Pietenpol-List: Someone Else's Wings

[matronics]

Original Posted By: Jim Markle
Ladies & Gentlemen,I received a phone call last night from a person who had purchased a set ofwings and tail section from an aging individual who had given up on hisproject. The caller indicated that he was not in a place to build for a fewyears and wanted to get some of his investment back. He lives about 2 hoursnorth of me (Chico, Ca), and some of his descriptions of what had been donemade me curious, though I was not interested in making the purchase. Havingnothing better to do this morning than talk on the phone (which I am capableof doing while driving, using Bluetooth), I made the journey, thinking that,at least, I could take some pics and send them out to the group in caseanyone was interested in jumpstarting their projects.What I found was work left by a person who had obvious ideas of his own!!The plans were full of sketch-overs of how he intended to make the Piet fithis own visions, including changing it to a single place with a high headrest and a humped fuselage sorta like a Jungster. He also made significantchanges to the tail, rounding all the components, and making the sparsnearly twice as wide, and inlaid with aluminum strong-backs!! This builderhad an obvious fixation on push rods, including rudder, elevators, andailerons. Hardware consists of 3/16" aluminum strut and wing attachments,using Home Depot Aviation Supply hardware. In the end, I think a motivatedbuilder could make some changes to these wings and end up with a real value.I'm pretty sure the seller would accept anything between $100-300....but I digress...I was told that this work represents over two years worth of effort. Now,I'm the last one who should criticize anyone for taking a long time to buildribs, but I know I spent 2 weekends building all my tail components, and ifI did nothing else, I can't see how wings could take longer than 4-5months...less than that if I was retired, like this builder. I was thinking about all the time he must have spent re-designing thisplane, when it would obviously be his last, and how he never got to see itfly...or fly it. I was reminded about all those who have finished and areenjoying their Pietenpols who constantly remind us to quit wasting timethinking about things and....just build....just follow the plans.Happy building to all! (email me if you want this guy's contact info)Gary BootheCool, CAPietenpolWW Corvair ConversionTail done, Fuselage on gear20 ribs done________________________________________________________________________________Date: Fri, 13 Aug 2010 16:10:36 -0400 (EDT)

[matronics]

Original Posted By: owner-pietenpol-list-server(at)matronics.com
Ahh Yes..., another "Improved" Pietenpol. Probably added at least 100 lbsof un-needed "improvements". Maybe he got some of his ideas for hardwarefrom Fisherman Raye.Jack PhillipsNX899JPRaleigh, NC-----Original Message-----