Miller rebuilds plane, makes plans for OshKosh

There was a soft wind out of the northeast, patchy clouds were hanging around, left over from some recent showers, but here on the edge of the apron at Omar Bradley Memorial Airport there was some activity off in the distance at the east end of the runway. A dull thrum that developed into a load roar soon revealed what looked like a large angry dragon fly. It was a Starduster Too SA300. “This is the best-known biplane across the country. It is a two-place machine, large enough for two and baggage, fast enough for cross country if you want to really enjoy life, and without question the prettiest biplane ever built.” This description is from the Sports Aviation magazine several years ago. First flown in the 1960s, there are more than 1,000 flying today.

In fact this flying machine is the working hobby of Moberly businessman Roy Miller. Miller bought his Starduster Too on E-bay over a year ago, while recovering from a debilitating accident. Roy said this airplane project was an incentive for him to recover and to move on from the accident. After some consultation with several experts is was determined that there may be something unstable about one of the wings. So now the fabric covered wings had to be opened up to check for structural damage on the wing framing, once all was repaired then the long process of recovering the wings began. In older times it was called ‘doping the wings’. Today there are at least two ways to save money on recovering airplane wings. One uses a neoprene fabric while the other uses a sized nylon fabric that is heat treated and then covered with a special aluminized paint that creates a smooth surface which helps provide lift. Both processes are much cheaper than metal skins used on more expensive aircraft. Miller, working in his home garage, began by covering the wings with six coats of this special paint. The final coat was for cosmetic purposes, which would determine the airplane’s final color. Roy selected this newer paint because it is eco-friendly. The earlier ‘doping’ type of sizing was very carcinogenic as well as a major environmental hazard.

Miller also worked with Richard Castle of Macon, an air/frame mechanic, who helped him to rebuild some of the structural parts of the aircraft. The Lycoming 360,which powers his biplane, had to be restored by Jewell Aviation.

This Sunday afternoon Roy was getting familiarized with the tail-dragger style of landing gear on his Starduster, as he did a number of ‘touch and go’ landings at Bradley Field. He is certified and licensed on a Beechcraft Bonaza V-35B, which is a more familiar tricycle type of landing gear, a nose wheel and two wing wheels. Miller is hoping to fly his Starduster to Oshkosh Wisconsin for The Oshkosh Air Show, which starts in less than two weeks. His ground support team will be his wife Lori and brother Ron, who is visiting from Oklahoma, they plan to drive the camper to Oshkosh to meet Roy when he flies in from Moberly. For more information about the Oshkosh Air Show read the sidebar.