Flymall Wheels & Wings Newsletter August 2022

Friday, August 26th, 2022

Welcome to the Kraemer Aviation/Flymall.org Wheels & Wings Newsletter. The theme this month is “Accessorise”. We’re using the British spelling of the word. Accessorize is the North American spelling. Accessorise is the preferred British spelling. It is interesting to look at some of these accessories that were offered not too long ago and realize how unacceptable they would be today, such as this!

We have a lot of news this month. The Flymall team was very busy with numerous aviation events as well as some very cool car shows. Hope you enjoy the newsletter this month.

This month: Some very cool accessories, Glenn Curtiss Museum, Finger Lakes Boating Museum, Laytonsville Cruise In awards, Pat Clancy six-wheeler, and much more. Next month the theme is “Repurpose”.

We just celebrated the 20th anniversary of Kraemer Aviation Services. Pat & Harry hosted a cookout to celebrate. Click here for pictures.

You can view past newsletters here.


Interested in living at an airport?  Visit our Aviation Real Estate page here. You can view price data for airport property in our Market Watch section of the Flymall. Here is the data for all airport property. You can refine the search by “state” simply by searching for the desired state under “Model”. We do have a 1900 foot grass strip (Keymar Airport) for sale in Carroll County Maryland. Click here for details. Harry and Sarah hosted an open house and fly-in/car show at Keymar Airport earlier this month. The weather keep airplanes from flying in. We did have a few motorcycles show up. Free food and drinks were available. Click here for more pictures from the event.

Want to have your business highlighted on the Flymall???  We offer inexpensive rates to have your business featured on our Wheels & Wings page.  Contact us for more info.

History Trivia: The first navigation systems used in automobiles.

The “camper” or “travel trailer”. In the 1950s up into the 1970s, car manufacturers offered camper options for their cars like the one shown below on a Chevy Vega. Did you know that the covered wagons of the 1800s gave birth to what we know as a travel trailer. The first travel trailers were just tents placed on a platform on wheels so they could be easily moved. By 1915 we had hard-sided travel trailers. By the 1920s, travel trailers looked more like what we have today. Then in 1929, a guy named Arthur Sherman built the first “modern” travel trailer.

The motorhome. Here’s one that has a fold up upper deck area as an option. If you’re interested in the value of these old campers, visit our Market Watch section of the Flymall and search for Kamp King Koaches under Make.

Here’s another camper accessory, this is a 1965 Studebaker Daytona Wagonaire with Kamp King camper.

Did you know that on June 17 1946, the first mobile telephone call is placed from a car in St. Louis, Missouri. Car phones were the thing to have in the 1980s and early 1990s. Now we all carry cell phones. Some of us even wear them!

On June 15 1911, the electric starter for the automobile was patented. Here is a video of Harry starting our 1912 AC Delivery Trike. This is how we started vehicles before the electric starter was invented.

Did you know??? Robert William Kearns was an American engineer, educator and inventor who invented the most common intermittent windshield wiper systems used on most automobiles from 1969 to the present. Kearns tried to offer his idea to the “Big Three” auto makers, however not one seemed interested. Eventually Kearns would have  patent infringement cases against Ford Motor Company and a case against Chrysler Corporation for his intermittent windshield wiper system.

If you enjoy history we have a new aviation history fact each day at the bottom of our webpages.  Some days there may be more than one, just refresh the page.  And if you like Beatles history, checkout our Events Calendar and select the Beatles category.  This is a work in progress, we’re building the most comprehensive calendar of important dates in Beatle history.  For those that like to stick with current news, we have an aviation news ticker on our home page.  This is updated daily to show the current aviation news.

Achievements & Special Recognition: Glenn Curtiss had a lot of achievements in aviation and the motorcycle industry. This month Glenn Curtiss gets some special recognition here in our newsletter. The Flymall team attended the “DAWN OF A LEGACY” exhibit at the Glenn Curtiss Museum in Hammondsport New York.

On August 18  1984, Harry took his first official flight lesson in N2346V, a Piper Tomahawk. He had been flying in general aviation aircraft since the late 1960s. On this day in 1984, he actually took the flight controls for the first time.

And on August 18 2022, 38 years after Harry’s first flight lesson, he gave a flight instructor checkride to Or Hadar. She did an excellent job. Textbook perfect. She will make an outstanding flight instructor. How appropriate to give a checkride to an instructor just like the one that gave Harry his first lesson 38 years ago. Click on the image below for a larger view.

Instructors, what to highlight your students first solo or other achievement here?  Just send us a short write-up and a picture or two and we’ll post it here for you.  Click here for our contact info.

