NEWSLETTER ~ AUGUST, 2014

Transcription

1 NEWSLETTER ~ AUGUST, 2014 PEACH STATE AERODROME RAMP AREA TEMPORARILY CLOSED

2 We should have the northwest portion of our ramp open in the next week or so. We were getting a good stand of Bermuda grass growing and then the Army worms invaded us. They did a lot of damage. We sprayed them with the hope that the spray will control the destruction. Please be patient with us. After we do the ramp area we plan to install an irrigation system on the runway. Next spring (2015) we will close 1/2 of the runway lengthwise and then smooth the ground and seed with Bermuda. That will leave feet of width while the construction is taking place. VINTAGE DAY PICTURES More Vintage Day pictures for your enjoyment.

3 Picture taken by Barbara Kitchens Charlie Brown in his PT-19. Picture courtesy of Bryan Burton.

4 Jim Ratliff in his PT-17. Picture courtesy of Chris Martin Picture courtesy of Bob Costilow

5 John Gaertner waiting for a fuel order. Pike County fire volunteers

6 Picture courtesy of Barbara Kitchens For additional pictures of Vintage Day CLICK HERE CHANGES IN THE MUSEUM WALLS Dana Walljasper and Amy King have been spending hours arranging and mounting pictures and plaques on the museum walls. They are doing a great job as you can see from the pictures below.

7 If you have any posters, pictures, or memorabilia about Delta Air Lines that is prior to 1945 we would be interested in displaying it. YOUTH PROGRAM Candler Field Museum s young pilots recently visited the Cox Enterprise hangar located on Charlie Brown Airport in Atlanta. Museum board member Brian Karli is a pilot for Cox. Brian arranged for the group to visit and tour the facility along with a couple of airplanes. One of them being a Gulfstream V and the other a brand new Gulfstream 280.

8 The aspiring aviators touring a GV. Picture courtesy of Brian Karli.

9 The group in front of the Gulfstream 280. Picture courtesy of Brian Karli. For more information on this very active youth program please CLICK HERE. This non-profit program is sponsored by Candler Field Museum. Becoming a member of the museum helps sustain the youth program and other classes and projects for younger participants. To become a member, go to For information on the youth program, to donate tools and materials or volunteer, ronalexander@ mindspring.com. WHAT IT IS LIKE TO FLY AN ORIGINAL JENNY The following article was written by museum board member Brian Karli. It was printed in Skyways Magazine earlier this year. Brian and Ron Alexander own the Curtiss Jenny based at Candler Field Museum. Flying the Curtiss Jenny

10 I'm sitting at the end of the runway with the Hisso engine ticking over so slowly that I can nearly count the blades. The wind is light and the sun is setting in the sky. I have been waiting over seven and a half years for this moment. It will be the first flight of our recently restored Curtiss Jenny. I looked to my left. Ron Alexander, my partner in the project, holds the left wing tip. He smiles and raises a thumb. I nod back, take a deep breath and open the throttle. The Hisso backfires, shakes and settles into a smooth rumble. The Jenny surges forward. Let us step back for a moment. As mentioned in a previous article of Skyways and chronicled on a pile of fittings, a few struts, a derelict set of wings and a few instruments became a real airplane again. The Jenny was restored exactly as it came out of the Curtiss factory. It has no brakes. The tail skid is free castering. The fuselage is made of wood and there are hundreds of turnbuckles and wires. Let's begin by discussing the engine. The Jenny originally had an OX-5 engine of 90 horsepower. It was a fine engine for its day but I remember reading stories about the early barnstormers who were thrilled because they climbed to 3000 feet and it only took them an hour. It gets hot here in Georgia and we plan on flying the Jenny as often as possible, so being able to climb was pretty important to us. The decision was made to use the larger the Hispano Suiza engine. Picture courtesy of Barbara Kitchens. The Hisso engine is very remarkable. It is a large engine with eight cylinders and over 400 cubic inches of displacement. That equates to 180 hp, nearly double the OX-5. The brass tipped propeller spans over 9 feet and turns a maximum of 1800 RPM. Above each cylinder bank are two brass cups. To prime the engine you fill the cups with fuel. You open each valve which allows the fuel to drain into the cylinders, close the valve and repeat three or four times. The fuel is sucked into each cylinder by pulling the propeller through six or seven blades. The magneto switch is turned on. The engine is ready to start. Contact. You give one last heave on the propeller and if all goes well, the Hisso

