Yankee Air Museum volunteers are building a WWI Aircfraft - from scratch!
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Ken Hauser used to spend his free time tinkering with remote-control airplanes. Now, the 67-year-old Vietnam War veteran from Canton spends it building the real thing.
He and about a dozen other retirees gather a few times a week in a small section of the Yankee Air Museum in Ypsilanti, their wrinkled hands nimbly shaping Sitka spruce and mahogany after a quick brown-bag lunch.
Many, like Hauser, are military veterans and former engineers; some are tool-and-die makers and model makers. All are united in a single mission: to build an airplane from scratch -- a perfect replica of a World War I Spad XIII fighter plane.
"It's so challenging when you consider that we really don't use modern machinery for the creating of parts," said Hauser, who was an automatic transmission designer for General Motors. "But this is much more fun than being at work -- there are no deadlines."
Here, in Hangar 2, a passion for history and flight glides along tool-filled tables and cramped and chilly spaces, spreading its wings.
The plane they're building was a game-changer in the war -- a faster, more powerful plane with dual machine guns that helped turn the tide for the Allies and led them to victory against the Germans. And it very well could be a game-changer for the museum, which was gutted by fire in 2004, destroying much of the history inside.
It has taken the men more than two years to get this far, and when their project is done, the plane will be one of only seven replicas of the Spad XIII in the nation; the Smithsonian has the only original Spad XIII in the United States.
Even though they come to the hangar only three days a week, for many of these men, the work has become all-encompassing
"I wake up at 3 a.m. and think about it, then go to my office and write down notes," said Bill Rodgers, 84, of Brighton, a WWII veteran who was trained as a pilot but never flew in the war.
The group has completed about 45% of the job, building the shell of the plane -- which is made almost entirely of wood and fabric -- fuselage, parts of the wings and the seat. They say it will be another 2 1/2 years before they're done. Until then, it's one screw, one cut, one replication at a time.
Rickenbacker's favorite
Rodgers, the former owner of an automotive supply company, thought building the plane would be an amazing project to work on and it also could be a boon to the museum, which was struggling after the fire.
He knew that German air superiority in WWI ended when the British and French introduced more powerful and efficient planes, including the French Spad XIII, and he thought that bit of history made the plane a great candidate for the museum project.
During the war, 8,472 SPAD XIIIs were built, and the plane was a favorite of America's top ace, Eddie Rickenbacker. The native of Columbus, Ohio, shot down 26 German planes, 20 of them from a SPAD XIII.
"When Bill first told me that it would cost $25,000 to $30,000 to build the Spad, I said the museum's finance committee would never approve it, especially as the museum was working to rebuild after a terrible fire some four years ago," recalls Lou Farkas, 71, vice president of the museum.
But approve it they did, mostly because Farkas and Rodgers' pitch conveyed so much passion. Its estimated worth upon completion will be $250,000.
"Bill said the Spad is another way to start bringing people into the museum," said Farkas, who notes that visitors may watch them working on the Spad XIII on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. "And sure enough, more and more people are coming; the interest is building -- it's even helped to build our member base."
Looking for an engine
"My woodworking hobby got me even more into the project," said Farkas, a Sumpter Township resident and former industrial-equipment sales representative who has been a volunteer at the museum for some 20 years.
Many original Spad drawings were destroyed during the Second World War, when France panicked as Germany invaded. "But many of the original drawings -- 70% -- were salvaged," Farkas said, and today, the retirees -- six engineers, two tool-and-die makers and two model makers, among a few others -- work from several design sheets translated into English from the original French blueprints.
"We check our set of English plans, which are in metric, against the originals and compare the two drawings to be sure we're accurate," Farkas said.
Farkas and the others are hopeful they'll soon be able to acquire an original Spad XIII engine from the Fantasy of Flight attraction in Florida. It's the only component of the plane they're not making from scratch.
Accuracy and sticking to their timeline are key concerns for the men, who ponder their project around the clock.
"I look forward to going to the museum because, well, the best part about it is being with the other guys," said Larry Arnett, 85, of Wayne, a retired Ford engineer. "They are conscientious and hard-working, a great group of guys."
Passion fuels the project
When asked if he's happy with their work thus far, Rodgers contemplates the challenges.
"Why did I start this? Stupidity comes to mind," he said with a laugh. "Frenchmen make a funny airplane. And the Spad XIII is the hardest to make, as there are so many components, very detailed. Yet before this plane, Germans ruled the sky."
In all seriousness, it's really the resolute passion that fuels the men and their goals. And even though the building team is only halfway to the finish line, excitement is soaring, especially when the crew visualizes the plane's premiere flight.
Said Farkas: "We have three guys lined up who want to be the first to fly it.
"Building the plane actually increases the guys' lifespan," said Farkas. "They are that passionate about the project and they want to see it to completion."
Article pulled from Freep.com December 22, 2008. Written by Megan Swoyer.
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Yankee Air Museum volunteers are building a WWI Aircfraft - from scratch!
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