. and is published
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Copyright 1974 Antique Classic Aircraft.Inc. All Rights Reserved
3
HOW ABOUT A CHALLENGE?
By Tom McCann (EAA 36209/AC 54)
251 Aero Drive 9, South
Naperville, Illinois 60540
Being in the infantry in World War II and wou nded
five times and in later years a sky diver, I figured it was
time for a challenge - so I decided to build an aeroplane.
I have always been interested in World War I avia-
tion so, naturally, I had to build a World War I aeroplane.
I wanted to build an Albatross 0-3, but since six cylinder
in-line engines that turn a big prop slowly are almost
extinct, I had to settle on a design with a round engi ne.
I had always liked the Nieuport 17 also, so when I
found out the Wright Patterson Air Force Base Museum
had drawings on it, I sent for them. They loa ned me what
they had and I had them copied and as it turned out they
were wri tten in German. It seems the Germans captured
a Nieuport and liked it so much they made a detailed set
of drawings from it and even manufactured an aeroplane
from them called a Siemens-Schukert.
Well, after a month of studying the drawings I started
to make fittings. Incidentally, the drawings are metric,
which is really the simplest way to go, and I made fit-
tings and made fittings and fittings to hold fittings. For
an aeroplane that had an average life of three weeks, it
certainly was complicated! My aeroplane from the fire-
wall back is as authentic as possible with no changes ex-
cept for the use of 4130 steel.
One thing about the lieu port - I could have put the
markings of any country on either side and they would be
correct, but I chose the French as they were the original
designers.
(Photo by Ted Koston)
I have had many detractors while building the Nieu-
port and many especially when it came time to finish
it, mostly because of the no brakes and tail skid con-
figuration. Almost everyone said, "You're goi ng to kill
yourself," or, "You're going to end up on your back,"
or, "You're going to run into my hanga r."
Well, let me tell you, I was beginning to have some
doubts myself until my son John said, "You ca n do it,
dad!" That's all it took to bring the old confidence back.
50, one fine morning in May my good friend, Gar Wil-
liams, knocked on my window and sai d, "The Huns are
coming and you have to go get them'" It wasn't long be-
fore we got the plane started and 1 taxi ed down to the
east/west strip, which, incidentally, was just about the
extent of the taxi tests. After some final words of wisdom
from Gar, I pus hed the throttle forward, up came the
tail and she li fted off in seconds.
I climbed straight out, mindful of the old saying,
"Keep your nose down in the turns". Well, she turns nose
up and nose down and has no bad characteristics, except
when I tried to slip to the ri ght, she instantly rewarded
me with a viol ent shaking and a hard blast of wi nd on
the right side of my head. Since then we don't slip any
more.
The landing was the best I have made in it yet. When
Gar got me turned around for another go at it, he said,
"Don't be too confident - watch that next landing".
(Photo by Ted Kaston)
RIGHT: Cockpit and machine gun installation details.
Well, that landing and the next two ended up in ground
loops. Since then my average has improved somewhat!
This project ha s taken about 41/2 years, however,
during that time I also rebuilt my J-3 twice . .. the first
as a basket case and the second time when the wind blew
it away.
My son and I now have a Fokker Triplane half fin-
ished ... say now, there might be a challenge . . . !!
(Photo by Ted Kaston)
BELOW: Naperville, Illinois, 1974 . .. or Western Front,
1916?
THE HOWARD MODEL 18
The Model 18, like the Howard factory, got off to a
bad start and the climbout was slow. When the first bids
for CPTP and Army PT trainers were let, Howard's
Board of Directors could not make up their minds whether
to get a piece of the action or not. The issue at hand was
money. Mr. B. D. DeWeese, our new president, finally
convinced them we could a nd should build the trainer.
When the board finally decided to go ahead with the
new project, it was too late. Fairchild, Ryan, Stearman
and Waco all had airplanes ready to go. Howard went
ahead with the project and we built the new plane to
meet CAA certification requirements and Army specs.
The first move by B. D. was to re-hire Gordon Israel
as Chief Engineer. Gordon was happy to return to Howard
and was eager to get the new airplane designed and built.
It was just a week into the project when the head-
banging contest started. First, it was B. D. trying to tell
Gordon what to design and, second, the stingy Board of
Directors doling out a handful of chicken feed to build it
with.
With the money allotted Gordon designed the original
"18" around a 165 hp Warner engine. His new design
was a slick one. The fuselage was steel tube with the rear
half fabric covered and the cockpit forward section fitted
with removable sheet metal. The wings were two-piece -
mono spar, all wood, full cantilever panels. The tail
group included steel flippers and rudder and a wooden
stabilizer and fin. The final layout looked great.
Ted Linnert designed a beautiful control system - all
needle bearings a nd balanced 100%, aerodynamically
and statically. The landing gear was the pride of Gordon
Israel - it was an anti-noseover gear. It was built so that
when you jumped on the binders, the nose would come
up instead of pitching you over on your back. We had
more fun testing this gear! It was an odd feeling going
6
REMINISCING WITH BIG NICK
Nick Rezich
4213 Centerville Rd.
Rockford, Ilf. 61102
down the ramp at 30 or 40 mph and being able to jump on
the binders without finding yourself on the nose.
Throughout the design process Gordon kept mainte-
nance and service in mind (something today's engineers
don' t do) . The 18 was a mechanic's dream and a builder's
delight. About half way through the preliminary stress
analysis, the word came down that the prototype must
be in the air within 30 days! That took care of the pre-
liminaries .. . now it was full bore with everything being
right. Now!! the main event of the head-banging contest
was to emerge! Eli Newberger, our chief in charge of
stress (who is now with the FAA) complained that he
could not finish the stress analysis in time to release the
prototype for flight. Gordon told him not to worry about
the flying, that he and Walt Daiber, our test pilot, would
take care of meeting the flight deadline. With Eli set-
tled down, Gordon released the primary structure draw-
ings ... some complete and some incomplete.