Aviation/Aviators in the news: The Macon airship, accessorised to carry fighter aircraft. One of the few “aircraft carrier” type airship.

The Macon could launch and retrieve aircraft while underway.

Very innovative for the 1930s. Once the aircraft was retrieved, they were stored inside the airship.

The aviation section of the Flymall is full of aviation news, training info, and much more for the aviator.

The ambulance accessory for the Piper Cub. These were converted by the military to be used as an aerial ambulance. Every now and then, one will be at the EAA’s annual AirVenture show in Oshkosh.

Here is a Gulfstream that has been modified (accessorized) with a large dome like feature on top of the fuselage. It is actually a large sensor. This aircraft is used by the Missile Defense Agency as “High Altitude Observatory” platforms.

A very cool accessory for your plane. Take your motorcycle with you when you go flying.

Air show season is always just around the corner.  Want to travel to air shows in your own aircraft?  Visit our used aircraft page on the Flymall to view our inventory. We currently have several used aircraft for sale.

 Would you fly an aircraft powered with an electric motor? Ampaire has successfully flown a Cessna 337 with the front engine replaced with an electric motor. Is it an engine or a motor? Click here for a post we did regarding the question, engine or motor. Ampaire’s experimental Cessna 337 pictured here. It has a piston Continental engine in the back and an electric motor in the front. Ampaire has been flying Cessna 337s with an electric motor since 2019.

Earlier this month, the Flymall team attended the Chesapeake Bay Balloon Festival on Maryland’s eastern shore. Click here for more pictures from the event.

Click on the image below for a larger view.

Earlier this month, Pat and Harry attended the Dawn of a Legacy exhibit at the Glenn Curtiss Museum. The museum had a lot of Glenn Curtiss’ early motorcycles on display as well as numerous engines that he designed. A great museum in a fabulous area of New York. The weather was perfect for the flight up and the return flight in N36777.

They landed at Penn Yan Airport, home of the world famous Penn Yan Aero. Of course they had to get a tour of the factory. Penn Yan Aero was established in 1945 by Harold Middlebrook. Since then, the company has been continuously owned and managed by the Middlebrook Family. The Middlebrooks are active aircraft owners, pilots, and mechanics. They have focused their attention and resources on Lycoming and Continental aircraft engines; no removals or installations, just engines. Click here for more pictures of the Penn Yan Aero tour. Click here for our Glenn Curtiss Museum in the Day Tripper section of the Flymall.

The Glenn Curtiss Museum also had a motorcycle show and swap meeting going on the same day that Pat & Harry visited. Click here for pictures of the motorcycle show and swap meet.

Here’s some pictures from the exhibits inside the Glenn Curtiss Museum:

Click here for pictures of the aircraft.

Click here for pictures of the motorcycles.

Click here for pictures of the boats.

Click here for pictures of the engines.

Click here for pictures of the cars in the museum.

Here’s Harry next to a Pratt & Whitney R-4360 Wasp Major radial engine at the museum. The Pratt & Whitney R-4360 Wasp Major is an American 28-cylinder four-row radial piston aircraft engine designed and built during World War II. At 4,362.5 cu in, it is the largest-displacement aviation piston engine to be mass-produced in the United States, and at 4,300 hp, it is also the most powerful.

The Finger Lakes region has a long history in wine making. Of course, Pat & Harry had to visit a winery (Weis Winery) and pick up some wine to bring home. Here’s Harry picking out a barrel of wine for the return trip. Click here for more pictures of the winery.

Car/Motorcycle Show News:   The Laytonsville Cruise In is the place to be on a Friday night in Montgomery County.  The Laytonsville Cruise In was started by Harry in 2010. It has become one of the most popular cruise ins in the area. You can follow Harry on Facebook for daily updates during the many shows and events he attends.

August 19 was an award night at the Laytonsville Cruise In. We gave out a lot of very nice awards. Click here for pictures of some of the award winners from that evening. Click here for pictures of the very cool awards we have for this year. We have 2 more award nights for the season, September 16 and October 21. Hope to see you there. Our friend Bingo, picked our Cutlass Rollfast bicycle/airplane creation to receive The Saints of Kulture’s Choice Award. This is a big honor and we’re very proud of this awesome award.

Pat, Jett, & Harry attended the annual Simple Transport Show in Hagerstown Maryland. The show is open to all air-cooled VWs as well as bicycles. Jett has a lot of friends there, she has been going there since she was 2 months old. Click here for pictures from the show. Our new custom made sidecar bicycle won a top 5 bicycle award and our 1898 Rex Tandem won a top 5 bicycle award as well as the People’s Choice Award.

