The engine ran smoothly but was not putting out the power is should have. Many things were tried, new Hanlon and Wilson exhaust, carb rear-down to check for proper jetting and float level, double checked the prop pitch, multiple compression checks, timing checks, replaced intake spider, (a refugee from a 65 with the proper one), cleaned out the breather tube, called in a channeler and held a séance. Nothing worked. Then occasionally on engine start and always at the most inconvenient times, the oil pressure would fail to come up and got tired of doing the stand it on it's nose trick.

Removed the C-85 and shipped it by Subaru Outback to Central Cylinder in Omaha. It got a factory new crankshaft, rods and pistons that were meant for an O-200 through an STC. All factory new nickel cylinders. Re-ground the original cam. New pushrods and lifters. Re-conditioned accessory case with new oil pump gears. Rebuilt engine case. The slick mags were near new already, the exhaust was new and the carb had just been done shortly prior the the overhaul. I stayed with the original data plate. Engine now displaces 199.5 cubic inches and the engine shop says it's a C-200.

Our I.A., Craig Martin and I re-installed in 2 1/2 weekends. The airplane has been flown once to return it home to Ames from the airplane convalescence center at Morningstar Field at Des Moines. Would love to have a glowing pilot report but I've only flown it 15 minutes so far. All I'm sure of is that it is faster than any Champ in existence.

The Central Cylinder folks were most cordial and great to work with. The whole shop came over to listen to the symptom list when I took it in and the whole shop came and, I'm not making this up, patted the engine as we were loading it. They did my overhaul just after a Lenape Papoose and just before a Rolls Royce Merlin.

Travis Gregory

Bill Kelly wrote us: "Here are a couple of photos of my Stolp Starlet and my Stearman. I started construction on the Starlet in 1971 and completed in 1979. In 2008 it received "Best of Show" at the Starduster fly-in at Flabob airport. I was a little surprised considering the age of the airplane.

The N2S-5 is one of four Stearmans that my hangar neighbor Darrel Pearson along with Ray Beeninga and Paul Rose brought back from Athens Greece.

Thanks for your inquiry on my Jr Ace project. I purchase a damaged fuselage and a pair of damaged C-120 wings several years ago and have been attempting to build an airplane ever since.

I’m powering it with a Corvair engine that I rebuilt and converted per Wm Wynne’s manual.

The repairs are done, airframe is painted except trim stripes on fuselage, engine installed and I’m in the middle of the final assembly.

My goal is to fly it to Antique Airfield this coming Labor Day week end. Seems like all the little stuff takes a lot of time so wish me luck!

Tom Huf has started in on his restoration of the APM's WWII era Link Trainer. In stripping it down to bare bones and maybe a bit further we received the following message and pictures from Tom:

Uh, oh!

I can’t seem to remember how to put this stuff back together. . . . . . .I forgot to write down what goes where. . . . . . didn’t this thing come with instructions?

Oh, nuts! I can’t take it anymore!

That was followed in a day or so by the following picture, and this note: Ahoy, matey – har har har! Capt. Huf

We have faith that "Capt. Huf" will remember where all the pieces go as he continues the restoration?

Greetings from the Greenswamp Aerodrome, Lakeland Fl... Good progress on the cabin Waco... hope to make beautiful noise soon. Mike Araldi

Addison Pemberton at Felts Field, Spokane, WA is making great progress on his Waco:

Here are the latest pix of our 1936 EQC-6 Custom Cabin Waco project. We now have the fuse and most of the airplane though base Ranthane Pontiac red color awaiting blue and gold trim. All the windows and skylight are installed and weather tight

The electrical/avionics and entertainment systems are all working and tested. The Holloway SMOH 350 Hp R-760-E2 Wright engine is hung for plumbing, engine control hook up and oil system installation. We will then remove the engine and install a hi-tech thermal barrier and EAR sound proofing to keep the cabin cool. We will also mount the oil cooler between the gear legs and port heater diversion valve overboard... Our goal is to avoid the dreaded Waco summer sauna cabin.

The upholstery is now underway as well with rich deep period fabrics and leather seats and sidewall trim. My son Ryan is well into all new sheet metal, all new fairings and gear legs. It's fun to switch on the master and hear a faint heartbeat now with engine roar to come later in the summer.

Here are Chapter Newsletters from January through April 2011 - fly-in announcements, Casa Grande Reports, and more:

• January Florida Club Flyers "Cub Tales"
• January Florida Antique Biplane Association "Flying Wire"
• February Texas Chapter
• Colorado Chapter February "The Flyer"
• Oklahoma Chapter March 2011
• Colorado Chapter March "The Flyer"
• March Florida Club Flyers "Cub Tales"
• Colorado Chapter April "The Flyer"

See all the Chapter newsletters and info.

What started as a simple FOIA request on 08-22-02 became a protracted legal battle that has wound it's way up through the US Supreme Court (see attached article) and back to the lower courts. But it is finally over. A summary judgment, by US District Court Judge Ricardo M. Urbina, could foreshadow easier access to Approved Type Certificate (ATC) drawings/data held by the FAA, for those restoring antique/classic aircraft.

This particular case involved AAA Executive Director Brent Taylor's FOIA request for the Fairchild 45 drawings/data. That request was denied by the FAA and lead to legal action against the FAA and the Fairchild Corporation (now defunct) in the pursuit of access to those drawings/data.

That legal action against Fairchild and the FAA was undertaken for Brent Taylor by AAA member Michael J. Pangia, a former FAA legal counsel now in private practice. Mike has written an authoritative account of that legal battle titled "A Quest for Secret Plans; A Journey Into the Land of Oz".

However, even after a unanimous decision in Brent Taylor's favor by the US Supreme Court in 2008, the legal wrangling continued as the case was remanded back to the US District Court.

Then on Wed. January 19th a summary judgment was made in favor of Brent Taylor bringing the matter to an end (we hope).

Judge Urbina decision holds that;

1. Once manufacturer authorized disclosure of its materials, they were no longer secret for purposes of FOIA's trade secrets exemption;
2. Secret status of the materials was not restored when manufacturer revoked its authorization to disclosure; and
3. The materials were not commercially valuable, and, thus, did not fall within FOIA's trade secrets exemption.

This decision should help pave the way for easier access (via FOIA) to the approved data/drawings that owners/restorers of antique/classic aircraft need to help in complying with the FAR's in the restoration and maintaining airworthiness of said aircraft.

It's been a long and expensive road but if it helps to "Keep the Antiques Flying", then it will have been well worth it.

Brent Taylor

The latest issue of the Antique Airfield Runway is at the printers. Included in this expanded issue (28 pages); seven pages of color coverage of the 2010 AAA/APM Invitational Fly-in, an update on the APM Restoration Center project, four feature length articles, the official announcement of the 2011 AAA/APM Fly-in and much more. Look for it in your mailbox soon.