In order to meet the 30 day time limit, it was decided
we would build temporary jigs for the wings and fuse-
lage and that we would build two airplanes from these
jigs. The first machine would be the flying prototype and
the second the static load test machine. The two fuselages
were built in a wood jig, much the same as EAA home-
builders use today. The wing jig was made of angle iron,
bolted together. The later permanent jigs were all welded.
You mayor may not believe the rest of this story, but
BELIEVE-YOU-ME, it is true . With only 30 days time
and no additional help to build the first two airplanes,
the true Howard Aircraft loyalty, craftsmanship and
ingenuity emerged.
All the available factory space was being used to
maintain a one a week production schedule for the Model
15, which we could not disturb. In order to make room
for the wing and fuselage jigs for the 18, we removed the
foreman's desks and the clothes lockers from the wood
shop and welding shop and doubled up with the paint
department and sheet metal department. The rest of the
18 was build in corners ... and at night.
The first to burn the midnight oil was engineering.
I can well remember coming to work in the mornings and
finding Gordon Israel asleep in his chair at a drafting
table. Mr. DeWeese would tell Gordon to go home and
get some rest, but Gordon would stay on until he finished
what he was working on so he could release it to the shop
for construction.
The first fuselage was built by the late Mike Babco
and Conrad Wayne in two days. The fuselage was finished
about 3:30 P.M. and went to the paint shop for routine
zinc chromate prime. The cleaning, painting and drying
was scheduled as a three hour job. At about 5:00 P.M. I
received a phone call during a meeti ng from the paint
shop foreman informing me that the primer would not
dry. I told him to give it another 30 minutes and it should
be O.K.
Thirty minutes later he called again and said it was
still wet. I left the meeting and when I was 50 feet from the
paint booth, I got the word - or should I say the smell?
What I was smelling was not zinc chromate, but enamel.
No wonder it wouldn't dry' Tom Halidler, the painter,
had grabbed a five gallon pail ou t of storage and did not
check what it was. He opened it and it was yellow, so he
dumped it into the pressure pot and started to s pray.
What he was spraying was road marking enamel that we
used to paint the compass rose with at the airport. Need-
less to say, I got very ugl y with him ... it cost him a 30
day suspension.
This littl e boner cost us a whole day. The paint shop
stripped the enamel, re-cleaned and re-etched the tubing
and painted it that night ... in zinc chromate thi s time
so that it was ready for sub assembly the next morn-
ing. The experimentai assembly department consisted
of Mike Molberg, "Sludge" Doyle, Frank Rezich, Ted
Linnert and Gordon Israel. For the next five days thi s
bunch worked 16 and 24 hour shifts 'without any breaks.
When the ga ng was hungry, Gordon would give Frank
Rezich ten bucks and send him over to " Monkey Faces",
a local gag and vomit shop, for a bag full of sandwiches
and coffee .. . which were eaten whenever a man had the
time to take a bite or two. When they got into the 24 hour
work period, they slept in chairs, on the floor or wherever
they could for an hour or two. The corker came one night
when Frank Rezich fell asleep lying on a sawhorse. Every-
one was taking bets as to when he was going to roll off.
I went home about midnight and he was still on dead
center . .. as far as I know he never rolled off!
After the tail group was fitted and all controls checked
out, the fu selage went back to the Paint Shop for fabric
coveri ng. While the fu selage was being covered the stu ff
hit the fan! B. D. DeWeese and the Board of Directors
swi tched engines on Gordon. They said the 165 hp Warn-
er was too expensive and that we would use the 125 hp
Warner inst ea d. Well" Gordon promptly told them in what
particular part of their anatomies they could insert the
125 Warner! The head banging ended with Gordon los-
ing the contest.
Using the small Warner meant all new performance
figures, new weight and balance ... in fact, everything
new firewall forward and no place to chop any weight
other than in the fini sh. The first set of wings were fin-
ished by now and the second set was already started, so
it was too late to desi gn or build a new lighter wing. When
the smoke cleared, Gordon jumped into his Dodge and
(Photo Courtesy Nick Rezich)
A Model 18 with a NACA cowl.
headed for Andy Kluck's "Barn" where he could think in
peace and settle down with the aid of the spirits.
In the meantime, Eli Newberger, Ted Linnert and
Wally French re-engineered the 18 to match the 125
Warner. They made some changes in the Number 2 static
test airplane but left Number 1 alone . . . it was still
full bore on the flight test plane. Harold Bates joined the
experimental group in charge of engine installation and
the airplane was fully assembled at the factory and
checked out, then the v.rings were removed and the ship
was trucked to the airport for final assembly, taxi test,
engine run, etc.
While all this was going on, Eli and his gang were
working round the clock building the "whiffle tree" for
the wing static testing, the drop test rig for the landing
gear and working out some final figures before the first
test flight. We still had about five days left to meet the
deadline and Walt Daiber was chomping at the bit to fly
the 18. He had been running slow taxi tests, engine tests,
etc., plus test flying the 15s. He had been given instruc-
tions from Gordon not to fly the plane until engineer-
ing released it.
Well, 01' Walt was nothing but a big kid who loved to
fly. One afternoon after all the squawks had been worked
off, Walt asked to run some high speed, tail up tests on
the runway. Gordon said O.K .... but DON'T fly it, and
to make sure he wouldn't, instructed the mechanics not
to put the rear engine cowl on and one side panel. Walt
jumped into the cockpit and my brother Frank cranked
him up. As Walt taxied out, he had the grin of the cat
that just swallowed the canary ... yep! you guessed it
- when he got down to the west end of the east/west
runway, he opened up the throttle, up came the tail and
about 200 feet later the 18 was in the air!
Walt climbed it out at max angle, circled the field to
about 3,000 feet and proceeded to run some stall tests.
After about 30 minutes of flying around doing steep
turns, dives, etc., he returned to the field, made a per-
fect three point landing and taxied in with that same
$%J* eating grin on his face. Gordon was so happy to
see his new design fly, he forgot all about his "no fly"
order. He jumped up on the wing, slapped Walt on the
back and said, "How was it?". Walt, still smiling, said,
"Build it - it flies like a toy!"
