| Welcome! |
| Welcome
to the third issue of Vintage Aircraft Online.
The
fly-in season may be winding down (particularly for
those of us who live "up north"), but that
just means that many of our fellow members will be
heading indoors to do some restoration or maintenance
work on their beloved aircraft.
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H.G. Frautschy
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How
about you? Have you decided what your winter project
will be? Perhaps an addition to your cockpit in the
form of a new radio or intercom or maybe a re-covering
project is on your plate? In any case, if you have a
few moments to spare, join us at The Red Barn forum on
Oshkosh365, EAA's new online community. Share your
projects with the rest of us by posting photos and
descriptions in the "What Are You Restoring"
forum, and who knows, perhaps you'll inspire someone
else to get to work on his or her airplane.
We'll
be reading what you post within Oshkosh365, and of
course we'll gather input from various sources, but
the best and most informed group of reporters within
aviation are those of you out in the field. Send us an
e-mail at vintageaircraft@eaa.org
and let us know how we're doing, what you'd like to
see, and most importantly, feel free to contribute!
H.G.
Frautschy Editor, Vintage Aircraft Online
Editor, Vintage Airplane magazine
Executive Director, VAA |
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| News |
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| Airworthiness
Directives and Special Airworthiness Information
Bulletins |
| To
facilitate the inspections required in AD 2008-15-06
(Cessna Aircraft Company (Cessna) Models 175 and 175A
engine mount inspection), the FAA has issued an
alternate means of compliance (AMOC) to create small
inspection holes in the fuselage skin aft of each of
the four brackets that are to be inspected. These
added holes would facilitate borescope inspection of
the bracket and its engine mount attach hole for
deformation and cracks.
This
AD requires you to check the airplane logbook to
determine if the original engine mounting brackets
have been replaced. If the original engine mounting
brackets are still installed, this AD requires you to
repetitively inspect those brackets for cracks and
replace any cracked engine mounting bracket. After
replacing all four original engine mounting brackets,
no further action will be required by the AD. Download
the AMOC here. |
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| Jeff's
Waco |
| Did
you know that the majority of EAA Young Eagles flights
are made using a vintage airplane? Over the nearly two
decades of Young Eagles flying, a check of the types
of airplanes used for Young Eagles flights shows that
most of the flights have been
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| made
using aircraft
built prior to 1970, with many of them taking place in
the great two- and four-place airplanes built just
after World War II.
With
the news that Harrison Ford has handed the stick of
chairmanship over to Captain Chesley "Sully"
Sullenberger and First Officer Jeffrey Skiles, it
seems likely that even more Young Eagles will
experience the thrill of a first flight in a vintage
aircraft. Jeff Skiles has recently reconnected with
his enjoyment of aviation as framed in the windshield
of an antique airplane. Last month, with the help of a
longtime friend with whom he recently reconnected,
Skiles purchased a Waco YOC cabin biplane, which he
plans to use as he and Sullenberger share their love
of flight with youngsters. Read more |
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WWI
Aircraft Gather in Dayton
Last month (September) the Great War Aeroplanes
Association, in partnership with the National Museum
of the United States Air Force, held their biennial
Dawn Patrol Rendezvous on the |
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| museum's grounds
at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio.
This year's Rendezvous drew hundreds of spectators,
and, thanks to special arrangements with WPAFB,
featured flying displays by several replicas and
recreations of WWI-era aircraft. Read
more |
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Great
Web Links
We run across great links regularly as we surf
the web. Here are a few websites we’ve enjoyed
in the past month or so: |
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|
 One
of the earliest websites I remember seeing created to
highlight a collection of great old airplanes was
posted by Russell Williams. On the website, he has
loads of photographs of airplanes, along with a
catalog of, as he puts it, "flying and
semi-derelict airplanes (aka projects)." See
it here.
Right
after World War I, the U.S. government realized that
aviation had potential for speeding up the delivery of
mail. The early air mail system was manned by pilots
and mechanics who, through grit and determination, saw
the mail through. Read their stories at www.AirMailPioneers.org.
And
finally, for something completely silly and very
British, watch the "Red Sparrows" of the
Hampshire Fire Brigade at
this website. |
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| Why not share your web
find with your fellow Vintage Aircrafters? Just drop us
an e-mail at VintageAircraft@eaa.org with the link, and we’ll get it in the next Vintage
Aircraft Online! |
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| EAA's
efforts to compile an oral history of aviation's
pioneers and those who have helped make aviation
such a fascinating part of our nation's history
has culminated in EAA's Timeless
Voices project. |
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| Hundreds of videos are now
archived at EAA Headquarters. We continue to
create online versions of those videos so that
members and others who have an interest in
aviation can watch and learn from those who have
come before us. This month's featured interview
is Jim Wright.
Jim
Wright was a self-taught engineer and
entrepreneur. At age 26 he founded the Wright
Machine Tool Company in Cottage Grove, Oregon.
In the 1970s after reading about the Hughes H-1
Racer in a 1937 magazine article, he became
fascinated with the airplane. Over the years he
went on to learn to fly and eventually owned a
few airplanes - a Taylorcraft, a Bonanza, and a
Glasair III, but his mind was always on the H-1.
In 1998 Jim decided he had the time and the
resources to build the ultimate homebuilt - an
exact replica of the Hughes H-1. After finding a
rare Pratt & Whitney R-1535 in rebuildable
condition, Jim assembled a project team and went
to work. The result was one of the most graceful
airplanes to ever visit Oshkosh when Jim flew
the completed H-1 replica to EAA AirVenture in
2003. Sadly, we lost Jim and his replica after
the airplane developed a mechanical problem over
Yellowstone National Park on his return flight
to Oregon. He touched a great many people in
aviation in just a few short years, and his
Hughes H-1 Racer replica will long be remembered
as one of the most beautiful replicas to grace
the skies over Oshkosh. View the
video
here.
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| In
this month's Hints for Restorers, Joe Norris,
EAA's homebuilt community manager, takes us
through the proper procedure for installing
Nicopress sleeves when building control cables. Watch
it here.
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| In
April of 1960, Frank Tighe Jr., one of our
earliest EAA members (No. 3216), wrote a
delightful article in defense of the biplane.
Read
it here.
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| Question
of the Month
Q. During normal
(non break-in) operations, do you use straight-weight or
multi-grade aviation oil?
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