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Wings Over the
Border
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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.
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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
wehner@vtc.net.
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!
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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
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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 wehner@vtc.net 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.
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