11 comes to life. The Hisso is a very smooth engine at idle. However, the carburetor does not have an accelerator pump so when you advanced the throttle the engine shakes, pops and backfires. During one of the first taxi tests, I heard a very loud bang. I thought the tire had popped. No, I had just advanced the throttle a little bit and the Hisso backfired. Above 1000 RPM the engine returns to its usual smoothness. At first, I thought there was something wrong with the engine. But I learned this was normal and you soon get used to it. Taxiing the Jenny is another lost art. There are no brakes so you must plan accordingly. The elevators are very effective. If you pull back on the stick, the propeller blast pushes down on the tail and puts weight on the tail skid. Conversely, pushing forward on the stick lightens the tail and the aeroplane speeds up. It works pretty well, for the most part. I expected the Jenny s rudder to be sloppy but I was pleasantly surprised by how much control you actually had. The rudder control wasn t too bad. You just had to be patient. When you pushed the rudder bar, you just have to count one-thousand one, one-thousand two before anything substantial happens. You become really good at anticipating your next move long before you have to make it. The Jenny will weathervane in a crosswind. I can attest to that. I was looking straight at a row of T- hangars once, with full opposite rudder and no sign of any change in direction. Of course you can stop this by blasting some air over the rudder. Sure, you will turn, but you will also accelerate. And with those t-hangars in front of you, that is a difficult thing to do. Cole Palen used say, "if you can't stop the ground loop, kill the engine, pull back on the stick, and hold on". I now understand what he means. Eventually you figure out the taxiing technique and the challenge becomes fun. Okay, now let's go back to the end of the runway. You take a deep breath and push forward on the throttle. The Hisso backfires, puffs a little smoke but you expect that and it doesn t bother you. The Jenny is a big airplane. It has a forty three foot wingspan but the Hisso pulls it forward without much effort. The engine is smooth. The rudder is very effective and other than a little right rudder I don't need much of anything. The tail comes up. A few seconds later, the Jenny levitates. I mean that literally. Unlike some modern airplanes, the nose of the Jenny stays flat. The difference between level flight and the climb attitude is about an inch. A slight tug on the stick is all you ever need. I let the Jenny climb on its own a few hundred feet. I find no surprises. The air is smooth but the small windshield in front of you does little to stop the propeller blast. You notice something. Every now and then, the rudder moves on its own. You didn't do it. It's a calm day, so you can't blame it on the turbulence. You correct the yaw by pushing the rudder bar the other way. A few minutes later you feel the same thing again. The rudder seems to have a mind of its own. Other Jenny owners had told me the rudder would wander. Like the Hisso s cough, it s just the way the Jenny works. The elevators are about as responsive as any machine of that era. With the Hisso and the large, heavy radiator up front, I found myself holding a lot of back elevator pressure all the time. This is fine for a short flight, but after 45 min. your arm is killing you. We added some weight to the tail which helped a bit I still found myself holding back pressure in flight. Skeeter Carlson had the same problem with his Jenny and he installed a trim tab which is what we are doing as I write this article. The ailerons... well...can you see me smiling? The ailerons are very good at one thing - creating adverse yaw. Throw that baseball bat sized stick to the left and watch the nose swing to the right. But when coordinated with rudder, the ailerons work just fine. Bill

