Poll: Awesome Or Ugly? Ed Lesher's Record Setting 1960's Era 'Teal'
Monday, April 8, 2013 at 01:20PM 
The late Professor Ed Lesher in his early 1960's record setting homebuilt 'Teal'
I have a pretty long list in my head of aircraft (and the people behind them) that I hope to do in-depth postings on at some point in the future. That'll most likely happen after I become somewhat wealthy and have lots of extra time - obviously, don't hold your breath! Anyway, Professor Ed Lesher (1914~1998) and his 'Teal' are definitely on the list.
The all-metal homebuilt Teal that he designed, built, and first flew in 1965 was a significant part of my early years of Oshkosh from 1970 thru 1975. Seems like the airplane was always on display out on the flightline, and as a kid who really enjoyed unusual aircraft design, I spent a lot A LOT of time looking the airplane over. I'll say it right now, I love this little airplane and think it's off-the-scale awesome!
Not only did the Teal look different, but it was quite effective in accomplishing the goals that Ed had for it: setting records. With its Continental O-200 100 hp engine, it was built to compete in the 500kg (1,102 lbs) class, and by 1968 Ed had captured the records for fastest speed over the 500 km (181.55 mph), 1,000 km (169.20 mph), and the 2,000 km(141.84 mph) distances.
Ed Lesher's Teal, part of the EAA Museum collection, on display at Oshkosh 2012
Ed and his homebuilt Teal represent the amazing bridge between a talented tinkering man and expanding the envelope of aerodynamic knowledge that the EAA and the 60's and 70's embodied. I wish we could go back to that era right now, I miss it. (don't misunderstand, there's plenty of that going on today, but it was different back then, and I'd say it was better back then)
So anyway, you know how I feel about the Teal, but what do you think? Is is Awesome or Ugly?
Reader Comments (8)
Great choice, Martt. I might be more fond of the two-place, Nomad. Doing some Googling, I was surprised to see that he actually built the Nomad first, drawing on his experience with the Stinson/Corvair 106 Skycoach, which was a twin-boom pusher. To my mind, they both are still cutting edge.
P.S. One of the amusing things I came across chasing the Google around was a blog thread with Teal-related comments about why a long prop shaft is a bad idea (torsional resonance) and how a tail-mounted prop was problematic (asymmetrical thrust due to downwash from tail.) I guess Ed Lesher didn't know it couldn't be done successfully. ;-)
Not only were his planes awesome, but my dad had quite a personal story too! Having just driven from Texas to California, I certainly can't speak to his engineering genius, but I'm astounded by the courage and perseverance it must have taken to complete that 1967 flight across the country and over those mountains.
The 1800+ plus miles flight across the country was actually in 1973.
Final correction - the year for that flight was 1975.
I took my flight lessons at Wolverine Aviation at Willow Run. I saw Prof Lesher's airplanes now and then in the big hangar, which is no longer there. I even spoke a few "hellows" with him. It was a magical time.
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