Original Posted By: Mike Volckmann
To answer one of Dick Navratil's questions that didn't seem to get answered, the Corvair-powered Piets (well, the ones with the William Wynne conversion and no blower motor) seem to cruise a bit faster than the A-65 and Ford powered ones. Not to say that they are comfortable cruising at those higher speeds, but that they can do so with the extra horsepower. William's plane would climb out at the airspeed that my A-65 Aircamper cruises at (65 MPH), and would cruise at 100 MPH if you firewalled it and didn't care about the ride or the fuel consumption. I think he normally cruised it at 70-75 MPH which was comfortably throttled back.Certainly the climb in the Corvair Aircampers far exceeds the 100 feet per hour stated for that vintage Pietenpol in the museum-!And as long as everybody is hunkered down, snowed in, blown out, frozen in place, mudslidden, flooded, or otherwise grounded- I'd like to know how big a deal fabric covering is. I've watched the Stits video (years ago) and it doesn't seem too difficult, but have never done it. I don't have the Poly-Tak, the dopes, iron, or the other stuff (but can scrounge or borrow what I need)... just want to make sure it's not too difficult to do myself. I need to re-cover the vertical stabilizer and also patch a few spots in the fuselage here and there.Thanks for any comments.Oscar ZunigaSan Antonio, TXmailto: taildrags(at)hotmail.comwebsite at http://www.flysquirrel.net________________________________________________________________________________Date: Sat, 22 Jan 2005 11:44:02 -0800 (PST)
Pietenpol-List: cruise speed and fabric work
Re: Pietenpol-List: cruise speed and fabric work
Original Posted By: "Oscar Zuniga"
Thanks Oscar for that input, that's exactly what was looking for. I'll have 115 hp but I dont want to cruise too fast, but after having flown the Piet on some hot days, I need to climb at better than 100 feet per hour. I have received some warnings from guys in my EAA chapter that the stall characteristics will drastically change with more hp and stol prop.Now for your question. I really enjoyed to covering. It isn't hard at all. Do the tail feathers first of course. It goes so fast that it's almost a let down, You spent so much time getting to that point and in no time it's done. The rib stitching is the biggest chore. Fabric stretching and applying the tapes are really easy.Dick----- Original Message -----
Thanks Oscar for that input, that's exactly what was looking for. I'll have 115 hp but I dont want to cruise too fast, but after having flown the Piet on some hot days, I need to climb at better than 100 feet per hour. I have received some warnings from guys in my EAA chapter that the stall characteristics will drastically change with more hp and stol prop.Now for your question. I really enjoyed to covering. It isn't hard at all. Do the tail feathers first of course. It goes so fast that it's almost a let down, You spent so much time getting to that point and in no time it's done. The rib stitching is the biggest chore. Fabric stretching and applying the tapes are really easy.Dick----- Original Message -----