For the last few years I've been researching Bevo Howard's original factory-built Clipped Cub. I've also been researching some of the real early clipped wing cubs as well. From my research, I've come across a couple CWCs that were active in the late 40s, before the Reed conversion became a "thing" in the 50s. One was a Cub flown by the Cole Brothers air shows, and the other was flown by a pilot named William Scott, near to where I live here in the Hudson Valley of New York State. I have references to both as early as 1948.
SO, here are the questions that maybe some folks on the forum here can help with:
1) Bevo's Cub. It was a factory job and the dimensions are the same as the Reed. Did Reed just do what Piper did? I know Bevo's ship had J5 landing gear, but what else? In the few photos I've seen, there's no cut-out for the lower door. Is the geometry of the factory-built CWC different than the Reed in some way? Were the ribs doubled up? Actual structural details on the plane are kind of hard to come by. I have the FAA file on the plane and its insanely absent of any structural details....simply notes "special job for Bevo Howard."
Anybody have any details??
2) Pre-Reed Clips. As I mentioned above, I know there were some clips done before Reed did his thing. Were these somehow pure copies of Bevo's clip? Are there drawings direct from Piper? On the one photo I've seen of the Cole CWC, which was taken in 1948, its from above and it looks to be what we could consider a "normal" clip at the wing root, where the Bevo/Reed clip was, but it also looks like theres many more ribs. Theres also a slight clip on the wing tip...sort of halfway through the wingtip bow, its cut off straight. I know nothing of the Bill Scott, Kingston, NY CWC, except for a 1948 newspaper article referring to a local airshow he was flying with his "clipped-wing Piper Cub." Anybody know anything about these or other pre-Reed CWC's?
3) In the 1950s, the Great Barrington, MA airport's FBO was doing a good business clipping cub wings. Somewhere I found a reference noting that they were copying the Piper factory/Bevo Howard clip. So, I got all of the known Great Barrington CWC FAA files....4 or 5 of them.....and all of them state that the conversion was done via the Reed clip. Anybody know more about this?
Wonder what the collective knowledge found on this wonderful forum can turn up on this.
Thanks all!!
SO, here are the questions that maybe some folks on the forum here can help with:
1) Bevo's Cub. It was a factory job and the dimensions are the same as the Reed. Did Reed just do what Piper did? I know Bevo's ship had J5 landing gear, but what else? In the few photos I've seen, there's no cut-out for the lower door. Is the geometry of the factory-built CWC different than the Reed in some way? Were the ribs doubled up? Actual structural details on the plane are kind of hard to come by. I have the FAA file on the plane and its insanely absent of any structural details....simply notes "special job for Bevo Howard."
Anybody have any details??
2) Pre-Reed Clips. As I mentioned above, I know there were some clips done before Reed did his thing. Were these somehow pure copies of Bevo's clip? Are there drawings direct from Piper? On the one photo I've seen of the Cole CWC, which was taken in 1948, its from above and it looks to be what we could consider a "normal" clip at the wing root, where the Bevo/Reed clip was, but it also looks like theres many more ribs. Theres also a slight clip on the wing tip...sort of halfway through the wingtip bow, its cut off straight. I know nothing of the Bill Scott, Kingston, NY CWC, except for a 1948 newspaper article referring to a local airshow he was flying with his "clipped-wing Piper Cub." Anybody know anything about these or other pre-Reed CWC's?
3) In the 1950s, the Great Barrington, MA airport's FBO was doing a good business clipping cub wings. Somewhere I found a reference noting that they were copying the Piper factory/Bevo Howard clip. So, I got all of the known Great Barrington CWC FAA files....4 or 5 of them.....and all of them state that the conversion was done via the Reed clip. Anybody know more about this?
Wonder what the collective knowledge found on this wonderful forum can turn up on this.
Thanks all!!
