When a person owns an open-cockpit vintage aircraft, one of the first decisions to make is how radio communications will be addressed. You can utilize a portable battery-operated handheld radio so the instrument panel remains true to factory specs, you could eschew the legacy panel gauges and install a modern radio and the supporting electrical system in the name of safety and convenience—or you can get creative and have the best of both worlds.

The “both” option was taken by Bob and Bill Juranich. The brothers own the Gig Harbor Vintage Aero Museum at Tacoma Narrows Airport (KTIW) in Washington. The airport is Class D and located approximately 15 nm southwest of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (KSEA). It lies beneath Class Bravo airspace and, as such, inside the Mode C veil generally requiring a transponder. Still, the most modern aircraft in the museum’s collection is a 1953 Cessna 195.

Most of the designs herald from the 1930s and ’40s, and several are ADS-B compliant, though they rolled off the assembly line decades before radios were standard equipment, transponders were in common use, and radar—the technological grandfather of ADS-B—had even been dreamed about for light aircraft. And here’s the best part—you can’t tell by looking at the aircraft that they feature this modern device. You won’t find radio or ADS-B antennae, which frankly would stick out like a frog in a punch bowl. These airplanes look like they have just rolled out of the factory in a time when you could spend the day at the movies for 5 cents, and the console cabinet radio was the centerpiece of many a living room.

“That’s because Bob Johnson, the master mechanic who has restored these aircraft, is really good about hiding things in plain sight,” says Brandon Bainbridge, the director of operations at the VAM, which is primarily located in a 12,400-square-foot hangar. The facility is part museum, part event space, part repository for Juranich family history, and part high-end pilot cave. You can picture your aviation-enthused forebearers having such a space.

That was true for the Juranichs, who grew up around civilian aviation in the Midwest. Their father, Joe, was a pilot and owned Northern Airport in Basehor, 13 miles south of Leavenworth, Kansas. The brothers Juranich took to aviation in their teens. Bob, the older brother, soloed at age 17 in a 1946 J-3 Cub. Bill—not to be outdone—bought his first airplane, a 1946 Taylorcraft, at the age of 18.

You will find the J-3 Cub, the Taylorcraft, and their father’s 1946 Piper Super Cruiser meticulously restored and on display as part of the museum collection. You can thank A&P/IA Bob Johnson for that.

• READ MORE: Six Aviation Museums Where You Can Land and Linger

A Storied WACO

The Juranichs have known Johnson for decades. He has overseen the restoration of several of the brothers’ aircraft, including the 1934 WACO YMF-3, a black and white open-cockpit biplane that some describe as the crown jewel in the VAM collection.

According to Bob Juranich, when WACO NC14080 rolled out of the factory in Troy, Ohio, it was destined to be a rich man’s toy. The Great Depression was underway, and the only people with the money for such an expensive hobby as flying were the folks with large bank accounts or their sons and daughters. The first owner of the YMF was Philip T. Sharples, an industrialist who in 1939 also became one of the founding members of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. The WACO was in Sharples’ care for about a year until he experienced a nose over. The airplane landed on its back and was damaged. The YMF went back to the factory for repairs. The next owner was Benjamin Brewster, also an industrialist— a railroad tycoon and trustee for Standard Oil.

“At the time, the aircraft was stationed at Roosevelt Field, Long Island, New York,” says Juranich, gesturing to a decal on the vertical stabilizer. “That’s the same airport Charles Lindbergh launched out of to fly the Atlantic in 1927.”

Brewster sold the WACO to Stephen DuPont, who kept it until the early 1940s. As the winds of war began to churn, DuPont sold the YMF to a flying service, where it was used as part of the Civilian Pilot Training Program. Then, as now, student pilots could be rough on the equipment. The WACO endured multiple student-induced damage events, including a collision with a snowbank that effectively ended its flying career for several decades. The bent and battered wreckage passed through many hands as a project until 2006, when Bob Juranich, who saw a YMF at a local fly-in and decided he wanted one, bought it from Harold Johnson in Moraine, Ohio.

