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Aviation History
1970
1970 - 1940.PDF
OSHKOSH . . . did not include movements at the nearby Fond du Lac air port reserved for EAA International Aerobatic Club acrobatic programmes. The general radio> silence and alert pilot discipline coupled with excellent runway assistance from FAA-manned local control vans showed once again that if you must make like a successful bird don't base yourself on the talkative parrot with its poor L/D. Movements would in fact have been greater on the Monday and Tuesday had it not been for the cross wind on the north-south runway in use for convention traffic; the east-west was handling jets and turbo- props. Nevertheless each of these days returned over 4,000 movements without accident by FAA definition. Three bent props and: a bumped leading edge was the total for the week. Over 100 aircraft in the homebuilt category were prevented by a hurricane in the south from making their destination at Oshkosh. Several Canadians hit weather, but the nostalgic Miles Hawk Major of Father John McGillivray made it and showed once again that some of the old types become more- beautiful than ever—Fred Miles can be proud. To the technically minded 1970 showed a heartening proof of the success of the homebuilt aircraft movement when it is allied with a sound commonsense approach to building and certification. The Americans have a traditional respect for the rights of the citizen and this coupled with a practical ability to find simple and uncluttered answers to technical problems gives a formidable answer to the "do-gooders" attitude towards light aeroplane development. Additionally the freedom to try ideas produces a form of aeronautical down- to-earth "hoss sense" which breeds men and not mice. Following the trend noted last year, the cult of the true sportplane was evident in the lines of Pitts Specials including the "Butt Buster" as seen by so many at Hullavington in the hands of Gene Souey. That this type of aircraft has arrived can be in no doubt following its performance in the international aerobatics contest. Also at Oshkosh was Betty Skelton Frankland who many will remember put up such a show at Gatwick over 20 years ago in her Pitts "Little Stinker," now retrieved and flying from Betty's private strip. On the showing to date, need there be any doubt that the type has proved its airworthiness and strength? If ever an aircraft deserved type certification on proven merit here it is. The Hullavington aerobatic contest naturally became a star topic at Oshkosh and International EAA justifiably made Above, left, executive pilot Rruce Panzl won the award for outstanding finish and paint design with his standard Pitts Special. He took one year eight months to do the building Above, two prizes were won by the D'Apuzzo Senior Aero Sport built by Al Pfouts of Ohio. The engine is a Continental E-I85-I modified to produce 225 h.p. Cross weight of the two-seater is 2,100 lbs, 952 kg. It took over four years to build the aircraft and cost nearly £4,000 Left, this single-seat Scorpion helicopter was built by Bruce Warren and is noteworthy for its enclosed cabin which earned the award for best workmanship in a helicopter. A 100 h.p. Evenrude engine gives a cruising speed of 70 m.p.h., 110 k.p.h. and a climbing rate of l,650ftjm, 8mjmin much of the fact that all participants in the American team were EAA members flying homebuilts and that five of the first seven individual pilots placed were EAA members. Great was the rejoicing and the US team members were filled with praise for their reception in the UK. A particular topic was the airmanship of Neil Williams in his Zlin episode (see Flight, June 18, page 993). Although the aerobatic sport biplane is an impressive and potent part of the current scene, the variety at Oshkosh left no doubt that it would be difficult to find a gap unfilled in the spread of aircraft types to suit all tastes from the miniscule and much debated "Jeanie's Teenie" with VW power right up to the booming war birds exemplified by P-51 Mustangs and F8F Bearcats brought by the slightly better-off type of EAA member. The preservation of aviation history is taken as a serious pursuit at Oshkosh as was evidenced by the famous Lockheed Vega "Winnie Mae" and "Spirit of St Louis" paint schemes on sister airframes of each type. The Ryan was the same aircraft that visited the Paris Salon a few years back and its pilot on that occasion, Frank Tallman, made many an enthusiast reach for his camera at Oshkosh as he gave a creditable imitation of a real duck receiving a charge of buckshot in the pants as he zoom-climibed his beautifully painted Grumman Duck, complete with aft-mounted machine gun, external stores, and a US Navy paint scheme redolent of the days of Cagney and Clark Gable. To English eyes, comment was superfluous on the beautiful JM-R- marked Spitfire, finished as befitted the dignity and rank of its earlier pilot, Air Chief Marshal Sir James Robb. The Martlett and Hellcats come well into the category of "throat lumpers" to ex-British Navy types; but parked alongside, and looking ridiculous in comparison with 16ft span biplanes nearby, was the last word: a real solid and gigantic Grumman TBM-3 Avenger resplendent in USN markings and owned by Leo * Volkmer of Dallas, Texas. Numerous private Harvards (funny that they could not be certified in the UK), the raucous P-64 of t the EAA museum, and a new museum addition, the Curtis P-40, made the line-up of 110 warbirds and specials a never-to-be- * forgotten sight. The pressing problem at Oshkosh was to find time—time * for the information forums by experts, time for flying aircraft, time for photography and just saying hello and joining in * "bull sessions." Time for sleep could be mostly discounted while eating became a simple matter of snatched opportunity. One of the most enthusiastic but elusive activities was the , Pazmany performance measuring team who set up their performance measuring programme well before breakfast each '
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