Tri-Pacer Owners` Club - DGA Enterprises, Inc.
Contents
1. 87 brakes Original factory installed options such as speed fairings prop spinner and dual controls are fine but I hate to see a Vaga bond loaded with useless gadgets In keeping with what a Vaga bond was designed for a Vaga bond in good flying condition mid time engine with just the minimum VFR equipment should have a value between 5 and 7 thousand If it has been modified dinked with looks like an IFR aircraft and weighs over 700 pounds the owner may not be able to get back his investment If it has a low time engine no damage looks original it could bring over 10 000 As to your question on sug gested changes to the Vagabond I m not sure any two of us could agree on anything For sure Piper put the door on the wrong side but that s no BIG deal An easy to open cow door and a full swivel tail wheel would be handy I would hesitate to make any other changes without real cause On the other hand if I lived in the land of lakes and rivers I think I would put floats and a 85 hp engine on one of our Vagabonds did install an 8 inch J amp M prop spinner on my Vag It turned out very well however it did require more machine shop time due to the closeness of the prop to the engine cowling This may not be a problem with a flanged crankshaft Our 70H is just about as it came from the factory as you can see from the pictures The in strument panel is very original and the only modifications noticea2. SHORT WING PIPER NEWS July August 1983 TABLE OF CONTENTS President s Message 4 Robert H Fuller TPOC Bylaw Changes 13 Touch And Go 15 Ed Wach PA 22 Nose Wheel Fairing Mod 17 Steve Marsh Regional Chapter News 21 Notes from the Librarian 33 Lonnie McLaughlin Tri Pacer Becomes A Transport 37 Ed Wach Convention Minutes 41 Steve Marsh Norwegian Glider Towing 43 Hans Peter Fure Letters to the Editor 45 Mr Mechanic 47 Franklin Rush South American Problems 52 Ed Wach Quick Battery Service 53 Shop Talk 54 Ed Wach Album Aircraft Listing 64 Aerial Trapper 65 Shoulder Harness Mod 66 Harold Doll Don Warner s Killer 78 Grassfield Noos 82 Dick Krentz Vagabond News 83 Dave Harmon The Great Magneto Flap 89 Dave Harmon Vagabond Trek 91 Ron M Hynes Piper Clipper 96 Ben Robin Change of Addresses 102 Belt Buckles 103 TP Check Lists and Specs 104 TPOC Buyers Guide for the TP 104 Aluminum Stringers 111 Classifieds 113 56 from gravel and crushed rock cut two strips of 2 wide clear flexible tape 18 long Taking care start at the tip and center the tape on the leading edge Then lay over each side getting all of the air bub bles out from under the tape Repeat on the other blade It is a safe inexpensive way to keep it in the like new condition Helicopters have used it for years Vag Shock Struts Roger Bates of Vernon NY would like to find some old style shock struts for his Vag He writes Back in t
3. 15s 4213H 4311H 4434H 4441H 4450H 4534H C FZI C GUPT PA 16s 5243H 5372H 5386H 5897H 5891H 6807K PA 17s 4175H 4309H 4882H C GBEH G BOVB PA 20s 11006 1501A 207427 2823P 6848B8 7090K 7054K 7296K 7738K 8691C C FNWP PA 22 20s 118U 1643P 1830A 2165A 2941P 34027 3947B8 49132 90812 6030C 69468 6984K 7660K 7694K 7796K 8928C PA 22s 1166C 123WC 1319C 1343C 1503P 1643A 1692P 1697P 1715P 1793P 1882A 1900P 1947P 2144A 2319P 2425P 2470P 2450P 2524A 2527A 2606P 2653P 2748P 28182 2847Z 29722 29037 2930P 2944P 31087 31577 31677 3211B 32267 3249B8 33237 3405Z 3676A 3759P 3803P 3960P 4456A 45152 4540A 4552A 45902 47694 47782 4786A 4787A 47987 4814H 48827 49842 90182 90792 31992 54347 5591Z 58187 58587 5862D 5939D 600A 645A 6041D 6110D 6933D 69408 T2CJ 72CV 70018 7003B8 7109B8 7121B 7128B8 7154B 71568 7335D 7311D 7519D 7759D 885A 8148D 8452D 8499D 8530C 8547D 8552D 8586C 8604C 8767D 8805C 8982C 9026D 91700 92100 9319D 9430D 9501D 95400 9526D 9591D 9643D 9684D 9685D 9762D 9765D g8060 9886D 9950D 9976D 9980D C FLVL C FMIH C FMOR C GNHD G ARHN G APYW RECRUIT A FRIEND FOR THE TPOC VAGABOND gt NEWS rs l tat p a By Dave Harmon I first want to say that I am very sorry that I missed the Minden Nebraska Short Wing Piper Convention I know all that attended had a good time and learned a great deal from the many good seminars Un fortunately I ran out of airplanes both of them being down for maintenance and out of