The following weeks were spent on the static load
tests and keeping B. D. De Weese away from the airplane.
Walt was about three jumps ahead of everyone in the
flight tests and, again, Gordon warned him not to spin or
dive the airplane until the wing tests were complete.
Unbeknown to Gordon, Walt had already spun it. Walt
let the cat out of the bag when the engineers were in-
stalling the spin chute. He told them, "Hell, you don't
need that, it spins nose down!" Walt was skating on
thin ice, however, because a few days later the wing
failed at the torsion box with a lesser load than for which
it was designed. This section was modified and the air-
plane went through the certification tests with no other
problems.
Our next problem was production. We had to rear-
range the factory to accommodate both the 18 and the 15.
In the meantime, Sales had sold a mess of 18s and wanted
delivery yesterday. Building the first ten 18s caused
many red eyes - it was common to work three days
straight! Yes, I remember it well . . . going to work on
Monday and going home for the first time on Wednesday
smelling like a goat!
The 18, like the 15, was improved and modified on
the production line by the mechanics and it left the fac-
tory in traditional D.G.A. form. The first batch of 18s
had an enamel finish on the wings and stabilizer. We
used a process called "wipe-on" ... you finished the wood
like furniture - sealer, filler and color. This was sup-
posed to be quicker and cheaper than the customary
dope and fabric and did, indeed, result in a high gloss
finish. As it worked out, this was more time consuming,
expensive and difficult to repair. The high gloss was the
only thing the method had going for it. This was later
changed to a dope and fabric finish. The wood covering
was applied with tacking strips in place of permanently
driven nails such as in the 15. The leading edge was a one-
piece, curved section that we formed ourselves with a
steam forming jig. We also added check valves to the
brake reservoir cans to keep from bathing the pilots with
hydraulic oil.
The whole 18 program went well until the airplanes
and the summer heat met in Georgia, Oklahoma and
Texas. The operators complained that the airplane
would not perform or climb in the 90 degree temperatures .
Gordon was well aware of this situation and explained
to the sales people that you couldn't build an airplane
that was designed for 165 hp and fly it with 125 hp and
expect anything other than a pig.
It wasn't long before the sales came to a grinding
halt. C. W. "Slim" Frietag, our vice president of sales,
an old-time pilot with many hours, finally convinced B.
D. De Weese and the Board of Directors of the need to
install the 165 hp engine if we were to survive .. . then
it was back to the head banging contest! Gordon wanted
the original 165 Warner and the Board and B. D. wanted
a 165 Kinner because, again, it was cheaper. Gordon came
out of the contest with the larger lumps - a Kinner en-
gine was purchased and work began immediately on
the new installation. This program was a carbon copy of
the 18 as Gordon had originally planned it. Sales wanted
the plane yesterday, so it was back to working all hours
of the day and night.
Summer had also arrived in Chicago and the annual
Howard Aircraft picnic was scheduled to be held in the
Dan Ryan Woods Park located at 87th and Western
Avenue. This park is in the city and is surrounded by
homes on all four sides. Part of the planned entertain-
ment called for Walt Daiber to put on an aerobatic show
over the picnic grounds in one of the 18s.
Walt showed up at about 3:00 P.M. and at 3,000 feet
proceeded to loop, roll and snap roll the 18 for about
twenty minutes before returning to Muni. As he was
leaving the area, little Don Dresslle, who is now an avia-
tion executive on the west coast, came up to me and said,
"That was a terrible show. You couldn't see or hear him.
You can do better than that ... why don't I drive you out
to Willie Howell's and get your Travel Air and put on a
REAL show!" I agreed it was terrible, so we headed off
to Howell's Airport where I rolled out NC-8115, a red
and white sunburst Travel Air Speedwing that belonged
to my brother Mike ... and headed for the picnic!
I was in my prime then and I gave them one heck of
a good show. I capped it off with a simulated ribbon pick-
up using a baseball diamond backstop for the target. I
went back to the airport for some more tricks before
putting 8115 in the hangar. Don and I headed back to
the picnic where everybody was buzzing about the fly-
ing .. . all but two: the late George Vest, Chief of the Chi-
cago CAA, and "Fritz" Long, our resident CAA inspector.
George didn't ask me if I were flying that airplane . ..
he knew!! He walked me over to a tree and said, "I should
hang you here!" He then proceeded to read the riot act
to me in no uncertain terms. He made one statement that
I shall never forget, which was, "I don't give a damn if
8
(Photo Courtesy Nick Rezich)
The Model 18 Final Assembly crew. In the center is Mike
Molberg, the Foreman who brought the wreckage of Mr.
Mulligan back to Chicago. To his left is my brother Frank
who is with Rockwell International , working on the 81
bomber program.
you kill yourself, but you have no right to kill anyone
on the ground." He ended his speech by telling me the
airplane and myself weregroundedand to be in his office
Monday promptlyat9:00 A.M.
Now don' t get any goofy ideas here ...sure it was a
picnic with beer, hot dogs, etc., butin those daysI didn't
drink beer or booze. I was just a hot shot show-off who
thought he could fly better than the next guy. Well, that
session in Mr. Vest's office cooled me down for a long
time afterwards. And that wasn't the end of the burro
chewing either ...my brother got in on the act, since it
was hi s airplane. We went through the whole scene
again. Oh well, it WAS a good show! Incidentally, I now
own NC-8115 and will be back on the air show circuit
with it in 1975. NC-606K belongs to my brother Mike
and hi s sonis nowflying it.
Enough ego priming ... back to that shaking Kin-
ner. The Kinner installation opened a whole new can of
worms that worsened by the day. Everything went fine
until we started the spin tests. The spin test for certifica-
tion called for a six turn spin with a hands-off recovery
within a turnanda half. Walt had been running the tests
and found that after three turns the tail would shake, but
thi s did not affect the recovery. Satisfied that it met the
requirements, Walt turned the machine over to the CAA
for acceptance. The CAA inspector who was going to do
the flying had just recovered from a broken back which
he received while doing spin tests at the Waco factory.