Harry is now an insurance producer. He will be writing Hagerty Collector Car Insurance. So look for him at car shows for a quote. We are becoming your one stop shop for all things wheels and wings; insurance, appraisals, sales/broker services, service, flight training, aircraft title work, and more.

One of the regular attendees at the Laytonsville Cruise In has a 1922 Cadillac that has some really cool options or accessories.

Under the hood, there is a work lamp or an emergency lamp that is on a retractable cord. It even works still.

On the instrument panel / dash panel, there is a cigarette lighter that extends to the rear seats.

The 1922 Cadillac has it’s own air compressor to inflate the tires. It works off of the transmission.

Drive through coffee in the 1950s and 1960s? Not really! So Volkswagen offered an alternative, a coffee maker for the VW Beetle.

It is not known for sure how many were made. This would be a cool item to find in a flea market or yard sale.

Somewhere out there, someone has a VW coffee maker. Let us know if you have ever seen one.

Here’s a very cool accessory. The 1956 Powell Sport Wagon offers two pull out fishing rod holders and a pull out bait box.

Our Events Calendar has the most current info regarding local and national car shows, air shows, and more.  With nearly 30 categories, there is something for everyone.  The Day Tripper section of the Flymall has dozens of day trip ideals and interesting places to visit.  Check it out here.

A cool accessory.

Here is a liquid tire chain option offered by General Motors, shown here on a 1969 Camaro.

It has been said that necessity is the mother of invention. Well in the case of this newsletter, necessity is the mother of accessory. From Popular Science, November, 1937. Motorized Trailer Pushes Bicycle. An itinerant knife grinder has devised a “cart-before-the-horse” rig to ease his labors on long-distance bicycle journeys. When he tires of pulling his trailer, with its motor-driven grinding machinery, he hitches the motor to the wheels and the trailer pushes him.

Now-a-days we have self parking cars. Back in the 1930s, the technology was not available for this. So here is a cool invention or accessory to assist in parallel parking. Click here for a YouTube video showing “Fifth Wheel Driving”.

Here’s an accessory that could certainly be confusing. Image think you are applying the brake on the left side, and hit the gas pedal.

Checkout this classic VW Beetle all decked out with accessories. Roof top camper, swamp cooler, rear window shades, luggage rack, and more.

Own a bike, and have no place to store it? Here’s the solution. The Cycle-Shed. The perfect accessory for your bicycle.

Have you ever driven a Hudson with the Electric Hand? In 1935, there were no truly automatic transmissions on the market. But Hudson made an effort to offer the next best thing with a fascinating feature called Electric Hand. Click here for an article we found online that explains this unique transmission.

Here’s an Indy car that is accessorised with 6 wheels. Pat Clancy six-wheeler was one of the most unusual cars to ever run in the Indy 500. Click here for an interesting story on this strange vehicle.

A must have accessory for owners of vintage VWs!

1959 Ford Fairlane 500 Country Squire 4-Door Push Button Station Wagon Camper! Accessories galore with this one!

This was a one-off concept that was displayed for the media and dealers in order to gauge potential interest in a new type of (more versatile) station wagon.

In the 1950s, Ford has established itself as the “Wagon Master”. Of the millions of station wagon units produced, there was the Country Squire.

From 1950 through the 1991 model years, eight generations of the Country Squire were produced.

Although all Ford Country Squires feature wood-grain body trim, only the first-generation 1950-1951 versions are true “Woodies”. The genuine wood body panels were manufactured at the Ford Iron Mountain Plant in the Michigan Upper Peninsula from lumber owned by Ford Motor Company. For 1952, all-steel bodies replaced wooden body structures to reduce production costs. Subsequently, exterior body trim consisted of simulated woodgrain

In late 1958, Ford started toying with the idea of whether one such Country Squire could be even more than just a daily driver. The result was a most glorious and modern camper for “travelers and sportsmen,” which packed everything – including the kitchen sink. In fact, it packed even more than the basic amenities since it also featured a rowing boat and, even better, deploying it was entirely automated.

How about a hammock in the back seat for your baby?

Barn Finds/Hangar Finds:  Need an appraisal on your barn find?  Visit our Appraisal Page for information on our appraisals.  You can visit our insurance page on the Flymall to get a quote for insurance on your collector vehicle.

We’re sure that there are still a few of these European campers sitting in a barn somewhere. This one offers an upper deck with an awning.

It’d be very cool to find one of these in a barn somewhere in Europe. During the German occupation of The Netherlands people still used a car without gasoline or fuel because of shortages. In this picture, a Ford V8 is drawn by a horse. The spot that would usually house the engine, is now being used as the drivers’ seat. This picture was taken in Holland on May 14th 1941.

