Wings Over the Border ___________________________________________________ Volume 1 May 2015 Who are We? Bill Wehner founded the FASF. Out of his personal funds, Bill and others financed the original 60-acre land acquisition and subsequent 160acre purchase. Bill was cofounder and Charter President of Cessna 170 Association. He is also a writer and author. Wings Over the Border (WOB) is a newly approved New Mexico Non-profit Corporation dedicated to preservation and restoration of the site where the First Aero Squadron was deployed in response to Pancho Villa’s infamous 1916 Raid on Columbus. The organization’s goals also include establishing a memorial and museum for the First Aero Squadron; public education on early flight; and preservation of local and national archival material relating to early flight and military and commercial aviation through World War II. The group will also be active in the activities marking the 100-year anniversary of the Raid. In 2017, Wings Over the Border will be hosting the annual convention of the International Cessna 170 Association taking place in Deming and Columbus. Martha Skinner was a founding Vice President of the FASF. The former mayor of Columbus, she now serves on its Board of Trustees. As Mayor, she founded the Columbus Historic Preservation Commission. Martha is a real estate broker and the owner of Martha’s Place, a local hotel. Why a New Organization? In January 2015, elections were held for Directors of the First Aero Squadron Foundation. Four candidates, Bill Wehner, Martha Skinner, Gene Valdes, and Kris Lethin— founders of the FASF—won by huge margins (97, 90, 99, and 76 votes respectively). The other candidates came in last (42, 35, 33, and 24 votes respectively). Despite the vote, the then FASF Board disqualified the 4 leading candidates, alleging campaign irregularities. While an attorney has been contacted, the disqualified candidates plus a number of their supporters agreed to proceed on a positive basis by forming a new organization and aggressively pursuing the goals noted above. Kris Lethin was an FASF founder and its first webmaster. Kris divides his time between a residence in Seldovia, Alaska and a home in Columbus, NM. He is an instrument rated commercial pilot. He has served as Seldovia City Manager and was in the Alaska House of Representatives. Our New Board of Directors. Believing that the Velvet Fackeldey is the history of the First Aero Squadron belongs to the entire nation, Wings Over the Border has opted for a national Board of Directors. We are looking for up to 15 Directors, including local members but with a majority from across the country. Meetings will be held via conference calls and computer communication programs. Already several distinguished people have agreed to serve on the WOB Board: retired Executive Secretary of Cessna 170 Association. She is an accomplished writer, editor, workshop presenter and conference leader. Velvet, who hails from Springfield, Missouri, has won numerous prizes and awards for her poetry. 1 Stan Walsh is the author of First Over the Front, a collection of letters by Lt. Billy Schauffler, Pilot, First Aero Squadron. Stan, who lives in Rancho Palos Verdes, CA, served in the Air Force. Stan is a civil engineering graduate of USC and planned airports and military facilities worldwide and now produces Travel Adventure films. How to Join WOB We have excellent resources getting this new organization off the ground. But we also need your help. First and foremost, you can join our new but growing group. The annual dues are $25 and, like all donations, will be tax deductible. An application form is included with this newsletter. You can send your check to: Wings Over the Border PO Box 1664 Columbus NM 88029 Michael Owen, from Tucson, Arizona has a law degree from the University of Arizona in addition to a degree in Business /Economic Development. Michael practiced for 34 years as a trial attorney. An avid flyer since 1964, he owns two aircraft, both Cessnas, a 1958 Cessna 182A and and a 1977 Cessna 150. If you have questions or comments, address them to Bill Wehner by mail to the above address, by phone to (575) 531-7044 or email to [email protected]. Special Offer: The first 25 who apply will receive free of charge a copy of Bill Wehner’s book “Tracking Julie Stensvahl.” While a work of fiction, the book is a realistic and engaging journey into Southwestern New Mexico, with both its beauty but also with pretty accurate portrayals of some of its more colorful inhabitants. Some Notes on Our Logo In addition to WOB Board Members Bill, Martha and Kris, a number of local supporters participated in the first organizational meetings of the new nonprofit. Mary McClain, Bill’s wife, took notes and offered some excellent suggestions. James Efferson, who has a wealth of accounting experience, volunteered to look after the group’s finances. Addison Bachman, experienced in website design, agreed to work with Kris Lethin on website issues. Gene Valdes will be editing the newsletter. Also attending via conference call was Lyn Benedict, Cessna 170 State Representative from New Mexico, who had some great ideas. Also in attendance though not in official capacities were Columbus Mayor Phillip Skinner and Columbus Municipal Judge Robert Odom. In addition, dozens of people have called or emailed offering their support. Pledges and/or checks are being received daily. Editor’s Note: The following information on what was adopted as the new WOB logo comes from historian and author John L. Deuble, Jr. He has kindly given the WOB permission to publish articles from his upcoming book. “General Order No. 39 issued by the War Department on May 27, 1913 authorized a badge for military aviators… Those who held the rank of Captain or above with at least 3 years flying experience would be rated as ‘Military Aviators.’ The design of the Military Aviator Badge was an eagle in flight carrying signal flags. It was suspended from a bar inscribed ‘Military Aviator.’ These badges were manufactured by the Ordnance Department at the Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois. The badge was struck in 14kt gold, and then coated with 24kt gold. Hand embellishment by a skilled engraver completed the process. Only twenty-four of the badges were manufactured and awarded…” Adolph Receives Lifetime Award CC “Pete” Adolph of Albuquerque, a strong WOB supporter, was presented the coveted Hollis Award for Lifetime Achievement for his work in Air Force/Department of Defense testing and evaluation. Adolph, a graduate in aeronautical engineering from Parks College, St. Louis, was presented the award by the National Association of Defense Industries at their annual convention on March 4th. Congratulations to Pete and his family! Incidentally, John’s book which deals with complete history of the 1st Aero, is in its final edit before printing. It will be available to WOB members as soon as copies are received. We were privileged to get a look at this profusely illustrated and detailed work, many of the photos in print for the first time. Finally, we would like to thank John for the beautifully illustrated story boards that he donated for use in oral presentations! 2 The Curtiss Jennies by Bill Wehner Curtiss Jenny JN-4 1918 Back in the days when men were men and books were books, say, circa 1972, a pilot named Frank Gifford Tallman III wrote a book he called Flying the Old Planes. In it he describes what flying the ubiquitous JN4 Jenny was like. As you might imagine, the Jenny was so-called because of the Curtiss aircraft designers had designated it as model JN-4 (just as the much, much later F4D was called the "Ford"); the JN series all were to become known as Jennies. Tallman's book is instructive however it is important to understand that Tallman's Jenny incorporated significant mechanical improvements not present in the 1916 1st Aero Jennies. As I was researching an article for another publication dealing with advances in aviation, I couldn't help drawing parallels between planes such as the "modern" Cessna and Piper light aircraft of today and the Curtiss JN series of ca. 1916. So hooked, I decided to dig a little deeper on the Jenny. It has been said that Glenn Curtiss' creation trained more air cadets for WWI than any other airplane. It has also been said that it killed more of them as well—one training class on North Island, San Diego, managed to kill 8 out of 14 students. 6072 JN-4Ds were produced for the US Government with an additional 2000 made for other nations before production ended in 1918. One remarkable thing is that the Jenny design came only about 10 years after humans took to the air; another is "...how little some things have changed." Glenn Curtiss stole designer B. Douglas Thomas from the Sopwith Aircraft folks in England. Thomas did most of the actual design work on the JN in a tent on his parent’s front lawn before he arrived in New York in the early teens. (Thomas is probably best known for the design of the 1922 Thomas-Morse fighter.) By about 1910, the earlier pusher-type biplanes built by the Wrights, Curtiss, Martin and others were proving to be so accident prone that the Signal Corps was looking for better concepts, mostly based on the tractor types being developed in Europe. If we stopped right there, we could note that aircraft development has not progressed very far beyond that of 100 years ago; almost all aircraft are still tractors, aren't they? It is important to note that almost all of the literature available on the Jenny is not about the Jenny of Bennie Foulois and the First Aero Squadron, but about the aircraft that followed, the JN-4 and its variants. The First Aero Squadron had 6 JN-2s that were modified to the JN-3 design, and 2 built as JN-3s for a total of 8. The 1st Aero's JN-3 was important because it was first to serve in unit combat, and because it was the progenitor of the JN-4. The 8 Jennies that served with the 1st Aero barely lasted a couple of months. Curtiss had developed a design he called the "N", and Thomas' design was labeled the "J." They blended the best features of the two which eventually resulted in the JN-2, incorporating the Curtiss shoulder yoke control system. However the Signal Corps insisted on using the Deperdussin system of control wheel and rudder bar as there was no way the yoke and harness system work with an 160 horsepower aircraft.