Original Posted By: PTNPOL(at)aol.com
>Mike -> Be sure to post your placement when you get your Oshkoshplacement notification. Definitely, your workmanship was outstanding andtrue to form. Do you know when to expect it?8080,8080,8080David- I had five judges initials onthe prop sleeve when I left EAA butdon't have any feel for how I placed or if I placed. Lots of toughcompetition up there as you saw. I was just happy to get her up thereand back in one piece !>>I am curious about your brake system. I took pictures and thought itvery clever. What kind of 'feel' do you get with the strangely bent armsat the brake? Is it soft during the first 1/4" pedal travel, slightlystiffer for>the second 1/4" travel & then brick wall the last 1/4"? Is the brakingeffort similar to pedal feel or does it take more force in the last1/4"?8080,8080,8080I took the lazy way out to route mycables to those oddly bentactuation lever arms and I had slack in the cables that shouldn't havebeen there....but the big trip was upon me so I skipped that work untillater. The brakes don't do much till the last part of the travelbecauseof the slack cables, but when they get there they work fine. On grass I only use them for run-up but on all the paved strips I landed at on the trip I used them alot. They are racing go-kartmechanicaldisc brakes by I think Comet. Probably on the net somewhere.Found mine at a lawn mower shop. About 38 $ a side. The heelbrakes are just like you'd find on an Aeronca Champ but not castalum. just 4130 steel welded up versions. No complaints- they workfine as is but could be improved upon as you could see without toomuch work. The angle I'm pulling on the lever is certainly not aseffective as it could be but I love to drive the mechanical engineersinto fits with this kind of setup ! :)Your audience of gawkers made it a little difficult to get to you, butrightly>so. I think I even spent the most time Thursday and Friday at OshKoshlooking over your bird than anything else there. It was parked in agreat spot to watch the daily airshow - I actually looked up once ortwice!8080,8080,8080That was my first ever flight intoWittman Field and when I taxied upthe flagman told me a/c camping was full and that I would have to park in row 110 towards the very South end of the field. I toldhim my ride was going to be nearer the tower and he said, 'but youdon't want to be with the fiberglass planes do you ?' I said thatwouldbe just fine with my feet though ! Actually within two rows of mewere 3 other Piets- the really enjoyable Bill Rewey, Wil Graff's ModelA and a GN-1 in green and orange, so I felt pretty happy with thatspot. >Another question I have is I think you had a slightly largercenter section.>Did you effectively make the wing span slightly longer, or did youshorten or is it an optical figment of imagination? My memory is notalways exact.8080,8080,8080The wing and center sectiondimensions I used are true to the plansfor each so the sight must be caused by the center section curvedcut-out or my wing root alum. fairings. I almost wished that I wouldhave made the fuselage one inch wider and likewise the wing centersection, but the fact is that if I lost about 30 pounds that wouldn't bea problem ! Mike C. >>KEEP FLYING!>>David Scott>Washington, IL>>>Michael D Cuy wrote:>>> >I told Mike Cuy it made me want to go home and chain saw mine andstart>> >over!>> >>John>>>> John- Let's not be so tough on yourself- the pictures you have on>> Richard DeC's Piet Page show some fine workmanship ! It's all>> cosmetic on my Piet....as long as everyone builds good structure and>> fittings using good hardware and accepted practices they all flysafely>> and are a total blast ! The finish is just taking extra time onsanding>> and putting on polyurethane and fabric finishes- but that's theproblem>> because by that time in the project you are so tired of it we all justwant>> to get the thing in the air ! Keep plugging away and join us atBrodhead>> and Oshkosh next year. Mike C.>>>>-->>>>>________________________________________________________________________________