Visit our online store to search for hard to find car parts, aircraft parts, and much more.  You can pay online in our secure store, just click on the Store button on our home page.

Visit the Test Drive section of the Flymall for reviews on automobiles, aircraft, motorcycles, and more. Read about it before you buy it.  You can also research price info on a wide variety of vehicles, collectibles, and more in the Market Watch section of the Flymall. 

If you’re restoring a fabric aircraft, Ira Walker of Walker Aviation is your resource.  Visit his page on the Flymall by clicking here. 

CFI / DPE Notes:  Visit Harry’s Practical Test page for information on his checkrides.  You will also find useful information there to help you prepare for your checkride.  You can also visit Harry’s Lesson Plan section of the Flymall for other flight training information.  Visit our Flight Training page for information on our aviation training classes.

Weather in the news: Next month the theme is “Repurpose”. We’ll be featuring our Cutlass Rollfast Bicycle sidecar creation that came about due to some weather. Look for it in our September Wheels & Wings newsletter.

Three Wheel Association (TWA):  Harry started the Three Wheel Association in 2013 to promote/support the industry of three wheel vehicles of all types. Visit the Three Wheel Association page on the Flymall for more info on the association.

Kraemer Aviation/Flymall.org is now the new owner of the popular 3 wheeler site 3-Wheelers.com. Look for some updates coming soon. We will be adding a lot of new features to 3-wheelers.com.  We’ll be adding a clubs section where clubs can advertise.  We also plan to have a section where you can post 3-wheelers for sale as well as parts for sale.  We’ll also have some 3-wheelers.com clothing and other products for sale.

Do you like to ride motorcycles and go boating as well? You cannot pull your boat trailer with your bike, so here’s a motorcycle with the perfect accessory for you! And it’s a 3 wheeler too! These were made in the UK in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

Want a reproduction vintage 3 wheeler.  Walker Aviation can scratch built from pictures or drawings.  Visit his page on the Flymall.  

Prototypes: Car manufacturers will often use prototypes or concept cars to “test” new accessories or technology before they put them into production. General Motors designer, Harley Earl is generally credited with inventing the concept car.

Prototypes or concept vehicles are not just limited to cars. Us aviators see them as well. Glass cockpits are common now in general aviation aircraft. But there was a time when general aviation glass cockpits were experimental. Click here for an article that Harry wrote in 2003 on the “New” glass panel in the Cirrus SR22. The plane that Harry flew at the time was certified as an “Experimental”. Hard to think of glass panels as experimental now.

Nautical Notes: Here’s a superyacht that is all accessorized out. The SuRi is a 208 foot long superyacht equipped with just about every land, sea, and air toy you can possibly imagine. You can charter her for only $350,000 a week.

While attending the Glenn Curtiss Museum event, Pat & Harry visited the Finger Lakes Boating Museum. Housed in old historic Taylor Wine Company buildings, there are over 150 boats on display. The building was built in the 1800s and has some awesome stone work and some very cool arched wooden doors. The museum collection has more than 200 boats built by many of the 40 plus builders identified to date as having built boats throughout the Finger Lakes Region during the last century.

Click here for pictures of the boats in the museum as well as the museum itself.

Here’s the wine tasting room in the basement of the Finger Lakes Boating Museum.

Pat & Harry spent some time at Keuka Lake. This lake is one of the major Finger Lakes in the state of New York. It is unusual because it is Y-shaped, in contrast to the long and narrow shape of the other Finger Lakes. Because of its shape, it was referred to in the past as Crooked Lake. Keuka means “canoe landing” in the Iroquois language and “lake with an elbow” in the Seneca language. The Finger Lakes are a group of eleven long, narrow, roughly north–south lakes in an area called the Finger Lakes region in New York, in the United States. These glacial finger lakes originated as a series of northward-flowing streams. Around two million years ago, the first of many continental glaciers of the Laurentide Ice Sheet moved southward from the Hudson Bay area, initiating the Pleistocene glaciation.  Here are a few pictures taken during their visit earlier this month.

Riding The Rails: A necessary accessory on trains, called a sandbox. A sandbox is a container on most locomotives that holds sand, which is dropped on the rail in front of the driving wheels in wet and slippery conditions and on steep grades to improve traction. Sometimes not all accessories are for the cool factor.

Animals in the headlines: Here’s a cool electric bicycle accessorised with a sidecar designed for dogs. The electric motor was designed to look like a V-twin. How cool is this?

You can even accessorise your two wheel bike or motorcycle to carry your dog. Check it out here!

We close this newsletter with these words: Be someone’s hero!