Registration Numbers and One Wing Done

Finally...one wing (specifically the upper, right wing) is done!  I know it's been a long time between posts, but I wanted to wait for something significant to write about.  

This particular wing as well as the lower left has the registration number on it.  I'll get into the details of that shortly, but here is an explanation of this particular number and a little history lesson that also applies to other aircraft of this era.

Here is the actual piece of fabric from the rudder showing the number assigned.  

By the way...the original owner, Chuck Balling repainted the aircraft orange and black when he took delivery.  I've painted it in its original colors of silver/red.

So why the "C"?  No, it's not a Canadian aircraft!




Air Commerce Regulations were put into effect late in 1926 for aircraft markings.  All unlicensed aircraft were assigned temporary numbers (no letters at this time) and were to be preceded by "C" for Commercial, "P" for Private, and "S" for State once the number became permanent.  It wasn't until an amendment to this regulation in March of 1927 that required the letter "N" to precede the set of numbers (this was the letter assigned to the U.S.).  Initially it was only for aircraft that were involved in foreign air commerce display, but was later required on all aircraft, domestic or foreign (actual date for this is unclear).  Along with the "N", the aircraft was assigned an airworthiness category letter, "C" for Standard, "X" for Experimental, "R" for Restricted, and "L" for Limited.  Most of us are familiar with this form of marking.  It wasn't until December of 1948 that the airworthiness category letter was dropped, but it is still legal to display it on aircraft this way for historical reasons, like NC1234.

So, going back to the Lincoln-Page...it was assigned a temporary number of 5735 when it was built on May 31, 1928.  When it was sold and the Dept. of Commerce determined its use, it was assigned a permanent number of C-5735 since it was declared it was going to be used for some commercial operations.  All this apparently happened before the amendment that required the letter "N" to precede the number for domestic aircraft.

I have photos showing the same font used on the rudder was used on the wings, although the "C" was never added.  Probably because of the difficulty doing it, and with it displayed on the tail, it met all the requirements.

This is a copy of the application for the original "Airplane License".  It shows the temporary number of 5735 and the permanent number of C-5735 after approval.








Back in the day, these numbers were mostly hand-painted.  The font was not standard as required by FAR part 45 today.  So, that is how I applied these in trying to keep things original.

Here's how it was done:  I took the original piece of fabric from the rudder and scaled it up to 28" for the wing numbers.  28" is a guess, but based on the photos I have, it looks right.

The numbers were then traced on the wing and using a Scotch-Brite pad, I lightly scuffed up the surface for good adhesion.














I hand-painted the numbers on with black butyrate dope that I thinned with retarder.  My thought was the retarder would allow the dope to melt into the silver so I would never have to worry about adhesion.  Seemed to work good.

I love the look of it.  Much more interesting than standard block letters!

While I was doing all the spraying and laying out of numbers, I got the upper left wing mostly covered.  It's just about ready to go into the booth for spraying.








Not completely sure yet, but I may take a break from covering on the lower wings.  The spoked wheels I'm getting made are just about done, so I would like to get the airplane on the gear, hang the engine and start installing other misc. things.  So don't touch that dial, not sure what the next post will cover.