For Johnson, A&P/IA (no relation to the previous owner), the WACO was the gauntlet of challenge being thrown down, as the airplane had not flown since 1943. Johnson, who has been turning wrenches since 1970, noted with some relief that the stock Jacobs L4 /R755-7 engine had been overhauled in the 1990s, and that was a big chunk of the work—so he could focus on the rest of the airplane. He paid special attention to the cockpit, which he determined needed to be aesthetically pleasing, period correct, and able to function safely in modern airspace.

A Special Update Process

The challenge with restoring panels in vintage designs to modern airworthiness, says Johnson, is that modern radios, navigation tools, and their support cables destroy the integrity of the design.

“I hate to see beautiful vintage biplanes with white wires going everywhere,” Johnson says with a cringe and shake of his head. “I always hide them behind tubing, put them in leather or use black friction tape or camouflage them in a way so they match the interior of the airplane.”

Go ahead and look in the cockpit of the YMF: You won’t see any radio, GPS, or transponder—but you will see a 1930s map case. Inside it, you find modern devices.

“It was Bob Juranich’s idea to hide them there,” says Johnson. “The map case looks like you carry it out to the airplane. There is even a leather handle on it. I painted it with crinkle paint to give it the right look.”

Several of the aircraft are equipped with ADS-B Out, although they are technically exempt because they were not originally certificated with an engine-driven electrical system, per FAR 91.215(b)(3) and 91.215(b) (5). Therefore, they need not adhere to the rule that went into effect on January 1, 2020, for flight in Class A, B, C, and D airspace where altitude-reporting transponders were required prior to that date. However, given that the museum is located at a busy Class Delta airport under a shelf of Class Bravo and surrounded by a Mode C veil, the Juranichs and Johnson agreed that ADS-B was a wise choice. But how to do it without installing a clunky antennae and ADS-B transponder?

“According to SkyBeacon, ADS-B can function through fabric,” says Johnson. “Both the Command-Aire and the WACO have ADS-B. Basically we just ziptied it to one rib and powered it with some nav-light wire as if it had been on the tail.”

The ADS-B pairs with the pilot’s iPad in the cockpit. The iPad is easily removed and stored when the airplane is on the ground on display and redeployed for flight.

Historic Renovations

ADS-B isn’t the only modern touch on the airplane, says Bainbridge. A few of the airplanes have been retrofitted with electric starters and batteries. Since the aircraft weren’t originally designed to have them, Johnson figured out a way to hide the modern conveniences. I won’t tell you where he hid them, but I will say you have to do a bit of a scavenger hunt to find the battery and switches for it on the instrument panel. Johnson has antiqued the panel so they look like original, fresh-out-of-the-factory equipment.

“In the Monocoupe, for example, the panel, which is metal, was made to look like it is made of wood,” Bainbridge says, adding that he spent the last two years of his Air Force career in Pearl Harbor working at the Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum, where the saying is “history matters.”

“That’s a theme I carry with me now. I want people to see these airplanes still fly. The Juranichs and Bob Johnson want to keep the airplanes flying, their ethos is ‘We don’t want airplanes that just collect dust.’”

Bainbridge shares this sentiment, and he’s been using his mechanic skills to make an interactive aircraft that will be a “kid-friendly” exhibit.

“It’s a Reno Racer just for kids,” he says. “I want them to flip the switches and turn on the lights and go crazy.”

This column first appeared in the August 2023/Issue 940 of FLYING’s print edition.

The post Be Safe But Authentic with Your New Old Panel appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Back in the mid 1930s, my grandmother took her first joyride in a biplane. For $5 that she split with her best friend, Marion, Isabel Barker defied her father’s explicit instructions not to go up in one of those “newfangled contraptions” and snuck in the secret flight at the county fair in Maquoketa, Iowa. She confessed to him later, being the honest soul she was. But she never forgot that view from the front seat—perhaps a Standard.

But maybe it was a WACO model D.

She’s gone from us 7 years now, and the details remain lost to history. Alex Skiba, former sales and marketing manager for WACO Aircraft, figures many of those pilots who purchase a new WACO YMF-5 in 2023 still do so in order to use it for sightseeing operations. Similar in feel and spirit to those flights from a county fairground, the romantic taste of the sky that an open-cockpit airplane affords hasn’t lost its appeal.

