Well, Brodhead proved to be more than I could ever imagine. I gained SOmuch more than I could have ever given. Wow.My highlight was taking (and TAPING) BOTH my first ever (in Jim Kinsella's)and second (in Ken Perkins') rides in a Pietenpol. Good thing there were abunch of guys standing around after that first landing, otherwise I wouldnot have been able to fight back the emotion (read tears). Low and slow,open cockpit, the sounds, the smells, the view, the feeling, the smoothride, the take off, the landing, the pilots. WOW!! When I owned a Harleywe used to say "if you've ever ridden one, you'll know....if you've neverridden one, I won't be able to explain....". Flying in a Pietenpol is thesame thing....(only here you add UP IN THE SKY to the experience...). Andthe Pietenpol people.....I took a few of my wing ribs and got someINVALUABLE critiques and input (right up to just a few minutes before I lefton Sunday). It's a wonderful experience to have such incredible resourcesavailable to give feedback to help you keep on the right track.....Anyway, with Brodhead and Oshkosh combined, I took 5 hours of video that Iwill likely edit down to a little less....maybe even just 4 hours. Not sureif most is Brodhead or most is Oshkosh but I'm going to copy the digitaltape over to vhs and make it available to anyone that wants a copy. Buthere's the deal.....I'M NOT GOOD AT TAKING VIDEOS.......(anyone who sees thevideo will realize that this is an enormous understatement). I'll leave itat that. The video includes ANYTHING I find interesting at the time.....achipmunk on the field between some Piets, an old wooden outhouse betweensome hangers (at Brodhead) that has a "Load Limit 3 Tons" road sign nailedto the door.....a LOT of Piet stuff with additional things that my weirdview of the world forces me to include. Also, I tend to yammer on withoutthinking...like when I'm taking a video of a Radial powered Piet landing andsay "here comes a rotary powered Pietenpol"..... Rotary? Well, sometimes Ijust get caught up in the moment and don't pay attention.....deal withit....
I was a little disappointed that Bill Rewey's Pietenpol forum atOshkosh (where Vi K. and Ken P. gave some additional input) had a prettymarginal sound system. But with a little knowledge of Piets I think it willbe useful information.OK, that's my disclaimer, you want a copy? Send me a blank tape AND anSASE. I'm not going to sell the tapes (after my "disclaimer" above, theidea that I COULD sell this tape is a little silly....) but if you want toinclude a "contribution", that's entirely up to you.Send a blank (high quality) VHS tape with return self addressedenvelope/postage to:Jim Markle2508 Pickwick LnPlano, TX 75093-3534cell phone: 469-371-0669At this point, I don't care if Brodhead is before or after Oshkosh. FutureOshkosh trips for me will be optional. Brodhead (or similar Pietenpolgatherings) will not be optional. These are great folks and I like hangingout with them (Piet AND Brodhead people). God willing I'll get to do itagain. But no matter what, Brodhead was a wonderful experience for me.(And Oshkosh was a pretty neat add on.)Sorry I missed a few folks (at Brodhead AND Oshkosh) that I had hoped tosee. Bobka and Cuy for example. But I did get to meet many other folkswhose names I recognized from the last year or so that I've been consumed bythis Pietenpol passion......This is a great bunch of folks. And that definitely includes the EAAChapter at Brodhead! What a pleasure to get to hang out with them.....And I've now added another item to my "I WILL do this!!" list.....and thatis to get MY chance to give someone THEIR first ride in a (MY) Pietenpol!!!jm -----Original Message-----