4. 1963 by W VanWormer here in the Schenectady New York area He flew the plane for about 13 years It changed hands and I began doing its maintenance some years ago Last year I pur chased the plane repainted and refurnished it and use it to haul my wife and two kids around As a 4 time homebuilder the 5th is under construction I ve grown quite fond of fabric airplanes and the Tri Pacer I have my airframe and powerplant ratings and hold an inspection authorization I do a modest number of annuals and maintenance to pay for my flying I don t rely fortunately on Avia tion for my living and am strictly a shade tree operation Corrosion Warning During my work on Tri Pacers I have found items that required attention besides the standard ones that may be of interest to other owners ble that you may have to divide the repair and rebuild of your plane in a half dozen shops or more One for the engine another for the carb a third for the mags Then a good welder to replace the rotten tubes another shop to take care of the upholstery and then finally an old time rag shop where a top notch recover job can be perform ed How do you find out where to go Ask a lot of people a lot of questions And if you get conflic ting answers look some more The shop in Kansas HAD BEEN RECOMMENDED to my friend by one individual I guess he should have asked a few more opi nions Go slowly pick a shop
5. better When first started flying 70H I had the same great numbers but soon learned my indicated 112 was the only matching of figures that could tell it all How many gallons per hour is he burning at 112 in dicated and what is the aircraft empty weight More on this sub ject in my next letter Lee Beery Hayward California The Great Magneto Flap By Dave Harmon You have all heard about the AD and know something about the pro blems with the impulse coupler on the Bendix Magnetos that are pretty much universally used on our planes I am not going to talk about how to perform this AD and bore you with such details because when the time comes you will have to very carefully and methodically look through the AD and the Bendix service manual and perform it step by step However what I do want to tell you that it is not a big deal and that it can be done in your garage or basement with the help of your kit chen oven Yes that s right the help of your kitchen oven Here s what I found when I did my magneto The disassembly of the magneto is straightforward and so is the removal of the gear and the impulse cover part number 10 59474 which carries a price tag of approximately 90 00 The problem that I ran into was the removal of the two pins which are an interference fit into the body of the magneto The ends of these pins are threaded and by plac ing a spacer or staking washers and then turning down a nut you are suppos
6. license and simply ran out of time to drive to the convention and cannot afford the airliner that was my dilemna However there s always Oshkosh I now have my Tri Pacer back in the air and the Vagabond will be coming apart next week and towed home to the family garage for complete disassemble fabric work and pro bably some tube replacements here and there You always find some surprises but I say let s look at it this way it s better to find it home in the garage than up in the air I was able to get some photographs of the Vag in the air with the yarn tufts placed at all the intersection points wing attachment landing gear lift struts tail feathers etc They are very interesting and they will ap pear in the next issue under the heading of Cleaning up the Vag with Speed Fairings Please note that we now have a West Coast Regional Reporter and Co Editor for the Vagabond News I welcome Lee Beery from Hayward California On the next pages you will see pictures of his Vagabond and note very nice speed fairing he had installed Also Jim Jenkins has some speed fairings on his PA15 By the way Jim how is that conversion coming with your 0 200 Lee has a flair for drawing cartoons and sketching the cute little Vag He states that he can do some artwork that would be nice to put on T shirts patches and windbreakers I can provide transferring this art work to the wearing apparel I have a local contact that would be very willin
7. of the hospitality and courtesy extended to me by Vaga bond owners As stated before being more or less removed from the main stream of things here on our farm in West Virginia it has been most difficult for me to find a Vaga bond just to see let alone have the good fortune to fly This has as last come to an end after some years of search Had contacted a Mr Dorsey Channel of Massillon Ohio Found that he owned N4567H some 200 miles from me Recently he called me and stated he was bringing his a c down to take me for a ride I hasten to add that was a distance of some 200 miles Thank heavens the weather cleared at long last and when he arrived that flight lasted for ap proximately 4 four hours A letter some years ago from Jim Jenkins had stated that if I ever had such an opportunity I would enjoy it to its fullest better words were never spoken I en joyed it to its fullest and I do hope it will be my good fortune to have such an aircraft My flight time exceeds some 10 000 hours this was the most enjoyable time I can recall My health is still excellent and I fly when I can on retiree s income and I do hope the good Lord has it in the cards for me to have such an aircraft We will be leaving the moun tains the later part of June to make our home near Charleston South Carolina Have contacted Herb Poole of North Carolina and Bob Mitchell both of area near Greensboro N C They too have been mos
