airpath bubble-face compass on ebay...budget-buster

[Stumpy]

Just noticed an overhauled bubble-face compass on ebay...$$ouch$$! Just removed my old compass from it's hokey bracket on top of the panel...replacement hanging up were it belongs now.

Would like a bubble-face but reckon I'll keep the $1650 for my C85 conversion fund ;-).

For the non-budget conscious, the ebay item number is 161291210292

[Hank Jarrett]

Re: airpath bubble-face compass on ebay...budget-buster

Holly CRAP! That isn't even the right one! That is a panel mount compass, not a bullet mount. I have several of those in my junk box! The windshield mount bubble compass doesn't have lugs in the corners. It is retained by a single screw in the front end through the dome. Hope it isn't being sold by someone in the Tribe, but whoever buys it needs to know it WON'T fit in the windshield fuselage tubes!

Hank

Added photo of two compasses. Left hand one is a tube overhead original one and the right is a panel mount with lugs. Note these are the box face bubble compasses. The one for sale is the round face opening. The bubble face glass is the same, just the metal front is machined with a round or square window.

[M Towsley]

Re: airpath bubble-face compass on ebay...budget-buster

Anyone have the B16 windshield mount?

[baldeagle27]

Re: airpath bubble-face compass on ebay...budget-buster

Hank, that panel mount compass in your photo isn't a bubble face....

Also, some Taylorcrafts did use a panel mount bubble compass mounted on the glare shield:




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[Stumpy]

Re: airpath bubble-face compass on ebay...budget-buster

Hank,

Yup...it would be beyond my pockets even if it was the correct compass. I still have a few boxes of parts to go through and I'm hoping to find an original bracket.

At least I got rid of the flimsy setup I had on top of the panel...but this is a definite improvement. Not beautiful but solid and functional, like the Taylorcraft

[Guest]

Re: airpath bubble-face compass on ebay...budget-buster

Anyone have the B16 windshield mount?

I do, it is in use. Do you need a picture of it Marty?

[Norm G]

Re: airpath bubble-face compass on ebay...budget-buster

Marty,
I still have the Taylorcraft B-16 bubble face compass and it's for sale. It's been overhauled by Keystone, so it's ready to go. If anyone is intrested in it for $950 plus shipping, let me know.
Thanks,
Norm G

[Hank Jarrett]

Re: airpath bubble-face compass on ebay...budget-buster

Don't confuse bubble face and dome mounted (like I did). For a glare shield mount (like I will be doing for Josh Brehm's 40 and is shown in your photo) you need one like the B16 being sold, but they aren't rare. For a windshield mount, up in the tubes just in front of the headliner trim handle you need a Dome mount compass, that doesn't have the mount lugs on the face. Those are VERY rare. Both are expensive to have overhauled. Both seem to share a LOT of parts (the dome glass being the hardest to replace). I have MANY flat glass B16s, but they aren't worth the cost to overhaul (yet). I need a dome glass to build the one for Josh's plane, but right now the little piece of glass is worth more than the rest of the plane. Josh's plane is going to be a LONG term parts gathering project to keep the cost at least reasonable.

Hank

Hank, that panel mount compass in your photo isn't a bubble face....

Also, some Taylorcrafts did use a panel mount bubble compass mounted on the glare shield:




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[Hank Jarrett]

Re: airpath bubble-face compass on ebay...budget-buster

Marty,
I still have the Taylorcraft B-16 bubble face compass and it's for sale. It's been overhauled by Keystone, so it's ready to go. If anyone is intrested in it for $950 plus shipping, let me know.
Thanks,
Norm G

That is pretty close to what I have in each of my dome mount bubble face compasses. The dome mount and pylon also looks good.

Hank

DON'T DROP IT!!!

[M Towsley]

Re: airpath bubble-face compass on ebay...budget-buster

David, thanks for the offer. However, I saw Ryan Newell's compass and he sent me some pictures of his. It is a World War II US Army Air Corps surplus compass with a windshield mount for a Taylorcraft. It doesn't look like Norm's compass, nor any I had ever seen before mounted in a T-Craft. It makes sense, though, due to the surplus of these B16 compasses after the war. I didn't know about these until Ryan's pictures. David, does yours look like this?

