Porterfield Collegiate Offers Unique Flight Experience

Regular readers may recall my quest to fly as many unique aircraft types as possible. Enroute to EAA AirVenture Oshkosh last year, I was able to add another to my list-the Porterfield.

A friend, Bob Lynn, knew an owner, and put me in touch with Charles "Charlie" Slinger of Randolph, Wisconsin. I called Charlie, and asked if I might fly the aircraft "on my way to Oshkosh" with our motor home-though south of our usual route, it wouldn't add more than 100 miles to our trip. He never even hesitated in letting an unknown caller fly his airplane! We love driving through the hills of Southeast Minnesota and Wisconsin-the so-called "Driftless Area"-the places NOT scoured by glaciers.

I'm convinced that Wisconsin Tourism ought to be thankful for AirVenture, for introducing so many people to the beauty and bounty of the area-spectacular scenery-neat little farms and friendly people!

After several detours, we found ourselves on narrow paved roads with our large motor home-"go slow, and watch for farm machinery!" The slower pace put me in just the right frame of mind to fly a slow and simple airplane!

When we arrived at his truck shop/machine shop/hangar, we noticed a 1,600-foot, well-kept runway, with power lines on the ends and an upslope to the West. We went inside to meet the Slingers-and he asked, "Do you want to fly it yourself? You can fly the Cub too, if you like." No-as much as I like Cubs, I've flown many of them before-I was looking forward to learning about the Porterfield.

Charlie led the way to the hangar, and there it was-Porterfields were nicknamed "Skinny Cubs" because of their narrow fuselage and tight cockpits-built for speed on low horsepower. I immediately tried to figure out HOW I was going to get into the airplane-I'm 6'4,"and 215 pounds of "Rippling Muscle" ("HA-HA!" says my wife, Maryalice). I decided to postpone mounting it, and we did the walk around to get the feel of the design. I guessed that the airplane was designed for speed-and I was right! Some salient points about this aircraft. It features:

• A 65 hp. Continental engine, with a metal prop;

• AA semi-symmetrical airfoil, and ailerons with bob-weights attached. ("An Airworthiness Directive to

prevent buzzing," Charlie volunteered);

• Mechanical heel brakes in both cockpits;

• The aforementioned narrow fuselage-and the aileron cables running up the side of the windshield;

• A small, 40-pound baggage compartment;

• The landing gear had ski brackets installed (yes, he has the skis);

• There was no elevator trim tab, or adjustable horizontal stabilizer-I asked, and Charlie replied "bungee cord-it's this knurled knob under the seat."

It was time to try boarding. There are parallel struts on the wing to thread your way through, and a step below the front-hinged door.

I am too tall and the door is too small to step on the step AND swing my left leg through (people were SMALLER pre-WWII)-so I went to "Plan B"-put my right foot on the wheel, and then swing my left leg in.

After pulling my right leg in by hand, I tried to get my knees under the instrument panel-I could JUST make it, but there was another problem-the geometry with my size 13 shoes wouldn't allow me to use the heel brakes-to do so would mean I'd have to bring my knees back from below the panel and off the rudder pedals (no way to fly a tailwheel airplane!), and though I was taught "don't depend on brakes to steer a tailwheel airplane," I was cautious about having to taxi the aircraft through the trucks parked between us and the runway. Charlie said, "I'll go with you, I can activate the brakes from the back seat."

We went through the starting litany-gas on, throttle cracked, pull it through, "CONTACT," acknowledgement, and THEN mags on. It started on the first pull, and Charlie-a big guy himself-easily clambered into the back seat-THAT was impressive-I'm 74, and Charlie is older than I am!

We taxied carefully to the runway, and I asked Charlie for "the numbers." He replied, "Stall speed is 35-it will fly at 40-climb at 45 till you clear the wires." It was nearly 90 degrees outside-a 10 to 15 mph wind, the runway slightly uphill, and did I mention that there were two big guys on board, and there were wires off the end?

I questioned the ability of the airplane to loft this much "beef" under the conditions, but Charlie assured me that it would not be a problem.

Ground handling was easy, and the aircraft did as Charlie predicted, breaking ground halfway down the 1,600-foot runway. The Porterfield was easy to fly, and when Charlie said "GOOD JOB!"-he made my day!

Leveling at 1,000 feet AGL, I asked Charlie "2150 for cruise?" He replied, "Yep, that'll work-you've done this before!" I was surprised to see the airspeed creep up to 90 mph indicated. I set the trim with the knurled knob under the front seat. With the heat and the altitude, that worked out to about 100 mph-just as claimed-and REALLY good performance compared to a Champ or Cub with the same power!