8. the job over and over again until you get it just the way you want it I feel that the pilot owner mechanic is a great combination and whether you possess the A amp P ticket to satisfy the FAA does not affect the end result of the work It also is a great educational experience and gives great satisfaction to you knowing that you have done the work on your own airplane it is very gratifying i The mag and pins which started the Great Magneto Flap 91 A Saga Of A Vagabond Trek 3000 Miles from Montreal to Edmonton via South of the Border By Ron M Hynes With Pix Some time back I asked the TPOC members if they would share their experiences with long distance XC flights and I did hear from one member here in Canada Since then I have flown my Vagabond 3000 miles from Quebec in eastern Canada all the way out here to Edmon ton Alberta via south of the Great Lakes Because of tornadoes in Michigan high winds everywhere and would you believe 4 feet of snow in North Dakota and in May It took 12 days in all Despite a lot of UTANNA Fea ANDOR i V Pa f ig C There i is nothing as mild as a day in May unless you happen to be at Brandon Manitoba Don Hynes is standing warmly clad in front of his father s Vagabond C GBEH 92 apprehension before the trip it went very smoothly The only required maintenance was to put a little air in one tire half way across the U S I had already moved out here to Nort
9. when I started with United Airlines as a mechanic I learned to fly in a PA 15 which by the way is still flying up in the northwest Then two years ago after owning and rebuilding several other types of aircraft I purchased PA 17 N4870H from Ron Peck who lives in the Seattle area Ron and his wife Hilery each had a Vagabond so I m sure they still have one in the family Then last year I purchased PA 15 N4314H from Russ Wheeler who was moving from the Los Angeles area This aircraft is not airworthy and the plan is for my son 19 years old and taking flying lessons in 70H to fix up 14H for his own so we can fly as father and son to all the West Coast fly ins next year Hayward California is our home field and we limit our flying to the West Coast We do all of our own work and enjoy our main tenance projects as much as our flying The reason we are a Vaga bond family is they are so darn much fun to fly They are so nim ble and with those oversize con trol surfaces you can do just about anything with one It never fails to bring out the admirers when you taxi up to the ramp I guess that s called the ego factor of owning a Vagabond The fact that it burns less than 5 gallons of fuel an hour and travels 100 miles in that hour gives me a warm feel ing also Now back to your questions I am against most of the modifica tions being done on Vagabonds to day I draw the line at anything more than back windows and disc
10. wisely In the long run it may not take any longer but it might be a great deal cheaper and a lot easier on your blood pressure Wheel Fairings Bill Snow of Rohnert Park Calif spotted a booboo on my part On page 80 in last issue s Shop Talk I mentioned a nose wheel fairing mod by Steve Marsh of Independence Mo however I did not include the story in that issue It was bumped by other material I will try to get it into this issue with the photos of how Steve solved the installation pro blem without having to take the wheel and tire off Door Problems Bill Snow also wants to know more about the solving of leaky doors Howard Lee of Huntsville Alabama could you write to Bill 61 and tell him some of the things you told me at Sun and Fun His address is 413 Corte Pintado Rohnert Park CA 94928 Vag Mods One of the most informative talks I have ever heard on Vaga bond mods and restoration plus tips on tools hanger layouts and other goodies was the seminar conducted at the Minden 83 Con vention by Cecil Ogles He had everyone s ears and eyes with his words and pictures and sample tools and parts Did you know a stainless steel frying pan can be used on a Vag firewall Cecil did it to make room at the rear of the engine for accessories It looked and worked fine Cecil said that the May June Plane of the Month was the same airplane we ran several months ago only in the earlier picture it was a bar