* If you check in anybody's hangar, you would note that is the basis of the control system still in use today Curtiss Jenny JN-3 19161 3 Despite the narrow safe-flight envelope of only 20 MPH, the JN-4 flew well enough. Tallman describes having to lead turns with plenty of rudder, and that the ailerons were quite heavy; control input felt "...like taking the slack out of rubber bands..." but the Jenny went where it was pointed. Landing could be an adventure with the primitive bungee gear, but once down with the spruce wood tail skid dug in, the Jenny tended to stay there. Today, landing a conventional geared plane can still be an adventure, although perhaps not quite the thrill a stifflegged Jenny could provide. Taxiing was done with wing walkers and rudder, there were no brakes. The biggest problem with the First Aero Squadron's JN-2 (upgraded to JN-3) Jenny turned out to be shoddy workmanship coupled with poor quality control on the part of its Curtiss manufacture. The First Aero Squadron commander, Capt. Benjamin Foulois, insisted on further major modifications and that model then became the JN-3. All of the JN-3s were destroyed in the first months of the Punitive Expedition.** Later in the Expedition, there were a few export versions of the JN-4 in use, but their duration with the squadron was pretty short. The JN-4C was built in Canada as the Canuck (ailerons on both wings, among other things); and the JN-4D became the "Jenny" that everyone calls to mind when that almost universal trainer and barnstormer is mentioned. Actually, JNs were produced through the "H" model and the Navy procured several Jenny models including one built as a seaplane called the N-9. OK, we have done away with one of the wings, and we've added flaps and played with canards, but have you noticed we are still building airplanes with a few with sticks and cloth? The airframe of the Jenny was considered fairly advanced for its day and flight improved with each upgrade, although it was almost always underpowered with an unreliable engine. A song popular with cadets about the OX-5 at the time went: Back to Frank Tallman - he became well known in the day as a close friend and instructor of Amelia Earhart, but largely remembered now as the guy who flew a twin Beech through a billboard in Its a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World as well as through an airplane hangar at 160 MPH, and numerous other movie stunts. His take on flying the Jenny: "The breathtaking performance of an OX-5 (powered) Jenny was such that it never ceased to amaze me that they flew..." - flew, and they failed. Early pilots, such as those in the First Aero Squadron, were not just trained to deal with engine failure, they were trained to expect it. Cadets were taught that when the engine quit (and be assured it would), they were to aim for the cheapest, softest parts of the terrain. The only thing my own instructor added when I was learning to fly, was, "...aim between the trees, dummy." "Ohhhh, Take the carburetor out of my stomach, Take the pistons out of my head, Send my arms back home to Mo-o-o-o-ther... Tell her I... am finally dead." As far as I can tell, other than the advent of the jet engine, the only real advance has been the glass cockpit. And to be completely honest, I don't know whether that really is progress. (If you haven't already done so, visit the Curtiss Museum in Hammondsport, NY. You will have a great time.) Bill Wehner (c) 2015 *Britain’s Royal Flying Corps also purchased JN-2s, but insisted that they have the control wheel removed and a Joyce (joy) stick substituted. While it could be airborne in as little as 250', the sea level rate-of-climb was only about 400 feet per minute (FPM) and its service ceiling was given as 11,000 feet by Curtiss. Both figures were lies. According to Jack Lincke, who actually flew the JN-4D as a cadet in the 1920s, on a good day the rate of climb might be 200 FPM and the actual ceiling was more like 6000 feet if the gods were smiling. The OX-5 produced about 90 HP when all the pistons were doing their job and the cam wasn't about to break or the prop about to split. In an effort to improve performance, more powerful engines were mounted (like the OXX-6 and the later Hisso) but little helped. The Jenny wanted to stall about 45 MPH and her actual cruise speed was about 65 with the OX-5. Overhaul in those days had to be done about every 10 hours. We still have pistons trying to trade places with one another, and I'll admit that overhaul times have improved a little, but we are still trying to improve things with more horses. And, come to think about it, we are still lying about actual performance. **Actually, after an inspection of the JN-2s in 1915, the inspecting officer recommended they be all burned... We Need Your Help In addition to members and donations, our new organization needs individuals to serve on its nationwide Board of Directors consisting of 15 or so members. The Board, which would meet by conference call every 2 months or so, would set the policy for WOB. The actual day-to-day administration of the policies would be carried out by local volunteers. If you would like to learn more call or email Bill Wehner (575-531-7044) or email him at [email protected] Incidentally, just as the newsletter was going to press, two more exceptionally qualified supporters, David Clemmer and Frank Stephenson, volunteered to serve on the Board. We’ll feature them in the next issue. 4
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