I don' t rememberhis name, buthe was a nice fellow ...
and had "had the cure" for shaking tails. He started
the spintests with the usual caution: oneturn, two turns,
etc. When he started the four turn tests and that tail
got to shaking, he brought everything to a grinding
halt and instructed us to fix it. His exact works were,
"One brokenback is enough!"
For the next six months Howard Aircraft, the 18 and
the CAA went through hell. We modified, we changed
and the more we spun the 18, the more it shook. Again
we were back to working all night and all day designing,
building and assemblying new fixes. About the time we
thought we had the problem licked, the CAA would fly
itandsay, "No, it's still there."
We shifted the shake from the fourth turn to the fifth
turn and this was not acceptable ... it was six turns and
no shake or no license. Gordon took over the job as test
pilot just so he could get first handinformation. Ted Lin-
nertspun it to get first hand information. Ted had earlier
bailed out of a Waco 10 while running spin tests after
converting the Waco from an OX-5 to a Tank engine, so
he was current onspins. Still no fix.
After an all-night session at the drawing board, Gor-
donsuggestedwemounta cameraontheshipandphoto-
graph the tail during the spins. We found that we could
not mount the camera on the ship and still photograph
the tail and all the tufts. Gordon, however, would not
accept defeat . He told us to remove the rear controls and
seat so that he could stand up in the rear cockpit and
photograph the tail holding the camera in his hands!
Everyone thoughthe wascrazy. Nevertheless, theyrigged
up a safety belt to fit around his mid section and all the
while, Walt kept shaking hi s head and saying, ''I'll lose
him, sure as hell!". With camera in hand and standing
in the cockpit facing the rear, Gordon and Walt roared
off. About a half hour later they returned with Gordon
and his camera still in the back seat and Walt still shak-
ing his head! It musthavebeena wild ride, because when
they lifted Gordon out of the cockpit, he could not stand
by himself for about ten minutes. Well! anyhow Gordon
got his picturesanda ride he will neverforget!
9
By now 01' B. D. De Weese was impossible to live with .
He kept pushing Gordon until he up and quit and went to
work for Grumman Aircraft. To replace Gordon as chief
engineer, B. D. hired Bill Peerfi eld from Stinson. Bill
knew B. D. fr om hi s Stinson days and could get along
with him. He walked into a real mess, however, and by
the time he got all the loose ends tied together and sifted
out what had been done and what had to be fini shed
another month had slipped by.
After reviewing all the data and motion pictures, it
was decided that the airplane needed a larger stabil izer
flipper and fin . Also, the tail had to be rai sed to kept it
out of the wing's downwash . A new tail group was built
and a new fuselage from the rear cockpit aft was built.
BELlEVE-YOU-ME, the res t of this is true: The new
tail was covered and painted in the fa ctory. The bare aft
fus elage was primed and all was trucked to the airport
for the switch. At 7:00 A.M. Mike Babco cut the old fu se-
lage off at th e cockpit and weld ed the new section in
place, using saw horses for a jig. By 9:00 A.M. 1 squirted
the welds with zinc chromate and my brother Frank and
"Sludge" Doyle started hangi ng stringers, cabl es, etc.,
in place.
Now, B. D. was on the scene all the while as well as
Bill Peerfi eld . B. D. ke pt handing the tail wheel to
"Sludge" and kept telling him to install it. Aft er about
the fifth attempt, "Sludge" went over and got a big chunk
of wood and set it on end. He then grabbed B. D. by the
lapels and sat him on it and told him to keep his hands off
the parts and sit there a nd be qu iet until the work was
fini shed' You could have hea rd a pin drop'! Work now
proceeded on the new fu selage and by 3:00 P.M. 1was slip-
ping the cover on and while 1 was doping it, the others
hung the tail group. 1 put the fu selage throu gh silver and
we were ready to roll it out for test flight when B. D.
said hi s first words since "Sludge" sat him on th e wood.
He asked that we paint the fuselage in color so it wouldn't
look like a repair job. Rather than argue, 1 sprayed two
cross coats of blue dope on it and we pushed it out at 6:00
P.M.
They cranked it up and Walt was in the air twenty
minutes later. He landed at dark, taxi ed in slowly, parked
and just sat in the cockpit. We didn't have to ask .. . we
all knew the new tail had not solved the probl em.
By now, everybody had become an expert in tail s hake
theory, includ ing yours truly. 1 remembered rea ding a
paper published by Lockheed about "'ring-to-fuselage junc-
tures and thought maybe I had something. It was a Sun-
day morning when I called Walt and explained my theory
and asked him to fly the airplane. 1 went out to the air-
port a nd removed the two wing walks which consisted
of % inch thi ck rough cork runners about 12 inches wide.
This improved the stall considerably and eliminated the
buffet in steep turns, but it did not stop the shake. We
th en replaced the cork wing walks on the production
airplanes with smooth carborundum wa lks. B. D. didn' t
like thi s because the cork had been hi s idea.
I can't reca ll who it was, but someone sugges ted run-
ning the spin tes ts with the engine stopped. We tri ed it
and it worked - eureka!' Now we had to fi gure out a
way to make it work with the engine running.
Howa rd Aircraft was a n airplane fa ctory that e m-
pl oyed many tal ent ed men other than A&E mechanics .
Some of thi s outside tal ent was in the form of race car
builders and mechani cs. "Sludge" Doyle hired a whole
slew of race mechanics to work for him in the machine
shop. After hour s a nd on weekends, they built st eel
tube race car chassis long b efore Frank Kurtis ever
thought of it . I saw a lot of fancy Offies come out of How-
ard Aircraft . .. that is how I got involved in AAA racing.