11. 0 ch radio Excellent but try to install external antenna before leaving on trip for greater range and use head phones We used Telex head sets and they were very good with the boom mike 8 The usual paper ie journey log etc 9 A small shoulder strap bag to allow us to keep camera and the Terra radio charger with us at all times as we wanted to be able to recharge the radio each night and to take pictures wherever we went We used the bag also to carry maps and the ruler etc as often our flight planning was done during non flying periods over a beer with our feet up 10 Bring minimum extra clothes but include a good warm sweater Remember nights get cool if camping out is planned 11 I carried two pair of glasses regular ones and sunglasses 12 Up North bring gloves 13 A watch and a small pack of kleenex tissues 14 Make sure you have some kind of lightweight device such as nylon cord to tie the controls each night and whenever you are stuck on the ground due to high winds This will keep the ail erons etc from damage 15 I always use on the Vag a small plastic bag to keep rain snow out of the gas tank vent cap Use an elastic band to keep it in place It is easy to see from cockpit so is not a danger If you use earplugs the soft foam ones seem best Each package con tains two earplugs but we break each into halves and use only a half per ear Warning remove the plugs before landing as when you ne
12. ame and a shock cord tool Lonnie McLaughlin had a turn and bank for sale and several were trying to sell their planes but that was it Next year I would like to see you pilots load up your planes cars trucks vans or what have you and bring something to sell or trade All of us are always looking for bargains and the best place to buy is at a fly in or con vention It might just be possible you could sell enough stuff to pay for the trip You can t ask for a bet ter deal than that can you Mods Mods Mods An avid modifier is William P Kuyk of Holly Michigan Read what he is doing My partner and own a PA 22 150 1960 Model S N22 7395 which we have owned for 10 years Currently we are rebuilding it and recovering with ceconite I am an AI and able to do the work We are working on several mods of which are a Cherokee type fuel selector knob and cover a Cherokee defroster system retracting shoulder harness and rudder pedal toe brakes The above will require STC s but the FAA said they will only give me a one time STC on the brakes because of the extensive tricky welding and fabrication They are afraid it could not be duplicated adequately I have modified the bird exten sively in other areas also We have a battery master relay system Alcor alternator kit custom in strument panels shock mounted with standard T configuration and 3 1 8 gyros heated pitot dry vacuu
13. anks The Mississippi River as Ron Hynes saw it in Minnesota in May 93 Of the 12 days we only had three good flying days Those were days we flew on and on covering some 700 to 800 miles each The worst day was when we crossed the Canada U S border from Sornia Ontario to Port Huron Michigan This was a distance of only 20 miles but was the roughest of the trip Thanks to the CAP Cadets whose leader ordered six of the youngsters out to grab on to our wing lift struts so we wouldn t risk getting blown upside down Saturday May 7th They were a great bunch of fellows Most days we were up and flying by 5 a m Often by noon winds were high and badly gusting As a result we loafed most afternoons us ing the time to visit town and people or simply snooze It was great thrill to fly up the Mississippi River and see spread out ahead of us so much history We couldn t help feeling like Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer Landing at Max Conrad s airfield setting there spread out on an island in the Mississippi up in Minnesota was success in itself We took some beautiful 35 mm slides of his field as we approached from the south All in all we took some 50 to 60 slides on the trip We should have taken 500 600 instead Next time I will take along loads of 35mm color film and or an audio video camera such as Sony Betamax if I can af ford one The Sony would be perfect Hynes took this photo while coming on a long fina
14. are few and very far between Very unlike the U S The heavy snowfall in North Dakota forced us to turn north into Canada sooner than I had hoped to Alber ta has many fine airfields because the Alberta Government supports General Aviation We here have some of the best in the world in Alber ta This is the ideal place for a fly in up here in Edmonton especially in June or July Edmonton is not only a very beautiful Capital City but up here in summer daylight hours range from about 0430 in the morning to 2230 at night Actually the northern sky this time of year doesn t get fully dark as we are close to the land of the midnight sun A lot of fly ing can be done after work in the evenings and the northern sunsets are beautiful The climate is very dry There are many Short Wing Pipers in Alberta and I carry copies of the News with me everywhere to show around have made several photocopies of the TPOC News cover page for posting at various flying fields In conclusion can honestly say that this rather long XC flight would never have come about had I not been forced into it I rebuilt the Vaga bond completely and I wasn t about to sell it or give it up in any way The 3000 miles to its new home originally scared me some but not anymore It was a wonderful experience Both my son and I got a lot of XC experience out of the trip Experience you cannot get simply flying a pack of radios And we learned to handle h