I tried some steep turns left and right-good aileron control, but the rudder has even a bit better authority. Like many very light aircraft, (gross weight is only 1,165 pounds-well below LSA limits) it has no inertia, and bleeds speed quickly in a turn.

The hot summer afternoon was filled with cumulus clouds, with the associated thermals-but the Porterfield plowed through them with relative ease due to its higher wing loading. I told Charlie I was comfortable with the airplane, and we entered downwind for the landing.

I elected to fly a longer and lower final approach with some power on-I've been caught before-making a power off approach and wanting just a bit more power-only to have the Continental skip a beat (along with my heart!) due to lack of an accelerator pump on the carburetor.

I used 55 mph indicated in deference to the thermal activity-and with the dragged in approach, Charlie again pointed out the power lines at the end. I pulled the power off once the lines were crossed, and as expected, the airplane slowed down very quickly, and rounded out beautifully. Once again, we used only about half of the 1,600-foot strip, even without brakes and without trying for a short field effort.

We shut down on the well-kept strip for photos-and now it was time to extricate myself. I got my knees out from under the panel-grabbed my right ankle and pulled it through the door, and stepped all the way to the ground. It was relatively easy to get the left foot out as well. This was getting better all the time! Charlie, of course, hopped right out-after all, he's had PRACTICE!

After the photos, Charlie hopped back in to taxi to the hangar, and it was my turn to spin the prop-and it started right away. We pushed the Porterfield into the hangar (an easy job, at its low weight)-and I couldn't resist looking back at it in thanks for giving me the experience. A GOOD AIRPLANE WILL DO THAT FOR YOU!

Porterfield Collegiates were built from 1936 to 1941, and various engines from 50-65 hp. were installed. About 400 were built. According to the Porterfield Aircraft Club, there are only 24 flying examples left in the world, though there are a number in museums and as "projects."

My take on the Porterfield-it is much faster than the Champ or J-3 with the same power plant due to the wing, the lower gross weight and the narrow fuselage. Runway and climb performance is about the same.

The Champ has more room-the J-3 has the disadvantage of solo from the rear seat. Handling on the Champ is better, but the Porterfield handles better than the Cub. This is a collectors airplane-valued by pilots that want something different. Cost-I only found one for sale-a recent restoration with a low time engine-it was priced at $24,900. That's comparable to a Champ, and far less than a Cub.

Afterwards we went back to the office for some cold water, and I asked about the Slingers. We were having such a delightful time talking that we took far too much of their time. The Slingers are a flying family-Charlie's dad started flying in 1946. Charlie didn't learn to fly until 1975, after starting a family-but he went at it FAST! He went on to get glider ratings, seaplane ratings, commercial ratings, multi-engine ratings, and instrument ratings.

He also qualified as a glider tow pilot-at 81 years old, he still carries a second class medical and is an active tow pilot. Both of Charlie and Sherry's sons went on to be pilots-a real "Flying Family!" Interesting sidenote-Charlie (an experienced commercial glider pilot AND tow pilot) often provided the tow while his sons were doing their first solo's and glider check rides, and setting glider badge records!

The Slingers bought the Porterfield in 1989-at a local household auction! "It seemed that nobody at the auction knew what a Porterfield was-and neither did I-but I took a chance on it," as Charlie described it. "It had been recovered, and when we restored it, we restored it to its original colors."

Charlie and his wife, Sherry, are interesting people-they owned a trucking company, a farm drainage company, and are both over-the-road truck drivers. They are used to "making miles"-and their airplanes make the miles go by faster. You would think that they would get their fill of traveling, but they own the Porterfield, a 100 hp. Cub, a PA-12 undergoing restoration, and a share in a Piper Cherokee. They use the aircraft in their business, and for travel to homes in Wyoming and the Virgin Islands-as well as visiting far-flung friends and relatives.

For those of us who love airplanes (especially OLD and RARE airplanes!), we love to share the experience with others. THANK YOU, Charlie and Sherry, for sharing your Porterfield with me!

Jim Hanson in his 60th year of flying-and never tires of it. When he says OLD airplanes, he means anything older than he is (that would mean 1947) and these airplanes are increasingly rare! If you have a unique type of airplane of ANY age that Jim hasn't flown, contact him at jimhanson@deskmedia.com.