Let me break away from the 18 to tell you a story
about "Sludge" Doyl e. "Sludge" was the master mechan-
ic on about fi ve different race cars and he would be in
the pits at Soldier's Field, the Amphitheater or Raceway
Park setting up the engines for the drivers every race
night that he wasn't working at Howard. 01' "Sludge"
liked his libati on ... and 1 mean REALLY liked it. He
would get the cars running, then walk ,across the track
to the bar, fill up, walk back and sit on a hay bale li sten-
ing to the engines as they ran. When he would hear a sick
alto, he would give 'em two fin gers up or one finge r
down, then hea d for that bar across the track. Well , the
firs t couple of trips across, he would look for traffic,
but after that he would just walk right through the traf-
fic! One ni ght at Raceway Park, he was sitting on a bal e
of hay in the first corner when the whole bunch came
charging throu gh, missing " Sludge" and the bale by
inches. Going down the backstretch Wally Zale and Tony
" Flipper" Bett enhause n s hortened th e track in number
three turn by knocking the bales over and as they came
down into the number one turn, "Sludge" got off the bale
just as Wally sa wed off the "Flipper" ... and he went
through the bale! As they all passed, "Sludge" walked
across the track again and into the bar. This guy used
to do thi s all the time and never received a scratch . He
was a lege nd around the Chicago tracks.
My boss, George Lyo ns, was also a car builder ... in
fact , they called him "I build 'em Lyons". He suggested
we u se th e sa me kind of vibration damper for the Kin-
ner installation on the 18 as used on the Offi es . "Sludge",
George and Bill Burns built a mount with an Offy damp-
er and we hung the Kinner in it and tried it. It wor ked!!
The new 18 passed the spin tests with flying colors and
received its CAA certificate.
J don' t recall how many we built before the war broke
out, but it wasn't many. When the war came along, the
Army and Navy didn' t want the airplane so we shut down
the production of the 18 and built the Fairchild PT-23 on
sub-contract.
The Model 18 was a good sport aircraft but a poor aero-
batic airplane. It had bunches of dihedra l which made it
almost impossible to slow roll , and, for a low winger, the
18 was very stabl e. Snap rolls turned out to be snatch
roll s. All the 18s were painted with blue fu selages a nd
yellow wings. I think it would have been a great airplane
with a 220 Continental and a flatt er wing. Structurally,
it was the best in the industry. It was truly a D.G.A.
I don' t know of any 18 left fl ying today. Don Ga rdner
of the EAA Aviation Museum staff has the only one still
carried on the FAA regish' ation list - a DGA-18K, I -
39672, Serial Number 672. It will be restored a nd flying
one of these days . There is a rumor that an FAA inspector
in Georgia or northern Florida also has one.
Benny Howard desi gned two ai rplanes that were never
built under the Howard name. Benny was twenty years
ahead of the industry in ideas and design.
Benny d esig ned a freighter with a swing tai l, af t
loading door and front loading d oor tha t was never
built. He also designed a freighter with a detachable pod
much the same as a semi. Hi s idea was to build hundreds
of pods (trailers) and a few pod carri ers. The scheme was
to fl y in with a loaded pod, drop it off, pick up a new
loaded one and continu e the flight . .. much as the truck-
ing industry operates. No one would finance such a "wild"
venture then, but later some of the designs wE're stolen
10
or copied and Benny's freighters never got off the ground
- which is too bad because the air freight business is
still twenty years behind.
"Till next month . .. watch that bottom rudder in the
turn. It will kill you. It's better to bank and yank than
to stomp and yank.
- Big Nick
(Photo Cour:9SY Nick Rezich)
The first Howard Model 18 - at the factory test hangar.
(Photo Courtesy Nick Rezich)
The Howard experimental crew dur-
ing the development of the Model 18.
Left to right: Frank Rezich, Assistant
Foreman, Assembly; Mike Molberg,
Foreman, Assembly; Gordon Israel,
Chief Engineer; Eli Newberger,
Engineer; Ted Linnert, Engineer;
and Walter French, Engineer.
(Photo Courtesy Nick Rezich)
"This is NC-8115, the Travel Air
Speed Wing in which I almost ended
my air show career before it really
started. It belonged to my brother
Mike. I purchased it last year and
am in the process of rebuilding it.
It is about 95% complete at this writ-
ing. But for storms that damaged my
house and property recently, I vl/ould
have had it flying for OshKosh . I
should have it completed by Septem-
ber. The name " Earl Sting" is on
the cowl. This was a pilot who worked
for Mike Murphy and who owned the
airplane before Mike bought it. " -
Big Nick
11
(Photo by David Austin)
Dick Austin's Waco ARE.
at
The following Wacos enjoyed Memorial Day Weekend
Hamilton, Ohio for the annual National Waco Fly-
1934 UMF-3 NC14041 Harold Johnson, Dayton,
Ohio
In: 1935 CUC-2 NC14625 J. c. Weber, Barrington, IL
1936 YKS-6 NC16507 Col. James Mathews,
1928
1929
ATO
JYM
NC763E
NC731K
Bill Hogan, Hamilton, Ohio
Willt Weber, Atlanta, GA
1936 YKS-6 NC16517
Andrews AFB, MD
Jim Hau n, Donelson, TN
1931 QDC NC11470 Slim Johansson, St. Louis, 1936 EQC-6 NC1659] Stan Gomoll, Minneapolis,
MO MN
1931 QCF-2 NC11482 Frank Fox, Rockville, MD
]937 YKS-7 NC17457 Col. Robert Smith, Bel Air,
1932 RBA NC12444 Dave McClure, Bloomington,
IL 1937 YKS-7 NC17701
MD
Wayne Hayes, Trenton, NJ
1932 IBA NC12453 Dr. Ed Packard, South Bend, 1937 VPF-7 NC74835 Al Shimer, Hookstown, PA
IN 1938 ZGC-8 NC19360 Glen Hanson, Dundee, IL
1932 UEC NC12457 Lawrence Longuski, Bad 1939 AGC-8 NC20908 Stanley Simmons, Corona,
Axe, MI CA
(Continued on Page 23)
12
1974 NATIONAL WACO
FLY-IN
Beautiful Wacos from the far North, the deep South,
the West Coast and the East Coast gathered at Hamil-
ton Airport for the annual National Waco Fly-In. This
gathering of Wacos, a total of thirty-one, was most im-
pressive inasmuch as thirteen were making their first
appearance. A seven-plane formation surprised the
local population with a sneak attack late Friday after-
noon. This formation was made up of four Wacos from
Maryland, one from Washington, D. C. and two from
Pennsylvania, otherwise known as a portion of "Waco
East".