And neither has the WACO.

An Introduction

The WACO takes you back into a beginner’s mind, not only because it evokes the beginnings of aviation’s golden age but also being the first airplane for many cadets facing entry into the U.S. Army Air Corps in World War II. Then, as now, WACO is an acronym, standing for Weaver Aircraft Company in honor of its original co-founder, George “Buck” Weaver, who in 1920 with Elwood “Sam” Junkin, Clayton “Clayt” Bruckner, and Charlie Meyers launched the nascent aircraft builder in Lorain, Ohio (see “The Dream Machines”). You also understand instinctively when approaching it that this flight experience will be completely different from any-thing you’ve had before.

Like preparing for a special first date, I walked through in my mind my previous piloting time in biplanes. A few hours in the stately Stearman, and a quick aerobatic flight in a Christen Eagle—that would be the sum total. My experience is not uncommon among those who choose to purchase new WACOs—like the stunning ed and blue YMF-5 featured in these pages that belongs to Ed Stadelman. As a retired airline pilot—with a 40-year career spanning from Allegheny Airlines to USAir to American, from which he last flew the Boeing 777 out of New York—Stadelman recognized his flight time flying a previously owned Cessna 206 and 310, and a few hours years ago in the Stearman, would not serve as a sufficient precursor to taking on the WACO. It’s not that it’s hard to fly compared to other tailwheel airplanes—it’s just that the sight picture is quite different with the looming cowl blocking most of the forward view from the rear seat, where the airplane is flown from.

Stadelman negotiated a 20-hour training package with the purchase of the YMF-5, and he took a tailwheel refresher course prior to beginning that tutelage—a path he recommends to anyone without significant time in a big-engined biplane.

A. The rear cockpit is laid out with most of the WACO’s instrumentation, according to the owner’s desires. But certain legacy touches, like the teak-handled control stick and flooring, echo back to the original design.

B. The “six pack” on this YMF-5 features two Garmin GI 275 electronic instruments that can be configured for IFR flight.

C. The JPI EDM 930 engine monitoring system gives detailed data from the powerplant and fuel system.

D. The Garmin GTN 750 offers a modern navigation option, even though the owner isn’t likely to file IFR in the open-cockpit biplane.

E. An S-TEC System 55 autopilot is an option, along with a second com radio to round out the IFR package.

You Need a Ladder

Yes, you need a stepladder for most any thorough pre-flight. But this walkaround absolutely requires one. And not just any ladder, but one that will allow you to check the fuel caps on the upper wing—there are at least two, and four if the owner has opted for long-range tanks. The preflight encompasses standard items for any airplane—checking the flight controls, landing gear, fuel and oil levels—but with many nuances special to a biplane with fabric covering and bracing wires.

The aircraft flight manual is 28 pages long. This is notable, as it’s about 20 times shorter than the AFM for a new FAA Part 23 certificated airplane with standard factory-installed avionics. Since everything in the panel—save for the legacy instruments such as airspeed, altimeter, and engine gauges—is an option, those supplements stand alone and are not woven into the manual. There aren’t pages of performance tables for altitudes into the stratosphere, nor are there expanded systems descriptions and pages of warnings for the pilot to wade through and heed gingerly. Maybe that’s because this particular airframe and engine have no airworthiness directives applied to them since the original type certificate was blessed by the CAA in 1934.

The preflight checklist is thorough. It goes from the front and rear cockpits to the left lower wing trailing edge, where in addition to normal checking of the wing and aileron surface and freedom of movement, the slave wire between the upper and lower aileron is addressed. Proper tension of the landing and flying wires, and the security of the interplane strut must be verified as well.

At the nose of the airplane sits the now-standard 300hp Jacobs R755 A2 7-cylinder radial powerplant, with its MT Propeller two-bladed, fixed-pitch prop attached to the hub. There’s an option for an MT-Propeller controllable-pitch version too. The manual advises against flying with less than 3 gallons of oil on board.

As a potential WACO owner, you’ll be pleased to note that those Jakes are still on the market, when it comes time for the 1,400-hour TBO. The R755 A2 can be ex-changed for an overhauled model for $36,950—or you could buy one outright for $43,950—at Radial Engines Ltd., in Guthrie, Oklahoma, for one, at press time.