15. ble are hinges in the engine cowl and the rear win Even standing alongside a Christen Eagle which is partly hidden by the Vagabond Lee Beery does not have to be ashamed of his Short Wing Piper Lee Beery believes in keeping the Vagabond as much original as possible We wonder how many Spam Can drivers who are ac customed to a 20 000 stack of Nav Coms would be able to get from A to B using the instruments available on 4870Hotel dows If you are flying in an area that requires a radio a Terra 720 self contained hand held unit works out fine I have one that works fine even without a shield ed ignition All you have to do is remember to turn it off at the end of the day s flying or you won t be using it the next day I have mine sitting upright between pilot and copilot for easy change of fre quency by either pilot mike switch mounted in top of control stick and we use a David Clark headset boom mike all plugged into the bottom of the Terra radio This makes a very simply installa tion At the end of the day s flying just remove the radio and headset and take it all home This is the best way to keep a Vagabond look ing like the original One last thing before I close would like to hear more from Norm Gagne SWPN May June Improving the Vagabond about his Jim Jenkins rebuilt Vaga bond My aircraft is a duplicate of his and I find his performance figures are much
16. dn t use it after all I decided to put the non resistor plugs in and that took care of the cowling pro blem The 85 h p Cont is in and operating nicely Really the only modifications I had to make was in the exhaust system What I had to do was to cut the stacks and tilt it down enough so that the muffler clears the oil temp probe inlet 85 Looking forward to hearing from you when you can find the time Trust this finds you and yours in the best of good health and happiness Terry Kerns Ed Note The Wag Aero Prints are excellent The plane itself is also very good Wagner made very little changes and the ones he did are for better and safer reasons Such as using 4130 throughout the airframe better brakes etc I am told by Cecil Ogles who has flown one that it flys just like a true Vag but with more power 115 hp Lyc A real nice fun sport plane but it costs a lot if you use Wag Aero kits D H if it had just come off the Piper Also I removed the generator and starter so the engine fits perfectly without dishing the firewall Real ly the only thing I need now are wing tanks The only fuel I have is the main which is 12 gal Have you heard any more about the Stoddard Tank availability Boy I sure would like to have a set Anyhow I am enclosing a pic ture of my PA 17 4838H Hope to see you and meet you sometime Ray Bibik Canastota NY 13032 Dear Dave A note to you to let you know
17. e bones frame tied to the top of Cecil s Chevy Luv truck This is the plane that Bill Wiswell bought in Washington and flew home Calgary It is indeed a small world At the time Cecil had bought the future Wiswell Vag Cecil had an additional seven basket cases around his place Cecil also commented that he wat ched Marshall White working on the plane installing some of the mods Wiswell mentioned Cecil had this to say in a note he sent me from St Louis several days after Minden 83 Enjoyed the Minden gathering Had lots of fun met great people and flew some Tell the Vagabond clan what they missed in the next issue In fact give em hell for not showing up and the fact that two 62 awards were waiting for them One for a PA 15 and also for a PA 17 It was great to see the number of PA 22 20 conversion and the straight PA 20s and PA 16s Several Vag owners attended but they all drove to Minden It was also a disappointment to me that no Vags were there I wanted to see what you people had been doing to the Great Great Grand mother of the Colt There was a lot of Vag interest at Minden Cecil s seminar was to a full house Yep you Vag hounds missed a good show and a lot of fun We are giv ing you another chance at the same place See you all at Minden B4 Fly Market We missed the boat in another area at Minden We should have had a Fly Market Boyd Tietmeyer of York Nebraska brought his wind sock fr