12 Hammond tells me you can steer a Jenny on the ground with the ailerons alone but I have yet to try it. Picture courtesy of Aaron Stark. The next thing you notice is the huge amount of drag created by all those wires. The Jenny loses energy rather quickly. If you glanced at the Johnson airspeed indicator on the left wing strut during flight, it would read 85 MPH. Raise your nose a bit, count to three and look back at the airspeed indicator. It would now read 55 MPH. Gone, just like that. You must remember this when you come in for a landing. If you get slow, it either takes a lot of power or altitude to get your speed back. Pilots were much better energy managers back then. Both Ron and I like power off approaches. It's good practice in the event the engine ever quits. When it s time to land, I pulled the power back a bit and slow down to 65 MPH. Turning a high base, I pull the power to idle and set up a glide. If you want to know where you will be, just look straight down." It's not that bad, but you still must keep the nose down and allow plenty of height for your glide. The landing was reminded me of flying a big Piper J3 Cub. The Jenny gets real slow, sits in a three-point attitude, and settles into the ground without much fanfare. The speed bleeds off instantly when you pull the nose up to flare. We had wing runners available, but the Jenny remained controllable all the way back to the museum and I did not need them. A lot of people asked me, "What does the Jenny fly like compared to today's airplanes?" "Terrible" is my answer. But in 1917, pilots thought the Jenny flew great. They had nothing else to compare. All the aeroplanes flew that way. They were used to it. Remember, the Jenny was designed only ten years after the Wright Brothers first flight. So to compare a Jenny to a Cessna is rather unfair. We have made about a dozen flights so far and each one has made me smile. I feel privileged and lucky to experience what flying was like nearly 100 years ago. I imagine

13 myself sweating out that first solo flight as a nineteen year old cadet at Kelly Field. I can see the image of a wing walker waving from between the struts. I land in a farmer's field, shut down the motor and yell, "Hello good people." For me, this Jenny has been a dream come true. OSHKOSH TRIP On July 27th, the Candler Field Express departed for Oshkosh, Wisconsin. We had 10 people on board. One stop in Bloomington, Indiana on the way up where we arrived just after a thunderstorm. The weather was IFR and the localizer had been knocked out by lightning. We shot a VOR approach and landed to take on some cheap (relative term) fuel. After a short visit we departed for Oshkosh and again landed after a thunderstorm. We were fortunate to have a great parking space in the center of the Vintage area. What a great year for AirVenture. Visited with a lot of people including my friend Steve Fulton who introduced me to friends of his from Seattle. Dick Taylor was one of them. Dick is 92 years old and was a test pilot on the B-47 years ago. He also served as Vice President of Engineering during the development of the Boeing 737. Lots of good stories. His son Steve is the current President of Boeing Business Jets and was one of the test pilots on the new Boeing 787. We had a great visit and later spent time with Steve discussing our youth program in addition to learning about the youth initiative that Boeing supports through the Museum of Flight in Seattle. Steve Fulton is from Griffin, Georgia and is currently a pilot with Alaska Airlines. Steve is also involved in several other business projects and works with the Museum of Flight. He has been a friend for over 30 years.

14 Pictured left to right Steve Taylor, Dick Taylor and Steve Fulton with Steve Taylor's son Finley in the foreground. This young man was thrilled with the DC-3. He kept saying DC-3 over and over. His mother said he had been talking about it for hours.

15 Shade to watch the airshow. FOR MORE PICTURES AND INFO ON THE DC-3 PLEASE CLICK HERE! CANDLER FIELD FLYING CLUB

16 Amanda Denton (pictured on the right above) became the first Youth Program member to solo an airplane. Amanda is pictured above with her instructor, Andrew Hanson. Amanda soloed one of the flying club's Cessna 172 out of Peach State Aerodrome. We are very proud of her. If you would like more information on this club please go to their website at

17 MUSEUM FACEBOOK PAGE Please CLICK HERE and LIKE the Candler Field Museum facebook page. We now have almost 1,000 followers on facebook. Each time you logon you will see news about the museum. PLEASE CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION ON BARNSTORMERS GRILL