I forgot to mention this one in the picture is a B16 compass.

[baldeagle27]

Re: airpath bubble-face compass on ebay...budget-buster

Just for terminology's sake, the B-16 was the military flat face 3 1/8" compass used in most WW2 aircraft. The bubble face compasses I don't think were ever known as B-16s (unless somebody has one with a data plate that says B-16?). The panel mounted bubble face compasses are not as rare as the windshield mount ones but are still rare, and have sold for around $1,000 in good shape. There is a lot of demand for them because a lot of airplanes used them in the '30s. The earlier round opening Carwil's and Pioneers are a little more valuable than the rectangular opening Airpaths, but not much.

As an aside, when I lived in St. Louis in the '80s I knew George Cottrill, who founded Airpath in 1937, and was a fascinating guy. He flew a Piper Aztec up until a few years before he died at 85 in 1997. George grew up in Texas, next door to a young guy named Howard Hughes. George's mom used to feel sorry for Howard since he seemed to be alone a lot and would bake pies and have George take them over to Howard, who would then show George some of his fancy cars. In college George know both Lyndon Johnson and Ladybird before they were an item, in fact at one point he found out that a girl he was dating was two-timing him with LBJ. He learned to fly and got into the airplane repo business during the depression, but found that often people had swiped the compasses out of the airplanes he was reposessing. He started bringing along his own compasses, but then decided to get into the compass business, and bought out two guys named Carter and Wilson who were making the Carwil compasses. During WW2 George was drafted but Jimmy Dolittle stepped in and said that George was needed stateside to run Airpath. After the war Culver was unable to pay thier bill, so George was given a brand new Culver Cadet, which he still had when he died. As I said, fascinating guy.



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[lawheelock]

Re: airpath bubble-face compass on ebay...budget-buster

Andrew,
Interesting post. I did not remember George Cottrill's name but I got to spend a few hours with him when I visited Airpath back in the '70s. I was working in an aircraft instruments group for the Navy as a civilian engineer. The Navy was buying Airpath compasses. I was given a detailed tour of the factory reviewing the quality control. George told a story of how he got involved in building compasses. He said that in the late '30s he knew Bill Piper and Piper was having trouble getting good compasses for the Cubs. George told him he could supply him with good compasses and that started a long relationship with Bill Piper.
It is interesting that back in those days all the giants of the industry knew each other and often helped each other. The Hughs, the Cessnas, the Pipers, the Beechs and on and on. I suppose Taylorcraft followed Piper in acquiring Airpath compasses too.

Larry Wheelock
Former owner of N96927 in the 60s now owning N96179 Both '46 BC12Ds

[Guest]

Re: airpath bubble-face compass on ebay...budget-buster

David, thanks for the offer. However, I saw Ryan Newell's compass and he sent me some pictures of his. It is a World War II US Army Air Corps surplus compass with a windshield mount for a Taylorcraft. It doesn't look like Norm's compass, nor any I had ever seen before mounted in a T-Craft. It makes sense, though, due to the surplus of these B16 compasses after the war. I didn't know about these until Ryan's pictures. David, does yours look like this?

I forgot to mention this one in the picture is a B16 compass.

Hi Marty,

Yes mine looks like that.

Dave

[M Towsley]

Re: airpath bubble-face compass on ebay...budget-buster

Ahhh, Dave....if only you were closer. A screwdriver and a few minutes and it would be mine, mine mine!!!!!!!!!!!!

Seriously folks, anyone with a B16 compass mount????? Pleeeaaassseeee?

[baldeagle27]

Re: airpath bubble-face compass on ebay...budget-buster

Larry, that reminds me of another story George told, he said that Bill Piper at one point complained that the "Airpath" logo was so prominent on the compass that some people thought they were in an Airpath airplane, so George came up with a plate that said "Piper" on it instead of "Airpath". Then of course did the same for the Taylorcraft compasses-



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