18. ed to hear the engine as well as eye the tach This avoids that sinking feeling on approach when gliding a Vag in to the numbers Vags like positive NOB wNy 95 control of throttle After an hour or two with earplugs and then when you throttle back for approach the old ears get a little confused so remove the plugs when the field is in sight before you throttle back Plan your flying from the break of dawn until around 11 a m as the air is smoother then Afternoons were gusty and are great for sightsee ing and meeting people After supper possibly go another few hours but get into the habit of talking to the weather office and listen well In fact have a prepared list of questions ready and know what ques tions to ask The questions are based on your aircraft and your ability Don t be afraid to tell him you are not flying a 747 but rather a light A C Pre determine your own limits and stick to them Be patient the weather will eventually improve to your liking In the meantime go for a good healthy hike into town and meet the natives Isn t that what you always wanted to do anyway And bring your camera The flight was made with the original fuselage fuel tank only as I have yet to obtain a wing tank I highly recommend a wing tank as it was the only thing that worried me Had I had the wing tank the trip could have been 2 days shorter and a lot more comfortable Especially crossing Manitoba and Saskatchewan where airfields
19. ed to be able to draw these pins out of the body of the magneto However I only succeeded in twisting the nut off and shearing the pin right at the thread Now here is where your kitchen over comes into play The magneto body is die cast aluminum If you bring your kitchen oven up to 500 or 525 F let the magneto body soak in this heat for about 30 45 minutes then wearing heavy work gloves and making a straight line from the kitchen oven to your biggest and best vise that is securely mounted to a work bench grab onto that exposed end of the pin and start to rotate and pull for all your worth PRESTO it comes right out I found that while the magneto body was still warm I could take the new pin and very gingerly tap them in using a mallet and a hard block of wood A little heat in the right place sure makes things come apart and go together a lot easier Reassembling the magneto is really not dif 90 ficult and with a little patience and care new points can be installed and gapped The cellophane wrap from a cigarette pack makes an ideal feeler gage The thing here that I want to stress to you is not to be afraid to tackle jobs that seemingly should only be given to a highly certified A amp P mechanic and that you the pilot owner should never poke your nose into these mystery little boxes that are bolted to your engine It is not true you are probably just as good a mechanic and probably a lot more careful plus you have the time to do
20. g last I will be able to fly along in one Owner is Dorsey Channel of Massillon Ohio It was quite a drive for me to find him having searched this part of the country to no avail There are several Tri Pacers in various states of repair but still am interested in the Vaga bond which brings up a further question as follows Should I not be able to find one to rebuild found a Clipper but it was in such a sorry state that I bowed out due to asking price and what had to be done to make it air worthy Actually longerons rot ted out and several pieces came away with fabric what do you think of Wag Aero s Classic is it an exact reproduction of the Vaga bond in every way Is it accepted among the Vagabond owners I have yet to see one in such classic state What is your thinking of Wag Aero Prints I am asking you all this regarding Wag Aero which is to be commended for even thinking of selecting the Vaga bond to reproduce however I have heard several say that one should not go into such a contract they are expensive I will agree but if worse comes to worse at least it would be a reproduction of this fine aircraft We have sold the farm and are planning to move into North or South Carolina around July of this year at which time I hope to in tensify my search for an a c of this type Ray Bibik s Vagabond looks as assembly line Dear Dave Thanks for the use of the Dimpler After all the fuss I di
