The KLEMM L.25 for the
Flying Aces Club National Air Races Event
IMPORTANT UPDATE AT THE END!
BACKGROUND
As long as the Flying Aces Club (FAC) Racing events have existed, the eligible models have been limited to AMERICAN race planes. Well, that’s not exactly correct – the racing events have been limited to participants in these American Races. When the FAC only had the Thomson (radial engined models) and Greve (inline or V- engined models) Races, the only accepted non-US participant was the French Caudron C.460, which won the actual 1936 Thompson (unlimited cubic inches) and the Greve (under 550 cubic inches) Races in Los Angeles, California.
Along with the FAC Rules modifications separating the events between Inline and Radial Engines, the FAC Rules allowed that any aircraft participating in any US race between 1929 and 1940 was eligible. This opened the door to models that did not participate in the two premiere races, but any race in any location throughout the country and decade.
Some of us intrepid modelers look for the more unusual subjects to model. Around 2016-17, Richard Zapf and I (independently) did research to verify that a Comper Swift (G-ABWH) participated in a 1933 air pageant at Roosevelt Field on Long island, New York. And thus, the Comper Swift became eligible for the Greve Race. (Read that article HERE.) Note: the Comper is no longer eligible for the Greve, but now the National Air Race event – read below.
Shortly after that, the FAC reworked the rules slightly. We added an event – the National Air Races (NAR) – for a dual purpose: a) it restricts the Thompson and Greve participation to sets of specific racing aircraft and b) opens up the new event to a myriad of potential new models. While the Thompson and Greve events are now restricted to purpose-built racing aircraft, the NAR event would be open to any type of aircraft that flew in contests around the country: time trials, cross country races, pylon races, and so on. These could even be actual race events that were restricted to Aircraft Type Certified (ATC) planes – this certification mostly covers commercial aircraft (not race planes). For the modeler to participate in the NAR event with a commercial aircraft, they have to prove (via documentation) that the aircraft participated. For example, there are many lists that show Rearwin Speedsters or even Piper Cubs participating in real races – BUT – the modeler must find proof/documentation on an actual aircraft in order to model the aircraft and fly in the NAR event. These pieces of proof are hard to find these 90 years out.
About 2018, I dug into the records (mostly online) and found documentation for a specific Cessna C-34 that Betty Brown flew and won the Amelia Earhart Trophy in 1936. I was able to find the Registration Number, the Race Number and even the proper coloring of the plane. This became my second FAC Race-eligible discovery. (Read that article HERE.)
So, to recap, in order for new models to qualify for the NAR event, the modeler must find documentation that specifically identifies an aircraft that – indeed – participated in an air race between 1920 and 1940 within the United States. This is a tall order. You really need to find Registration and a Race Number – and proof it was in a race. I have a photo somewhere of unidentified, but clearly high-wing aircraft circling a pylon. Much like the listing of a Rearwin, this starts you to thinking, but without any sort of identification, your proposal will be rejected by FAC Headquarters. Finding this sort of documentation is not easy.
THE PHOTO
Sometimes I do in-depth google searches for “things” and one of the things I search for “National Air Race” or the like and sometimes the results pay off. Around 2015 – maybe later, maybe earlier – I found this photograph on Ebay and bought it.
I bought it because online references are fleeting, especially if it is an auction item. I might not ever find it again. The photo itself is only partial documentation; but the back completes the story. This is a German-built Klemm aircraft that participated in the National Air Races (Cord Cup Race) in Cleveland in 1932. At least, if you are eager to find such information, that might be what it says! But this might not be enough evidence, so the search must continue.
RESEARCHING THE RACE
What was the Cord Cup Race? All of the information that I can find indicates the Cord Cup Race was only held in 1932. It was sponsored by Cord Corporation (manufacturers of the luxury Cord, Auburn, and later, Duesenberg automobiles). It consisted of a three-legged handicapped cross country race for commercial aircraft. One leg started in Washington DC, another in Los Angeles. These two converged on Bartlesville, OK and the third and final leg flew on to Cleveland, finishing the contest on the opening day of the National Air Races. The top finishers of each leg would win an Auburn Boat-tailed Speedster plus cash.
