OX5 Aviation Pioneers

Excellent Curtiss OX5 Article by Chad Wille

This can be printed from the PDF file.

1910

1929 Boston

http://www.lesliejonesphotography.com/subject-series/aviation/46

Click on the above link to view some great aviation photos by Leslie Jones that are now in the Boston Public Library.

Click on an image tag in the right box.  example  biplanes

Biplane photos will then appear if Jones took a picture in the 20s or 30s.

He snapped 40,000 pictures (mostly glass negatives) of which 660 were aviation related.

DGY

Lindbergh’s airplane, the Spirit of St. Louis, was unique.  Dubbed a “flying gas tank,” the plane could hold more than 450 gallons of fuel.  It had a 223 HP radial engine, a 45-foot wingspan and got about 10 miles to a gallon, giving it a range of 4,200 miles.  The plane, engine and pilot weighed only 2,500 pounds, but a full load of gas weighed 2,700 pounds, more than doubling the weight of the plane.  To keep the weight down, Lindbergh left off the radios, the brakes, the pilot’s parachute and even the front window (which he replaced with another gas tank).

The Ryan Airlines Corporation in San Diego custom made Lindbergh’s plane.

Once the plane was finished, Lindbergh flew it from San Diego to New York to make sure it worked properly. That flight set a record in itself.

Photos by Dennis G Yerkey

Double click on a picture to enlarge.

The lunch bunch at the St Louis Reunion

Gordon,

Thanks for the note and pictures.  See you at the next Reunion.

Dennis Yerkey, Webmaster

http://www.crevecoeurairport.com/

57th Reunion Tour

Our thanks to Al Stix.

Al Stix led the OX5 Aviation Pioneers on a wonderfully humorous and informational tour of 4 hangers containing 50 restored aircraft.

He also gave us his thoughts on the handling characteristics of many airplanes that he has flown from the museum.  Very, very interesting, indeed!

The Aerial Experiment Association 1907

“Casey” Baldwin, Lt. Selfridge, Glenn Curtiss, Dr. Bell, John McCurey and visitor, Augustus Post of the Aero Club of America.

This photo was scanned by Dennis Yerkey from the Greveldine collection at the Hammondsport Reunion.

Hand Book & Repair Manual

Curtiss OX5 Aeronautical Engine

90 hp @ 1400 rpm

Scanned and posted by:  Dennis G Yerkey, Nat Gov

Distributed by: Nicholas-Beazley Airplane Co Inc

Marshall, MO    1925       Price .25 cents

Open this link.  Download and then print it.

Give it time to load; this PDF file is large.

 OX5 Repair Manual

Miss Gilmore

By Bill Amick, Mount Vernon News

June 22, 2012 12:13 pm EDT

 MOUNT VERNON — You may have passed Frank Pavliga on the way to work Thursday morning, but if your eyes were on the road you’d never know it.  Pavliga, a second-generation aviation enthusiast from Atwater in Portage County, was probably going about 50 when you zipped by … 600 feet beneath his WACO 9 biplane.

Pavliga was en route to Wyncoop Airport from historic Barber Airport in Alliance, bucking a headwind and having a ball behind the stick of an aircraft that was born with Calvin Coolidge in the White House and powered by an engine that dates all the way back to Woodrow Wilson.

It was only Pavliga’s fourth time up in the open-cockpit relic, which he has lovingly restored over a span of 14 years, and he is now the only person on earth with an airworthy 1925 WACO 9 standard model. The rare plane will be at Wyncoop Airport through Saturday and is one of about 40 vintage flyers taking part in the 53rd Annual National WACO Reunion.

Pavliga has named his blue and silver beauty Miss Gilmore in recognition of the Gilmore Oil Co., which was prominent in the oil and gas industry from 1900 to 1945. The plane’s engine, a 1916 Curtiss OX-5 V-eight, has ties to the U.S. Postal Service. Pittsburgh International Airport currently displays Miss Pittsburgh, the WACO 9 that made the first airmail flight from Pittsburgh to Cleveland in the spring of 1927. But the actual Curtiss powerplant from Miss Pittsburgh now resides under the cowling of Pavliga’s Miss Gilmore.

“It is a blast to fly,” Pavliga said of his WACO 9. “It’s nothing like a modern plane. It doesn’t have trim controls and it’s never really perfectly balanced. You can never take your hands off the controls, but you get used to it.”

From the Mount Vernon News

 www.mountvernonnews.com

THE 2012 NATIONAL REUNION

On September 20-23, 2012 OX5 Aviation Pioneers members met in St. Louis for their 57^th National Reunion.  The affair included the essential business meetings and an array of pleasurable and entertaining activities that included a trip to the identifying St. Louis Arch and a ride on a paddle wheel river boat. Other activities included a bus tour of the city and a trip to the Creve Couer Air Museum.

The visit to the Creve Couer Air Museum was an exceptional event.  There are four hangars of completely restored antique aircraft, engines, and other historical items.  The beautiful workmanship done on the restorations was a pleasure to see. A tour of the facility was conducted by Al Stix, Curator of the Museum.

Restoration of the entire facility has been amazing considering that in 1993 the entire area was covered by more than ten feet of water when the adjoining Mississippi River flooded the area.

The usual business meetings included the election of officers and the passing of the proposed revised bylaws.

Ivan D. Livi

2025 OX5 National Officers,Governors & Webmaster

Russ Berry, National President
7425 S. Kessler Frederick Rd.
West Milton, OH
937-405-7183

Tim Pinkerton, RIP Vice President
Deceased Sunday May 19, 2024
5494 Shiloh Springs Road
Trotwood, OH 45426-3910
937-542-1376
 
Patty Wagner, Treasurer
3233 South Kessler Road
West Milton, OH 45383
937-999-9594
nc7444h@aol.com

Donald Voland, Secretary
N8680 Stone School Road
East Troy, WI 53120-2334
262-642-3115
aerooptics@aerooptics.com
…..
James Beisner, National Governor
3730 Monroe Concord Rd.
Troy, Ohio 45373-9294
937-554-9294
james.beisner@bright.net
1901 Hwy. 17-92, Lot 106  Winter Address
Lake Alfred, FL 33850-3185
…..
Sam Meek, National Governor
1008 Harold Drive
Nashville, TN 37217
615-310-7596
pt17j3@comcast.net
…..
Greg Gaynor, National Governor
1350 Cherry Creek Road
Sparta, TN 38583
gregganor@hotmail.com
931-252-0397
…..
Dennis G Yerkey, National Governor & Webmaster
4061 Rustic Woods Drive
Jefferson Hills,  Pa 15025
d.yerkey@comcast.net
412-445-3940

OX5 Powered Planes

Looking Forward to 2016

As we start our 61st year of existence, I am very optimistic about our great Organization.  I look forward to the further development of our Outreach Programs with financial aid for scholarship programs and assistance to Wings that are marketing our Organization.  We have shifted our focus from a socializing and aging membership to one that is fresh and interesting for new and younger members.  I encourage all of you to enjoy the history of the OX5 engine and all the aircraft that it powered.  We have a wealth of knowledge available on this website and I hope that you will find it interesting.  Best wishes for this coming year.

Donald R. Voland, Pres