21. g to do this at a nominal cost The question that comes to my mind how many Vag owners would be interested in this type of thing I know the first question in your mind is how much would it cost Well the more people we can get to participate the better the price I can say it will be a competitive price as good as anyone can get and I ll have more on it in the next issue But in the meantime please jot your com ments down on a postcard and send them to me Also I am still looking for more regional reporters and more pictures of your Vagabonds to be sent into our historian for the picture album Again let me thank Lee Beery for offering his talents and we are looking forward to his cartoons and news items I am now looking forward to Oshkosh and hoping to meet many of you there Letters to the Vag Editor Dear Dave Thanks for your note and the extra copy of Tri Pacers news I did appreciate getting the prop info from you and will be able to put it to good use Thanks for your efforts The STC for the Stoddard Tanks would be a very good item to have on hand I know some time down the line I m going to think about more range for my bird and landing access to that STC will be well and good Regarding the Vag on floats this I m very interested in Here again if a STC were available it would be great I had considered checking with M O T regarding float installation and also what would be the circumstances of us i
22. h Western Canada just a short hop to the Alaska Highway months ago in February 1983 The Vaga bond was stored in a hangar east of Montreal alongside Denis Morin s PA 15 all winter When April 28th came I returned via commerical airline to Montreal to ready the Vag for its trip A week later when the weather finally improved some my son Dan and took the long idled ship up and turned West for one of the most memorable trips of our lives It was a trip I would highly recommend to anyone For those peo ple who have long thought of such a vacation I would simply say do it now and go meet some wonderful people right across this vast land of ours You simply can t imagine the thrill to arrive over your new home field over 3000 miles from the old one in a Vagabond If only victory rolls were permitted in the ship s flight manual We met so many great people along the way People like young James over at Port Huron Michigan who drove his truck out on the field to warn us not to go as there were tornadoes in the area We quickly rolled the Vag into a big steel hangar for the night Thanks also to Tom Nord up at Pembina North Dakota who really went out of his way to look after us To the Ag pilots all of them we met along the way To all those people we never met unfortunately who left their airport club houses open for all pilots to make themselves safe and comfortable during storms and bad weather To them a special th
23. he 1950 s some company made a spring oil shock landing gear strut brace for the Vagabond It took the place of the solid fixed gear strut arrangement with the shock cords It made the Vag gear feel like velvet The rough ground handling was en tirely different Roger would like to contact someone who might have a pair of these struts or who might know where some could be located Years ago someone in Georgia was selling the struts Bates suggested that maybe so meone who had the plans or a set which could be copied might be willing to make some up He felt there would be a good market among the Vag owners since it would take care of one of the drawbacks which the Vags had Fuel Pumps Jim Carr who operates Aircraft Inspections Inc 1982 Airway Rd Lebanon Oregon 97355 has had several systems for transferr ing fuel from tanks to planes At present he sells three systems two of them are hand pumps and sell for 55 and 95 the other is a 12 volt electric system which costs 85 All have hoses included The manual systems include filters and screens too The electric system can be plugged into the cigar lighter on your car or truck or can be connected to the vehi cle s fuse box A switch is op tional For more info contact Jim direct He also performs annual inspections modifications and recovers aircraft Jim charges 25 plus parts to install bungees Another Milk Stool Lover 21 Charlie was restored in
24. igh winds and marginal weather like no Sunday flyer could Best of all we learned to make some decisions go or no go This part was the most difficult to learn My son was a good pilot before the trip Now he is a good pilot and a safer pilot So the trip was worthwhile in many ways and the Vag is safely tied down nearby and looking pretty smug I swear the darn thing is grinning
25. l at the late Max Conrad s home field at Winona Minnesota The airport is on an island One picture we missed because we didn t have the camera at ready was of a deer running across the runway threshold as we were landing at Hanna Alberta on Monday May 16th I could fill a book on this trip alone but I am too busy planning the next trip The Vagabond without a doubt is a real thoroughbred It had 94 to be to survive some of my crosswind landings on those damn con crete runways I am strictly a grass field pilot I am presently trying to negotiate the purchase of a PA16 that needs a rebuild My Vag has only 60 hours on it since I rebuilt it last year and the PA16 would be excellent along side my Vag I am thinking of a fly ing vacation for next spring either back east or else south to California and I am anxious to get going The following is a list of items carried on the trip If anyone has had experience or need of other items then let us know so that a worth while list will be available to all club members This would help many people as anyone planning such adventures naturally has some prior concerns as to what they will need Keep the weight down to absolute minimum Credit Card money and ID cards Camera and lots of film Sleeping bags and a very light tent A very light flashlight Strong nylon tie down ropes Extra Long Appropriate maps and a light plastic ruler Terra portable 72