18 SEPTEMBER CAF EVENT One of the last flying B-17 Flying Fortress bombers, Sentimental Journey, will lead a flight of vintage World War II aircraft to Dekalb-Peachtree Airport (KPDK) located in Chamblee, Georgia for the inaugural Atlanta Warbird Weekend, September 27-28, Cockpit tours and flights will be available in the B-17 and other aircraft, including a P-51 Mustang and rare SBD Dauntless dive bomber. When first flown in 1934, the four-engine B-17 was one of the most advanced designs in the world. During World War II, the aircraft was the primary bomber used by the United States Army Air Forces on long range missions against Nazi Germany. Of the 12,731 B- 17s originally built, 4,750 were lost in combat. Only fifty airframes are known to exist around the world and less than a dozen are capable of flight. The Atlanta Warbird Weekend is a first-time project between two chapters of the Commemorative Air Force (CAF), Airbase Arizona located in Mesa, AZ and the Peachtree City, GA based Dixie Wing. Established in Texas in 1957 as a 501c3 education non-profit, the CAF is the oldest and largest World War II flying museum in the United States, dedicated to restoring and preserving in flying condition examples of aircraft flown by the United States during the Second World War. Atlanta is home to the busiest airport in the world said Jay Bess, the CAF Dixie Wing Marketing Officer and Georgia is a state that has thrived on aviation commerce for nearly 100 years. Our vision is to create an annual event that celebrates an important era of America s aviation history.

19 Aviation is a vital element of Georgia s economy. A study published in 2011 by the Georgia Department of Transportation estimated total economic impact of Georgia s 104 publicly-owned, public-use airports at $62 billion annually. As public fascination in World War II aircraft continues to grow, aviation-minded communities across the country are hosting aircraft tour stops as an alternative to more complex and expensive air shows. - More - Bess explained the purpose of Atlanta Warbird Weekend: Our goals are to teach World War II history, increase awareness of the Commemorative Air Force in Atlanta and raise much needed funds for the restoration, maintenance and operation of these aircraft. Seeing these planes in the air brings history alive in a way a museum, textbook or video never will. Veterans groups and education displays will also be on hand. Peachtree-Dekalb Airport was used as a Naval Air Station during World War II, training thousands of Navy and Marine pilots. Today, the airport handles 200,000 aircraft operations each year and is known for hosting community events promoting aviation. Joining the Flying Fortress will be a North America P-51 Mustang, considered by most historians to be the best all-round fighter and premier bomber escort of the Second World War. The B-17 and P-51 are often remembered as stable mates, with bomber crews nicknaming the protecting fighters Little Friends. Fighter pilots in turn referred to the bombers as Big Friends. A ride in a Flying Fortress or Mustang is a life long dream for many aviation and history enthusiasts. Organizers will also host Big Friends, Little Friends Dinner & Symposium at the 1940sthemed 57th Fighter Group Restaurant Saturday evening. Noted author and historian, Bruce Gamble will give a B-17 presentation and moderate a bomber and fighter pilot panel discussion. Sentimental Journey has been continuously flown since it was manufactured in 1944, performing missions from military reconnaissance to drone mother ship during nuclear testing, as well as firefighting, before being retired after three decades of service. In 1978, the aircraft was donated to the then-named Arizona Wing based in Mesa, Arizona. Volunteers have meticulously restored the Flying Fortress to full military specifications, painting the B-17 in the markings of the 457th Bomb Group as a tribute to all aircrew who served during WWII. The aircraft also features artwork recreating a classic Betty Grable pin-up photo well known to GIs, sailors and Marines of The Greatest Generation. A local media contest produced the name Sentimental Journey from over 800 entries. Sentimental Journey has been touring North America since the early 1980s and makes 60 stops annually will mark the first return of the B-17 to Georgia since An unforgettable flight inside Sentimental Journey and other aircraft start at $425 per person. For flight reservations, register online at Cockpit tours are only $5; ground viewing and photo opportunities are free to the visiting public from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day, Sept 27th- 28th. CFM Board of Directors

20 Ron Alexander, Chairman Regina Alexander Jon Goldenbaum William Hammond Brian Karli John Kuck John Laughter, Jr. Jack Smith Doug Warner Advisory Board members: Scott Coile Youth Program representative Glen Marsh Candler Field Flying Club representative Williams Reynolds Civil Air Patrol representative ************************************************************************** Candler Field Museum, Inc. is a Georgia Non-Profit Corporation, and qualifies under IRS code 501(c)(3) as a charitable organization. All donations are tax deductible. Please consider becoming a supporting member and a regular donor to this worthwhile organization. You may contribute in person, by mail, or CLICK HERE TO DONATE OR JOIN THE MUSEUM. Like Us on FaceBook! Candler Field Museum Copyright Phone Located on Peach State Aerodrome, 349 Jonathan's Roost Road, Williamson, Georgia 30292