Four beautiful first-timers, arriving from the four
corners of the country, were Stan Gomoll's EQC-6 from
Minneapolis, Clarke Hubbard's UPF-7 from Houston,
Texas, Stan Simmon's AGC-S from Corona, Ca lifornia
and Dick Austin's ARE from Greensboro, North Carolina.
The 1974 Fly-In was well represented by the many
different Waco models as two Taperwings, an F-2, two
"A" models, an F-3 and a former Guatemalan VPF-7 were
among the open Wacos featured by a record number of
outstanding F-7s. Among the twelve cabin Wacos were
by
Ray Brandl y, President
Nati onal Waco Club
2650 West Alex.-Bell brook Rd.
Dayton, Ohio 45459
five Custom models and seven Standards, i ncluding
the oldest cabin in existence today, a 1931 QDC flown by
Slim Johansson.
The program included movies at the airport and re-
freshments at Ramondo's on Friday evening with the an-
nual banquet and presentations followed by more movies
on Sat urday evening. Feat ured guests were Mrs. Tex
LaGrone of Kansas Cit y and Mr. Clayton J. Brukner,
founder of Waco Aircraft Company. Mr. Brukner gave
another interesting talk on the early beginnings leading
up to the production of Waco airplanes. Certificates of
Merit were presented to Sta n Gomoll, Frank Fox, Law-
r ence Longuski, Stan Simmons a nd Wayne Hayes. On
Sunday Wacos were grouped on the ramp for photos, fol-
lowed by formation flying prior to departures.
The 1974 National Waco Fly-In at Hamilton, Ohio.
attracted many other antiques and homebuilt aircraft,
as there were Staggerwings, Stearmans, Great Lakes,
Grumman Ag-Cats, Vultees, Fairchilds, a Canadian
Tiger Moth and the always faithf ul and most outstand-
ing Howard DGA flown by John Turgyan of Trenton,
New Jersey.
WACOS
AT
HAMILTON
13
;.,
Golden Oldie of the Month
THE MEYERS 145
by
Gar W. Williams
9 S. 135 Aero Dr., Rt. 1
Naperville, Illinois 60540
If a real airplane buff was asked to list his choices for
"Classics" among the bevy of aircraft types produced
during the years associated with our EAA Antique-
Classic Division, the name Meyers undoubtedly would
appear. If that same buff happened to ~ v e .been fort.un-
ate enough to have time in a Meyers bUIlt flyIng machine,
the name Meyers most likely would be at the top of the
list.
The author's interest in the Meyers 145 goes back a
number of years to the summer of 1956. Interest in be-
coming an aircraft mechanic led to hiring on the staff of
Ravenswood (lllinois) Airport aircraft repair shop. Since
the employer, Abe Marmol, also needed someone to pump
gas in the evenings, my hours were 11:00 A.M. until
dark. One warm August day, a beautiful, brand new MAC-
145 arrived on its way from the factory to its new owner's
home. The owner saw the obvious envy for after many min-
utes of drooling and questions he allowed me to climb in
and "sit, but don't touch". Short was my dreaming - the
ship was there for gas and I was the gasser - so back to
work and within minutes the tanks were full with 49 gal-
lons of 80 octane.
The take off was going to be of great interest for the
wind was favoring the 1700' SW runway. This runway
was a legend in itself for it was downhill from both ends
to the center. The near center being marked by the site of a
wooden plank bridge over a small creek. Combinations of
asphalt, gravel and the wooden bridge made for interest-
ing gyrations right at the time most heavier airplanes
were ready to fly. The Meyers was no exception - down
the hill ... into the gravel ... bump ... over the bridge
(MeyersAircraftCompanyPhoto)
NX-34358, theprototypeforthe Meyers 145 series. Pow-
eredbya 125 Continental.
and it was launched. Launched and barely flying; even I,
a new private pilot, recognized the problem. Running out
of options, with trees and runway end rapidly approach-
ing, the Meyers pilot pulled the power and allowed the
ship to drift off the runway. Watch out, Aeronca 11AC!
The still flying, out of control MAC-145, instantly sent a
parked Chief to the classic happy hunting grounds. After
the emotion of the moment cleared, it was amazing to see
how well the Meyers survived - to fly again - the acci-
dent that literally dismembered the Aeronca.
This introduction to the strength of the MAC-145
made its impact some years later when the opportunity
came to purchase a damaged 145 - one that practically
flew into the side of a small hill after fuel starvation on
take off. Hesitant about rebuilding such a badly damaged
airplane, the thoughts were there from time past about
the structural integrity of the design. Hesitancy was re-
placed by action and soon the Meyers was mine.
Considering the reputation of the aircraft produced
by the Meyers Aircraft Company, one might easily imag-
ine that the company had been quite prolific over the
thirty some years that they were in existance as an air-
craft manufacturer. In reality, the production numbrs
are quite low - 102 OTW biplanes, 20 145s and slightly
over 50 200s. The OTWs (Out To Win) were probably the
closest to production airplanes in that over 100 were made
in a six or seven year time span. The OTW story is unique
on its own and certainly would be an interesting one for
these pages at a later date.
The second production type turned out by AI Meyers
and his skilled crew from the small factory located on the
airport at Tecumseh, Michigan started life as the Meyers
125. The prototype as shown (N-34358) was a rather un-
gainly looking side-by-side two place all metal mono-
plane. The Meyers family heritage is apparent in the de-
sign of the aft section of the fuselage - the fin in par-
ticular could be right off an OTW. Power for this first
prototype was the six cylinder 125 horsepower Conti-
nental.
The second prototype (N-34359) was really the pre-
production prototype and was much closer in detail to the
first production aircraft, N-34360, Serial Number 203.
Notice the changes in the fuselage - the canopy was lower
and much more streamlined. The fin and rudder have
changed shape with more area and in general the airplane
looks cleaner in design.