A Modern Version

Instead of squinting our eyes for flocking aerial competitors around that farmer’s pasture, today’s pilots plying the trade of air tours have ADS-B to call out traffic on a series of optional avionics offered as add-ons to basic VFR and IFR packages.

Stadelman opted for a Garmin GTN 750 WAAS-enabled GPS/nav system and a second com radio, as he flies around the busy New England states from his home base at Falmouth Airpark (5B6) in Massachusetts. He prefers the modern, IFR-capable panel, though he has no plans to fly his prize in the soup. “Even on marginal VFR days, it’s nice to have,” he said. Stadelman also chose the long-range tanks—taking the normal 46-gallon capacity up to 70 gallons—so that he doesn’t need to refuel if going into a grass strip with intermittent or nonexistent services.

Other nice touches in the rear cockpit include backup electronic instruments, additional com radios, and a JPI EDM 930 engine monitoring system. For my flight test, I was paired with N577S, a 10-year-old YMF that WACO keeps for training and demonstration purposes—and virtually identical to Stadelman’s 2022 model in all the ways that mattered, including the modern displays in the rear panel.

Ready to Taxi?

Flying from the back seat actually gives you a little better forward perspective than from the front, where the cowl with its signature bumps looms closer and blocks the view almost completely. I’m up front to start to familiarize myself with the airplane while WACO instructor Bob Danielson learns more about me.

I sit up straight to no avail, then begin wide S-turns to supplement my forward view. I work our way out to the runway at Battle Creek Executive/Kellogg Field (KBTL)for a short flight over to Brooks Field (KRMY), where a vintage hangar and open grass alongside the runway will make our morning photos more historically appropriate. The tailwheel is fully steerable, which improves handling on the ground but preserves the need to lock it prior to landing—lest the airplane trend off quickly from the centerline if the wheel isn’t aligned.

Hands and Feet On Takeoff

You need to be a steady partner with any tailwheel airplane, and the WACO rewards stick-and-rudder competence. The YMF-5 will lift off before you want it to in a three-point attitude unless you firmly place the stick forward as soon as the relative wind over the elevator allows for it. My first takeoff from the front had me working as I figured out the controls, but we managed to come off after about a 1,000-foot ground roll. Liftoff speed hovers just below 60 knots, with V_X at 63 kias and V_Y at 66 kias. We cruised at about 1,000 feet agl for the14 nm hop over to Brooks for my first landing. Danielson coached me through the pattern and landing speed (about 75 kias), and I stayed on it to keep the runway in sight as we came down final. I lost the numbers under that stately cowl several beats before “normal”—and then transitioned to a side view for the touchdown, with Danielson ready on the pedals in case my sense of the rudder pressure required was inaccurate.

• READ MORE: Waco Doubles Production and Plans to Expand Product Line

In the Glorious Open Air

After a trip back to Battle Creek Exec and a lunch break at the WACO Kitchen—I recommend the Wagyu tacos, but then again, I always recommend the tacos—we set off on a true demo flight, with me taking the backseat. The WACO is soloed from the rear cockpit, and as Danielson termed it, “it’s pretty lonely up front” with nothing but airspeed and altimeter, throttle and stick to work with. The front cockpit is built for up to two passengers—and often has the front stick removed lest they get any crazy ideas. So it was truly an act of courage for him to grant me that hallowed rear pit.

I found the YMF was easier to taxi from the rear, and we made it out for an intersection takeoff without too much heartache. But I failed to push forward quite enough on the stick during the takeoff roll, and we lifted off a few knots lower in airspeed than desired. Fortunately, we made up for it in ground effect and carried on up into the blue-and-green patchwork June afternoon.

Under a scattering of fair weather cumulus, I lazed into gentle turns above Gull Lake to the northwest of Battle Creek. Though it felt like breaking the serenity of my brief moments with this considerable companion, I know that many WACO pilots enjoy the highly maneuverable biplane for its grace in basic aerobatics. We hadn’t prepped the cockpits for anything upside down—nor were we sitting on chutes—but I tried out steep turns to 55 degrees of bank and pulled the YMF into a lazy 8 or two, followed by Dutch rolls, to test out its coupling. Perhaps one of those edged into a wingover… Amazingly, for an airplane built when serious adverse aileron drag seemed like it came standard one very model, the YMF didn’t present such vagaries but rewarded even rudder pressure with smooth control.