26. m pump alternate static source and Airtex interior I am also adding a transistor dimming circuit for the radios and panel lights and a center cabin and in strument panel light Cherokee style and the wiring for strobes Whelen We have also installed the utility kit piece by piece they don t make it anymore which makes it fly like a real airplane Spins are fun I have many of the Piper blueprints a Piper parts manual a set of service bulletins letters and memos and the flight with rear door removed flight manual sup plements I also made up a loading chart for ease of weight and balance computations If some of the members would like more information I can be con wondering if all hangar doors have to be as big as they are Well in many cases they don t I have since designed a dolly which allows one to pull an airplane in sideways or at any angle making it possible to have a much smaller door In case of the Tri Pacer a 21 door versus a 30 door Now you may use the old barn or an over sized garage to store your airplane in New construction of a hangar may now be much simpler and cheaper Before I spend any more time and money on the idea I would like to know if there really is much of a demand for such a dolly If there is anyone out there interested I would like to hear from you Michael Surovick 3027 W 53rd St Erie PA 16506 phone 814 833 6796 AIRCRAFT IN THE TPOC ALBUM PA
27. ng homebuilt floats or a certified A C I understand that Zenith AC in Ontario has or will have a metal float kit available to homebuilders which would fill our requirements just perfect All we need here is M O T to go along with it which of course is easier said than done This is just a note and I hope to get back to you shortly In the meantime best personal regards W J Wiswell 640 Dalmeng Hill N W Calgary Alberta J3A1 J6 Dear Dave Quite sometime back I had a letter from you and this was answered However that was the last I heard from you Recently I found an advertise ment in Trade A Plane for TPOC of which I learned from answer ing the ad that Vagabond is now a part of this organization I believe it was a step in the right direction to put all the Short Wing Pipers together after all they ARE in a class by themselves ie similarity in design and overall dimensions I hasten to add that from my viewpoint the eye appeal is outstanding in all respects Needless to say the reply from my request was a sample copy and an application blank for member ship in the organization This was completed and returned to Penn sylvania for it to be acted upon I suppose one might say that I am now a member of the TPOC My sample copy was quite an eye opener regarding the excellent organization of TPOC I am still interested in the Vaga bond having finally found one to observe and perhaps at lon
28. t nice to me with letters and photos as has Jim Jenkins in the past It is most interesting to find such gentlemen unselfish as they are connected with the Piper Vagabond aircraft All in all this can only leave a pleasant taste in one s mouth and solidify the fact that the air characteristics of the little machine brings on the strong desire to own such an aircraft I only hope I shall be so blessed dur ing these last years of my life The recent happenings have truly been a high point in my life of flight Wishing you the best in your work I have become a member of Short Wing Pipers Had a flight to day in an aerobatic Clipped Wing Cub enjoyed that also Best of luck at Minden Neb this June would like to be there Also kind letters and pictures from Bob Mitchell just arrived N4372H Terry Kerns Dear Dave Here is my reply to your request for pictures and in formation for The Vagabond News I want to encourage you to keep up the column I realize that coming up with interesting material several times a year is not an easy task You have my thanks and I am willing to help you as much as I can If you don t have a regional reporter for the San Fran cisco area I am willing to give that a try also Could you use a Vagabond cartoon I think I would like to try that for awhile To my knowledge there are only three Vagabonds in this area but many Short Wing Pipers Back in the 50 s
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