Shortly after production began, Al Meyers made a
significant design change which helped alleviate a loss
of directional control during take off and landing. This
change amounted to a lengthening of the tail wheel strut.
The difference is easily noticed by comparing "production"
photos with the photo of N-34359. observers have
questioned the long tail wheel strut - control require-
ments are undoubtedly the reason. The geometry of the
strut and its mounting caused the strut to maintain a
straight ahead position when downward pressure was
applied via up elevator. This led to utilization of a three
point take off technique in a strong crosswind. By hold-
ing the tail wheel on the ground and the
gear to fly first, crosswind take offs were eaSily done With-
out application of brakes. Raising the tail in a strong
crosswind required heavy brake application, especially
if a left crosswind - and "lots of luck" if the brake failed.
evolution of detail design became apparent
about halfway through the production. Again, the cabin
was refined with hidden door hinges and smoother lines
resulting from formed, compound windows rather than
flat plexiglass. The second noticeable difference is the
wheel well doors. Early 145s had rather large wells for the
wheels with correspondingly large doors. Since the doors
actually covered only the upper portion of the gear leg,
the wells were made smaller and covered wi th a small
door.
Some of these modifications have been retrofitted to
the earlier airlane. The first production ship, N-34360, was
completely rebuilt by the Meyers factory during the rnid-
fifties. At that time, all of the design revisions were in-
corporated to make it equal to the last one built. This in-
cluded the canopy and gear doors which will explain to the
more than casual observer why the first ship looks exactly
(Meyers Aircraft Company Photo)
NX-34359, the second prototype Meyers 145 - Serial
Number 202.
like the last. Of particular interest is that this airplane
is still alive and well - an attractive Alumigrip white and
gold paint job highlights the beauty - and is part of the
"Tullahoma Bunch".
Over the years that have expired since the last 145
cleared the runway at Tecumseh many modifications
have been applied to the original design. Engine changes,
brakes, steerable tail wheels, larger horizontal tail sur-
faces, dorsal fins and many other items are on the list of
modifications. Probably the most spectacular change in-
volves engines. The original14S Continental was ample for
most operating conditions, but at gross and high density
altitudes, long runways were the name of the take off
game. The first change to higher horsepower in production
aircraft was the installation of a 230 horsepower 0-470
Continental in Serial Number 211, N-424L. This required
modificaton to the cowling and resulted in a more bulky
looking front end. N-424L remained in the experimental
category for many years and during the mid to late
ties was kept at the factory in Tecumseh. The next expen-
ment with higher horsepower was done on the west coast
with the installation of an E-185 Continental in N-34369.
The former Bonanza engine fit neatly under the original
cowling and added considerable performance without any
change in the sleek lines. Both installations included a
controllable pitch propeller. To the authors knowledge,
the last, and in his opinion, most optimum engine switch
was done in Rockford, Illinois. The 145 was removed from
N-34375, engine mount slightly modified, and a 10-360
six cylinder 210 horsepower Continental installed. The re-
sultant weight change was minimal giving spectacular
take off and climb with about a 20 mph increase in cruise.
In all due fairness to the installation of the original
C-145-2H Continental engines, one might speculate that
if a constant speed metal prop had been available, the
interest in going to higher horsepower wouldn't have
been so intense. Many of the 145's had an "Altimatic"
15
(Photo by Ev Payette)
The Meyers Aircraft Company at Tecumseh, Michigan.
This was a Meyers OTW reunion in 1969.
Aeromatic installed at the factory. This was an attempt
to alleviate the problems associated with a fixed pitch
propeller on an airplane that really required a control-
lable prop. When properly maintained and operated, this
prop did approach the model solution but apparently did
not satisfy all the owners for most have removed the
Aeromatic in favor of a metal cruise prop.
The detail design features for the MAC-145 are most
easily described by the following quotations from the
owner's manual:
GENERAL DESIGN DETAILS
The Meyers MAC-145 is a two-place, lOW-Wing, all-
metal cabin monoplane with a Continental C-145-2H
engine. Overall dimensions are: wing-span equals 30
feet; length equals 21 feet , 10 inches; height (to top of
cabin, aircraft at rest) equals 6 feet.
The MAC-145 is licensed by the Civil Aeronautics
Administration under Airworthiness Type Certificate
Number 3A1 with a gross weight of 1,910 Ibs. A maxi-
mum baggage load of 100 Ibs. can be carried in the com-
partment behind the seat and an additional 20 Ibs . is
permitted on the shelf above this compartment.
Aerodynamic twist of the wings increases the lateral
stability and control at high angles of attack. Engine
torque is counteracted by a one-degree offset of the verti-
cal stabilizer.
Three-position, all-metal slotted wi ng flaps - in-
crease the wing lift for take-off and permit steep land-
ing approaches at slow speeds with full control. Ease of
maneuvering in the air is achieved with the aid of slot-
ted ailerons having counterbalanced weights in the
aileron leading edge.
The main sub-assembly portions of the Model"145"
are:
1. Engine Nacelle - with detachable engine mount
and cowlings.
2. Center Section - fabricated from 4130 chrome
molybdenum steel tubing. The outer wing panels are
attached to the center section wing fittings with special-
ly machined aircraft bolts (.747 diameter). The lower
mountings of the tail cone are attached to the rear of the
center section provides structural support for the landing
gear, cabin, tail cone and stub-wing.
3. Cabin Section - Main support tubes made from
4130 chrome molybdenum steel tubing. Cabin noise level
is reduced with aid of fiber-glass insulation throughout
the cabin and mufflers in the engine exhaust system.
4. Outer Wing Panels - 24ST aluminum is used in
fabricating the entire wing and wing spars, as well as all
parts of the flaps and ailerons.
5. Landing Gear - A hydraulic-spring gear is used
in conjunction with a Goodrich wheel assembly. The
landing gear is fully retractable, using a hand-operated
hydraulic pump.
