National Aeronca Association Bulletin Board

hawaii ' I was stationed there at helimano, in the military, I flew gliders at dillingham. and played golf. I knew of a AC -15 on the island. I remember it had an 0-300 continental. This was in 1970 -1972, I can't remember who owned her, the tail number, or the color. A friend of mine thought it was a Stinson. there were a few of them also, and some L-5's. Dillingham was on the ocean, the Northern shore. I didn't recall any airports that high, unless this is on the big Island. I read your inquire and thought maybe this was the same aircraft. The owner said it was shipped from the factory to hawaii direct. thats all I recall about the ship. small world A fellow aviator Sunny

Hello Sunny,

N1163H is located on the Big Island and was shipped factory new to The Hawaiian School of Aeronautics (the Aeronca dealer for Hawaii). When you were stationed at Helemano, its likely that Hank Bauske and a few partners owned the aircraft on Oahu. The first knowledge I have of the aircraft is the mid 80's - it was at the A&P school that I went to. The other Sedan on the registry for Hawaii is the Skypac Sedan, N1485H...I kept coming up with dead ends in finding that aircraft. Sadly, most of the people that would remember these great old airplanes have passed away or moved away. In recent years there seems to be a resurgence of interest in vintage airplanes in Hawaii but we seem to be a little too late in saving the historic aircraft here.

I myself started flying in gliders at Dillingham in the late 70's. There were a few L-5's here back in the day...along with J-3's, L-4's, Aeroncas, Interstate Cadets, Culvers, Ercoupes, Luscombes, Howards...most are gone now, either sold to owner elsewhere or rusted away. My home is just a few miles from what used to be a WW2 and post WW2 salvage yard. L-4's, some brand new in crates were sold for surplus. Other aircraft, crushed and melted down for scrap. There are pieces and parts still to be found in the former scrap yards!

Matt, I'll see what my cohorts in crime can do about those photos.

Regards,

Tim

(The picture attached in Marguerite Gambo-Wood, the original owner of N1163H)

Thanks Tim!

Marguerite Gambo-Wood was quite an entrepreneur: http://hawaii.gov/hawaiiaviation/hawaii ... mbo-woods/

Matt

Tim,

Excellent information and great photo!

Thanks much!

Joe A

The Sedan is halfway home. While I'm away on business on Guam and in the Philippines, I con Wally, Sam, Marsha, Kele and Brad into flying to the Island of Hawaii, dragging their friends and family into the adventure...drive 2.5 hours one way to extract the Sedan thru a very tight workshop door and load it for transport on a flat bed and trailer. They then drove 2.5 hours to load everything in a container in Kona. I wish I was there for the adventure. I'll have more pictures when we remove the aircraft from the container on Oahu.

more from the Sedan recovery

More from the Sedan recovery

loading in Kona

Wow, great recovery! Love all the photos...

Timisclo,

I take it you are going to restore this gallant bird? Where will be its new nest? I can tell you, if ever there was motivation to rebuild one these planes, you could have found plenty in the five excellent examples at the last Middletown fly in.

Tx,

Carl Prather

Carl,

The Sedan will certainly be restored. I have a hangar & shop on Oahu at John Rodgers Field (Kalaeloa Airport, formerly Barbers Point NAS). I have a Baby Ace restoration project to finish and a few improvements to the hangar to do and then we'll turn to on the Sedan.

Tim

Excellent to see the plane moving!

Keep us up on your progress!

Joe A

Bully!

Good show, chap. The world is better place a restored Sedan takes to the air!

Carl Prather

The Sedan reached Oahu in as many pieces as when it left. Wally and I unloaded it and another airplane in about an hour. This was the first opportunity I've had to take a close look at the aircraft and there are no major surprises. The fuselage looks rough but seems to be in decent shape. The wings are corroded!! Mr. Bauske lives off the grid and in doing so, relies on solar and batteries for all his house and shop electrical needs. The shop where the Sedan was stored for 20+ years is like a battery warehouse and as such, is a fairly corrosive environment. Anything that wasn't painted, is corroded. Being downwind from an active volcano didn't help at all. We'll soon be in the market for wings drawings and parts.

Great to see it back in a hangar now and especially with some other Aeronca's!

Keep in touch and let us know how things go on the restoration.