Further digging found a list of results from the 1932 National Air Races, including the results of the Cord Cup Race. Note the next-to-last entry from the Pacific Wing: Ulrich Richter, from Munich, Germany, flying a Klemm with an Argus engine. He didn’t finish very well, but this solidified the photo I had purchased, since it lists all those details, excepting “Germany” but including the Argus engine. The purchased photo and this participant list makes this Klemm eligible for the Flying Aces Club national Air Races event. This is Find #3 for me!
RESEARCHING THE AIRCRAFT
Now that we know the aircraft flew in the races, it is time to get specifics to create the plan and model. The first thing to find is a 3-view. This was not difficult; a Google search for “Klemm L25 3-view” quickly found one. In fact, you might find several. Take a look at each of them and look for one that is of good quality. Like this:
This not only shows the general layout, but also fuselage cross sections which helped me when I drew up the plan.
WikiPedia (link HERE) tells us that model L-25 came with a variety of engines, so some things on the three view may not be accurate to the aircraft in the photo. Look for images on the Klemm when fitted with the Argus inverted 4-cylinder inline engine. I found a few photos, including the next Klemm model, the L-26. It looks like Klemm fitted some Argus engines to the L-25 models to equip them for racing. The L-26 seems to have been a more robust L-25. The Argus motor has specific differences, including the exhaust location and there seems to have been a vaned oil cooler or something on the top right side of the engine (see photo). This particular detail was different on different aircraft. Also, it looks like the Argus engines had a leather belt across the nose to hold the cowling together.
There are no struts or structural wires on the aircraft. Sometimes these are not shown on a 3-view, so examination of several photos confirm there are none. The tail skid was on the original builds, but photos of aircraft from modern times often show a tail wheel. Since photos from the 1930s show only tail skids, this is what will be on the plan.
The landing gear does have struts. These are of a style that is a front and rear strut converging on the centerline of the aircraft. The wheels and struts are then supported by shock absorbers (aka oleo struts) positioned from the wheel/axle junction, near vertically, to the wing center section, just behind the leading edge.
For this specific aircraft, the race photo seems to show the German registration number white-washed out and covered by the race number. By enlarging the photo and changing the contrast, it is somewhat evident that the registration contains D-15×3 – where the “x” is uncertain. The structure of the third number seems to have a solid round left hand side, so that would probably be a 6 or an 8. There is a British web site that lists registration numbers from the Golden Era. Looking at the D-1563 and D-1583, the site shows that D-563 was registered to a Junkers F-13 and the D-1583 was registered to a Klemm L-25. D-1583 it is.
There is a small logo on the vertical fin. It is a dark circle with light markings. This is not legible, but recognizable as a STANAVO logo. STANAVO was a supplier of aviation fuel and oil and a subsidiary of the Standard Oil Company. Here is a sign for STANAVO, but if you look very closely, it is not the same as the photo. But it will have to do.
That is nearly all that can be derived from the photo and good 3-view: the aircraft, the engine, the registration, the logo on the tail, and the landing gear arrangement.
INTERPRETATIONS
Some things cannot be determined through research; at least, the research that is available online. Such things shown in the photo that are indeterminate are as follows:
- What colors was this aircraft? Obviously, we cannot know since this is the only photo we know of and it is in black & white. Also, there is no color callout on the registration listing or in the Cord Race results list. It is possible the base color is a cream or raw linen color – many “old” Klemms look to be this “straw” color. The upper color might be powder blue, light green, orange, or – who knows. I settled on a cream and light green, although my printed results are more of a yellow than cream.
- Were there colors on the wing? In the US, many planes carried fuselage colors and trim onto the wings. However, I can find no such style in old photos of German Klemms. Therefore, I chose to make the wings entirely the same base color (cream/yellow). Other modelers modeling this exact plane could choose other colors and be just as correct as I am.
- What was the layout of the wing registration numbers? Photos of old German Klemms had both registrations that spanned both wings and numbers on the right side wing. I found photos of a contemporary Klemm L-26 racer that had the same style font and the number was on right wing only. This is the style I chose.
- What is that text below the front cockpit? This text seems to be a personal marking and appears to say “Raberi” – or it could be something completely different, especially if it was written in a German script. Since it is unclear as to what the exact letters are and what the word might mean, I chose to leave this off of my plane.
READ THE ADDENDUM WITH ALL THE CORRECTIONS HERE!!!
MY MODEL