Landing Home

We circled the lake a few times to allow for anyone on the water to enjoy the sight of a navy blue-and-old-gold biplane against the cloud backdrop. Then I called up Battle Creek Tower, and we headed back in for my first landing attempt from the rear seat. Harkening back to my days flying a Globe Swift, a tail-low wheel landing feels most comfortable to me in taildraggers—and it works well for WACO pilots too, for the most part.

Keeping a few hundred rpm of power in, I targeted 75 knots on the tape and rode down to the long runway at KBTL. I had 10,000 feet to work with, so my aim point was about halfway down the pavement—about where I’d started my takeoff roll. With a gentle lean to compensate for a breath of crosswind, I leveled off and began to feel for the ground, easing out power and taking in a measured inhalation ’til the mains touched.

Was I ready for it? The gods of wind and summer thermals were on my side, and the WACO answered my control pressures honestly. What more could you want from any return to terra firm a than that moment of joy?

Courtesy of the WACO, it can be yours to pursue.

WACO YMF-5

Price, as shown: $658,400; VFR packages start at $590,000

Engine: Jacobs R755 A2, 300 hp

TBO (with current SBs): 1,400 hours

Propeller: MT Propeller MT233R150-6AJ, fixed pitch

Seats: 1+1/2

Wingspan: 30 ft.

Wing Area: 234 sq. ft.

Wing Loading: 12.6 lbs./sq. ft.

Power Loading: 9.83 lbs./hp

Length: 23 ft., 4 in.

Height: 8 ft., 6 in.

Baggage Weight: 75 lbs. aft, 25 lbs. forward

Basic Empty Weight: 2,145 lbs.

Max Gross Weight: 2,950 lbs.

Average Useful Load: 628 lbs. (805 lbs. max)

Fuel: 46 gal. std; 70 gal. with long-range tanks

Max Rate of Climb: 865 fpm

Stall Speed: 51 kias

Maneuvering Speed:120 kias

Load Limits (at 2,950 lbs.): +5.2/-2.1

Cruise Speed: 100 ktas, at sea level

Max Endurance/Range, Max Range Power, Long Range Tanks: 450 nm at 2,500 ft. msl

Takeoff Distance, Sea Level (over a 50 ft. obs.): 1,556 ft.

Landing Distance, Sea Level (over a 50 ft. obs.): 1,650 ft.

This article first appeared in the August 2023/Issue 940 print edition of FLYING. 

The post We Fly: WACO YMF-5 appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

In 2019, a major factory expansion started at the headquarters, and it is expected to be fully completed this fall with 115,000 square feet of hangar and office space at the Battle Creek Executive Airport (KBTL). The staffing has also increased, from 22 in 2018 to 90 employees this year, Lepschy said.

The company is also focusing on expanding in Europe. Four airplanes were recently sold to European customers, and a demo flight program has been established in Switzerland.

The Waco production line is flexible, enabling the company to produce whichever airplane the customer orders, whether a Great Lakes, the YMF-5 or the amphibious version of the YMF-5, which recently achieved IFR certification. Pricing starts at $268,000 for the Great Lakes, $489,000 for the YMF-5 and $648,000 for the amphib.

Lepschy also announced that the company will launch three new models next year. Very few details were shared, but Lepschy said the airplanes will be clean-sheet designs ranging from a two-seat light sport model to an eight-seat airplane. One airplane will be designed with carbon fiber materials.

Lepschy also excitedly announced a completely new concept for an aircraft manufacturer—Waco Kitchen—which he and Morszeck conceived. The project started as a kitchen to feed Waco’s employees healthy food. But it soon morphed into a public airport restaurant focusing on local, farm-fresh produce and meats paired with Portuguese wines. The restaurant has been a huge success and Waco plans to expand Waco Kitchen to other airports.

The post Waco Doubles Production and Plans to Expand Product Line appeared first on FLYING Magazine.