6. Tail Cone with Control Surfaces - A 24ST alumi-
num monocoque tail cone is attached with four bolts to
the cabin and center section, and supports an hydraulic-
spring tail wheel. The fin, rudder, horizontal stabilizer
and elevator are fabricated from 24ST aluminum as com-
plete and independent assemblies.
INSTRUMENTATION
The MAC-145 instrument panel carries the full blind-
flying group, with radio and engine instruments. The
panel may be partly or completely removed for mainte-
nance by removing the four main Lord-mount bolts and
all lines to the instruments.
All engine controls are the press-button vernier type
control which includes the throttle, propeller-pitch selec-
tor and elevator trim tab. The elevator trim control has
been completely restricted to vernier adjustment to pre-
vent erratic movement of the trim tab. Neutral position
for take-off requires alignment of the forward edge of
the trim control knob with the indicator.
16
FUEL SYSTEM
The fuel system consists of two main inboard tanks
(16 gallons each) and two outboard auxiliary tanks (8.5
gallons each) located in the center wing section. Each
tank should be used independently of the others and con-
trolled by the two selector valves located on the cabin
floor. The selector handle points to the tank in use. When
using the main tanks the auxiliary tank selector valve
must be in the "OFF" position; correspondingly, the main
tank selector valve must be in the "OFF" position when
using the auxiliary tanks. The purpose of this procedure
is to prevent the flow of gas from a full tank to an empty
one. Quick drain plugs are provided at the low points of
each tank to enable daily flight inspection for water.
LANDING GEAR
The landing gear is conventional 4130 steel-welded
construction (no heat-treated parts) with "oleo" (oil and
spring) action. The main gear oleo strut carries 8 ounces
of S.A.E. No. 10 motor oil. The down lock mechanism
consists of two "knees" on each gear which break past
center. As an added measure of safety, hydraulic pres-
sure should be exerted after the gear has been lowered,
and at all times before taxiing.
FLIGHT CONTROLS
The ailerons and elevator are controlled by push-pull
tubes; the flaps and rudder are cable-controlled. The rud-
der is restricted when the gear is up, while the elevator
is restricted when the flaps are up. This makes the air-
plane spin-resistant in the dean condition. Full rudder
control can be obtained at any time by lowering the land-
ing gear; full elevator control is obtained by lowering
flap to anyone of the three positions. It is recommended
that the first notch of flap be used for take-off to utilize
full elevator control.
SPECIFICATIONS
Span . .... .. . .. . .. . .. .. . ..... .. . . .. . .. . . . . .. . . .. 30 ft .
Length ...... . . .. . ... .. ... .... . .... ... .... 21 ft. 10 in.
Height . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 6 ft.
Gross Weight 32 Gals. . . . . .. . .... . . .. .. ... ... 1910 lbs.
Gross Weight 49 Gals .. . . .. . . . . . . .. ... ... . . .. 19101bs.
Useful Load .. .. . ..... .. .. ... . ... ... . . . .. .. : .. 600 lbs.
Baggage .. . .. . . . . . ... . .. .. . ... ...... . .. ... ... 120 lbs.
Max. Speed, Sea Level . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 166 mph
Cruising Speed, Sea Level . . .... .. . ...... 150 mph. plus
Altitude Cruising Speed .. ..... .. . . . ...... . ... 162 mph
Landing Speed (45
0
Flaps) .. .. . . . ... .. ....... .. 45 mph
Service Ceiling . . . .. . ............ . . . . . .. . .... 18,000 ft .
Rate of Oimb .... . ...... .. . .... .. ..... . ... ... 960 fpm
Take Off Run, Sea Level . ... . ....... . ..... . . . . .. 600 ft.
Landing Run . .. . .. . ..... ... ...... . .. .. .. . .... . 575 ft.
Max. Range 4 Hrs. (with 30 min. reserve) ..... 600 miles
Max. Range With Auxiliary Tanks ... .. . . . . . . 1000 miles
Fuel Consumption ... ... . . .. . . ..... . . 7.5 Gals. Per Hr.
(J. B. Gregg Photo)
Crunch! A previous owner smashed up N-34374, Feb-
ruary 1967.
Steadyas she goes!
(GarWilliams Photo)
F.ebruary 14, 1966. The author
brings his "prize" home
forrebuild.
(Gar Williams Photo)
New wings, ailerons andflaps for N-34374 - built from
scratchbythe author.
(Photo CourtesyGarWilliams)
AI Meyers, left, congratulates the author, Gar Williams,
on hishome remanufacture ofN-34374.
18
BELOVED HISTORIAN
by
B. H.Carmichael
34795 Camino Capistrano
Capistrano Beach, California 92624
In a fasci nating office in the Lbrary of the Northrop
Institute of Technology in Inglewood, Californi a, works
David D.Hatfield, a uni que man.Rich inyea rs and mem-
ori es, wi sdom and h onor, he pursues hi s histori cal aero-
nauti cal research wi th dilige nce and devotion. If you send
for hi s applicati on card (Hatfield History of Aeronauti cs,
1155 W. Arbor Vitae Ave., Inglewood, Cal iforni a 90306)
andfill itout, he will sendyouan excitingvolumeofavia-
ti on hi story at appr oximately two-month intervals. He
has already published six, many of which are still avail a-
bl eatbackorders. Each new one wi ll costyou $3.50, a real
bargain for the accuracy and nostalgi a presented. He has
two scrapbook volumes that are reprints of aircraft ad-
verti sements from the old magazines . You are not getting
someone's rehash of what happened, butrather, accurate
accounts written at the time these great events occurred.
Hi s other volumes are fill ed wi th photos ofall the gallant
old aircraft and the supermen who fl ew them.
He works with littl e or no support, putting in long
days and.ni ghts to preserve the priceless heritage. His
dedicati on is absolute. He draws on the greates t library
in the world. He al so provides prints of photos and pl ans
for virtually any aircraft ever built anytime, anywhere.
I recentl y bought some superb prints of the Hughes H-I
racer and Ellsworth's Northrop Gamma, including con-
structi on detail s taken whire the ship was being built.
A boonto the model builder.
(Continued on Page 23)
Books for Buffs

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